Race Result

Racer:	Dan Grove
Race:	The Nation's Triathlon (TNT)
Date:	Saturday, September 29, 2007
Location:	Washington, DC
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 55 - 59
Time:	2:55:26
Age Group Place:	10 / 14

Race Report:

Wow - gorgeous course! The weather, the moon, the DC fireboats blasting water jets skyward during the national anthem, all were perfect. Pavel, your violin at the Reston Tri is much better than the anthem they played, I think you should serenade at Nation’s, too!

I hope this race thrives - the upgrade from 2006 was tremendous. I did this race a year ago, when they had to cancel the swim and substitute a 5K. The bike and run routes, packet pickup, finish line – everything except the transition area location – were new and better for 2007. The swim permit was possible only with a resolution from the DC City Council, no doubt more forthcoming since Adrian Fenty won the mayor’s race last fall. Both Fenty and his father did the race last year. This year, the mayor did an admirable 2:21, and then left to attend a teenager’s funeral. Sincere respect, I’m glad I don’t have to schedule such sensitive things on any occasion, much less after a race.

I volunteered at Savageman, and I think that’s the most beautiful rural course I’ve ever seen. This is the most beautiful urban course, and it’s a wonderful spectator’s event. I was startled last year when so many on the RATS and CATS listservs were trashing the brand-new Nation’s Tri, when I thought it was a great idea and worth supporting. The Nation’s organizers gave me, and the others who did last year’s race, a ‘thank you’ (or an apology for the swimless debut - I guess it depends on how you look at it) by discounting our entries by $50 this year. Classy. With the registration fee at Active.com, this cost me $94.78.

Packet pickup (11th & H NW – technical shirt & miscellaneous schwag, mandatory safety talk, free parking, I was there at noon on Thursday), email communications, and website were all superior. The interactive Google race maps were great! Anybody who didn’t know the course didn’t look online.

Day before: Friday, after a lack of sleep all week (a sick dog doesn’t help), I crashed around 9:30 PM. Untroubled sleep until 4:15 AM, a little before I’d planned to get up, but fine.

Race day: Usual bagel with peanut butter, a banana, coffee, and some Endurolytes. My blood pressure has been increasing for some reason, and I’ve been cutting back on sodium as a result. Cramps at the Luray Tri told me this was not good for racing, thus the Endurolytes.

I parked on K St. under the Whitehurst Freeway, biked to the transition area, set up, and hung out with the same guys as last year – the swim waves, and the rack spaces, were by age group again. We who proudly claim the geezer name (50+ men) were in the very last swim wave, almost an hour after the elites took off. Talked to Ed Zerkel, who was wearing his USAT official hat. A film crew doing a race documentary interviewed me – if I survive the cutting room floor, you’ll hear me say that the tri community is spectacular, and that the middle and back of the pack folks have more fun… ;-)

SWIM – why is anyone afraid of this river? Yes, it was a sewer in the past, but I’m a native, I’ve seen it recover. I’ve been upside down as a whitewater kayaker many times in the Potomac, with never a problem. The Georgetown site for this race is fine. I would not, however, swim below the Blue Plains treatment plant, or in the Anacostia tributary.

The waves were 4 minutes apart, to allow everyone to climb down onto a floating dock and then set up for the in-water start. We swam from the Washington Harbor up almost to Key Bridge, then back with the current to a lower spot on the Harbor, where we climbed ladders back to the deck. I followed some feet for a while (the water was clearer than Lake Audubon), then let them go, rolling on my back to look around. Yum! The sun was in our eyes on the return, but the Watergate was an easy target on the horizon. Relaxed swim, 33:17.

T1 – long trot up to the transition area, thru a mist tent that was probably more show than substance. I wore neoprene booties during the swim, which gave some foot protection but slowed down the transition. 5:48

BIKE – Hey, I’m hot, cruising effortlessly at 23 MPH! Um, then the turnaround at the end of Hains Point, and the headwind is brutal (the Awakening statue was so right… ;-). Up to Constitution Ave., right under the mall into the 9th St. tunnel, then retrace back and past the Tidal Basin for the second loop. Passing slower riders, being passed by faster guys on their second loop, lots of room on the course. 1:17:01

T2 – Ann’s waiting to give me a kiss as I exit, fun! 1:29

RUN – Gorgeous again, up the Whitehurst Freeway for a panoramic view of the river, down around the Tidal Basin, a quick tour of Constitution Ave., and then to the finish line near the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Ave., with the Capitol as a photo backdrop. No mile markers, and there was an unattended aid station at about mile 2 (lots of stuff, but no volunteers), but otherwise great. Water, Cytomax, Gu, and bananas were available at the aid stations. 57:53

Total time 2:55:26, a bit slower than Reston on a course that should have been much faster – I really was enjoying the scenery, not pushing it.

POST-RACE – Good food, changing tents (our post-race bags were trucked to the finish), massage, etc. Didn’t stay for the ceremonies (Jason Goyanko said the preliminary results were a bit off – he was right, and the awards may have been delayed a bit). Ann & I skipped the shuttle bus and walked back to the transition area (2 miles or so, but a beautiful day), then walked the bike and gear to the car, and had lunch and a beer at Chadwick’s.

The DC driving community got a triple whammy on race day, with a large book fair on the Mall and an anti-war demonstration near the Capitol helping to jam things up. The only coverage of the race in the Washington Post was about the traffic jam - yikes, Post, bad job! If the run course didn’t use the Whitehurst Freeway, Key Bridge wouldn’t have been impacted. The view from the Whitehurst was great, but that may be something to trade off for happier traffic next year.

Kudos to the race organizers for juggling so many jurisdictional fiefdoms and bureaucratic obstacles. Excellent flat and fast course, a spectator’s and photographer’s dream. This should draw a large out-of-town contingent in the future (I met a Costa Rican tri coach who flew in just for this one). Next year again for sure!