GroundForce IT PowerSprint Triathlon Results

When my alarm goes off at 4:30 AM, it can only mean one thing-Race Day! On Sunday, both Melissa and I got up before the roosters so we could have our breakfast, get our gear together, and head out to the venue for the GroundForce IT Powersprint Triathlon. Unfortunately for me, I had another night of bad sleep. When I was actually sleeping, it was good. But for one reason or another, I only got about 3.5 hours of sleep. Not to worry. Many athletes face the same issues and as long as one has good sleep the 2 days before race day and plenty of rest leading up to a race, good performances are possible.

We left the house a little before 5:30AM and made our way out to the Shady Grove YMCA which is the race venue for this particular RichmondMultisports.com race. The race was sold out and there were at least 500 participants setting up in the transition area. We wheeled our bikes and gear into the transition zone, found our assigned racks, racked our bikes, laid out our gear, got our body markings and our timing chip, and then headed for the porta johns for bathroom stop number 1.

You may remember that for my last triathlon, I decided to get up at 2AM and make a smoothie, drink it, and then go back to bed. This time around I decided to try something a little different. Even though the race started at 7AM, my swim seed was 352 which meant I would not be starting until about 8:30. I had plenty of time to digest my breakfast before the race. So this time, I made my smoothies the night before (1 for me and 1 for Melissa) and then put them in the fridge overnight. I think this worked out pretty well. As long as I have plenty of time before the gun goes off and I actually get moving, this is the way I will likely do it in the future. Although for my next race, it is an open water swim where we will all start at the same time so who knows how I will do that.

After we were all racked and ready to go, we want to the back of the Y for pre-race meeting and the national anthem. The first swimmer dropped in the pull precisely at 7. I had lots of time before it would be my turn to start the swim. Melissa and I chatted with a friend who was also doing the race, took additional trips to the bathroom, and otherwise relaxed.

Melissa did not have as much time as me because her number was 287. We estimated that she would be starting about 18 minutes before me. Melissa is slightly faster than I am in the pool but I am slightly faster then her on the bike and a little faster on the run as well. Before getting our race numbers, I knew she would start in front of me and I thought she could be my rabbit. I would push hard to catch her just for fun. But after we got our race numbers and figured out that she would be a good deal in front of me from the very start, I was unsure that I would be able to catch her. In fact, I was able to watch her exit the pool and start her run back to the transition area before it was my time to queue up for my turn dropping into the pool.

After I cheered for Melissa, I headed back to the pool entrance line and took my place in front of number 353. Number 353 happened to be an 11 year old boy. Lots of people were chatting him up. He thought the bike would be the hardest. I guess 12 miles does seem like a long way for an eleven year old. As our line approached the entrance to the pool, a lady slipped in in front of me. She was number 350. Number 351 was nowhere in site. Just as we were getting ready drop in to the pool, she turns and says to me, "so we swim up and down the same lane?" I replied with a yes. I would have thought that she would have paid attention to the race meeting, briefings, emails, maps, etc that explained how it all worked. She might have just been a little nervous. Before she jumped in, she told me that if I needed to pass to just tap her foot. As it turned out, she was a speed demon when compared to me so she just took off when it was her turn to swim.

When it was my turn, I dropped into the pool and looked at the timer. He told me I would be going on the 00 on the clock. At the 00, I pushed off the wall to start my 300 meter swim. My experience for this swim as compared to my first tri earlier this year was completely different. During the race in April, I could feel my heart pounding through my ears, I felt very out of breath, and questioned my sanity. This time around it was pretty smooth sailing. I just concentrated on my stroke and kept it moving. I even passed a few people in the pool.

Upon exiting the pool, I made my way outside onto the carpeted path leading back to T1. I took off my goggles and swim cap immediately and held them while I ran. In retrospect, I probably used a little more energy than was necessary to remove the goggles and cap. I need to practice that more so I can do it in a more relaxed fashion. Here are a few pictures of me exiting the pool.







The run back to T1 was about 400 feet and then maybe another 50 feet to get to my bike. I quickly attached my IT Band strap to my leg, put on my cycling glasses and helmet, put on my cycling shoes (no socks), and ran out of T1 with my bike. After crossing the mount line, I got on the bike and headed out. After making the first turn, I could see another biker in front of me. He was standing up on his bike pushing his climb up a slight hill. I could tell right away that he was on a mountain bike and I knew that I would be passing him very soon. That gave me more energy-I love passing people.

After I passed him and made another turn, I found myself on a beautiful bike course. It was still relatively early in the morning and here I was soaking wet on the bike, putting in a hard effort on a very scenic bike course in ideal weather. It felt great to be alive and I smiled and felt blessed to be able to do what I was doing. Here is a picture of me on the bike out of T1.



We had ridden the bike course once before so we sort of knew what to expect. It was mostly flat and not too much traffic. While out on the early part of the course, I passed a few more racers. In the middle of the course, I passed more racers. I was feeling great and really enjoying myself. Similar to my first race, I got a thrill out of blowing through traffic lights. It makes me feel like a real athlete to have the local police stopping traffic for me.

During the last third of the course, I did get passed by a few bikers. Most of the ones who passed me were on triathlon bikes. One in particular looked very sweet. It was a Cervelo and by the looks of it, it was very expensive. I tried to pay attention to the guys who were passing me on the bike so I could perhaps chase them down during the run. Since they were passing me in the last 1 or 2 mile of the finish, there was a chance I could catch them. I pushed hard so they would not put too much ground between them and me. On the last part of the ride, I saw Melissa on the run course. I did not know how far I was exactly from the finish and was not sure I would be able to catch her.

As I approached the transition area, I slipped out of my shoes while riding the bike and pedaled the last few strokes with my feet on top of my shoes. I then dismounted and ran my bike into the transition area, found my rack, racked the bike, took off my helmet and glasses and put on my running shoes (no socks). Here I am approaching the finish on the bike.



I almost made a huge mistake on the run. I took about 20 steps from my rack when I realized I did not have my race number. So I turned around and got my race belt and then headed out on the run. The run was fun because I got to pass a lot of people. I am pretty sure I caught most of the people who had passed me on the bike. I could tell I was running slightly slower than I did for my first Tri but it was a bit hotter and the course had two way traffic on a sidewalk which required extra care and subsequently slowed me just a tad I think.

The run course was a simple out and back. While running out, I saw Melissa running the other way on her way back to the finish. I am not sure how far in front of me she was but I started to think about my blog and how I would be writing about not catching her. After I rounded the cone and headed back however, I did catch up to her. I told her I was on her tail and we had a pleasant exchange of encouraging words as I ran past her. I was not too far from the finish when I caught her. After that, I kicked it up a notch and as I turned the corner and saw the finish line, I really kicked it up and had a strong sprint to the finish. The finish line announcer called me the blue streak which was kind of funny and made me feel good. Here are a few pictures of me finishing the run.





After I crossed the finish line, I got some water and then watched Melissa finish. She had a very strong finish and was just a minute or two behind me. I am very proud of her. She has really taken her fitness to a new level in the last year. I could see her doing a half-ironman someday.

The race ended up being great fun. It was neat to do a race with Melissa. We shared our stories about the race and how we felt. We talked about different people we saw out on the course and the things we did to stay focused. I am looking forward the next race we are doing together in Vermont in July.

Here are my stats for the race.

144

352

James

Rosen

M

43

Richmond

VA

0:06:32

0:02:26

0:38:39

0:01:35

0:22:55

1:12:05

I was 144th overall. My swim time was 6:32 for the 300 meter pool swim. My T1 time was 2:26. My bike time was 38:39 for the 12 mile bike (18.62 miles per hour average). My T2 time was 1:35 and my run time was 22:55 for the 5K (7.22 min per mile pace). I managed to shave off approximately 7 minutes off the April triathlon. All in all, a good race. However, I still have lots of room for improvement. I know I can get faster on the bike. After all, a 78 year old man had slightly fast bike split than me. I know what I need to do in my training to get faster and plan to work on it.

Next up is Xterra on June 12th. That will be a hard race and there will be some amazing athletes competing. The pros will finish about an hour ahead of me I think. My goal is to have the best possible performance I can and try to beat 3 hours.