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Black Bear Mike Primrose's Race Report Race Report: Black Bear Triathlon (5:56:45) May 31, 2009 Top 5 lessons from Black Bear The Venue: Black Bear Triathlon is at and around Beltzville State Park, in Lehighton PA. The swim is a one lap rectangle from the park to the dam and back. The bike is a 2 loop affair that seeks out every hill in the area. The run is two loops through the park and features undulating trails with some climbs – but nothing hard – and a long (maybe 1.5 miles each loop) dirt road across the dam. The weather was nearly perfect. Water was 68F-70F. Air temperatures started in the high 50’s and finished in the 70’s under partly cloudy skies. The run course was actually hot. Winds were calm and still for the swim, with the breeze picking up throughout the bike and getting stiffer throughout the day; providing some relief from the heat during the run. Mary and I drove up late Friday. Saturday was spent getting my race package, taking a short, easy bike and run, and checking out the bike course. We also ran into Brad and Stacy Scholtz. Brad was racing and had a stellar run to go with impressive swim and bike splits. Mary and Stacy would be our cheerleaders for the race. Having friends at and racing in these events is such a lift. I also tried on my wetsuit for the first time since Ironman Wisconsin. Mary had helped me by packing my wetsuit. Mary had a blast laughing at me as I struggled mightily to don the wetsuit. It was as if I had gained a lot of weight since September. I pulled it up to my crotch (Mary says my voice was several octaves higher) and eventually succeeded in getting one arm fully in the suit. All the time sweating profusely! It had never been that hard before. No wonder – it was Mary’s wetsuit! She had packed my wetsuit. I didn’t see any reason to be upset. My options were simple – find a new suit or swim without. No problem. It was a training race and I’d be fine on the swim. Mary, however, was beside herself. She was certain she’d ruined my race; that they couldn’t possibly have a suit that fit me; that it really wasn’t her fault anyways – was it? She was just trying to help. As she explained to Stacy Scholtz: “Mike went to the Cav’s game, so I had to help him pack!” I don’t think I’ve ever seen her more upset with herself. Actually it worked out quite well for me. The shop at the expo had wetsuits on clearance. I ended up with a great suit – a clear upgrade from my old suit - at a good price. Of course, Angela, and now Mary, have both assured me that my PR swim was because of the new wetsuit. I think I’ll just throw the wetsuit in the water at LP and see what its swim split is. That should give me more time to work on my running! The Swim: As I was getting into the water the announcer suggested that people seed themselves as follows: expected pace <30 minutes – front row; 30-35 minutes – second row; > 35 minutes – back rows; and if you don’t have a clue what he’s talking about – go to the back and count to 5 Mississippi after the start. I was hoping for 35 minutes – so I set up 1 row back in the middle of the start buoys. This was a perfect, clean start. I started out with a hard effort, per plan, and settled in almost immediately drafting on someone in front row. This is the first race I’ve been in where I didn’t have people to swim over – or swimming over me. I settled into my stroke after about 200 yards, but still was passing and drafting off of people for the first ½ of the swim. I was focused, keeping my effort steady and long, and counting; sighting every 5 breaths and staying on line. During the last leg of the swim, I tried to keep it steady, long and with a good finish to each stroke. My pace and effort felt easier than race pace in the pool and I was feeling strong. Shortly after the turn, I came up to someone from my wave (I think it was JB Burns), who started swimming stroke for stroke with me. I really had to focus on staying steady and racing him. It’s a long day and this was not the place to push too hard. About 100 yards from the finish, he fell off and got on my feet – trailing me as I swam to within 3 feet of the exit mat. What a great swim. I came out of the water feeling very strong. No wobbly legs and I was really ready for the bike. This is the best shape I’ve ever been in after the swim in any race at any distance. Swim time: 31:42 (a PR by 3:10)! T1: I kept transition simple. Everything else was on the bike. I put on my glasses and helmet, grabbed the bike and ran out of T1. At Black Bear you have a long uphill run to the mount/dismount line after you exit transition. I had looped my shoes over the aero bars and put them on just before mounting the bike. I ran too hard out of transition, but gathered myself and was able to get on the bike in good shape. T1 time: 1:38. The Bike. I do love hills on the bike. I spin up (too slow?) and hammer down (too fast!) and have a blast. This course is a great course for hills. There are no flats. The roads are narrow, have no berms, and the occasional large pot hole (well marked) could end a fast decent abruptly. Twisting descents are followed by hard climbs or sharp, 90-270, degree turns directly into a hard up hill. This is fun. The plan was for me to keep my heart rate between 135 and 145 for the first 30 miles and under 148 after that. I did that pretty well. My heart rate would climb on the hills but came down quickly on the descents. I rode the first loop carefully; the only mishap occurring when I lost my chain on a steep hill. I stayed seated throughout – except when restarting after losing my chain. The second loop seemed faster and almost all of it in my aerobars. I pushed my heart rate a little more and was able to let it all out on the hills as I knew what to expect. I took turns quickly, but under control, and didn’t get caught in the wrong gear before a climb. A great, fun, ride. Bike Time: 3:08:06 (a quality time on a great course). T2: Another quick transition. This was the first time I have ever taken my feet out of my shoes before dismounting and it went well. That helped my legs get adjusted to running and sped up T2. I put on my socks and shoes, grabbed my number belt, hat and watch and ran out of transition. T2 time: 1:33 The Run: Trouble almost immediately on the run. My watch had malfunctioned. So the entire run would be on perceived effort. I had a hard time getting my number belt on straight as well. Most important, I had no energy. Usually, I start the run feeling good and have to work to maintain it. Today I struggled from the start. I walked parts of mile 8 and walked the water stops after that; starting on Coke at mile 9. The coke really helped to revive me and by mile 10 my shuffle had turned into a legitimate run. The water stops were well staffed by enthusiastic kids throughout. They’d run up the course to hand you whatever they were carrying. They especially liked giving “splashes” – essentially drenching me on demand. On a dusty dirt road on the dam under a hot sun, that was heaven. I picked up a 22 year old young man at mile 12. He was just finishing the first of the two loops and had started walking. I got him running with me and we ran for most of my final mile together. He helped me through it – I hope it helped him. The trouble on the run was probably a lack of nutrition when I was on the bike. I had planned on 200+ calories an hour. It wasn’t until after the race that I realized that a package of Clif gel-blocks has 100 calories – not 200. I took in less than 300 calories on the bike when I needed at least 600 to be fueled for the run. By the time my gels and the coke kicked – I had gone almost 10 miles and a good run was out of the question. Run Time: 2:13:48 In summary: A great swim, solid bike, troubled run (but a good lesson) and a new wet suit!
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