Tri the Parks: High Falls Sprint

Back on to the race scene. This was a big volume week for me that included a couple high intensity rides plus my long run occurring prior to the race. I was definitely feeling the training on the body but remained ready to redeem myself on the race course.

I left the house around 5:30 making the 50 minute drive south. I end up arriving with more time than needed. I picked up my race packet and found my way into transition. It was a late race start (8:00 am) which provided plenty of time to take the bike for a spin as well as jog. I hit the water about 20 minutes before the start and swam our for about 5 minutes. I was feeling loose.

Swim: 600 meters

My goal for the swim was to push as long as I can and draft as much as possible. I initially seeded myself in the front middle, about 3 deep. As the race director counted down from 10, I began looking for seems and made a move to a better position. I instantly took off and found good feet. I didn't site all the way until the first turn buoy. The guy in the front of me had a solid half stroke on me but I stuck to his feet and didn't move.

I got a little turned around coming around both turn buoys and went a bit wide on the course. I quickly found a new fish and attacked. It was also clear that everyone's pace was slowing a bit. I found a good set of feet and spent the next 2-3 minutes irritating him. With every stroke of my left hand and made sure to hit is feet. And just as expected, he fluttered and tried to speed up. Keep expending the energy while I glide. I made one last adjustment and made my way to swim exit.

Swim time: 11:50


I was a bit dazzed in transition. I found Tony and Marc. I am not quite sure what took me so long. I must have started to think. I remember getting to my bike and being confused. This resulted in a slow transition for me

T1 time: 1:03

Bike: 13.7 miles

I did the course two years ago and I remember it being a bit challenging while a number of rollers. My strategy was to push the first few miles, establish a steady pace and then pick it up for the last few. Marc, Tony and I played leapfrog for the first few miles. I was using them to push me a bit harder. I finally settled into a solid pace and began pushing a bit more.

The course was as I remembered. It was a lot of uphills and a few very steep downhills. The last 1.5 miles were down hill. My watts started to suffer around mile 9. I was still able to hold a reasonable pace. Doug caught me in the last couple of miles and gave me someone new to use as a carrot.

Bike time: 36:42 (22.4 mph)


I was pissed off entering transition due to a pair of major cheaters that caught us in the last few miles (blog forthcoming). Tony, Doug, Marc and I all came in at the same time.

T2: 47s

Run: 3.1 miles

The plan was to hold on as long as I could. I went out hard and felt like I wasn't holding much back. I new I was moving and kept telling myself that I only needed 20 minutes out of the my legs. I caught one of the cheaters and had a few choice words for him. He mouthed back and I honestly thought we were going to throw down in the middle of the 5k. I just cleared my mind and took pride in the fact that I was passing him with ease.

The course was a rolling out and back. As the leaders came back, no one looked good....everyone was hurting. I was there too. I finally got caught around the turnaround and I tried to go with him but there wasn't much left in the tank. The part that pissed me off most was getting caught in the last half mile. I tried again to push and I couldn't. I was barely keeping it together.

Run: 22:59 (7:25)

Overall time: 1:13.23

I am pleased with the race. I felt like I pushed and gave it all that I had to give on that day. I feel like I had strong showings in all three disciplines. I would always like to be faster but I will take what I can. I did manage to take 6 minutes off my time from two years ago. While I was slightly injured at the time, not all of the time came from the run. My bike was significantly better.

The interesting part is that I thought physically I had a good race, but on paper, I look horrible:

	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total
Fastest	8:20	0:35	33:27	0:28	17:00	1:03.21
Benchmark	9:55	0:52	35:07	0:39	19:26	1:06.01
Andrew	11:50	1:03	36:42	0:47	22:59	1:13:23
Overall Rank	51	47	29	64	77	39
Age Group Rank	6	5	2	9	10	29