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Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev
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Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev - TriathlonOlympic
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 Swim
Comments: As soon as we were allowed we made our way down to the dock as I really wanted to get in the water and get as much swim warm-up in as possible. At this point I should admit that I came in to Knoxville as a capital "A" race, but just as I slipped into the water I saw Bruce Gennari go into the water just ahead of me. "aw, shit." I sad to myself "Now I am racing for second). Just like that I am racing for second. If you don't know Bruce suffice it to say he is fast; his swim is just in an entirely different league from just about any other triathlete, pros included. He is an age group national champion, and came in 4th at worlds. In his first trip to Kona he even beat all of the pros out of the water. He always puts so much time on us mere AG mortals it is just impossible to make up the distance on an Olympic distance race. I put that on the list of "shit you cannot control" and got to warming up. Since I did not not get to swim the day before I was not really sure what to expect, but between by full suit, booties, earplugs, and neoprene swim cap sandwich I honestly never really thought about it. Todd and I were warming up together and he stopped to ask me how much time we had left. I said "I do't know, maybe 4 minutes?" and just as we turned to swim away from the group for a little more warm-up the announcer said "FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE......" and we turned around and sprinted for the start line which was about 30 meters away. "Great Start!" I thought to myself as I hammered toward the start. I know my swim has gotten much better, but I was still surprised how quickly I closed the gap and then went through the group . It was about a 500 meter swim to the turn buoy and we had lots of space all the way there. After the turn to head back down river I settled in a little more and began to moderate my pace and really focus on my form a little more. It was on the return trip that I really noticed how much the neoprene cap floated my head. I already have a tendency to lift my head and look forward too much and have really been working on that, but the cap made it necessary for me to really concentrate on keeping my head down. Just after the turn the rain REALLLLLY started coming down, and it was kinda cool to feel it pounding on your back. Also just after the turn my right contact just popped out - which was very strange. No water in the goggles, and no contact from another swimmer - it just popped out. That was a little disconcerting, as if I lost my second one I would be done for the day - I am blind as a bat without them. I swam nice and straight but fairly wide of the buoys and only angled in after passing the second to last one. While coming in like always I began to visualize my T1 and made the decision to skip arm warmers as I knew they would be difficult to get on wet. I was still planing on gloves. What would you do differently?: This was a very god swim for me - I was excited to see 23:xx on my watch when I hoisted myself out of the water. A little more situational awareness would have helped at the beginning of the race, just because it would have kept me from swimming an extra 25 or 30 yards. Getting way from the bulk of the group for a change was awesome, but if I had of started on the front I might have been able to get on some feet instead of swimming solo the whole way. And it is about time I finally get Lasik.  Transition 1
Comments: When we got to the swim out we had to hoist ourselves out like at the deep end of a pool, and both legs immediately cramped up just a bit which was a surprise, but it seemed like it was happening to lots of folks as they were falling back in the water and some racers were even kinda rolling around on the dock trying to stand up - nutty. I kept my legs moving and the cramps disappeared as quickly as they came on. It was relatively long run up to the transition, and this is where the booties really shined. Swim cap, goggles, and desoto top came off well on the run, then walked out of the bottoms and stripped the boties off quickly when I got to my bike. I got on my helmet and shoes, and then fiddle farted around with my gloves for about 5 seconds but then said "screw it," and jammed then into my tri top to put on when I got out on the bike. My rack spot was genuinely as bad as it could be as it was right next to the swim run in. Due to the conditions and not being able to reconnoiter the beginning of the bike course I had decided to play it safe and run out with my shoes already on. It was a looooooong run to the exit. What would you do differently?: I ditched the arm warmers, not sure why I was not smart enough to make the same decision about the gloves. Maybe I should have run with my shoes in my hand to the bike out and put them on there, but I did run fast in them and it would have only saved a few seconds maybe. I still think it was a good idea to not try and get them on while on the bike based on the conditions.  Bike
Comments: Took advantage of the adrenaline rush coming out of T1 and hammered it out of town. Just after we crossed a series of railroad tracks I saw Ben Cagle (recognizable by his Captain America get-up) stopped on the side of the road with an apparent flat tire. Immediately after that there were several other folks pulled over with the same. Bummer. Due to the rain I was running much lower than normal tire pressure and once I saw that I was very glad to be running tubulars - low pressure over those tracks would be just asking for a pinch flat, but as it was I was able to cruise through them without touching the brakes.  I really did not get a chance to study the course in any detail, but I did know the course was sharply rolling and that there were only a couple of hills of any real consequence. One of the nice things about Rev3 is that they provide files of all their courses online, and I had taken the opportunity to load the bike route up on my Garmin 800. It was nice not to have to make the file myself for a change, but I was not sure if it would work as the 800 can be ticky if you don't make the file just right. It worked flawlessly and was actually a huge benefit in the rain as I set it to give me turn-by-turn directions and to alert me to each turn 400 feet out. The biggest benefit of the 800 on a course like this one though is that I have the primary screen set to show a 2 mile look-ahead elevation graph along with my 3 second power and heart rate. It is almost like cheating.... Folks were spaced out nicely and I just rode from person to person holding my power at a steady 230 watts. I would stick to that power on the little climbs and would get passed her and there because of it, but those folks would come back quickly on the descents. It always amazes me how upside down folks ride on the ups and downs - really laying down the effort on the climbs and the freewheeling the descents. To each his own, but I have found I race much better with a more consistent VI. I did back the power down on the descents just a bit due to the rain and wound up with an average of around 215 watts for the day. I only had a couple of hairy moments: one when I was passing and the dude swerved over to dodge a pothole or something, and he pushed me over the yellow line, and another when an oncoming car decided they just could not wait to get around a group of cyclists coming the other direction so they came over into our lane. I only had to pass one car, and they saw me coming and moved over enough to give me plenty of space on the left to get around. All pretty normal stuff on an open course, just a little more sketchy due to the weather. and of course that I was forced to ride with one eye closed most of the time - great for depth perception and in the rain no less. It was raining buckets when we came back into town and it was tough to see - I wound up plowing through one pothole and just managed to dodge a couple of others. I slowed up a bit so that I could get a gel down and drink some - I realized that I had been neglecting these things again due to the conditions. It was just tough to let go of the grips. I was aero the whole time except on the little climby bits. Finally, there has been much made of the cold, but for some reason I never even thought about it - I don't remember being cold once. I totally forgot that I had a pair of gloves stuck in the front of my suit, but honestly I never needed them. I guess once it was "on" I just did not think about the temperature. I am sure if I was doing the half I might have felt a little different. What would you do differently?: This is one of those races where I just don't know where I would have made up even a few seconds - I rode to the ability of my fitness and was only slowed down by the limit of my bike handling skills when it was warranted. Based on what I knew of this course I was expecting a 2:07ish in good conditions, so all things considered I was very happy with this ride. 3rd fastest ride in the AG and moved up to second place on the ride. Transition 2
Comments: Having not been able to do my usual course recon, I really had no idea we were coming into T2 until we were right on top of it, so I was not able to get my feet out of my shoes before the dismount line. I hopped off quickly, but since the bike in and out were at the same end of the transition area I had another long run to my spot. overshot my row and then couldn't quite figure out which slot to rack where my bike was supposed to go. helmet and shoes off fas, slipped on my flats, grabbed my race belt and visor and out. What would you do differently?: Again, this was fairly quick considering, but I should have paid more attention to the racking before the race start. I like the Rev3 rack system a lot, but boy all those little slots look the same when you roll back in and they are empty. But that is a good problem to have I suppose. :) I could have saved a few more seconds if I did not have to make the long run in my cycling shoes, but ah, well. The run out and first aid station was literally right next to my rack, so I had tons of people yelling at me to "GO! GO! GO!" so that was kinda energizing. Just as i ran through the aid station I realized I still had my gloves stuck up my front, so I tossed them out and shouted that I would pick them up on my return.  Run
Comments: I ran out really working on leg turnover to get them going and did not worry too much about speed. The pros were coming in one-by-one as we were going out, but I only really got my wits about me enough to pay attention to them after about 800 meters. Just before turning into the park there was a long straight away and we could get a good look at the women pros coming in - it is just crazy how quick and effortless they look (until they get close - then you can really tell they are in a world of hurt just like everyone else racing). Just as we turned down into the park one runner came around me from a younger age group and got a little gap on me, which was good because it got me focused on getting settled in. I managed to run back up to him and then picked it up and just like on the bike just ran person to person. I grabbed a cup of water at each aid station and popped off a gel at about the 1.5 mile mark.  I was keeping an eye out for Todd who I figured was a little in front of me, but when I did not see him at the turn around I thought "oh lord he is behind me and it is going to be an epic foot race to the finish." I love out and back races as it lets you get good time checks, and when I did not see him until a little over 2 minutes from the turn (for a 4+ minute deficit) I was simultaneously disappointed and relieved that he was out of time to close me down. It is usually me trying to run him down in vain. With about two miles to go I pretty much buried it and really began to suffer in earnest as my quads were threatening to lock up on me. But I just kept running from person to person and making as hard of passes as I was able. Despite the pouring rain I actually felt like I was getting a little warm and unzipped somewhere along the way. Once we made the turn onto the main road headed back toward the finish we ran into a nice little beating headwind that was a little miserable, but I made it up to a couple of guys that were moving OK and sat in behind them for a few seconds to gather myself up for one last push to the finish. As I came around them one of them said that they were happy I was not in their age group and some other nice things, but all I could do was motion for them to come on. Sorry - I just could not say a word. As we hit the little climb headed toward the finish there was one more catchable guy in front of me and when he saw me at the overpass he picked it up. As I gained on him all I could see on his leg was a "6" as the preceding number was rubbed off. Figuring he was in my age group I screwed myself up for one last effort and wound up being just a step behind at the finish. Fortunately for his number that was rubbed off was a "2" so he was actually from the under 40 group in front of our old man wave.  What would you do differently?: I have thought it through quite a bit and I really don't know where I could have made up an extra second. There was lots of ankle-deep water that we had to run through and even there was not standing water the course was fairly slick, but I still thought this was a pretty good run all told. I was expecting to run under 41, but based on the conditions I will take sub 43. Post race
Warm down: Crossed the finish line, got my finishers stuff, grabbed a foil blanket and a big cup of steaming chicken broth from the med tent, then waited for Todd to come across the finish line. We hooked up with Molly, grabbed some barbecue sandwiches and other food and headed up to the hotel room for hot showers and dry clothes. We were tracking JT but she picked her bike pace somewhat on the last 3rd of the course and we just missed her going out of T2 for her half marathon run. We were able to grab all of her stuff as well though except for her bike. Back to the hotel room to sort out and pack all of our stuff, then down to the Olympic awards ceremony. We kept tracking JT and did the Rev3 run across the finish line with her. She did awesome - stayed nice and steady through the whole run and just got bumped off the AG podium in the last 5 miles. Anyone that finished the HIM in those condition is one BAMF in my book. I think I might have pulled the plug on that one.  What limited your ability to perform faster: Even though I did not win the AG as I had hoped (you can't control who shows up) this was still a very, very good race for me. The bike was on the slow side, but in looking at overall times it was just a slow day for everyone. My swim looks better than ever and I can still run OK. It is not often that I feel this way after a race, but I just don't feel like I left a whole lot of seconds out on the course. Certainly not enough that would have made a difference today. I would have liked to make it up the day before and do all of the normal pre-race stuff, but based on the circumstances I am just glad I got to race! Event comments: As my first Rev3 race I have to say this was a very fun, well-run event and I am looking forward to our next one. It is too bad the weather turned out the way it did as a number of the fun family events that Rev3 is known for were cancelled, but the entire management and volunteers were awesome through-and-through. Even though we had to race in pretty crumby conditions, at least we could get in and out of the rain - the rev3 folks were in it all night and all day. It will have to be after IMLP, but we are already trying to figure out what our next one will be - since we all did fairly well in our respective divisions it would be fun to try and secure a spot in their AG championship race which will be in Knoxville next year. For those of you who have asked about her, here is a picture of our post-op kitty. Since her surgery she is starving all the time and for some reason she has decided that if she sits in her food bowl she might get fed a little faster. She is going to be in the "Cone of Shame" for two weeks, then on daily steroids for the duration. I suppose I will need to look into getting her a TUE if she is going to keep competing....  Last updated: 2013-02-18 12:00 AM
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 2013-05-11 1:57 PM |
Master  2912    ...at home in The ATL |  Subject: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev |
| 2013-05-11 4:08 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
Master 6834   Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Wow, I knew the course conditions were tough, but I didn't realize how tough. That is an awesome job! I agree with the Rev3 statements, they seem to really be working to put on a good event filled weekend. Congrats to both of you. |
| 2013-05-11 4:35 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
Veteran 1677 Houston, Texas | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Really great race, Rusty....despite the tough conditions, not having enough time for course recon, and having to worry about your critter's health. The way Rev3 treated you through the whole situation really speaks volumes about them, and I hope to race with them someday. Congrats on a well-run race (for both you and JT) and best wishes for a full recovery for your kitty! |
| 2013-05-11 5:28 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
Expert 799 Waukesha, WI | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Nice race! |
| 2013-05-11 5:30 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
New user 322 KY | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Loved your race report. As a finisher of the Half, I enjoyed reading it and reliving the pain, lol! Sounds like you had a killer race and a very solid run in those conditions! Well done. |
| 2013-05-11 7:23 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Master 10208 Northern IL | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Nice job Rusty! I remember that guy you chased at the finish, and seeing what must have been Bruce go by in the swim. Glad things are going ok for you. |
| 2013-05-11 7:27 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Payson, AZ | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Awesome race. I've been wanting to do a Rev3 race for a while now, this just reenforces it. My cat throws his food dish around when it is empty (always great in the middle of the night) so I respect your cats method for more food |
| 2013-05-12 12:25 AM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Great job for you and your wife. Glad the cat is okay as well. When Rev3 first emerged, I was really hoping they would catch on and survive. It sure seems like they are doing all the right things to succeed. |
| 2013-05-12 6:58 AM in reply to: #4737840 |
Master 3058 South Alabama | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Rusty-great race report and outstanding result on such a crappy day. Nicely done! |
| 2013-05-12 7:03 AM in reply to: #4737840 |
Master 2411 Goodyear, AZ | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Well done Rusty! I never get to race in the rain, so that looks kind of miserable LOL. Great pics though and huge congrats on the podium! PS: Your RR gets extra Kudos for a cat picture...hope the little furry friend is all better! |
| 2013-05-13 9:23 AM in reply to: #4737840 |
Master 2770 Central Kansas | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Great job, Rusty. You had so many distractions but you pulled together a fantastic race in less than optimal conditions. Your kitty is adorable. I am glad she is feeling better. |
| 2013-05-13 1:52 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
Expert 1260 Norton Shores, MI | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Great race Rusty! Sounds like some crazy conditions...58 degree water is COLD! Really nice splits across the board and really seems like your run has come a long way. Nice job! |
| 2013-05-13 3:06 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
Master 2621 Mechanicsburg, PA | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev |
 2013-05-13 3:28 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
| 2013-05-14 2:25 AM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Melon Presser 52116 | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Hot. Fast. Lover of pets. BAMF with a BAMF hottie for a wife. Is there anything you aren't or can't do? |
| 2013-05-14 4:39 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Awesome race and great report. I was trying to think of a way to turn it into a drinking game and invent something but nothing came to mind.
It kind of looks like a Seattle event. Perhaps you two should come do a race or two here, it seems to suit you guys |
| 2013-05-14 7:16 PM in reply to: #4737840 |
| Veteran 945 South Windsor, CT | Subject: RE: Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev Always fun to read your race reports. It is usually filled with exquisite detail that leads one to want to read more... and root for you to keep going. Very eloquent. I'm happy you were able to race. I had a similiar experience with the Rev3. You may not remember that my first triathlon, last year, was rev3 Quassy and I failed to actually hit the submit button on my registration and was able to get into the race anyway. Classy organization and it seemed they went the extra mile for you and likely do it for many. Solid race all the way around. Your swim time is excellent and you have excelled on the bike for a while. I'd bet if you (and I fall into the same-actually worse category) shed a few pounds, you would drop some time on the run, but who really cares.
I'm happy you did so well. Congratulations on your AG finish! Very impressive. Hope you make the big race next year... |
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United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
53F / 12C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 50/355
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 2/23
Well, this did not go as planned, but I'll spare the bulk of the non-tri details.
Suffice it to say that JT and I were supposed to leave when she got off work friday afternoon, but we woke up to a very, very sick pet. So rather than obsessing about pre-race details like I normally would I instead rushed her to the vet which led to a day of tests and various trips to other specialist vets for more tests. While in the middle of all that I did manage to get the car packed up with all of our gear (I was racing the Olympic distance race and JT was racing the half) but I was already pretty sure I was not going to get to drive up based on what our primary vet was telling me.
JT and I conferred when she got home, and she struck out for Knoxville alone while I waited in Atlanta to get the rest of the test results back on Saturday morning. I fired an email off to the RD to inquire about the possibility of a late check-in, but did not hold my breath as "rules is rules." If the tests came back OK and the little critter was stable, I planned to catch a late afternoon flight up to Knoxville so that I could at least cheer on JT and the rest of our friends that were racing. A little after mid-day I got a call from JT saying that she was able to speak with the race coordinator and she had given her cell number to her and told me to call her if/when I got in. Things were looking a little better on the pet front (surgery scheduled for tuesday) so I scheduled the pet sitter, booked a ticket, packed a carry-on, called a cab, and headed for the airport.
After a perfectly unremarkable flight I arrived in Knoxville right on time and raced to the hotel, which was right at the finish line. I called the race coordinator, she was still working to set up the med tent and she said come on down so I made a beeline for her. She was awesome: she already had all of my check-in stuff together and put me on the pro list that would let me bring my bike to transition in the morning. I thanked her profusely (there really was no reason for Rev3 to bend the rules for me) and headed up to the room to get my race gear n order. When I got there JT already had unpacked all of my stuff and had it organized - that let me get my transition bag together and everything double/triple checked in less than 30 minutes. She had also ordered up some rom service so we just ate a relatively good pasta dinner in the room and got to bed before 10 pm.
Since JT was racing the half, we got up early (alarms went off at 4:30) ate breakfast (banana, oatmeal, & yogurt for me) got our tats on and I went down to get my bike out of the care and ready to go. We walked in the rain to the transition area which was about a 10 minute easy walk from the hotel. Since I was pushing my bike a number of people asked what my name was, was I a pro, etc. which I thought was pretty funny.
Since I was not able to do any course reconnaissance JT filled me in on everything that she learned and as we got to the transition area I was very happy to find out it was in a large parking deck so everything would stay nice and dry no matter how the weather turned out. Since I got there so early with JT I was the first to get set-up down on my end where the olympic racers were set up. I still had not decided how I was going to roll on the bike, so I laid out arm warmers and gloves just in case I wanted them. Toe warmers were the only thing I was sure of so I put them on my shoes. And walked down to find JT.
JT's half wave was going off a good hour before mine, so I put on my wetsuit (including booties) to stay warm and walked down to the starting line with her. This was the only part I was really worried about as I was going to be out in the cold for about an 1.5 hours before I went in the water and was not sure how good of an idea that would be. But I really wanted to see her start, so I just sucked it up. When we got down to the start there was a large covered pavilion we could huddle while we waited, but did have to get back out in the rain to where we could actually see them go off. Even in my full suit I was getting a bit of a chill so I went ahead and put on my swim cap/neoprene cap/swim cap sandwich and that helped out a good bit. Molly showed up right as I was wishing JT good luck - it was nice to have someone to hang out with and chat while I was waiting the hour or so left before the the Olympic race began. It was kinda crazy watching the swim waves go off: there were people that went out on the dock but did not get in, there were folks that jumped into the water, but got haled right back out, and even some that committed to the swim but were immediately breast stroking or on their back. I have never seen anything like it.
Todd showed up about 15 minutes before our wave went off and we both started warming up in earnest.