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Race Result

Racer: Doug Steele
Race: Spud Short Triathlon
Date: Sunday, June 13, 2004
Location: General Smallwood State Park, MD
Race Type: Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group: Male 35 - 39
Time: 1:23:22
Overall Place: 7 / 393
Age Group Place: 1 / 35
Comment: Nice Wheels!!



Race Report:



This is my first RR ever and 2nd sprint race ever. Last April I cut my teeth on a small race at Worldgate, 450 yd indoor sw / 17.2 mile bike / 2 mile run and placed 1st overall at 1:09:50. Not really worth reporting but it was a valuable learning experience in a laid back environment.

I strolled into Spud with a strong odor of “newbieness”, but at least I knew how to rack my bike. I decided to arrive Sat. afternoon to scope out the bike/run course. Fortunately, I ran into a buddy, Brian Crow, and he joined me as navigator in my car. The first thing I noticed was the hill just outside of the transition area….not that big of a deal for the bike…..not a friendly way to start the run….mental note taken. The rest of the course resembled the rolling hills of Reston and I was comfortable with that.

I stayed at the Super 8 or should I say the “Smoky 8” on Rte. 210. The entire hotel smelled like an ash tray…..it was nasty.

I arrived at the race at 5:00 and pretty much had my choice for the transition place. I ran into Mike Smith, said hello and good luck. I also ran into some of my swimming buddies Doug Landau, Mark Lander, and John Brannock, and we chatted about the race and why I smelled like a cigarette. I knew it was time to head to the swim start when Brad Jaegar started threatening racers through his handy bullhorn. Shot of GU….wetsuit on….quick water warm up… and I was ready to go.

The swim went well, I drafted off a solid swimmer for the first leg and when he started to fade I pulled out and headed in. The T1 was pretty uneventful and I was excited to be finished with my first open swim portion of the race….I didn’t die.

I hit the hill and passed a few bikers that were in my wave and then passed a few stragglers in the previous wave. I suddenly came up on a group and they all had really nice wheels….common sense told me that these guys were the leaders out of the water..I pulled up to one of them and immediately recognized Doug Landau. Trying not to be obnoxious I asked him if anyone was in front of us…..just then a freight train blew buy us…we were both surprised. The freight train figured out that he made it to the front and quickly pulled back…our group caught up with him and we mingled for a while. At about mile 10 we hit an area that I wanted to really push….so being a newbie and feeling fairly frisky I waited for the next hill and went. The freight train came with me and stuck with me for a while. He then must have figured out that I was a newbie and backed off, at least enough to keep me in his sights. For some reason I felt compelled to hammer and I did, I knew the freight train had it in him, so I didn’t let up. Flew into the park and screamed to a halt at T2………legs felt pretty good but I was breathing pretty hard.

T2 was pretty easy and by the time I got goin through the gate the freight train rolled in. Legs were still feeling good but I was still breathing pretty hard. I slowed down a bit to recover and then I turned the corner and ran into the mental note that I forgot about!…. The hill…. I was redlining about 25 yards into it. The freight train caught me at the top. It took me about a mile and a half to feel somewhat better. The whole time I was having an argument between my legs and my lungs….Legs: “lets go! Whats the problem?” Cardio: “ AHHHHHHHH!”. Doug Landau passed me at the turn around and I think 3 other runners blew past me. I finished and was immediately greeted by all the guys that just passed me.

I was hitting myself after the fact for blowing the run but I absolutely loved the experience. I am going to inquire to the group if they have experienced something similar and take some advice. I have my first International distance at Colonial and I will need some help.

Congrats to Stuart on his first tri and Mike Smith for winning his age group.

Respectfully,
Doug