Tri Ridgefield - TriathlonSprint

Here we go, ARE YOU READY TO RUMMMMBBBLLLEEEE!!!!!! The swim start was in waves with the 30-39 groups off first, followed by the 40-49's then the rest of the men, than the ladies in similar order, we were spaced out by 2 mins per wave. the first group goes off and you can immediately tell who spent time in the water and who was already in trouble, the washing machine was totally friggin cool!!!! So they call our wave and i was undecided if i wanted to start in the front or the back, after watching the disaster on the blue wave, i decided i need to get in the front and get ready to mosh it up bigtime!!!! So the count down starts 1 min....30 sec...heart is in throat.....15 secs, getting ready to run into water....10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 go!!!!!!!!!! the season starts and all the training is about to show or not...... Zoom into the water i go flying, nothing but a flurry of arms, feet, elbows and asses!!! i am right in the mix, i am getting slapped, kicked, elbowed, bodied and i am giving the shit right back!!!! This is totally freakin AWESOME!!!!! i wanted soooo bad to be good enough in the water to get in the machine and here i was, duking it out with the boys, i was in the "moment". So for about 1-200 meters i tarzan swam to keep my bearings, it was a little slow as we all jockeyed for position, i was finally able to get my grove and start swimming swimming, i am slapping feet, re-adjusting my bearings and passing peeps left and right. I could not find a draft partner so i would close, touch and then pass, i was in the grove and i could tell the countless hours and laps in the pool was paying off BIGTIME!!! As we get to the first buoy, i go wide to get a good angle and end up tangles with two other guys who took a crapp line, ahd to stop and doggy for a bit to let them get around, then drafted them for about 15 secs to get my rhythm going again, dipatched them as soon as i did and headed down the back straight. I had already started to pass blue caps from the previous wave, it was a bit of a zigg zag as they were everwhere, left, right, in front.... I am now flying, stroke nice and long, breathing and sighting perfect, totally relaxed and i can feel me flying in the water. Sight good the whole back straight and then approach the last turn buoy, this time i saw the guys with a sharp line and stayed to the outside a hair to not get tangled again and passed them with ease as they struggled to make the turn. Home stretch Baby!!!! i had not decided if i was going to turn up the gas or cruise, i decided to cruise as i was passing alot of people still, i am still confident and relaxed and breathing normal, i feel like i am hardly working. The last 200 i catch a glimpse of a green cap on my right and he is swimming right with me, so we have a little drag race to the end, we get out at the same time and as we do a dood with a yellow cap goes flying by us from the wave behind us!!!!! Holy shit that dood must have been flying, i follow him into T1 and get ready to FLY!!!!!

Get up front and avoid alot of the guys who want to mix it up and not swim well, it was a mosh pit trying to get free and clear, but i did not panic and had a great swim, i felt i could have done it 30 sec faster, but what would the cost have been?? I am really really pleased with the swim and effort, and honestly would not change a thing....

So out of swim you immediately cross timing mat and T1 starts, 300m run down and to racks. The RD did a great job and had astro turf carpets for us to run on, which helped get rid of sand and keep feet from getting chewed up. I am a little winded, remove cap and goggles, unzip wettie, pull to waist and follow Mr Yellow cap (who is flying) into T1. I racked next to Jon and that provided me with a perfectly open Transition area, we swam the same pace in practice so i knew his bike would be gone when i got into trans, and it was. Wettie off, helmet on, shoes on, unrack bike and away we go. Get to mount line and climb aboard, clip in no worries and away we go!!!

Learn to get into shoes on bike, other than that i had the 48th fastest T1, i am not complaining.

AHHHH the bike, those that know me know the love affair i have with it, i love my bike and love to ride it, i spec'd it, built it, fitted it and ride it, and i loved every minute of it. But this ride was different, for those who read my race reports, you know i do not run well, and since i have done two Duathlons earlier this year, i am BOP runner, get on bike and pass 100 people and then get repassed on the 2nd run by half of them, well today i swam first, and let me tell you, it was a novel experience to come into T1 and have 300 bikes still there, instead of 30, it was a true testament to the work i put into my swim, and today it payed off big time. The only problem i had was i only passed maybe 25 people, and WAS PASSED by a dozen or so, that was new, cause in the Du's i hardly ever get passed if at all, and then only on the big climbs and i would retake position on the next descent. Well today was different, but it was a great bike for me nonetheless. We climbed away from the race site, i passed Pat who had a monstrous swim, gave him kudos and told him to keep going, got into a nice rhythm, and was trucking along, about 3 miles into the ride i had realized i had not taken any GU, so i reach up and get one and squeeze it into my mouth, i almost choked..... i could not swallow it, lol, it was like glue in my mouth, so as i am chugging along at 21mph, choking on GU, i reach for my bottle and almost go off the road, haha, holy shit was that close, i spray gatorade all over me and my mouth, trying to breath and swallow and not wreck my bike, it musta been funny to see. I end up wearing as much gatorade and i get in my mouth, but at least i can breathe, lol. So we continue to trudge along, i am in the same pack of guys, they can all ride, i would get close on decents and they would pull away on the climbs. Ridgefield is a neat course, there is really only one large climb, everything else is short hard stuff, keeping momentum is key, and i did this well for the most part. So we go through the ups and downs, there are lots and lots of spectators and they are all cheering, i could not believe the amount of peeps up and atem to chear us on sooo early!!! so we get to Pope's corner, it is a wicked nasty down hill hairpin left turn off camber, i get into the big wheel before the turn, cause after the turn it is the fastest part of the course, down hill to 2 rollers and you need to carry speed.....alot of speed to get them comfortably, so i enter the corner and my brakes are squeeling, howling on the carbon rims, get through safe and sound and it is time to motor, CLYDESDALE COMING THROUGH!!!!! I hit 44.6 MPH on the downhill and fly up the first roller in the 50x11 gear, i pass two guys that had previously passed me on the first roller, and got to the 14 gear for the second and power over that, we swap a bit more and get through the last part of the course. We actually have a flat section here and i look down and see i am chugging along at 28mph, scheweet!!! nice easy pace legs felt good, and i am not killing myself to keep up. We turn onto the last bit of road, another down hiller and two more rollers, i am hammering down, chasing two guys in front, we end up going over the first roller 3 abreast in the big wheel and about 38 mph, this was totally freakin cool, there were 100 peeps watching this happen it was surreal, they were screaming, we were hammering and flying, totally freaking awesome!!!! At the bottom of the hill the road ends and you make a hard right and it is pretty much down hill to the Transition area, with a roller or two thrown in, but you don't hardly even notice them, we kinda all realized, there was no need for passing so we settled in for the final descent. I get out of my shoes and start riding on top, you approach the Route 7 intersection and the crowd starts getting larger and louder, and the adrenaline is pumping again, cruise towards the park entrance, leg over seat getting ready to jump off bike and dismount.

1 more year of training and i think i can have a top 50 or 25 in the bike. Take GU before hand and increase climbing ability. Get an aero bottle so i don't have to reach for water bottle.

63/348 for transition# 2, no problems here other than my own stoppidity. So i come flying down Haviland road, right foot on pedal, left leg over seat and get ready to do a flying dismount, come hammering into Trans, probably close to 20 mph coasting near dismount line, the volunteers are wide eyed and motioning with their hands wildly to stop, i grab a hand full of brake, and jump off the bike and do a perfect flying dismount, the crowd is cheering, as my left foot comes up it catches the shoe or tire of the bike and the bike gets lifted into the air, i never miss a step and fly into T2 and rack bike, helmet off, shoes on, turn around and head out.......the WRONG FREAKIN WAY AGAIN!!!!!!! Deja Vu from Central park, lol!!! Thank god i was only 2 racks from bike in, realize dumbfounded that i did it again and turn around a run out the other side, probably cost me 10 secs at most..DOH!!!!!!! Let me tell you, it is a nice feeling to be in T2 and there are only like 30-40 bikes there, flat out empty!!!

Remember where Trans out is, other than that, it was good, i will take 63/348 anyday!!!!

Well, the run......my bugaboo, bastard child, nemises, what ever you want to call it, I get out of T2 and start trudging, legs don't want to move, i am gasping for air, and my mind takes control of my body, i get 1/2 way up the first hill and i start to walk, High five a few kiddies, and continue to run, walk, run walk most of the first two miles, mostly all uphill. Get passed about mile .5 by the female overall winner, she was hauling ass. Passes passed and passed again, then Megan goes by, and she yells to me as she is rapidly approaching from behind, i give her a thumbs up and yell to go get um and she rapidly dissapears off in the distance. See a trend here.... Shortly after Chris (smoke) comes flying down the hill on his bike and tells me to get after it, i do my best, but the mind will just not allow me to go........ Any way, there were these two little kidlets, darlingly cute little girls maybe 5yrs and 3yrs, that had a water station set up in front of their house, with a little water jug and cups of water and NO ONE was going over to see them, the only problem was they were on the wrong side of the road, the road curved right and they were on the left and everyone was bypassing their obvious effort to be involved, well seeing i was not setting any land speed record in the run i went over to grab a cup of water from them, the look of glee that someone had stopped was worth all the BS that i get on my run, they cheered and high fived me and the mother said thank you very much, i hope i made their day, as they made mine!!! I take a sip and pour the rest over my head, drop the cup and start to run, i hear the mother yell to the kidlets, ok, now go get the cup......totally darling cute!!! from then on, i pretty much ran the whole way back to the end, but the damage was done, i choked up a top 100 after all the work in 2 miles of wogging. Soon after the kidlets were behind me Jeff passed by and gave some encouraging words to keep after it, it is nice to have friends like him in times like these, it keeps you from just walking off and quitting. As i near the finish chute there are tons and tons of people, kids parents family friends, yelling screaming hooting and hollaring, it was awesome, got a whole bunch of compliments on my Turbo Donkai Tri jersey, high fived kids when ever i could, and tried to just put the disappointment out of my head. As i get into the park, i hear the announcer call my # and the #4 woman is coming up fast behind, so i get into a sprint and cross in front of her.

That is all i got to say bout that run.......

heh, train my mind that I can run, stop thinking of failure on the run and think success

walked talked chatted, kiss my wife, find other Bt'ers, congratulate all that did soo sooo well, milled around ate talked some more watched finishers, packed up and hung out with Jeff, Pat, his fiance, Scott and my wife and had some beers once the park cleared out.


one word.........RUN


what can i say, my previous sprint Tri time was 1h40 and change, PR by 17 minutes, what do i have to complain about?? Well run, very organized, nice venue, great people, lotsa friends old and new, i will be back next year no doubts!!!