Danville Triathlon Race Report

The McDowell Wellness Center's Help Make a Difference Triathlon in Danville, KY was originally scheduled on July 29th but then this happened....

July 29, 2014

July 29, 2014

So they rescheduled to August 31st.  It is a small town, local race.  I was really impressed with the race director & the flexibility of rescheduling.  I have never been to a triathlon that was cancelled & just assumed they wouldn't be rescheduled because of the logistics of a triathlon.

After a stressful work week, a terrible nights sleep, a 5AM work conference call & once again rainy weather I didn't have any expectations for this race.  I considered not going but then figured since I already felt miserable I might as well go do a triathlon in crappy weather conditions.

8/30 - The night before 

Fortunately no lightening this time but it was pretty wet.  The heavy rain did hold off until just after I finished the race.

So sleepy

I got my new watch the day before.  I had a moment of panic as we were lining up because I couldn't remember how to get to triathlon mode but Steve walked me through it.  He is awesome.  He always gets up early with me & yesterday had to stand in the rain & watch us crazy fools get our tri on.  I also have to give a shout out to Jin who also drove to Danville to was us race.  Not sure who is crazier - them or us!

The race started about 8:15.  There were probably between 50-60 people competing.  The swimmers went off every 10 seconds so I was in the pool in no time.  The swim was 300 yards.  Somehow I was super lucky & had a really clean & clear swim.  You can see there was no one in my lane at 75 yards but the lane next to me was a cluster.  Thankfully it wasn't me in the cluster this time although Audrey (yellow cap) looked to be in the mix.  With such clear water I was able to really stretch out.  I breathed every 2 strokes this time instead of my usual every 3rd stroke.

Total 300 yard swim time = 6m50s.  1st of 3 in age group! Woot!  That has never happened before!

I didn't bother trying to go fast in transition.  Since it was so rainy I put all my stuff in a garbage bag to keep it relatively dry.  For the most part it worked well.  I decided I didn't want to run in soaking wet socks so I went without socks on the bike.  I never do this but fortunately it worked out just fine.

T1 = 2m11s

I had never been on this bike course so I had no idea what to expect.  The course was great & I think I only had 1 car pass me in 18.5 miles.  It was an out & back bike which is my favorite.  The ride out felt great & I felt like I was cruising at a good clip.  Around mile 5 I started to wonder if I had a tail wind because it felt too easy.  Well I was right.  The ride back was quite a bit tougher thanks to a head wind.  The ride out was spent mostly in big gear but the ride back was in small gear.  I was worried I was cooking my legs & the run would be miserable so I was trying to stay in small gear on the way back.

I heard the miles clicking off on my watch but had no idea what my time was - couldn't figure out how to display the elapsed time on my new watch while riding.  When I got back to transition Steve told me I was out for 1 hour 8 minutes so I super pleased.  When I got home & looked at my Garmin I was really surprised to see the splits.

Bike splits from my new Garmin

Total 18.5 mile Bike Time = 1h07m44s - 16.4 mph - 2nd of 3 in Age Group

T2 = 1m19s

Again T2 wasn't speedy but uneventful.  I had 4 miles running ahead of me & was really wondering how I would do.  Since ramping up my bike miles I dropped my weekly runs from 3 to 2 per week so I was thinking I would be happy with a 12 minute mile.  I went out with my usual plan of running 1 mile, walking 1 minute.   When the first mile clicked off I was pleasantly surprised to see a 10m04s mile.

I have been suffering from side stitches during the run in the last couple of races. I think this has to do with the fact I haven't been doing any bricks in training this summer.   I hope to remember that for next season.  The run was a lollipop course through the local neighborhood with some minor hills.  My pace dropped off a bit for miles 2-4 but the average was still in the 10's even with the side stitch.

I was so happy to cross the finish line & thrilled to hear the announcer say my total time was just under 2 hours!

Total 4 mile run time = 41m20s - 3rd of 3 in Age Group

Total Time = 1h59m27s - 2nd Place in Age Group

Audrey at the finish

The other cool thing about doing a small race is if you show up & finish you win an age group award.  Audrey & I both came in 2nd in our age groups.

The drive to Danville took about 40 minutes.  We didn't leave the house until about 6:25AM & got there a few minutes after 7AM.  Not a ton of people do this race so check in was super fast.  The parking lot is right next to transition so setup was quick.  So many plusses for a local race.  I really look forward to doing this race again next year hopefully in better weather!