Triple-T 2009 Race Report

I have never written a race report before because, why would anyone be interested?  I have liberally used the race report created by my friend Eric Gibb as my template. 

Friday May 22, 2009
Arrival and Race #1 – Prologue Sprint
250m swim – 5 mile bike – 1 mile run

I left the house at 8:30AM, after taking Gretchen and Katie to school.  I packed my car with enough gear for any kind of weather.  The drive down was uneventful. 

I arrived at the race site around 1:30PM.  At the packet pick-up I saw Mark Misencik. This was Mark's 6th or 7th Triple-T and he started giving me tips.  He also suggested we ride the bike course of the 2nd race as a warm-up.  We rode out about 30 minutes and he offered guidance about the race and what to expect.

I saw Eric Gibb when we got back.  It was strange - Mark's race # was 72, Eric's was 90 and mine was 162. Yes, I am a numbers geek.
At this race they provide a jersey that everyone MUST wear the entire time.  The red, white and blue jersey is actually quite sharp. Seeing them all together was cool; we all looked like superheroes.  Both in transition and on the beach.
The start of the swim is a 2 person send-off. Every 5 seconds, two people cross the timing mat to start their race.
The swim was a 250m out and back triangle. The lake was shallow and had floating grass and was rather murky. On the way back into the beach the mud stirred up by the previous swimmers limited visibility to 0. Each time I turned my head back into the water I was staring at a dark cloud of dirt. The water was warm enough to skip the wetsuits and the mud was all over the jerseys.  I never found my stroke.

My swim time was 6:30.

T1 was a short run from the beach and onto the 5 mile bike course. In and out of transition in 1:09.
The five mile loop is just a warm-up for the weekend. Part of the course climbs up to the park lodge and cabins. Everyone just geared down and spun up the road. The leaders were starting to fly down the other side of the road. It was definitely a fast downhill. I got to the transition before I had the opportunity to undo my shoe straps, so I had to run into transition in my cleats (first race of the season error - won't happen again).

5 mile bike time 13:24.

T2….Into transition, rack my bike, off with the shoes and helmet, on with the shoes, visor and out to the run course. Another uneventful transition. 44 seconds.

The run is a 1 mile out and back. This prologue is just a warm-up for the rest of the weekend. I took it easy.  This entire weekend is a training race for IMCdA.   I did the one mile in 7:12, which was faster than planned but it was only a mile.  I will be slower on my other runs.

Total time for the Prologue Race: 28:29.

They laid out a great buffet of pasta, pb&j's, fruit, chips, salad and cookies.  I did not have to go out for dinner, I just loaded up there. 

I cleaned up my transition area, loaded up the gear and headed to the Comfort Inn in Wheelersburg.  I unloaded the car, rinsed out the jersey (which turned the water the color of coffee), bought 2 gallons of H2O at Rite Aid for the next day and watched the Cavs game until 1/2-time.

Saturday May 23, 2009
Race # 2:  Individual Time Trial
Swim - 1500 Meters Bike - 24.5 Miles Run - 6.55 Miles
Race number two started at 7:30AM. The alarm went off at 5AM. I ate oatmeal with protein powder, a bagel and a cup of coffee. Loaded up the car and headed back to the race site.

The swim start was another time trial run from the beach, two people at a time. I found my stroke about 1/4 of the way into the first loop. I had no problems at the turns.
The final buoy marker for the 1st loop was very close to the beach and hence very shallow. I swam past people walking but somehow my right goggle started leaking.  I had to stand up and walk while I fixed my goggles. Once I got it cleared I did a couple of dolphin dives and was swimming again. I felt calm on the 2nd loop. I swam all the way to the beach before standing up.

I stepped through the rinse buckets heading to transition and got ready for the bike.

Swim time 26:32

In T1 I peeled off my wetsuit and put on my race number, sunglasses, helmet, socks and shoes. I grabbed my bike and ran out of transition.

T1 time 1:51

The RD was adamant about following the warnings on the road. Some of the downhills are very dangerous. The RD warned that if we didn’t pay attention to the slow markers on the road we would pay for it. (copy from Eric's report)

The course is on some very beautiful fire and county roads. Not a lot of traffic and great scenery. I ejected a bottle of HEED by the giant cement Stroh's bottle on one of the farms.  I flew down a couple of downhills only to come across a hard turn before the next climb. I had the wrong line into one turn and almost went off the road.  The guy behind me said he didn't know how I stayed on the road. I have to be more careful when picking a line.
 At the bottom of the steepest climb we made a hard left turn and up we went. This is Thompson Hill, just past where Mark and I turned around on our warm-up ride.

It wasn’t too  bad. It was not any harder than Boston Mills Road.
 
I passed people, people passed me. I stuck to the plan mid z2 to low z3.

Coming down the final hill back to the park I was averaging 27 MPH without much effort. It was nice to have the speed without straining the legs. Reviewing my computer I did hit a max speed of 41 MPH on one of the downhills. Overall my average speed was 16.8 MPH.

As we entered the park I loosened my shoe straps and placed my feet on the shoes. Heading towards the transition area I hopped off at the dismount line and ran to my rack.

Bike time 1:27:42

T2 Take off the helmet, put on shoes, hat and grab some nutrition.

T2 time 57 seconds.

Exiting T2 the race announcer called off my name after I crossed the timing mat.  I saw Linda and Eric's wife Aimee; they both cheered for me.

The run is the same for races 2, 3 and 4. On Sunday we run it twice for the 13.1 miles, so we will get to know this part of the park very well. I stayed with the plan. Mid Z2 to Low Z3.  On a couple of the hills, my HR got in to low z4 but I was quickly able to bring it back by focusing on my breathing.  The trail run was fun the first time because I did not know what came next.  I saw Mark and Eric running together, they were coming back while I was headed out. We high fived.

Run time 59:02 Pace:9:01

Overall time 2:56:03. Achieved the goal.
Next stop the buffet table: pbj, chips, fruit, cookies, pretzels. Then something weird happened - almost everyone took their gear and left. I thought to myself, "We have another race at 3:00; why are you leaving?".    I had no place to go so I took a nap in the shade, got a massage, sorted my gear and waited for the next race.

Saturday May 23, 2009  3:00PM
bike 24.5 miles -  swim 1500 meters  - run 6.55 miles
In this race the teams are allowed to draft on the bike but they must finish together.  I raced as an individual so I was not allowed to draft on the bike.

The order of the events was different with the swim after bike (this is a brick I never practiced).  I was told to not kick too much in order to avoid cramping.

The bike start was 2 bikers started every 5 seconds. The course was an out and back with several steep hills and a lot of rollers.  Another pretty course.  The downhills were fast.  I clocked 43MPH at some point according to the max speed on my computer.  I saw a rider standing on the side of the road, bloody, and heard the ambulance coming.   On the longest downhill before the turnaround a car pulled out of a driveway about 100 feet in front of me. I had to slow down from over 30MPH to under 20MPH. The driver just put himself in the middle of a bike race.  This caused about 6 of us to get bunched up behind the car and the driver decided to slow down even more.  The other riders started to yell at the driver.  I just reminded myself to worry about the things I can control and let it go. I kept my eyes glued to the brake lights in case the knucklehead decided to jam on the brakes.  At the bottom of the hill the police officer waved the car over and waved us through.

The turnaround was on the only flat part of the course.  As I approached the first hill on the way back a rider ahead of me did not downshift early enough and just fell over.  The ride back to transition was uneventful from there, big climbs and fast downhills.  I ate a gel about 2 minutes before the end of the bike.

As we entered the park I loosened my shoe straps and placed my feet on the shoes. Heading towards the transition area I hopped off at the dismount line and ran to my rack.

Bike time 1:27:50  Avg speed 16.9MPH

T1 Bike to swim.  Putting on a wetsuit over sweaty legs is a challenge.  The secret is to put plastic bags on your feet and you will slide right in.  Grabbed the cap, goggles and a swig of HEED. There were volunteers to help zip up the wetsuits.
T1 time 3:03

The swim was 2 loops.  I did not kick much and pulled the distance.  I started kicking near the finish to get the blood flow in the legs.  There were several swimmers cramping up as they got out of the water.   I had no problems. 
Swim time  29:27

T2 swim to run.  Off with the goggles, cap and wetsuit.  On with the socks, shoes, shades, visor, swig of HEED and a couple of gels to go. 
T2 time 2:03

The run was the same run as in the morning.  I grabbed HEED and H2O at each stop and a couple of Endrolytes at the first one.  I passed a lot of people who were walking the hills and aid stations.  I just kept running.  I saw Eric on his way back looking strong and on the next hill I saw Mark on his way back looking good.  I felt great but I held back a lot because the big race is the next day. 

Run Time 1:04:31 Pace 9:51
Total Time 3:06:42   I stayed in mid z2 to low z3 with an occasional spike to z4 on a hill.  Achieved my goal
The food at the finish was awesome.  BBQ beef sandwiches, pb&j's, fruit, salad, pasta, cookies and pretzels.  I had 2 helpings of everything.  No need for dinner.

Time to load up car and head back to the Comfort Inn in Wheelersburg.  Unload the gear, wash the jersey, shower, eat some quinoa.  Set the alarm for 4:30AM and hit the sack.

Sunday May 24, 2009
Race #4  started at 7:00AM. The alarm went off at 4:30AM. I ate oatmeal with protein powder, a bagel and a cup of coffee. Loaded up the car and headed back to the race site.

Race #4
swim 1.2miles - Bike 55.5 miles - run 13.1miles
There was a special needs table at the halfway point of the bike.  I marked 2 bottles with blaze orange duct tape and my name and placed them on the back row of  table 2.
The transition area was full but quiet.  There was not the buzz like the other races.  Everyone had their game face on.
The time trial start from the beach was old hat.  I found my stroke early and had a very uneventful swim.  No problems at the turns or anywhere.  Just a nice morning swim with 400 people.  I swam to the beach, rinsed my feet in the tubs and headed to T1.
Swim time 34:10

T1 Off with the wetsuit, goggles and cap.  On with socks, race belt, shades, helmet, a swig of HEED, a Clif blok, grab the bike and go. 
T1 time 2:21

The race announcer called my name as I crossed the timing mat.  The bike course was hilly but very scenic.  We rode up a paved fire road  which had a lot of switchbacks. This was all in the shade.  At the top the downhill had rollers and several switchbacks. It was very fast and fun.  Max speed was 39MPH.  The course then transitioned to country roads in the sun and then back to shaded fire roads, etc.  I was awesome.  I passed people and people passed me.   I stuck to the plan.  I ate 1/2 a Powerbar and gel.
At the turn around I reloaded the speedfill with the bottles I left on the table, grabbed some Endrolytes and a gel and headed out for loop 2. 

Now I knew the course.  I rode the 2nd loop faster than the first. I missed a shift on a climb and dropped the chain.  No problem, I just put the chain on.  Control what you can control. Eat the other 1/2 of the Powerbar, 2 more gels and I was back at transition.  Loosened the straps on my shoes, stepped off the bike while still rolling, and headed to T2.
Bike time 3:23:34  Avg 16.4MPH

T2 off with the helmet, on with the visor, shoes and a swig of warm HEED.  I followed a guy wearing a kilt out of transition and another guy told me I rode steady.
T2 time 1:12

The race announcer called my name as I crossed the timing mat.  I saw my friend Daniel working the water stop right outside of the transition area.  There was a sprinkler set up. He told me to run through it and to keep my core temperature down because it was heating up.  This time we ran 2 loops on the out and back trail.  I grabbed ice at each water stop and dumped it down my jersey. I also grabbed water and/or HEED.   I kept moving.  Again,  I passed a lot of people walking.  At mile 5 I started talking to a guy running next to me.  He had done 27 IM's and was going to CdA for the 3rd time this year. He was on a team and his teammate was behind him (the teams have to cross the finish together).  At the water stop at the start of the second loop, I grabbed a gel and Endrolytes.  I dropped him at the start of the 2nd loop.  The second loop was more of the same.  Ice down jersey, water and HEED.   At the last water stop I asked for water and HEED but was handed water and Coke.  I dumped the water on my head and drank the Coke.  It was like I was struck by lightning as the Coke was absorbed into my system.

Run Time 2:08:55  Pace 9:51
Total race time 6:10:10 a PR.
Total time for all the races 12:41:24.

I kept my HR in mid z2 to mid z3 with an occasional spike to high z3.

At the finish they announced my name, handed me a finisher medal and finisher shirt.  I was off to the buffet table.  BBQ beef, pasta, pb&j, cookies, pretzels, fruit, salad and a Coke.

The 5 hour drive back that day was uneventful.  However, I did reserve a cottage at the park for the 2010 Triple T on my drive home.