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Race Result
| Racer: |
Richard Gendron |
| Race: |
Montclair Triathlon |
| Date: |
Sunday, July 13, 2008 |
| Location: |
Montclair, VA |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - Sprint |
| Age Group: |
Male 40 - 44 |
| Time: |
1:53:18 |
| Overall Place: |
58 / 296 |
| Age Group Place: |
9 / 47 |
| Comment: |
This was long for me (Stop Laughing IM/HIM) |
Race Report:
I could not pass up Montclair Sprint - less than an hour's drive from home. On closer inspection, this is not my kind of race. The Run(8k) to Bike(30K) ratio is higher than a standard Sprint, and the bike leg had some significant hills that we had to hit 3 times (3 loop course). I like hills, but they do not like me. But it was a 40 minute drive and had a 7:00 AM start, so I'd be home by 11:00. Not an A or a B race - just good training miles, and some distance.
Course - Swim course is essentially 500m out and back and there is a big white house that worked for sighting, if needed. Bike course started with a nasty little hill leaving the lake and then 6 lengths of the same piece of road with 6 hairpin turns - there were two hills, one much bigger than the other. The run course was 2 very hilly loops (including the nasty little one out of transition and the larger bike hill - twice). Excellent venue for spectators -racers pass by the same point (I'll call it the grandstand area) on the run/bike course a total of 9 times.
Pre-race - Ran into Kunkel in the parking lot and made our way -more than a mile - to the start area. Kevin is looking fit and his results show it, but I'll let him report. Heather Rosso saw my RATS shirt and introduced herself - I later saw her looking good on the run. Note for next year - use the bathroom at the gas station near 95 before going to the parking lot. There was a long line for porta-potties, I spent valuatble warm up minutes looking for an alternative.
Swim (20:51, 89/296, 12/47)- I've been effectively out of the water since my bike wreck back in May so I was worried about this one. We staged in the water right off the beach. Water was warm (79+ is my guess). I had not reviewed the course so I staged where I thought the best line was, to the right side of the start area. The lead group of swimmers from my wave apparently thought the LEFT side was much better. Well at least I had less traffic to contend with. I tried to stay long and just stroked it out like a workout rather than a race. I was ot really focused on teh swim - about 100 yards from the finish I started thinking ...."I left my bike in a big gear, hmm, gotta do something about that" I knew the swim was a poor result, but had no idea exactly how bad till after the race. Good news today - sore muscles, but no problem with the injury.
T1 (1:23, 30/296, 6/47) - I felt good, my HR was in a nice comfortable zone, I got through T smoothly and remembered to shift to the small ring and spin the crank. I had a little stumble on the mount, so I had to stop to get on (note to self, practice shoeless mount before next A race).
Bike (49:58, 16/296, 3/47 about 22.5-23 avg mph) - Took the hill on top of my shoes - slipped in and motored. Geoff (Team accelerade and WWVC) and his wife were at the grandstand area dishing out the motivation - it really helped. I took the first loop in a "let's see" mode. Dan Marocco (on his third lap I imagine) passed me and left me like I was on a trike. Did the second loop in a "preserve" mode, and then pulled the stops on the last lap. That was the best part of my race - I was on the fringes of blowing up, but things were flowing - a whistling sound in the back of my head. The trickiest part was planning around the hairpin turns. Like skiing on a crowded slope, I had to pick an inside line, commit to it and shout my position to slower riders taking outside lines. Need more speed early.
T2 (1:14, 60/296, 10/47) - Mentally I was done, so I took my time in T2 - even used socks.
Run (39:54, 128/296, 21/47, 8 min miles) - Ugggh - The hill out of transition just sucked - a few even walked it. The run course was on the sidewalk parallel to the bike course and a big line of cars that were unlucky enough to get caught on the bike course. So we were all sucking fumes in the first and third miles. It was starting to get hot. At the water stops they were offering water and HEET. My brain could not conceive why they were offering "heat" and it never occurred to me that it was a sports drink. I'm not sure, but I think I poured a full cup of HEET over my head - which would explain why I was a bit sticky on the ride home. I watched 3 runners in my age group pass by and really tried to hold the last one, to no avail. A post-surgical victory for me to go past 5K in a foot race.
All in all a nice day of racing and good feedback to help prep for my A races (Culpepper, Luray, and Giant Acorn Sprints). If I am correct there were six guys in my AG that I never saw, so the swim needs work. I need lots of pool time and more bricks.
Ratio to Top 5 .857164
VTS Weight - .91
VTS Score - .7800
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