2011 Mid Atlantic Sprint Regional Championship

On August 7th, I competed in the 2011 Steeleman triathlon sprint division that was serving as the MA region sprint championships. I came out with the overall win by 5:31, so it was not as close of a race as I would have liked. The race did simulate the course in Vermont for AG nationals, so that was a very positive result. Also, it was my first wetsuit swim ever, so that was good experience. Here is my race report:

Pre race: Woke up at 4:30 to do a short 10 minute shakeout run. Found it was pouring rain outside, o well. After my run, I had standard banana, bagel with peanutbutter, and coffee for breakfast before heading to the race site. There, I warmed up another 2 miles on the run, about a mile of biking because there was no good place to go, but I did practice the tough hill 200 meters out of transition and decided on climbing it in the small ring. After that, I waited around for my wave to start.

Swim: 10:16 for 860 yds (fastest by :58) Unfortunately, the sprint race started a little late, and I was in the 4th sprint wave, so I had to make my way through throngs of people, but again, good practice for AG nationals where my age group starts later. Wetsuit swim went great, I got out really hard and by the first bouy (100 meters in) I was in front. There was a group of swimmers from Liberty University that I thought were going to get out after it, but they did not get going. I exited the water, and began the wetsuit removal.

T1: No official time yet, but wetsuit came out pretty well. This was the part of the race I was most nervous for, but everything worked out well. Rubber bands on the shoes worked perfectly and saved a lot of time with them.

Bike: (39:06 for 15.5, fastest by 1:20) New Trek Speed Concept 9.8 is simply incredible! Only problem was, the sensor did not pick up my speed, so I rode the bike with only cadence and perceived effort to rely on. Ended up being a pretty hilly ride with no flat sections. I rode the uphills (my stronger suit) well, and again was passing droves of people as the Olympic and Sprint courses converged on each other. The downhill into T2 was technical with a 90 degree turn at the bottom, but I navigated it pretty well. Was probably a bit conservative on this since it was rainy in the morning.

T2: Again, no time, but everything went according to plan in T2, got out hard on the run.

Run: (16:42 for 5k+ fastest by 2:00). Plan for the run was to get out harder on the uphill out, and let the downhill back carry me home. Felt like I had the race in the bag at this point, so I did not kill myself to put crap in my legs for the next few days. Had plenty left in the tank for a 10k. Good overall race, would have liked more head to head racing as I was 8:00 in front of the next person in my wave, but great simulation for Vermont, and nice race.

Overall 1:08:09 for 860 yd swim, 15.5 bike, slightly longer than 5k run. (First by 5:31)

Time to rest up, hit the next week of training, and then rest up for nationals. I have a fun team XC race in Tuesday night with two former UD runners and a current ST. Joes runner. 4 man team race in West Chester. It's always fun for me to get into a purely running race.