5.21.17Just after Austin 70.3 last October, I began to look for upcoming 70.3's. I felt a little cheated by not getting to swim in Austin, and wanted to race again soon. I quickly found that my next option would be Galveston in April. Unfortunately, my schedule wouldn't allow for me to race that weekend, so, I chose Buffalo Springs in June. I believed that would be my 1st 70.3 of 2017.
In late 2016, Trident Sports, in collaboration with the FW CVB created TRI Fort Worth. The race was shopped to Ironman but, ultimately IM passed. So, TRIFW was scheduled to take place as a non IM branded event.
The chatter soon began with local TRI circles about who would race in this inaugural event. Some triathletes were excited about racing in year 1 in their hometown, while others wanted to wait a year so as to allow the kinks to get worked out. After some gentle nudges from my TRI buddies (and the mayor!), I registered.
For years, my hesitation with the 70.3 distance has been about the swim. I knew I would need to increase my swim training in preparation for the event. Fortunately, with access to a pool and Marine Creek Lake, I knew I could gain strength and confidence in the water. I had not been cycling much in 2017, and, had not ridden 56 miles since Austin. I'd been taking CycleBar classes, so, had some strength, but, would be lacking stamina in the saddle. Additionally, my running had decreased drastically since Cowtown, and, I had not completed a run over 6 miles since March.
I was able to get a few OWS in with friends who provided instruction, encouragement, and support. I continued with CycleBar a couple of times a week, and was able to get out on the Tri Bike a couple of times in the weeks leading up to the event. Additionally, I completed a tough Olympic Distance Tri 3 weeks before the event as a bit of a temperature check.
When race weekend arrived, I wouldn't say that I felt well trained, but, I felt as if I could complete the task at hand.
An in-town race certainly has it's benefits, as getting to the expo, athlete meetings, bike check in, etc, was super easy. Additionally, sleeping in my own bed and not having an super early start on race day was great.
I picked up my packet on Thursday. The swag: a cotton t-shirt, cheap backpack, cheap hat. And, the regular race stuff: swim cap and race stickers.
I prepped my gear on Friday, and would just need to put finishing touches on stuff before Saturday. I attended the 10 am Saturday athlete meeting to get last minute details. We were encouraged to check in ALL gear on Saturday.
The race had split, clean transitions, so, all gear would be bagged and staged the day before. After the athlete meeting, I headed home, packed transition bags, loaded up, and headed to Marine Creek. I dropped bike and T1 bag, and headed back to the convention center to drop T1 bag. T1 would be in a conference room. Quite a change from what I'm used to.
The forecast had been calling for rain all week and weekend. There was some concern about gear left out over night and race day conditions. That said, as I watched weather throughout the day, it was looking more and more like we would get no rain on Saturday night or Sunday.
The crew hung out and watched a movie the night before the race. The perfect, low-key evening with race friends. I was in bed early with a plan to leave the house by 6 to leave plenty of time for transition set-up. Alex was kind enough to offer me a ride so I didn't have to deal with the shuttle.
I was up by 4:30, had some low-key time, some oatmeal and coffee, and was out the door by 6.
It had, indeed, rained the the night before. I took an extra towel to wipe down the bike.
We arrived in plenty of time and set up was quick. It was great to see so many familiar faces. I had been told earlier in the week that 85% of the athletes were from the DFW area. Many of my buddies that chose to not race were volunteering.
Well, wouldn't you know it...after wiping down the bike and getting ready, the rain and lightning rolled in. The full distance athletes were scheduled to begin just before 7, with the half distance beginning a little after 8. That would be pushed a but. Other than the rain, the weather was nice and cool. It would be a great day to race. We waited out the rain and finally headed towards the water a little before 8:30. Lindsi and the boys made an appearance just before the race started, so, a round of hugs and fist bumps sent me off to the water.
Swim: This had been my area of challenge for many years, but, I felt no nervousness entering the water. I believe that a few factors led to that. 1) the swim course turned a corner, creating a "blind" course from the shore. Being unable to see the distance to the buoys likely helped, as sometimes that can be intimidating to see the swim distance and buoy placement. 2) confidence. While I'd only been in the open water a few times leading up to the race, I was far more comfortable than I'd ever been. I jumped of the dock at 8:35 an was off. My goal was a 45 minute swim, or, 2:08 per 100 yards for the 2112 yard swim. Based on my training times, this seemed quite reasonable. Fortunately, this was not a "big" race, so the potential chaos that can accompany any OWS swim was not there. I found plenty of room to swim and settled into a good rhythm. I felt really good in the water, saw lots of racing buddies early on, and, did my best to sight regularly to stay on course. The major issue with this swim was lack of buoys. We didn't have any buoys until the turn, which must have been close to the 1000 yard mark. And, that buoy was smallish. Several times, I asked, and heard others asking: "where the hell is the buoy?". Once we finally reached the 1st buoy, things got much easier and the course got clearer. We made a left, swam a couple of hundred yards, made another left and headed back. I felt strong and confident in the water. I did notice, however, that my swim would be long. I didn't believe that to be from the fact that I was off course, as I'd been mindful of swimming straight. When I exited the water, I checked my Garmin, and, sure enough, I'd swam 2461 yards. 350 yards longer than a standard course. My Garmin had me at 50:43, or 2:03 / 100 yards. The results had me at 55:36, or, 2:54 / 100 yards based on the 2112 yard standard distance. Not sure why the difference in time. But, I'd survived and felt good. I found a familiar face in Lexy to get my wetsuit stripped (I'll reserve comment on the aggressive nature of that), and headed up the hill to T1. I got high fives along the way from the boys.
T1: it was a long trip up a hill to T1. Once I got there, I took my time unpacking and packing my gear, applying sunscreen, etc. Total time: 5:50. I would get grief about this later.
Bike: I had not ridden the bike course prior to the race, but, had heard that the 1st 5 miles had some hills and then it flattened out a bit. I figured that it would get easier on the back half. I'd also heard that some of the shoulders were narrow and rough, and that there would likely be gravel and debris to avoid. As mentioned earlier, my bike training had been lacking, so, I was a bit concerned about this leg of the race. I'd averaged 17.25 mph in Austin, and hoped to do at least that in this race. I mounted the bike and felt good for the 1st several miles. I passed several cyclists and felt strong. I began taking in nutrition almost right away, as I was undernourished going into the run in Austin. I had tailwind in my aero bottle and one of my rear bottles, Nuun in the other rear bottle, and gels and waffles in my bento box. I averaged 17.78 mph for the 1st 25 miles, and felt good about how the ride was shaping up. I took a hot shot at mile 28 to prevent cramping. It was a little tough and messy to take while riding (note to self: a hot shot in T1 and another in T2 is the way to go). Just after the half way mark, things got tough. We continued to have hills and headwind, and, I began to feel some slight cramping. Throughout much of the ride, the roads were poor, and there was lots of gravel and debris. Tough conditions. My cramping worsened at about mile 45, and I worked to continue to take in salt and nutrition. As we passed marine creek and headed into downtown, we rode through the stockyards on Main Street. While the idea of it was cool, the brick surface was incredibly rough. My pace slowed considerably for the last half of the ride. This was due to a combination of factors, including: bike route, road conditions, fitness level, and cramping. Additionally, I am still not comfortable riding aero with the new bike set up. I need to consider a few tweaks before Buffalo Springs. When we approached Main Street hill, I dropped into a low gear and spun up it. It was easier than expected. I road through DT to the dismount line and headed to T2. When the ride was over, I'd averaged a slow 16.5 mph, but, was surprised that we had climbed 2200 ft. This ride was every bit as hilly as Austin. Surprising.
T2: we headed into the convention center and handed bikes to volunteers who would rack them. T2 was in a room in the convention center and bags were in rows by bib number. The air conditioned space and chairs to change shoes in was nice. I changed shoes and headwear, put on my race belt, etc, and headed out for the run.
Run: My run in Austin was a train wreck. I experienced cramping within the 1st mile, and, walked much of it. I was hoping that this run would be better. Id been more aware of my fueling on the bike, and, this would be an easier route, with fewer hills and heat. I headed out of the convention center towards Lancaster Ave. I knew there would be some tough hills on Lancaster, but, other than that, it would be relatively flat. I was sub 10 for my first mile, but, I had significant left achilles tendon pain, it was getting hot, and, I was gassed. I saw the family on the bridge and got fist bumps and hugs...a great boost. I headed out on to the trail, and the run / walking began. It would be a long 13.1. I felt "ok" through the 1st 6 miles, but, after that, I was walking far more than running. I made the turn and saw several buddies at that water stop, which was fun. I made the long slow trip back, walked the Lancaster hills, and mustered up the strength to run the last mile.
I made the turn to the finish and was greeted by many of my race friends cheering me in. A great way to finish. Total time: 7:09:51. I'd missed my sub 7 hour goal, but, was glad to have this one done. I learned a few things that I'll try to implement for Buffalo Springs.
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