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Smith Mountain Lake Sprint
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Smith Mountain Lake Sprint - TriathlonSprint
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 Swim
Comments: This was my first OW swim! The water was Freagin 60F. Needless to say, I was nervous. We were called in the start area by our waves. I was in the 4th wave. I struck up conversations with others around me. "Oh, it's not that bad after the first 200 meters - then you are numb!" one 60+ year old guy said with insidious laugh. I look out at wave 1 and 2 racers are being hauled in a rescue boat. "Hey, it's only 12-15 minutes of the race" some husky 40 year old says. They call our wave in to the water. Did I mention it was too cold to do a run start! I guess they wanted to reduce the number of DNF's. I'm in the water and it's not that bad, oh yeah, right, I have a wetsuit and I haven't touched the water with my face yet!!! LOL! My plan was to start in the back on the left and fall in behind someone. The horn sounded and for about the first 100m I was either bumping into someone or swimming up on someone's butt! I guess I should have started up in the front! I would swim freestyle for about 30-45 seconds, run into someone, then do breastroke, sight, then do another 30-45 seconds free. I did this the whole way! I kept my thoughts in the moment; never thought of the bike or run - dahh, I was too busy. I ran into, we looked at each other, then I passed the "numb man". I bumped into the "12-15 minute" man, then passed him also. LOL. It was crazy the array of human expessions I would see on the swimmers faces as we happened to breathe at the same time!!! And then it was over! I exited and ran up the short hill, did a 2-step in the baby pool to wash my feet, and finished the run to my bike rack...OMG, that was FUN! What would you do differently?: Start in the front! I didn't realize how strong an OW swimmer I was. I would much rather have someone run into me. I would at least start off with clear water up ahead. I need to learn how to sight while swimming free. I have a great breastroke, so I didn't lose too much time.  Transition 1
Comments: MY HANDS WERE NUMB! I didn't realize this until I tried to pick up my socks and my shoes. I lost 30 seconds right here! Tri top went on ok. I had no problem removing my wetsuit. Helmet went on good. Run to transition was good. What would you do differently?: Blow into my hands as I exit the water.....  Bike
Comments: I ran the bike up the first hill as practiced. Actually, there was a race official there advising racers to do this. I passed several racers. The first 6 miles or so were great, then I lost a little concentration as the faster riders passed the other way on the loop. I finished strong and had a good dismount. What would you do differently?: Continue to build my strength, speed, and endurance. I KNOW this is where I can trim the most time! Transition 2
Comments: Racked my bike, removed my helmet, and grabbed my race belt! Easy as 1-2-3! What would you do differently?: Nada.  Run
Comments: I was determined to run the race I can. I started out with very little leg burn/whobble, so I knew I could run at my goal of 23:30. The first mile was flat, second uphill, last downhill. I hit my lap watch at the first mile 7:12. I knew then I could do it. I passed several runners and sprinted to the end! What would you do differently?: This felt AWESOME! Post race
Warm down: Grabbed some gatoraide and cookies. Found Chris(fraggle), met his wife, and talked some. Hit the bathroom, gathered my stuff and loaded up the car! Drank my celebratory beer. Went down to watch the awards ceremony, then drove back home. What limited your ability to perform faster: Maybe gain 1-2 minutes on the swim if I was out front. Maybe gain another 30-45 seconds if I had warmer hands in T1. Event comments: Good location for a race. There is a OLY in the fall here that I will consider doing someday. Last updated: 2005-04-22 12:00 AM
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 2005-05-09 3:30 PM |
Extreme Veteran  427   Winston-Salem, NC |  Subject: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint |
| 2005-05-09 4:13 PM in reply to: #155005 |
Veteran 279 Richmond, VA | Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Man, that water was cooooooold! My feet were numb before the gun even went off. Strong performance! |
| 2005-05-10 1:52 AM in reply to: #155005 |
Expert 897 Seattle WA | Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Great race!! I enjoyed reading the report. You rocked every step of this race!!! Way to go! |
| 2005-05-10 12:49 PM in reply to: #155005 |
Extreme Veteran 347 Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Wow Mark, what a fantastic race you had! I’m glad you were able to have so much fun. You really rocked that course. I’m very impressed and happy for you!
Keep up the great work! |
| 2005-05-10 2:26 PM in reply to: #155005 |
Elite 4344 | Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Great race. You really put the sprint into triathlon.We used to have a weekend place on Smith Mountain Lake. I always tried to go waterskiing as early in the season as possible. That water can be cold until well into June.Smith Mountain Lake is a beautiful area. I did a lot of swimming, biking and running around the lake too.TW |
| 2005-05-11 9:41 AM in reply to: #155005 |
Master 1791 Raleigh, North Carolina | Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Great race Mark. Way to hang in the cold water. You sure picked a heck of a water temp for your first open water swim. LOL! Your swim was very very fast! I agree with you - get up front. With that kind of speed, you're always going to be a FOP'er. Congrats on your great race. |
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Set-upinc.com
50F / 10C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 67/272
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 8/25
Drove up Friday afternoon, checked in, drove the bike course, decided not to swim b/c I overheard some racers talking about putting on cold/wet wetsuits in the morning (any excuse would do, it was cold!) Drove 45 minutes to my motel. Nuked my spaghetti that I had cooked at home earlier, ate, and checked/rechecked my gear. Set the alarmclock for 4:30, and tried to sleep. Got maybe 2 hours of solid sleep this time...much better than my last race!
4:30 finally came - ate a bagel and a banana, drank some coffee. I screwed up my back trying to put on my backpack...DAMN, hurt myself, and not even at the race yet! I choked down 3 advils with more coffee. Drank some water/hit the bathroom/drank some water/hit the bathroom...
Arrived at the race site 6:14...I like to arrive early so I have plenty of time to set things up and look the place over. Drug my gear and bike to my bike rack and set things up. Got my chip and then got marked. Race# 236! Stared at the LAKE again and yet again...Met and shook hands with Chris (fraggle). His T area was one rack down. Drank some more water.
Ran for about 10 minutes nice easy pace. Practiced the bike transitions more than a couple of times. There was a short steep hill right as you come across the mount line. I decided to run the bike up and mount on top of the hill. Went out and rode the bike for about 15 minutes. It was then time to put on the wetsuit. I sprayed my calfs,ankles,neck,shoulders,and underarms with Pam. I smelled like a Wok! I put on my wetsuit, then I took the long walk down to the LAKE!