RW Olympic Recap

Sunday, August 23, 2015
Rhode Warrior Olympic Distance Triathlon
RESULTS..scroll down for the olympic race
2:58:04, 2nd overall


With my well chronicled and often complained about knee issues of the past year, the Rhode Warrior Olympic Triathlon was scheduled to be my BIG race of the race.  When I say BIG, I'm referring to distance.  The thought of completing a half iron or even half marathon does not cross my mind.  As I've transitioned more towards triathlon and this particular race had me excited.  Based off the advertised distances (1 mile swim, 30 mile bike, and 6.5 mile run), I figured this race would match my strengths.  Training has been fun.  To ward off further knee injury and to keep my sanity, I've biked more this summer than ever.  My swim, which isn't fantastic, is competitive.  As for the run, my training is limited but I can tough it over most other triathletes.

Race day
Being a home town race, Shara and I slept in (4:45 am wake-up).  We quickly ate breakfast, did one final gear check, and headed down to Misquamicut for battle.  While setting up in transition, we ran into friend and teammate (what evcr did come of the proposed team competition?), Jeff Walker.  After all of our gear was set, Jeff and I went off for a very, easy warmup jog.  My knee was already talking to me--great!  While walking down to the swim with Shara, Jeff, and Super Fan, Mikey B., we all noticed that the swim distance seemed especially far.  I tried not to say too much about it because I did not want to psych any of us out.

Going into battle

Team WTAC

The SHARK and I..right before go time

Swim, 43:06, distance unknown

Before I knew, it was go time.  All of the men were starting in one wave, which really excited me because I'd know exactly where I'd stand throughout the race.  Shortly into the swim, my goggles filled with water.  This caused me some panic as I wear contacts and wanted to see as well as possible throughout the race.  Since the swim was on the long side, I decided it would be in my best interest to stop and fix those bad boys.  Unfortunately, my goggle issue carried on throughout the swim and I had to fix and re-adjust them at least 3 or 4 times.  Swimming along, it felt like I was going no where. Was I having a really tough, slow day in the water?  The only way I could tell was to gauge myself
off other competitors.  I was passing others rather than being passed, which was good for me mentally.  However, the flow of the current definitely changed.  In my head, I gave thought to what seemed to be a longer distance swim and a changing current.  Rather than dwelling on something I could not control, I swam on.  Focus.  Keep trying to catch people.  Spot buoys.  I kept moving.  As I was approaching the final buoy, I was suddenly passed by another competitor or possibly a fast moving shark.  This person/fish swam by me with authority.  I popped my head out of the water and sure enough...it was Shara (who started her swim a full 5 minutes after me)!  I put my head back in the water and tried to maintain my form.  I wanted to stay with Shara but it was pointless.  She is a far superior swimmer to me and I needed to focus on my own race.  You go, girl!  Before I knew it, I was out of the after and off to T1.

T1

Bike-ask Fast Finishes timing services
As I ran out of transition and mounted on my bike, I was a little bit in panic mode.  My wife had at least a minute or two on me and she started 5 minutes behind me.  In overall contention, I had no idea where I stood.  Heading out on Bradford Road, I caught up to Shara, offered her well wishes (No, really, I did), and let her know that I was in trouble and had a ton of time to make up on her.  After cruising along the bike course, it was time to head out on the dreaded Tomaquag Road.  While this road is almost completely free of traffic, I can't stand the bumps and road surfaces.  Riding on the road is anti-climatic and I just wanted to get off it.  The second half of the ride went by quickly and I felt strong.  I think I was passed by two riders and tried to keep them close enough where I could strike back at them on the run.  Towards the end of the ride coming down Shore Road and trying to cross Winnapaug Road, I had to come to a complete stop due to traffic.  A police officer was assigned to stop traffic but he was not ready for me. {*I later found out that the same officer had Shara and a bunch of other competitors ride down Winnapaug Road instead of following the proposed course.  There probably should have been a race official at that point so the officer could solely focus on traffic}.  Coming off the bike, I dismounted, drank some water, and felt pretty good.

Run, 6.5 miles, 40:35
Starting the run, I wanted to immediately get into a controlled, steady pace.  As I was leaving transition, Marc Burbelo was right in front of me.  I asked myself, "How and when did he get in front of me?"  As I passed Marc, I offered him well wishes and picked off another competitor whom I hadn't seen before in the race.  After passing a few competitors at the start of the run, I really did not see anyone else for quite a while.  While my legs were holding up pretty good, I was parched and could tell dehydration was looming.  I literally stopped at every water stop the rest of the way.  In some places I drank two drinks just to get water back into my system.  With about a 1 1/2 to go I came up on one last competitor.  Since it was a game of survival at this point, I carefully passed him and wished him well.  The final mile I was completely solo.  I crossed the line in 2nd place overall!

Post race
Shara came in shortly after I finished. She was 4th overall and beat the next women by 18 minutes!!  I was very proud of her win and overall performance.  On a side note- I was also happy that I was able to put 3 minutes between her and I.  I won't go down without a fight!  Despite all of the logistical nightmares with the long swim and current, issues on the bike course, and humidity, it was a great day for both of us.  Shara dominated and it was my highest placing in a triathlon ever.  I was also happy that my knee withstood the 6.5 mile run.

Post race.  Happy with results.

Other notes:
-It turns out Marc Burbelo and a group of other competitors were also led off course on the bike.  While coming back into the Misquamicut area they were directed back down Weekapaug Road by a race official.  Unfortunately, Marc was DQd.  I felt bad for him as it wasn't his fault and he self reported to the race director what happened.

-I know the ride was 30 miles and the run was 6.5.  The swim was definitely long.  How long exactly?  We may never never know..plus I don't wear a Garmin for TRIs.

-The race results still aren't perfect.  The only split that matches in my results is my swim.  The overall time was correct as well, but my transitions, bike, and run don't really exist.  It's frustrating because all triathletes want to know how they stacked up against the competition.  We may never know.  I do know that I completed the run in 40:35, which is about 6:15 pace.  I used my Timex to figure it out.

-Congratulations to Gazelle on finishing a grueling half iron and still placing in his age group.  It was a brutal day out there.