Claytor Lake Triathlon

On 22 September I participated in the Claytor Lake Sprint Triathlon.  The distances were 500 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run.

The race started at 0800, for breakfast I had a bagel with cream cheese and coffee.  Because southwest Virginia had received some cold weather recently I was worried about the temperature of the lake.  I did not have a wetsuit and was worried I would be setting myself up for a painful shock.  Fortunately the water was about 74 degrees, very comfortable.

This was probably the smallest of the triathlons I've competed in thus far.  Only 99 males participated.  This made the start on the beach very crowded.  I'm always concerned that a beach start will end up with me getting cloberred with an elbow or a knee in my eye or groin.  Fortunately this did not happen.  I'm generally larger than most triathletes, so maybe I shouldn't worry about their inferior elbows.

The swim start was quick and I felt there were many swimmers passing me.  I also felt crowded by all the swimmers near me and I was swimming at a quicker pace than I probably should have been swimming at.  About halfway through I detected that I was very out of breath and found a place to start cruising at a comfortable speed.  When I did finish the swim portion I was panting and struggling running towards the transition area.  I did not feel like moving.

No big change to Transition-1 activities, I did not fill up my tires before the race, I don't think it hurt me but something I should have done.  No issues getting through the transition.  Tke 12.5 miles on the bike were the most hilly that I've completed on the bike portion of the triathlon.  They were not as drastic as Harding Avenue, but they took some strength out of me and I got passed by some lighter, smaller riders.  I did hang around the same groupd of riders for most of the race.  Some would pass me going up a hill and I would pass on a flatter portion of the race.  At the turnaround I was able to use my weight to my advantage going back down the hills I had just climbed.  I don't have any data to show how slow I was oging up the hill or how fast I was oging down the hill, and my bike speedometer was not working during the event.  That is something I should optest during warmups.

Transition-2 had no significant issues.

The run was absolutely awful and awesome.  There were hills, a lot of them.  I am not a good runner and these hills forced me into the old man shuffle while climbing them.  I did enjoy being in the woods running on a dirt trail.  That definitely preserved my ankles, knees, and lower back.  The shade also helped to keep me at a reasonable temperature.  At the end of the run I got passed by a group of about 4 runners, I didn't konw how much energy I had left and how close the finish line was.  I think I could have passed them had I known where I was on the course and how much energy I had left. 

In the Clydesdale Category I placed 7th out of 20.  My split rankings for the swim, bike, and run, were 4th, 5th, and 13th.  Overall Men I was 49 out of 99, my spilt rankings for swim, bike and run were 30, 35, and 87.  I really need to work on my run.

http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_results&id=3138

Place	Bib	Age	Sex	Code	NAME	CITY/STATE	Rank	SWIM	Rank	BIKE	Rank	RUN	PENALTY	TIME	DQ
1.	145	37	M	C	Eric Vance	Blacksburg VA	6	11:42	1	39:13	1	24:32		1:15:27
2.	3	33	M	C	Emmitt Adkins	Roanoke VA	5	11:29	2	40:04	3	26:13		1:17:46
3.	128	52	M	C	Tony Roth	Flemingsburg KY	3	11:17	3	40:08	7	28:00		1:19:25
4.	21	34	M	C	Logan Brooke	Newport VA	1	11:00	4	41:11	9	28:07		1:20:18
5.	14	25	M	C	Taylor Blair	Blacksburg VA	8	12:43	6	42:34	4	27:02		1:22:19
6.	79	36	M	C	Brett Jones	Bristol TN	14	14:33	10	44:07	2	24:54		1:23:34
7.	17	34	M	C	Jacob Braun	Norfolk VA	4	11:23	5	41:11	13	31:25		1:23:59
8.	49	22	M	C	Joe Ferrara	Montvale NJ	7	12:30	8	43:39	8	28:05		1:24:14
9.	35	46	M	C	Travis Chattin	Moneta VA	11	13:52	9	43:58	6	27:55		1:25:45
10.	73	42	M	C	Charles Jessup	Beaver WV	13	14:12	11	44:23	5	27:30		1:26:05
11.	82	46	M	C	John Keightley	Alexandria VA	2	11:05	14	45:09	12	30:36		1:26:50
12.	4	46	M	C	Joe Albert	Monroe VA	18	16:05	7	43:36	11	30:16		1:29:57
13.	78	52	M	C	Wayne Johnson	Roanoke VA	19	16:25	15	46:20	10	29:27		1:32:12
14.	39	22	M	C	Sean Dallachie	Williamsburg VA	9	13:47	17	47:03	14	31:34		1:32:24
15.	117	41	M	C	Kevin Paar	Blacksburg VA	15	15:03	12	44:41	17	35:09		1:34:53
16.	44	37	M	C	Richmond Dugger	Blacksburg VA	12	13:59	16	46:44	16	34:17		1:35:00
17.	86	47	M	C	Mike Lambertson	Blacksburg VA	10	13:49	13	45:06	18	36:31		1:35:26
18.	43	33	M	C	Kristopher Dugger	Blacksburg VA	17	15:57	19	52:19	15	31:49		1:40:05
19.	137	21	M	C	John Sima	Blacksburg VA	16	15:40	18	48:09	19	36:31		1:40:20
20.	178	49	M	C	Russell Shock	Blacksburg VA	20	24:46	20	57:45	20	54:03		2:16:34

Sandman Triathlon

On 16 September 2012 I participated in the Sandman Sprint Triathlon at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

With a 0730 start, I awoke at 0430 to eat breakfast, pack, and begin the trek to Va Beach.  For breakfast I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwhich, heavy on both the bananas and peanut butter.  I also drank a large coffee. 

Parking wasn't detailed in any of the race information posted on the race's website, so Cary and I followed the car in front of us into a parking garage and paid 10 dollars.  I have never paid ten bucks to participate in a triathlon for parking, and I would have expected that to be annotated on the website but, whatever.

The transition area was easy to find and I began to setup my station.  The bar to hold up bicycles was a little lower than normal, and would not hold up my bicycle by its handlebars.  I was able to lean it on a wooden pole and that appeared to keep my bicycle upright.  I also recently purchased a "Tri-shirt" that I could wear while swimming, running, and biking.  This was an attempt to decrease the amount of time that I spend in the transition area putting that bicycle shirt on after the swim.  I also purchased a cheap-o speed indicator for my bicycle that displays how fast I'm going.

This Tri was also the first ocean swim for me.  Competitors started on the beach and ran into the ocean at the sound of the horn.  I, and the rest of the Clydesdales, started in the 8th wave.  Earlier waves of contestants did get pushed around by the waves breaking on the shore, but once one got out to the buoy and made the turn to parallel the shore it looked OK. 

When the horn sounded I began a quick sprint to the ocean, did my best to high step some waves and dove over the first large wave that came close to shore.  I fought through a couple of waves between the beach and the turn buoy, but nothing that pushed me way off course or made me eat salt water.  Once I made it to the turn buoy and began to parallel the shore I started looking for the next turn buoy, couldn't see it, and other swimmers so I could avoid their legs and start passing them.  I felt very comfortable on this swim, I didn't swim too hard and loose my breath while I was out there and was passing swimmers regularly.  I did swallow a couple mouthfuls of water but this also appeared not to affect me.  I could have probably saved time on the second buoy and my approach to it.  I did several course adjustments as I approached, something was going on in the current there that I Was unable to figure out.  The swim back to shore was fine, I did the help of some waves.  I also had a hard time finding the exact spot where one was supposed to exit the water and head on over to the transition area.  When I did find it I was almost there and then began my 400 pound log jog.  As I was jogging up the beach I did hear Cary cheering me on which always helps.

In the transition area I quickly put on my socks, with some sand, bike shoes, glasses, and helmet.  Then it was off to start the races.  Not having to deal with putting on a shirt after the swim is great for saving time.  The air temperature for a 15 mile bike ride was great, I never felt that I was overheating and using my speed indicator I was able to determine when I was at 21, 20, or 19 miles per hour.  For most of the race I was able to stay at 21 and not feel that I was getting my heart rate up to high.  I think, without any scientific proof, that this was the fastest bicycle leg on any triathlon I've competed in.  I will give part of the credit to being able to determine exactly how fast I was going and not doing that sprint at the begining of the swim.

During the ride there were a couple of packs of slow riders that I had to go around and one errant water bottle.  The course was a strait forward out and back. 

Returning to the transition area I changed shoes and removed my helmet and proceeded to the run.  I left my sunglasses on to look cool, which is very important.  Other than not being a good runner, the most difficult part of the run was being exposed to the sun on the Virginia Beach boardwalk.  Having this race any later in the day would have made that leg very difficult.  I also experienced some chaffing in the groin area that gave me some discomfort.

About 500 meters before the end I knocked off my timing chip.  I carried it by hand the rest of the way, fortunately it still worked.

Overall I did very well compared to the other participants.

Overall Males I places 74 out of 270.  In the Clydesdale category I placed 5th out of 38.  Had I been low enough weight to compete in my age group I would have also gotten fifth out of 21 (30-34).

82nd was my overall place including women and the relay teams. 

Place

First Name

Last Name

Bib

City

State

Gen

Age

Swim

T1

Bike

T2

Run

Total

Penalty

Group

Grp Pl

Gen Pl

82

Jacob

Braun

707

Norfolk

VA

M

34

0:20:08

0:01:46

0:42:11

0:00:59

0:26:17

1:31:24

Clydesdale

5

74

Patriot Sprint Triathlon

Sunday morning, 9 Sep 2012, I completed the sprint tri in Yorktown, VA.  The start was at 0730, and I woke at 0400 to leave by 0430.  The early start was a bit of a shock to wake up to, but I truly enjoyed completing the event and traveling home, all before noon.  Prior to the race I had a nice large cup of coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, heavy on the peanut butter.  About 45 minutes before the race I was feeling a little dry and guzzled some water from one of the water stations.  Throughout the race I didn't feel overly dry, famished, or lacking for food.

The swim portion was in the "brakish" James river which had a slight current headed downstream with the falling tide.  The Clydesdales were lumped in with the 40+ men.  This made our swim start group a little smaller than earlier groups which were populated by college aged kids and other go-getters.  My least favorite portion of the tri is the begining of the swim where everyone is climbing over each other to begin swimming, so I positioned myself near the front and sprinted at the begining of the race.  I think I sprinted a 50m-75m distance before I got exhausted and had to slow down significantly to catch my breath.  At this distance I was still able to see other participants wading energetically in waters around me.  By one third of the way in, I felt like I was in a grove and was able to keep that up for the rest of the distance.  I thought the markers were a little small and sometimes I struggled to see them when I popped me head up for a look.  Other than that I thought I did a pretty good job of aiming for the halfway buoy and ending marker ashore.

As I got out of the water I felt very heavy.  There was a long jog through the transition area to the bike racks.  I thought my transition was pretty quick, no real wasted effort.  I did struggle a little with my socks, but I don't think it ended up being a great big time suck.

The bike was out and back on the same path.  I did not have my Garmin with me to give me an idea of how fast I was riding.  I would like to have one of those bicycle mounted gizmos to give me an alert when I fall below 20mph, or 19mph, or whatever seems to be my cruising speed for the day.  The course had a few gradual hills that are more significant than what I experience in Norfolk and Pungo, but nothing that threw off my time. 

Transitioning from bike to run I also thought I went pretty quickly, though my times indicate I did not.  I had a gel pack of energy-goo that I fumbled with as I ran out of the transition area and grabbed a water from the volunteers.  I suspect this was where my extra time came from.

The entire portion of the run I felt as if I was lifting 200 pound logs with my legs.  My worst performing event.  I saw a brief glimmer of hope prior to the race because I had increased the amount of running I was doing in training but not in an organized or structured manner. 

In the Clydesdale category I was 4th out of 8.  Had I participated in my age group, 30-34 I would have been 9th out of 16.  Overall among men I was 183rd out of 314, bottom half.  Though this performance is similar to my results and output in the Breezy point triathlon, I think my relative placing in the Overall category was so low because of all the college aged kids participating in this event.

My overall swim rank was 120, not bad, but I'm usually a lot higher ranked.  I think this was due to all the college aged kids participating.  The first transition I was 154, top half, but I thought I would be higher because I made an effort to run quickly to the transition area.  The bike portion I was also 154, top half, and this is normally where I fall out, somewhere in the middle.  The second transition I was 215 which is the most puzzling.  I thought I was pretty quick through the transition area, but trying to eat some energy and waiting for water may have been my downfall.  The run portion ranked me out at 244, which isn't suprising but still disapointing.

http://www.setupevents.com/files/PatriotsSprint_Clydes_2012.html

Place	Bib	Age	Sex	Code	NAME	CITY/STATE	College	Rank	SWIM	Rank	T1	Rank	BIKE	Rank	T2	Rank	RUN	PENALTY	TIME	DQ
1.	463	35	M	C	John Dragseth	Washington DC		1	19:30	2	2:56	1	34:45	2	0:54	2	23:58		1:22:01
2.	467	38	M	C	James Dillon	Chesterfield VA		5	22:12	1	2:40	2	35:53	3	1:07	1	22:28		1:24:18
3.	465	35	M	C	Benjamin Harrison	Manassas VA		3	20:05	4	3:46	5	42:17	7	1:48	3	24:44		1:32:37
4.	462	34	M	C	Jacob Braun	Norfolk VA		2	19:58	3	3:18	3	39:54	6	1:31	4	28:42		1:33:22
5.	461	32	M	C	Adam Heming	Sterling VA		4	22:02	6	4:27	4	41:17	5	1:28	6	30:19		1:39:32
6.	464	35	M	C	Brad Poore	Centreville VA		6	22:52	5	3:53	6	43:20	1	0:51	7	30:25		1:41:18
7.	466	35	M	C	Leon Simms	Arlington VA		7	26:24	8	5:13	7	45:35	8	2:56	8	32:29		1:52:37
8.	460	31	M	C	Jas Carter	Williamsburg VA		8	28:59	7	4:52	8	50:23	4	1:28	5	30:18		1:55:58