Catfish Triathlon, Harrisburg, PA

The Catfish Triathlon - 1000 yard swim, 14.5 mile bike, 2.8 mile run - was held this past Sunday on City Island in Harrisburg, PA. I woke up at 4:50, drank some coffee, packed last minute gear and headed to Harrisburg for the 7:00 a.m. start. I wanted to be there at least an hour to an hour and a half ahead of time to warm-up and relax. On the way out, I noticed the temperature was 81 degrees. This was almost 40 degrees warmer than the last two triathlons I did back in May.

Swim

After checking in, securing a spot in the transition area and warming up, I made my way to the north end of City Island to get ready for the swim. The swim was down river. I wasn't sure what to expect, because the water seemed low. The first wave went off at 7:00 and the second wave, my wave, made our way out into the river. After wading offshore about 20 yards the water was over my head, but not by much. I treaded water for about a minute, then wave 2 was off. It was really nice swimming with a current. It was easy to get into a rhythm, and I never felt as though I was exerting too much energy. I probably should have tried to swim faster, but I still tend to hold back in this part of the race and it always forces me to play catch-up later on. Although I'm comfortable swimming longer distances, I still don't know how hard to push. After proceeding downstream away from the starting area the water became more shallow. It was also clear and I was able to spot numerous aquatic organisms as I swam over them. It was also easy to stay on track. For one thing, the bedrock and faults in the bedrock are perpendicular to the current, so all I had to do was stay perpendicular to the bedrock and I knew I was heading straight. Second, the course was linear and parallel to the shore. We passed under three bridges, and right after the third one was a boat ramp, and that was our exit. Came out of the water feeling good and wasn't disoriented like I tended to be in past races.

Bike

When I got to the transition area, about half the bikes were gone, so once again, I was too slow in the swim and had to start playing catch-up. The bike course was flat, and I thought that was going to be nice, which it was, but it didn't work to my advantage. I started out in my small crank and spun at a high cadence and was able to maintain about 21-22 mph for the first part of the course. I slowly reeled in a few riders, but not many. At the half way point I switched to my large crank, and picked up speed, but still only picked off a few riders. Usually on the bike, I pick off a lot of riders, but then I realized, without hills, where I'm fairly strong, the other riders didn't slow down. When I got back to the transition, however, I noticed not too many bikes were back, so this was a good sign. I moved up more than I thought.

Run

Ughh! My legs were really shot after the bike ride. I was originally hoping to start out at around a 6:55 pace, but couldn't get my legs under me, and didn't get them under me until about the 1.5 mile mark.. After that, I was really able to pick up speed and caught a lot of other runners including at least three in my age group. All in all, the run wasn't too bad and I finished strong, but I didn't run as fast as I wanted to.

Results and Final Comments

* Not sure of my overall place yet, but I was 5th in my age group. I'm waiting for the results to be posted, because I want to see if it was, in fact, the swim that set me back.

This just in: I was actually 4th in my age group (53rd overall). And yes, It was the swim that did me in. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place all swam in 16:00 or less while my swim was in 22:00...the 4th fastest time in my age group. Gotta work on that swim.

* First swim without a wetsuit. I'm gaining more confidence here, and not having to mess with the wetsuit, shortens the transition.

* Flat vs. hilly course: riding this course was essentially a time trial, which required a constant pedal stroke. Also, my position in the saddle didn't change much. I felt it was actually harder to go from bike to run on this course, because there was no opportunity to coast or to change positions during the ride. A hilly course favors me more.

* I need to do some more brick workouts.

* I need to open up my swim. Guess I'm going to have to do longer pool intervals.

* Very well run triathlon with great volunteers. I recommend this one.

* Up next, the Marshman Sprint Triathlon in Downingtown.