Fort Ritchie Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint

Well it's time to get in the water as I'm in the first wave of the swim portion. All men in the Sprint were in this first wave and it's a big wave! I position myself all the way down the length of the pier that’s next to us and at the far end of the start buoys and pretty much up front as there's not too much room for a lot of us here and certainly not the large swim wave here. There are guys down the length of the pier and still standing in the very shallow water. Now where I am, I've got a clear line to the first turn buoy and only a few guys around me. BUT, I've got a big water weed here with me too. Geez, I can't seem to get it off me either as I tread water here. Finally I seem to get clear and then Ken indicates we have something like 2 min. I start my stopwatch so I don't want to waste any time starting it as the race starts….a min to go….then 30 seconds… Ken counts down from 10….5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and GO! We're off on the 2012 Fort Ritchie Sprint Triathlon!!

Or at least that was the plan…guy in front of me started to breast stroke shortly after we got going and I had to quickly maneuver around him. Once around him, I now start my strategy of putting out a relatively high stroke rate and only breathing to my one side. I catch a bit of feet to draft initially here as well since the wave hasn't started to spread out too much yet. Now I think because the wave is not as bunched up initially, I'm not getting bumped into much and I'm able to get out pretty quickly during this first 150m and sighting is going well. Round the first turn buoy and still holding at the rate I've set for myself. Still no real incident here and I'm heading pretty much dead on the next turn buoy. Gosh, at Muncie, I had folks all over me up to about the halfway point. Here is very different and really not too many guys around or near me. At the next turn, there's just a bit of congestion but it's manageable and I think one guy slowed up when he saw me coming around. Past the second buoy, 300m down, and now the long 300m section to the last turn buoy. Initially after the turn, I'm going left a bit too much, compensate, and get back on course. I see when I'm sighting guys down the line but it doesn't look like an overly large crowd. Perhaps my strategy is working? Past right by the next sighting buoy and I'm halfway done. Stroke rate is still good, arms and shoulders still working well. Amazingly, I think I passed a few guys here and there on this long section too. Final turn buoy is now in sight and I round it heading onto the finish of the swim portion. Wow, sun is right in my face and I can't see the finish flags. But, I can see other guys heading to them and just sight off of them. Finally I can see the flags and push to get to them. Made a slight mistake here as I thought perhaps I could stand when I was getting close, but I couldn't and lost some of my speed. Got back up to speed and shortly thereafter, I'm walking in the shallows, up out the water, through the flags, and up to the transition area for T1. Swim portion is done!


Honestly, for once, my swim went really well! So except for continuing to improve on the swim, not really anything here I can think of. THIS is a Personal Record for me in an OWS sprint distance! It equates to a 1:39/100 yards. Now Ken later says the swim may be 50 m short due to problem with the last turn buoy. It would still be a PR for OWS as this would still make it 1:46/100 yards. My best ever was 1:45/100yd, but that was only a 300m pool swim and where I could do a strong push off the walls. And best OWS sprint distance was with a wetsuit and only 1:56/100yd at last year's Rumpass in Bumpass Sprint. So, I'm very pleased with this result! Pretty decent overall too.

No AG or OA rankings. I'm feeling a little of the effects after the swim effort but it's really not affecting my ability to jog/run into transition. Get my race number belt on but this is a mistake here since it was unnecessary and wasted a bit of time. Step on my towel to quickly wipe debris off, shoes on w/no socks for this short a distance, helmet on, grab my bike, and I'm heading out of transition to the bike mount area. Too slow for this distance and no wetsuit! This should've under a minute. Probably would've been if I hadn't put on the race number belt. Didn't make a difference in this race, but every second counts when you're racing and in a sprint.


Since I didn't need the race number belt after all, I shouldn't have put it on.

Out of transition and mount my bike to start the ~15 mile bike course. Now I've been saying basically over and over that I should get in my shoes as I'm getting going on the bike. I attempted to practice this before the race but it didn't go too well. I need to keep at it, but decided just to get my shoes on in T1 and clip in at the mount line instead as usual. I think here, member Chris DaCosta is cheering me on. Chris is training for his first Half Ironman distance and came to the race to cheer on fellow members as well as watch us in action. I did appreciate the support! So get clipped in and going here on the bike course. Think I passed one person here, head out the gate, and turn onto the road which is the first short climb we face on the course to the first turn up ahead. Several guys are ahead of me here. I pass one right away and then maneuver around another who's having some sort of problem and pretty frustrated that he can't get clipped back in. Don't want to get tangled up with him and give a wide berth. Have to stand a bit here to get up this short hill and get onto Ritchie Road. After the turn, shift up and get aero as this road levels out and there's actually some good downhill sections here. I pass another guy and set my sights on two others ahead. Come up to the turn onto Wise Road and there are 3 other guys making this turn. Recognize the guy with the mountain bike and he's having some difficulty here with the turn and the short hill we have to climb here. I let him know I'm passing on his left and also the guy just ahead of him too. At this point I think perhaps I'm pushing a bit too much up these short hills, but then I know I'm going to get a rest in a bit on the downhill section of Wise. So, I just keep pushing. Reach the top of this short climb and there's a nice downhill here to catch my breath on. Up ahead, though, is the S curve and a volunteer is telling me to slow down. I'm prepared for this from training and navigate the curve okay. Then it's downhill again to Raven Rock. I think Jack Slick is there again wishing folks well but saying to slow down here as it's a sharp right onto Raven Rock ahead. Slow down as I approach the turn, thank the volunteers, make the turn, and start a short climb to the long downhill part of the course on Raven Rock. During this short climb, another racer passes me and I'm pretty sure this is the top woman finisher. So, I got "chicked" here, but this never bothers me as I'm not competing with women for any awards and I don't get my feathers ruffled when a faster triathlete passes me. I'm more in awe than anything else. BTW, no one else passed me on the bike.

Now on the downhill out section of Raven Rock Road. Shift up into my highest gear and GO! This first section is a more gradual downhill than the second section and so I have to push the pedals a bit in this high gear. I try to keep the gal who just passed me in my sights, but it's clear that she's pulling away and it's looking doubtful I'll catch her. Due to my combined weight here on the bike, I often can catch folks on downhills like this. But, not her today. There is another rider though that she's passing and I'm slowly catching up to him. After this more gradual downhill, we round a bend and now the downhill is very pronounced and turns into what I call a screaming downhill! This is where you spin out in your highest gear and gravity takes over. And I'm flying! What a definite rush! I looked later and max speed was 40.7 mph! WEE! There is a point where you can pedal here just for a bit but then becomes screaming once again! I see the leaders already heading back on the course on the opposite side of the road but can't really concern myself with that during this rush of a downhill. I'm definitely catching the rider in front of me now and then see Fruit Tree Road up ahead, which is where the folks on the Olympic course will turn. It's a speed killing right turn for them. Not so for the Sprint folks and I am pedaling here at a very high cadence zooming past the turn so I can keep my momentum going up the next short uphill. After I get up that, it levels a bit and I'm able to pass the guy that I've had in my sights during the downhill section. Soon after, the turnaround is just up ahead. Now remember the winds and how I commented that they seemed to be fairly strong for this time of the morning? Well, they are very much up and coming across the road providing a nasty crosswind! I mean I had to lean into it a bit here and there to maintain balance! Fairly unexpected but I don't let it throw me off here and motor onward. I slow a bit to make the wide turn around, thank the volunteers and police support, and get back up to speed on the return route. Watch the crosswind again as I zoom down this short hill back to Fruit Tree Road. I see a good number of folks on the other side as well and I'm hoping I can stay ahead of them on this next part. It's here I take a big gulp of Powerade to help "power" me up the long uphill section of Raven Rock that's comes up shortly. Yeah, just past Fruit Tree and the real fun of this course begins.

This steeper part of Raven Rock is a fairly long mostly steady climb for 1.75 miles. It sure seems longer, though. As I'm not the best climber, I'm using my lowest gear here for the most part but I'm motoring too at fairly high cadence. Sweat is definitely dripping with the effort! There is a short section at Ritchie Road where it levels a bit and I can shift up. But it is short-lived and I look up Raven Rock at the climb in front of me. Spin, spin, spin! Breathing is up and sweat continues to drip as I slowly get up this section. I can at least stay seated here and not waste energy. I've seen other folks in practice struggling with this hill too. I'm not struggling but I'm definitely putting out the effort. But, sooner than I expected, the road sign indicating there's two intersections ahead appears meaning I'm close to the end of this steeper uphill section. Pass Pleasant Valley Road and then Hells Delight (yes, that really is the name of the road). It's here that the climb is much more gradual and is really a false flat. Shift up and per my plan, take in two Clif Bloks, one for extra salt and the other for the caffeine. Down more Powerade. The idea for taking the Clif Bloks here is that they should hopefully take effect just as I'm starting the run.

During the climb, I've had one guy in my sights ahead and I'm slowly catching up to him on this false flat. I can see the top of this section looming ahead as well and I'm hoping to catch and pass this guy before that as there's no shoulder on the last parts leading to transition. Getting closer now as we both get closer to the top….closer….closer….and…. get alongside to pass just as we both start to crest the hill. I was going to say words of encouragement but just look over, shift up two gears, stand to power up, and zoom down the hill leaving the guy behind! This reminded me of a scene in the movie "Sea Biscuit", who was one of the fastest race horses in the country during the Great Depression. Sea Biscuit looked other horses in the eye who challenged him on the track and essentially took his speed up to a different level after that. Well, he's racing against this powerful and fast horse named War Admiral in a match race. Near the final point of the race, Sea Biscuit's jockey slows a bit and lets War Admiral catch so Sea Biscuit can look him in the eye. Once that happens, Sea Biscuit's jockey knows Sea Biscuit is going to cut loose and says to War Admiral's jockey – "See ya, Charlie!" as Sea Biscuit cuts loose, leaving War Admiral way behind. While I really didn't mean to stick it to this guy like that, it sure reminded me of that scene from "Sea Biscuit". And actually, I thought this guy was going to pass me on the next short uphill after zooming down the hill past Wise road himself, but he doesn't come back to challenge me. Now on the last 2 miles of the bike course. Some light rollers and one final little hill I have to stand up for just a bit before the grand downhill back to transition. Slow down to turn left onto MacAfee Hill Road and just zoom down this as well. One has to be a little careful here as the road bends to the right and it's not the best road either. Have slow now as I start to approach the left turn back into Ft Ritchie and Doug Milliken is telling me to watch for a bit of gravel here and to definitely slow. I comply, make the turn, go through the open gate, and see the transition area ahead. Get out of my shoes here and get my feet on top of them while pedaling to the dismount line. Swing my one leg over, balance on my left pedal, stop just before the dismount line, and hit the ground running into T2! Done with the bike portion!


With the weight I've lost, my bike equipment is now a limiter for me. Just too heavy. I could probably lose more weight plus work on more power. But, the heavier bike is just a bit much now for me to be competitive against ones like P3-4s and carbon frames. Still, did much better than I thought I would.

Back in transition my rack is close to the Bike In and I'm able to quickly get it back on the rack, helmet is off, and I quickly slip on my running shoes (thank you Lock Laces!). Already have my race number belt on. Nothing else to grab since this is a sprint and I am OUTTA THERE!

Scanning the results, I tied Greg Snellings for the 6th fastest T2 time overall. Yeah, Elvis has left the building!!


Nothing that I can think of. Sprint strategy worked just fine.

Out of the transition area again and heading out on the run course. Member Robin Maile is there directing traffic and she gives me "five" as I pass by her. I'm pretty sure Chris is here again and gives me some words of encouragement as well. I grab a cup of water at the first water stop for one quick gulp and put the rest over my head. Ken Racine then sees me heading out on the run and remarks over the loudspeaker something to the effect, "And is that Dave Miller heading out on the run?" To which I throw my arms up to acknowledge this fact. Ken then says "Go Dave! We know you can run!" I later understand why Ken might've been just a bit surprised to see me as I later found I was 12th overall as I started the run.

The run course winds us through the roads of the old fort. There are 4 short hills to tackle but there are also some long relatively flat stretches and some equally nice downhill sections as well. This first section of the run out of transition is flat and my legs get revved up for the task ahead. It's really now GO time! This is where one has to push to near redline or rather at/near lactate threshold. You don't want to blow up but you're still going to get into an uncomfortable zone for the next 20+ minutes. And over the last few years, the run has been my strongest of the three disciplines. Based on the last few weeks of training, I know I can confidently push myself here as well. At the end of this first flat section, I see two guys up ahead of me as I approach the first turn that leads up a short hill. It's a bit difficult but get up the hill in short order and set my sights on passing these two guys on this long, relatively flat stretch in the course. About halfway along this stretch and I pass both with no challenge later. Motor down a short hill here and running smartly to the next turn and next uphill. See another guy in front of me along this stretch. Make the next turn, get up the hill which is a bit more difficult than the last, make the next turn, and pick up my speed along a slight downhill using gravity for all its worth to propel me forward. I'm slowly catching this guy and also see one more beyond him. Come to the second water stop, take a cup to pour over me, and proceed onward. This next part is a gravel road which is downhill and here I pass this guy remarking that he's doing well. He gives words of encouragement to me as also. And as I'm coming down this hill, I'm catching this next guy as well. I'm sure he can hear my breathing as I'm coming up on this flat to slightly uphill section of the course. Pass by, give some words of encouragement, and go! Another guy is going up the next hill which comes up after another turn. These next two hills are a bit more difficult than the first, but not overly so. It's just they come in the last mile of the course when one has already been pushing for two. So, get up this hill as quickly as possible and I'm past lactate threshold here, near the point of panting. Recover at the top and I see I've gained here on this next guy who's just up ahead. I pass the mile 2 marker and note that I'm here in 14 something! So on a near 7 min/mile pace! Zoom down the hill that's past mile 2, quickly grab another water stop at the aid station, take a gulp, and pour the rest over my head. On a flat now with the last hill on the course just ahead and I'm gaining on two guys. The guy I had in my sights passes this other guy, but I'm catching both. Pass this other guy and just before the last hill I remark to the guy I had been chasing that he's looking good. He remarks that I'm looking strong and I say back we'll see how strong I am after this last hill. And it is difficult to push here but I'm over the top in short order and again recovering while using gravity to propel me down the hill. At the bottom of this last hill, I'm now into the final stretch of the race on a mostly flat section around a smaller portion of Lake Royer. Incredibly, I've passed six guys during run! I see folks starting the run around the course going up the first hill and kinda feel for them. I'm now alone on this last part and no one behind me is coming back to challenge. Round the lake I run, pushing as much as I can on this last part. Though it's a bit uncomfortable, my pace is strong here and I probably could maintain this for several more miles. Round another turn where volunteers tell me the Finish is just up ahead. And I know from practice that I can use gravity one last time on a slight downhill here. Pass the 3 mile sign and look at my watch… 20:49! O-M-Gosh! I'm here in sub-7 pace! It's now time to press on this very slight upgrade next before the final left turn to the Finish….round the corner and the Finish arch is in front of me! I sprint here with whatever I have left driving to the Finish! I remember that folks are cheering me on here but I don't remember specifics as my focus is on a strong finish. As I cross the Finish line, Ken Racine acknowledges this by calling out my name to the crowd, and I throw up my arms in triumph! Finished the Fort Ritchie 2012 Sprint Triathlon!!



WOW! Haven't set this pace on a course in a while and the course is no cake walk either. I've run this pace at Rumpass in Bumpass Sprint but it is a lightly rolling course with no hills like here. I'm extremely pleased with my performance here!

The run has become my forte and best part in recent years. Sprint strategy again worked and I can't think of anything that I'd do differently.

After the strong run effort, I'm understandably a bit out of sorts but not overly so. As I'm winding down, Ken also remarked that I beat my expected time of 1:25. This didn't sink in initially and wouldn't for a bit more until I saw the results. Nice volunteers congratulate me, hand me a wetted Finisher's towel, and take my timing chip. Move out of the way so that others might finish.

Now I suspected I did fairly well after my run performance, but I didn't know just how well I did until after I saw the preliminary results! I was hoping for 1:20 but thought it would be over 1:30 after my bike trial runs. So, something worked much better than I expected. As the results didn't have any splits, I wouldn't know until later that the bike and run were places I picked up a good amount of speed at and quite unexpectedly on the bike considering my test runs. Now, since I'm done so quickly, it's still early in the race and even more so for the Olympic folks. So, I mostly milled around talking to folks for quite sometime. I talked to George and Greg who finished ahead of me and also got something to eat. Good food for us with sandwiches, cookies, oranges, and bananas! There was a massage somewhere but didn't need it for this short of a race. Congratulated Jennifer M and talked to Jenn Erb as well. Jon had not come in yet but I did get to see him finish a bit later. Took pictures of the folks racing and the race crew. Then the folks racing the Olympic started to come in and I was able to congratulate them as well.

At last, it's awards time. George takes 3rd Men Overall and Greg takes top Male Masters. And so if they hadn't entered, I would've taken 3rd Overall. But, as I stated above, I took 1st in AG and took my place at the top podium spot when Ken Racine called my name! I kinda like being on the "1" block instead of being on the "3" block for overall. Made for a better picture too ;)

After most of the Olympic folks are nearly done, time to grab my gear and start heading home. Now I did stick around to see if I would win the raffle for a new wheelset and Ken indicated from the number that it was going to go to a Sprint person. Alas, the number was 13 lower than mine. Well, with that, said goodbyes and more congrats to the folks I knew there. And considering I was done so quickly with the run, I still had a 2 hour run for IM training to do.



Well, I still need to improve my swim and will continue to work on that. While I could still improve the engine on the bike (aka ME), I think the bike equipment itself has begun to limit my performance there.


Ken Racine and Racine Multisports really do put on a good race. Ken is a triathlete himself and continually strives to ensure the competitors have a good experience. The races are organized and well-planned with enough challenges for any level. The Ft Ritchie Sprint and Olympic are challenging, to be sure, especially for folks new to triathlons and also to Olympic distances. Still, I feel that just helps to push you or at least know what areas one still needs to work on. For me, the race is close enough where I don't have to spend a lot on travel either. I definitely would recommend it and also will be back in the future for one of the distances, perhaps the duathlon as well. If interested, I have created a photo album for the race.