Harrisburg Triathlon

I spent the first part of Father's Day competing in the Harrisburg Triathlon. This event wrapped up my spring schedule, now it's time to begin looking at the second half of the year, which could possibly include an olympic tri, some century rides, 5Ks and some longer trail runs. When it comes to triathlons, however, as much as I think I'd like to do a longer one, the convenience of training for, and my schedule, makes the sprint triathlon the ideal event for all around fitness for me.

Pre-Race

Nothing new here. My routine has been pretty much established: up early, a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee, and out the door and on the road. After checking in and securing my spot on the racks, I went for a 10 minute ride and a short run to warm-up. I also had an XS Energy Blast drink, which someone gave me to try.

Swim

I knew this was to be a PR day even before stepping foot in the water. The river at Harrisburg was almost at 6.00 feet, which meant I would be moving at a Phelps-like pace.

The swim began in three starts; I was in the third wave. As we were watching the first wave get ready, I noticed swimmers being sucked downstream and having to fight to regain their positions. This was only a few feet offshore. Last year in July, we had to swim out a about 20-25 yards to get in deep water. Fortunately there was a line in the water and most swimmers were able to secure a purchase on it.

When our wave was on deck, I grabbed a hold of the line, but didn't like my start position so I decided that with a minute warning, I was going to swim out and try to move down a little: big mistake. You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson by watching the previous waves, but I tried to go out a little and was immediately over my head. Next thing, I was being swept downriver, and knocking into people. Fortunately, they thought it was amusing. with about thirty seconds to go, I had no choice , but to point up stream and swim like I was in an endless pool. When the gun sounded, I simply turned around, and I was on my way downstream.

What a great swim. Normally, when I look up to sight on a buoy, I think, "wasn't the buoy that far away the last time I looked." Not yesterday, with the current, the buoys came into view, and were passed in no time. I was able to stay with the pack, and came out of the water just a little after the swim leaders. I knew my chances were now good, because my better events were coming up.

Bike

Harrisburg is a flat course, and last year I had trouble transitioning, because of all the spinning and unvarying terrain which didn't allow for position changes on the bike. I went out fast, and was right behind a guy in my age group. we were in a narrow part of the course, and I thought about passing, but didn't. After crossing the river, we headed up it, and I was right on his tail. Two things happened then which caused me to separate: 1) I felt my timing chip begin to come undone, so I had to slow down and fiddle with it, 2) my GPS wasn't on its mount properly and almost fell off, so I had to fiddle with that as well. When I looked back up, I realized I allowed a gap to open up, and it was a gap I wouldn't be able to make up. I did, however, pass riders at a steady clip, and passed another rider in my age group. I wasn't passed by anyone, but I couldn't gain ground on the rider I was initially right behind.

Run

After a great ride. I quickly got my shoes on and began to run out the transition area. I had caught up to a buddy of mine, Don A., on the bike and was focused on staying with him on the run. He quickly changed his shoes, and was gone, which caused me to hastily try to keep up. I got my shoes on, and went after him, but right before the timing mat realized I had my helmet still on. What a rookie mistake. Fortunately, I was able to place it on the ground without having to run back to my transition area. My legs recovered quickly and by the halfway point I was able to really open up my stride. I was trying to catch up to the guy who got ahead of me on the bike, but I couldn't find him. Then I saw him about 400 yards out. After crossing the bridge, I narrowed the gap to about 50 yards with only about 200 yards to go. I couldn't, however, catch him, and as it turned out, the 18 seconds between us was the difference between winning the age group and second place.

Results and Final Comments

* Time: 1:13:14; 54 seconds per 100 yards on the swim (current aided); 21.9 mph on the bike; 6:30 pace on the run. 27th overall; 2nd in my age group. I was the 4th fastest swimmer in my age group, 2nd fastest on the bike and fastest on the run.

* Once again, another great event by Chad Krebbs and his family. Thanks for all you do to make these races possible.

* One of the greatest moments of the race was when an organization called Athletes Serving Athletes crossed the finish line with a challenged athlete who completed his first triathlon. I'm not sure who the individual was, but he swam with the boy in a boat, biked with him in a trailer and pushed him in a jogging stroller on the run. I introduced myself to members of the organization, and am hoping to get involved in some way. To begin with, we're donating our jogging stroller to the organization, because equipment is one of their needs. Check them out: http://www.athletesservingathletes.org/1.html