Triple T musings

In a mere 48 hours, I depart to venture on yet another athletic journey. This time I am destined for the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the banks of the Ohio River. Portsmouth, or Shawnee State Park, is an hour outside of Lexington nearly where West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky converge. The area known as the Ohio's Little Smokies will become my home and dearest enemy for what will likely become the longest weekend of my life.

The DeSoto American Triple Triathlon (DATT or Triple T) is often regarded as one of the most difficult races in the country. Sure there are some crazy races like 100 mile marathons through the desert or the Ride Across America. Those are multi-day continuous endurance events. Triple T uses a different format. 4 races over three days. The distance? 140.6 miles. The same as an Ironman. Which is easier--to cover 140.6 miles in 12 hours of one day or 140.6 miles in 12 hours spread over three days? That is the question for the weekend.

This race is unique in every aspect. The format is something that isn't duplicated anywhere that I know of. From testimonies and reports, I understand the collegiality to be unrivaled by other races. This year there are only 338 competitors. You all get to know one another VERY well. Instead of wave starts, everything is time trial format which means competitors start every 5-10 seconds So Martin Cole from Salt Lake City and Michael Krss from Morton Grove (IL) are my transition buddies this weekend. I am sure we will spend plenty of time getting to know one another. Another interesting aspect of the race is that they allow teams to compete. And teammates are allowed to assist one another, even drafting on the bike. This race is unique in every way.

Friday, May 23, 5:00 PM
250m Swim - 5 mi Bike - 1 mi Run
Saturday, May 24, 7:30 AM
1500m Swim - 24.8 mi Bike - 6.55 mi Run Saturday
May 24, 3:00pm
24.8 mi Bike - 1500mi Swim - 6.55 mi Run
Sunday, May 25, 7:00am
1.2 mi Swim - 55.5 mi Bike - 13.1 mi Run

Believe it or not, I am very humble in this sport. I consider myself very blessed that I am able to compete at a very high level. Of course, that doesn't come without major sacrifice and dedication. I have been quite mum on this excursion until this week...just telling people I have a big race coming up. Look at the distances...they are absurd. I have friends who just completed their first Half Ironman two weeks ago. I am doing one on Sunday AFTER racing the day before. I am mentoring a few athletes who are building toward their first Olympic distance triathlon. I am racing TWO on Saturday...just for fun. There is something not right about all this.

Did I mention that the course in the Little Smokies? Oh yeah. It's not flat. Adding to the horror of the distance over numerous races is the monumental undertaking that one must climb, climb and climb in the mountains. The run...yep...uphill. I am fairly certain that they will release water from an upstream reservoir to make the swim upstream. Anything to add to the challenge.

Run course profile: All the runs are on the same course. The first run is a simple and fast 1 mile out and back. No real elevation gains. The second and third races are 6.5 miles. A complete out and bike on the entire profile. UP and down; UP and down. By Sunday, I will know and hate the course. I have to run it twice. Better yet, I have to walk it once and run it once (or so I hear).



Bike Course #1: In a sick and rather enjoyable way, this might be the highlight of the weekend. The first race is just a mere 5 miles on the bike. Simple. Well there is a monster hill. And there will be the tendency to go really hard. I mean, last years winner did average 30 mph on this course. That is killer. I will be happy riding in the mid-20s and feeling fresh for the rest of the weekend.

Bike Course #2: Welcome to the mountains. This is when I think the race will really begin. 7:30 Saturday morning. In my opinion, go out too fast in this race and you are done with for the rest of the weekend. The key is striking that perfect balance between racing hard enough but holding back plenty. I think miles 7 & 8 are going to hurt some kinda good.






Bike Course #3: Back to the mountains...OH BOY! This is where I think pain will begin to set in. I will feel the fatigue of the first race coupled with learning if I hydrated and nourished my body properly between races. I guess IHOP or a giant burger is out of the question. I will have a good idea what is facing me at mile 16 after descending it at mile 9 and watching the faces of other competitors climb the monster of a hill.



Bike course #4: Sufferfest. I don't think I will be able to feel my quads at this point. I am told some people get off the bike and walk to just stretch out these legs. The course isn't as brutal as the previous days but an out and back stretching for 56 miles isn't exactly inviting.






Sound fun, huh? Who wants to sign up for next year? Let's just say that the first objective for the weekend is to survive. The second is to have fun. Finally, I want to race smart.

I don't really know what to expect out there. I am told to add an hour to your normal HIM time for Sunday's race. I don't know if that is accurate or not. So in terms of time, my first goal is to beat my 12:34 time from Ironman. Second, I want to break 12 hours. If that is the case, then the break down might look something like this.

Race1: 30 minute
Race 2: 2:45
Race 3: 2:45
Race 4: 6:00

I think that might be about right. I will also be focusing on two aspects this weekend. First swimming. I want to have strong swims. This is an excellent time for me to experiment a bit in the water. I need to work through some issues in my wetsuit and then push myself in the water. I seem to never live up to my expectations on the swim leg. More importantly, I need to draft off someone. There is ample opportunities this weekend. I also plan on focusing on nutrition. This is where I think I might succeed or fail. If I nail it...then I will be good to go. If I fail, the wheels will fall off. I need to keep my calories higher than normal. I need to keep electrolytes in the body. As mentioned, the key will be nourishing my body between races on Saturday. Eat the wrong thing and race #3 is going to put you in a world of hurt. And finally hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

So there it is. A LONG weekend ahead. It will likely be one of the most memorable. I just hope to make the best of it and race smart and safe!!!