Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Hero Triathlon

And so goes the start of my triathlon season.  This the first time I have ever competed in two triathlons in consecutive weeks.  I was supposed to have done Quassy Olympic a month ago, but had to withdraw after my mother had passed away and I had to return to Canada.  Bill Burnett from Streamline Events puts on some amazing races and after racing the Cohasset tri last year, I knew I wanted to return to race there again.  I ran into Bill at TRI-MANIA in March and he mentioned another race he organized called the Hero Triathlon.  The race takes place in Mashpee, MA on the grounds of Otis Air-Force Base.  Bill does a really good job supporting and recognizing physically challenged athletes and invited me to come down and race there as well.  I couldn't pass the chance up to do this race!

Johns Pond at Otis Air Force Base, Mashpee, MA
The Hero triathlon offered both an Olympic and sprint distance and I had chosen to compete in the sprint race.  The sprint was a later start, with the Olympic going off earlier, so I decided to drive down the morning of leaving Salem at about 4:40AM.  It would be a quick and easy ride down to Mashpee.  I could not believe how bright it was so early in the morning as I packed up the last few things in my car at 4:30AM.  I was bringing breakfast with me and would eat on the road since I would not be starting until 9AM.  I have now simplified my pre-race meal to a banana, English muffin with PB, some Gatorade, and then a CLIF bar about 90 minutes prior to the race and an applesauce (thanks QT2 nutrition consult!!) about 30 minutes prior to the race.

The drive down was easy with a great view over the Bourne bridge as I drove onto the Cape.  Bill offered to keep a parking spot for me close to transition at Johns Pond.  The morning was gorgeous with no clouds in the sky.  The water was warm at 68 degrees.  At first look, the swim course looked to be a lot longer than the advertised 0.3 mile distance.  I don't worry about those details since we all have to swim the same course.  

Disney Dawn with me prior to the race.
Check-in and set-up all went well with nothing out of the ordinary happening.  I got a chance to meet David Kruysman, the other PC athlete.  He was going to be doing the Olympic distance race.  He is a LT in the NYFD where he works as a paramedic.  I also met up with LONG-TIME friend Disney Dawnie from Comp racing and Jim Leavitt.  Dave Constantino was also there as well racing.

After the anthem the Olympic distance athletes set off and the sprint racers waited around about 30 minutes to start at 9AM.  I was in the first wave and sighting seemed to go quite well and I seemed to stay with a group of novice swimmers who were able to do most of the sighting for me as they all swam head-up breaststroke which left me to stay focused on my "streamline" freestyle.  The course was a simple counter-clockwise course, with the last leg a point where we merged with the slower Oly swimmers from the 8:30AM start.

Swim 26:13 (more than 1/2 mile for sure).  Again, I'm not complaining, but there is NO WAY this was a 1/3 of a mile swim.  The run to transition was short and I got to my bike pretty quickly getting out of T1 in 2:13.  That's pretty good for me.

The bike course was very flat but most of it was around the Otis airbase with lots of open space and some pretty strong headwinds.  The new aerobar set-up I have helped keep me down with less air resistance.  Thanks so much CAF for the grant to help with this!!!  My total time for the bike was 52:16 (13 miles) giving me an average speed of 14.9 mph.  Given the winds, I was pretty happy with this.  The course was well-maintained with lots of people at every turn, including lots of men and women in uniform helping out,
which added to the character of the race!!!

I was not happy with my bike to run transition getting out of T2 in a time of 3:17.  Can't think of a reason, except that I was simply taking my time instead of doing MY JOB!!!

Finish in 2:10:33
The run was tough to start and I was experiencing some lower back pain at the beginning.  No numbness or tingling, just a sign to me that I need to do more running off the bike (BRICKS) in training.  The run only had one water stop at the turn around, but since I usually carry my own GATORADE it wasn't a problem.  I usually use the water for dousing my head and back anyway.  The course was pretty much an out and back with some hills, but nothing tough.  The second half went much better, confirming what I said of more prep needed.  The last 1/3 of a mile was pretty much downhill which certainly felt good where I ended up finishing my run in 46:37 (3.2 miles).  My overall time was 2:10:33.  My original plan was a sub 2-hour finish, but I knew once I saw the longer swim, that would not be the case.  Overall, very happy for my first race of the year.  The important thing is that I left the race feeling good and strong, ready to race in one week at Cohasset.

With David Kruysman post race.





1 comment: