Camp Whitcomb/Mason Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Shared my wave with some friendly faces. Joerunner, Cweinger and Jenndocmartin. I was warned that the water would be murky. Scoobydad told me it would be like coffee grounds. Even with this warning, I was a bit taken back when I jumped in and the water appeared almost black. It did clear up a bit as we got out into deeper water. With the warm air temps my goggles fogged up early. I was nearly swimming blind. However because it was out and back it was pretty hard to go too wrong. With improvements to my swim this year, this pace seems slower than I thought it was. I suspect that course may be longer than advertised. However, everybody had to do the same distance. As I arrived in T-1, who was there already? JoeRunner. Jmwebs swim: 13:47. JoeRunner: 13:20. Round one victory to JoeRunner.

Bring a flashlight to see through the murk. Swim a little more inside.

Chatted up with JoeRunner for bit as I struggled to get my wetsuit off. First race this year where I had trouble getting suit off my legs and heels. Humidity may have played a role. Jmwebs T-1: 2:57 JoeRunner: 2:25 T-1 one victory: JoeRunner

Get rough with that suit to get it off.

This course is all about handling the hills both up and down. Bad news for me, hills are NOT my strength. I have to admit I took this course pretty conservative. I did ride part of it last week (the hardest part it turns out), but I was pretty unfamiliar with this course. So I wanted to save as some in case I needed it later. While the uphills were tough, I lost more time with the downhills. There was a pack of about 1/2 dozen riders and the same theme would repeat itself: I would pass them all going up the steep hill and then they would come whipping past me on the down hills. Finally with about 5 miles left I kicked it into high gear and put them all behind me for good.
Jmwebs bike split: 1:17:26 JoeRunner: 1:18:06 Round 2 to Jmwebs

Kick it into high gear a whole lot earlier.

Got to T-2 and JoeRunner was already getting her shoes on. Darn! Took a drink of water and took too long to get my stuff on.

T-2 victory to JoeRunner

Truthfully my T-2s suck

I knew with the hills on the bike course and the heat and humidity, I was going to suffer. I was right. While the trail running through the woods is tough, the hardest part on a hot day is the Death Valley of the black top subdivision part of the course. I stopped at every aid station (every mile) and wished there was more. JoeRunner was just in front of me and trying to chase her down was the only thing that kept me running. I tried to catch her, but she never faded and seemed to get stronger. This was easily my worst 5K performance of the year and without our friendly competition, it would have been worse. Jmwebs run split: 28:18 JoeRunners: 28:12. Round 3 victory to JoeRunner.

A little cooler would be nice.

Got my bearings and downed any liquid I could find.


Sub par swimming skill, Poor strength on bike and fact that I was melting like chocolate in the sun on the run. Otherwise it was good...oh and my transitions stunk too.


Final result: JoeRunner...by 38 seconds. Just wait until next year...

Seriously I enjoyed the challenge of this course, but especially enjoyed spending time with my friends. There is a very good chance that this gem of a race will be on my list for next year. I just hope it is a little cooler.