Triangle Triumph

I am finally out of my White Lake slump. I have not put together the type of effort I want to since blowing up on the run at the White Lake Half. Last year, I did the triangle and it was my worst race…by a lot. So between my slump and last years race I figured I would just bag this years triangle. But then my neighbors and friends Mike O and Les M decided to signup (their second race) and my buddy Gary was racing and Mark K and Richard “The Rocket” Puckett were going to be there so I broke down and signed up and kicked ass!

I decided to throw caution to the wind and to bike as hard as I possibly could. I told myself I did not care if I was totally cramped up and could not run after the bike, I just wanted to bike as fast as I possibly could and not leave anything out on the bike course. I took the race wheels off the bike because they were rubbing on hill climbs and used my training wheel with the power meter on it. I knew the course was all hills so I wanted my powertap as a cheerleader.

I swam a 14:10 which was okay. Much better then I did at Tri Latta. I was not unhappy with the time but I knew that I had given up 3 or more minutes to my age group leaders. When I got on the bike and I hammered, really hammered. My average speed was high so I knew I was doing alright. When I turned for home I was averaging around 24 mph so I knew that I was turning it over which gave my a little extra mojo.

When I got to transition (T2) I had caught Ken Younts. I had no delusions of out running him but I knew I was having a strong race. I was a little worried when I started the run but the legs came back to me after 200 yards and I was able to hold a fair but painful pace. Unfortunately, in the last half mile David Kaats passed me and took fourth place by 11 seconds. I do not remember seeing him out on the course, at least it was not a podium spot.

I finished with a 1:11 which was six minutes faster then last year (and the swim course was a minute longer) I spanked Mark K (who was on the podium in his age group) and Richard “The Rocket” by a minute and a half. I was fifth in my age group and 35th overall but it was a large race and I was really happy with how I had done. To compare, last yea,r I was 114th overall!

Later that night I looked up my bike splits and I was smok’in fast. I was 7th fastest biker and was only 59 seconds behind – Cid Cardoso. I beat 11 elites on the bike. It was by far the strongest bike I have ever ridden. I was so happy about the race that the good feeling is still with me a month later.

Lastly, I had fun racing with Gary, Les, and Mike. These races are much more fun when you share the experience with people you know.

Kure Beach - most fun race

Kure Beach might be the most fun race I have ever done. The family was supposed to come down with me to the race but at the last minute they pasted and it is a shame because they would have had a great time. The kids can play on the beach and cheer for you which actually makes watching the race much more fun.

I went down the afternoon before the race and met my pal Lucky at the beach to practice the open ocean swim. It was invaluable. We swam out and then practiced swimming up the shore line. The race has a strange format: swim 400y, run 1.5, Bike 12.4 mi, run 1.5 and swim 400 yards. So we practiced, getting through the breakers, swimming the shore and turning it back to the beach. Just being comfortable and knowing what to expect was a huge advantage. And it was just fun hanging out with Lucky and swimming in the ocean. I had never just swum in the ocean, pretty cool.

Well in addition to Lucky, Mark Kauffman was also coming down so I knew that we should expect some racing. I went off with Mark Kauffman because the 40-44 and 45-49 age groups were combined. Lucky went off a head of us so he did not have the advantage of the head-to-head competition.

Mark got out of the water a little bit ahead of me, so I was kind of excited to have him in my sights. But as soon as he put on his sneakers he was gone. I mean flying. The run was tough, it was hot and it usually takes a while to shake off the swim. I also was losing the “Juice” I needed for a great bike. I loved the format but I do not think it suited me.

I biked pretty hard but it was not and all out effort because I have been trying to balance myself for the other segments. I knew that I had another run and another swim coming. The bike was flat but we face a good head wind for half the ride. I figured that because Mark can out swim and run me and because the race is symmetrical that I would have to catch him by the halfway turn around on the bike in order to beat him. I did not. I passed him about 100-200 yards after the turn around and so I knew I was in trouble. On the run back, Mark caught me with half a mile or less to go and then padded his lead on the final swim leg.

I had solid race but did not earn any new hardware. I think my balanced race strategy is not working out. I need to blast the bike and then use the adrenaline to hang on in the run. But in the end I had fun. Oh yeah, Lucky beat me too but he lost to Mark by a handful of seconds.