So this year my sights were set on the win. Its not a very big race, and there are a lot of newbies. Last year, this race started on the slide into the pool. This year they started on the slide, but also officially changed the name to "Slide into Baxter".
I went to pick up my packet on Friday night at the Starbucks, but I was only able to get my T-Shirt. I was told that the numbers were not in, and we would get them in the morning. It made me wonder, however, with body marking and timing chips, at a small race, do we really need them at all? I mean there isn't security to get your bike out of transition.
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| Green Lightning is Ready to Rock and Roll |
We did get our numbers in the morning, but just a bike number and a run number. No helmet number, which I was good with. The bike numbers were actually really nice. Just a big sticker you can wrap around your seatpost. I wish Setup Events would use these instead of the big bulky ones that they use now (I hate 'em). These at Baxter were as nice as ones at a Rev3 or Ironman race, and actually more ingenious with the cutout design.
So setting up transition was pretty simple. I spent a lot more time talking to friends about bikes and training and newbies about how this was all gonna go down. Even met one guy who came to the Y this morning to work out, saw the triathlon, and decided to do it on the spot. He wasn't even sure how the timing worked. I actually thought it was kinda cool.
So I was bib 20 because I lied about my swim seed time. Everyone typically lies about their times, so I wanted to make sure I was ahead of that curve. Some people said they didn't lie, but thought that the seed time was supposed to be for 50 meters and not 100 meters. Whatever, I like the excuse even if it's not believable.
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| Lining up for the Start |
5:11, 14th of 70 overall
I made sure I started my watch at the top of the slide because last year I didn't and I screwed up my swim split. This race is not really indicative of your swim capability, and I've said this before. You're going down and back in the same lane. People don't seed themselves correctly. Its hard to pass. So my average of about 1:53 per hundred really doesn't mean much. Although I do think its interesting that I lied about my time, got seeded 20th, but then finished 14th. How bad does everyone lie about their time?!? Seriously?
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| That's Me! |
0:39, 3rd of 70
Only 3 seconds behind the fastest. Having my shoes rubber banded prolly made my transition pretty fast.
Bike
38:44, 1st of 70
I really wanted to hammer the bike here this year. The course is basically constant up and down hills. Its straight out and back. This is the first time I've done this race with the FLO's, so I had them and my wheel cover. I finished a minute faster than last year and averaged 24.3 mph, as the course is a little short (15.7 miles). I had the fastest bike split by 1:42.
As I hit the turnaround, I began counting places. I was the 6th person back. With the time trial start, I really didn't know where anyone was at. I know I had time on all the guys ahead of me (no one had passed me). With less than 2 miles to go, I caught uber runner Chad Garret. As I passed him he informed me that he would catch me on the run! He started the swim second, which meant I had 3 minutes on him. So he had to beat me by a minute per mile on the run, which was possible. I worked my way up to the 3rd position going into T2.
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| Flawless Dismount |
0:34, Tied for 4th of 70
10 seconds behind the fastest, but that was a 17 year old girl with and hour plus bike split. Pretty sure she didn't use bike shoes. So really just 4 seconds back of the fastest guy. I decided to forgo the socks and orthotics for this race since its only 3 miles. Only time this year I'll do this.
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| Forgot to hit the lap at the mat, and hit it at my rack |
Run
19:35, 1st of 70
This run course is long. My Garmin had the distance at 3.34 miles. About a 1/2 mile in I caught the uber swimmer guy. Evidently he was a swim/bike guy and not a swim/run guy, which was good for me. The guy at the front was quite a bit ahead of me, probably more than two minutes. I hit the first mile in 5:55 without Chad in sight. So I felt good about staying ahead of him as 3 minutes in 2 miles really wasn't possible at the pace I was putting down. The second mile has the most hills and I came through it in 6:03. So now with the long straight on Hwy 160, I could again see the front guy.
At one of the side streets I marked the time and I was 52 seconds back. Unfortunately I didn't know his bib number. I could have looked at his bike coming out of T2, but I didn't think about it. I knew he wasn't in my rack, but he could be anywhere from 4 to 15. If he was 15, then I only had 50 seconds on him. So I pushed. I hit the next mile in 5:53. As we made the turn onto Market street I saw I was only 29 seconds back. So I pushed hard for the finish. It was mostly downhill, so my 0.34 split was at a 5:08 pace. That gave me an overall average of 5:52's. I ended up with the fastest run split by 0:49.
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| Strong Finish |
Finish
1:04:45, 1st Overall
So the guy ahead of me was bib 5, so I won the race by 3:22. It feels good to win this race. I know its a small YMCA sprint, but its my first overall triathlon win. But as my wife said, "It's about time you won that race!" It's all about perspective, I guess. Full Results here.
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| The Overall Podium |
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| The Spoils of the Win |
The 1st and 3rd overall women were in my bike rack, so it was cool to talk to them before and after the race. I'm not sure if this race will make it on the schedule next year, so I'm glad I could bring home the gold this year!
