Post by Ed Slovenkay on May 24, 2011 11:32:09 GMT -5
Prior to signing up to compete in the 2011 American Triple T, I read and heard what people say, “Triple T is harder than doing an Ironman.” “No way” I thought, you have three days to get all 4 races in, plenty of time to rest between each race and get re-set for whatever happens. I had attempted to complete Little Smokies (the Sunday 1/2 IM distance race) back in 2006 only to DNF under the heat and humidity that makes its way into the mountainous hills of southern Ohio in the middle of May. So going into my training for this race I had that memory planted firmly in my sights to make sure that this time I’d be prepared physically and mentally to finally close the book on some unfinished business. Steve Thompson and I rolled out of Cleveland around 10:30 Friday morning. Steve was signed up for the Little Smokies race on Sunday so we decided to carpool on the 4 hour drive to southern Ohio.
The weekend begins on Friday at 5:00 with a super sprint race, 250 meter swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run. While setting up in transition they announced that the water temperature of Turkey Creek Lake was 56 degrees. The announcer suggested that participants wear their wetsuits due to the frigid water temps. While I brought both the full and sleeveless wetsuits, I had no intention of wearing one for a 250 meter swim. I rationalized it as feeling like the polar plunge only a little warmer and taking a few extra minutes. After entering the water my face was the first thing to go numb, then my brand new Blue Seventy goggles fogged up. As my arms, feet and hands began to go numb the swim was over and I was running on the bridge into T1. The bike course was completely inside the park and featured a relentless climb up to the lodge area. It was here that I discovered that something had gone out of sorts with my gearing and I was not able to successfully get into my 25 cluster. With a standard crank and an 11/25 cassette on the bike, I needed to have access to all the gears for this weekend. Descending that hill was fun and fast but I mostly had to keep hands on the brakes since the field was so crowded. I had a descent run and ended up finishing 25:08 good for 8th in my age group racing as an individual and 91st place overall. After downing a Muscle Milk and some other nutrition I took advantage of the first of four 15 minute massages that I pre ordered.
Steve and I along with a bunch of Cleveland Tri folks were camping at the Shawnee State Park which is about a mile from the race venue. Camping onsite is a very convenient way to lodge for the weekend especially since the closest hotel is about 30 minutes away. The lodge is also nice but I’m not sure I’d want to climb that relentless hill to get back to my room each time. After a few recovery drinks around the campfire and a few laughs, it was time for lights out. Friday had been a long day with the traveling and a quick race. Saturday promised to be another long one with two Olympic distance races, one at 7:30 and the other at 3:00. I packed the transition bag before turning in to prevent any omissions from rushing in the morning for whatever reason.
It was a COLD night but I slept well. First order of business was to find the bike tech and get my gearing straightened around. The announcer was going over the logistics of the course and warned us about Thompson Hill, a 22% grade climb right about the half way point of the morning race. YIKES! He also announced the water temps at 58 degrees so the full wetsuit was selected this time. The swim went well, again some fogging in the goggles but it didn’t hurt me. The bike course was rather challenging but I found myself clipping along UNTIL Thompson Hill. Fortunately I caught out of the corner of my eye a couple guys who were in the wrong gear when the made the turn and were dismounting their bikes. I quickly realized this must be it and was able to bail to the small front ring and the 25 before making the hairpin turn onto Thompson Hill. It was rough but I passed quite a few people on the hill without gassing myself. The roads were clearly marked and were in really good shape so no major issues. I do believe there are some dents in my aero helmet from all the butterflies I kept running into. Leaving T2 this time gave us a taste of what the run course was going to be for the rest of the weekend. After about a half mile of paved road you end up on a trail wide enough that you could drive a car on but you are either running up or running down. I think there are only 3 flat spots the entire way and that is where they located the water stops. I saw a bunch of the leaders wearing racing flats but I opted for the running shoes. There are plenty of hazards with it being a trail and I was sure having my ankle strength tested. There is a nice downhill before the turn around and then you are going back up again. The sign for mile 4 is a welcome one since the course turns to a mostly downhill grade from there to the finish line. This finish line sure was a welcome sight as I crossed it at 2:25:03 9th AG and 49th OA. Again off to hydrate and claim my 15 minute massage then rest for the afternoon race.
The afternoon race had a different format, bike, swim, run. The bike is an out and back time trail on route 125. They just recently paved route 125 so I was looking forward to a great ride. This is where the team format comes into play. Teams are allowed to draft off each other. The solo racers are left to fend for themselves. The first part of 125 goes uphill so it was a little garbaged up with packs of teammates trying to settle in and spin it out. Other than that it’s a very fast out with some screaming downhill segments. The only problem is that you have to climb them on the way back. With a 3:00 start time the heat became a factor on the climbs coming back. I went through 2 bottles of fluids trying to stay hydrated. I managed to slip into the wetsuit without issue but did cramp on the second loop of the swim. I’ve never cramped before in the water and hope I never do again. That did not feel good. Then that stupid run course AGAIN. It was hot, I was tired and running 2+ miles uphill to start this run again was not my idea of a fun filled afternoon. But just like the morning race, you just keep chipping away at the course and once you reach mile marker 4 it feels like you just won the lottery. As long as you can keep your feet moving gravity works in your favor and practically carries you to the finish. Only 5 minutes off my time from the morning 2:30:03 4th AG and 32nd OA. Another massage and this time I spent a few minutes soaking the legs in the frigid creek. What a location for this race, they have a built in ice bath right there on site.
Within 24 hours of arriving here the energy levels we all had from Friday evening quickly disappeared. The agenda was shower and head to dinner at the Mexi-Italian restaurant in town. Spaghetti and meatballs for me, I wasn’t brave enough to do Mexican the night before a race. At the campsite we were twenty minutes from civilization with no access to cell phone service or emails. It must have been comical for the locals to see us sitting around the dinner table at the restaurant taking advantage of a brief window to text and email the friends & family we could not stay in touch with during the day. Makes you wonder what we did before cell phones?? I was way too tired to visit the campfire or consume recovery drinks Saturday night. I packed my transition bag, brushed teeth and hit the sack.
Sunday morning was a quick breakfast of coffee, banana and Cliff bar. Filled my bottles for the race and headed up to transition. It was a cool morning with a touch of humidity. As the sun began peeking through I could tell it was going to be a hot day. The water temps were now in the 60’s so the sleeveless wetsuit was selected this time. The swim start was a little less formal as they advised us to swim with your teammate or jump in and seed yourself. The first lap was non-eventful. I cleanly exited the water and began the second loop. Rounding the first turn buoy I could feel something loose on my left ankle, it was my timing chip. The Velcro wasn’t holding very well and the chip was about to fall off. I was able to tuck it under the wetsuit and keep going. I didn’t kick at all the entire second loop as I was determined to have a good race and wanted my time to be correct. After finishing the second loop I reached down and felt the chip still on my ankle so I was good, ran up the bridge into T1, wetsuit off, helmet and glasses on, look down to my ankle, no timing chip. Where could it be? I shook the wetsuit, moved my towel but no chip to be found. Fortunately a volunteer saw me scrambling and asked if I had lost my chip. She told me to follow her, grabbed a replacement chip and I was off to the bike course.
On the bike course again teams were allowed to draft off each other so early on there were packs developing and you couldn’t tell which groups were teams or which were trying to benefit from the confusion. I don’t think it mattered much since the course is mostly rolling with a TON of climbing. The descents were technical which didn’t allow you to make up the lost time from climbing. I felt strong on the hills and played it safe on the descents wearing out some fairly new brake pads. I had guys yelling that they were to my left or to my right and they were pulling some dangerous moves going downhill. Thankfully I did not see anyone wipe out and ironically I would catch those same yahoos on the subsequent climbs which seemed like they would never end. After the first loop you have an opportunity to refill your water or locate any bottles you left on the special needs tables they provide. I opted to keep one spare with me on the bike with my Infinit powder and planned to just fill it from the water buckets there. With one fresh bottle of Infinit and one fresh bottle of plain water the second loop began. I noticed my Garmin had my time at 1:30 and over 1,900 feet of elevation. I was feeling good overall and questioned whether I went out too hard on the first loop. Yesterday’s races had about 1,900 feet of climbing on each course, I just climbed 1,900 and had to do it again, then run two loops on a hilly course on what was expected to be a hot and humid day. I decided it was time to go one gear easier and start taking in the nutrition. A Powerbar gel was selected as I turned on FR1. I reached to take a sip of water and it had an almost unbearable taste of bad hose water. “That’s nasty” I cried out while almost dumping the bottle. I tried the Infinit and it tasted like Infinit mixed with bad hose water. How could I not have planned better for this? I brought extra bottles with me on the trip and easily could have set up my own stuff on the special needs tables. With the heat and humidity making it’s way into the day, just had to suck it up and choke it down.
About mile 50 I decided to take whatever bike legs I had left and hammer it back to T2. I was only a minute slower on the second loop from the first and now it was time to run. Legs felt good and my focus was that there is only 13 more miles to go and it’s all on foot. Those 13 miles proved to be the most miserable of the entire weekend. I was taking water and Infinit at each water stop and it wasn’t until mile 2.5 (the first downhill segment) that I began to feel like I could actually finish this race. At the turn it was one sip of water, the rest dumped on my head to cool down cause it’s back uphill. Again there is new life when you see the mile 4 marker since the course turns into a mostly downhill grade. It briefly lifts your spirit until you hit the 6.5 mile turn and have to go back for one more loop. This loop featured some very sunny segments of the run course topped with 89 degrees and humidity. By now I was dumping more water on my head and was forced to walk up the steep segments. At the turn I saw Christian Kurilko who was walking and complained of cramps. I knew that my overall time was pretty close to his and if I could muster up the energy to finish strong and perhaps beat him in this race, that would be quite an accomplishment for me. So that became my motivation to get past the final hill. At mile 4, I saw Janet & Tim Edwards (teammates not related) and they indicated that Chris was just ahead. Facing the downhill portion of the run it took everything I had to keep up the pace, determined to find him. I finally did catch him, only it was at the finish line about two minutes after he had crossed it. Little Smokies finish time 5:22:37, good for 2nd place AG and earned me 2nd place in my AG for the entire event!!
The Triple T is simply an amazing event! IMHO this course is as difficult if not harder than doing an Ironman. Standing at the finish line five years after not finishing the Little Smokies portion of the weekend, I found myself completely depleted and satisfied at the same time, much like the feeling I had from both 140.6 finishes. Another item I can now check off the bucket list….
The weekend begins on Friday at 5:00 with a super sprint race, 250 meter swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run. While setting up in transition they announced that the water temperature of Turkey Creek Lake was 56 degrees. The announcer suggested that participants wear their wetsuits due to the frigid water temps. While I brought both the full and sleeveless wetsuits, I had no intention of wearing one for a 250 meter swim. I rationalized it as feeling like the polar plunge only a little warmer and taking a few extra minutes. After entering the water my face was the first thing to go numb, then my brand new Blue Seventy goggles fogged up. As my arms, feet and hands began to go numb the swim was over and I was running on the bridge into T1. The bike course was completely inside the park and featured a relentless climb up to the lodge area. It was here that I discovered that something had gone out of sorts with my gearing and I was not able to successfully get into my 25 cluster. With a standard crank and an 11/25 cassette on the bike, I needed to have access to all the gears for this weekend. Descending that hill was fun and fast but I mostly had to keep hands on the brakes since the field was so crowded. I had a descent run and ended up finishing 25:08 good for 8th in my age group racing as an individual and 91st place overall. After downing a Muscle Milk and some other nutrition I took advantage of the first of four 15 minute massages that I pre ordered.
Steve and I along with a bunch of Cleveland Tri folks were camping at the Shawnee State Park which is about a mile from the race venue. Camping onsite is a very convenient way to lodge for the weekend especially since the closest hotel is about 30 minutes away. The lodge is also nice but I’m not sure I’d want to climb that relentless hill to get back to my room each time. After a few recovery drinks around the campfire and a few laughs, it was time for lights out. Friday had been a long day with the traveling and a quick race. Saturday promised to be another long one with two Olympic distance races, one at 7:30 and the other at 3:00. I packed the transition bag before turning in to prevent any omissions from rushing in the morning for whatever reason.
It was a COLD night but I slept well. First order of business was to find the bike tech and get my gearing straightened around. The announcer was going over the logistics of the course and warned us about Thompson Hill, a 22% grade climb right about the half way point of the morning race. YIKES! He also announced the water temps at 58 degrees so the full wetsuit was selected this time. The swim went well, again some fogging in the goggles but it didn’t hurt me. The bike course was rather challenging but I found myself clipping along UNTIL Thompson Hill. Fortunately I caught out of the corner of my eye a couple guys who were in the wrong gear when the made the turn and were dismounting their bikes. I quickly realized this must be it and was able to bail to the small front ring and the 25 before making the hairpin turn onto Thompson Hill. It was rough but I passed quite a few people on the hill without gassing myself. The roads were clearly marked and were in really good shape so no major issues. I do believe there are some dents in my aero helmet from all the butterflies I kept running into. Leaving T2 this time gave us a taste of what the run course was going to be for the rest of the weekend. After about a half mile of paved road you end up on a trail wide enough that you could drive a car on but you are either running up or running down. I think there are only 3 flat spots the entire way and that is where they located the water stops. I saw a bunch of the leaders wearing racing flats but I opted for the running shoes. There are plenty of hazards with it being a trail and I was sure having my ankle strength tested. There is a nice downhill before the turn around and then you are going back up again. The sign for mile 4 is a welcome one since the course turns to a mostly downhill grade from there to the finish line. This finish line sure was a welcome sight as I crossed it at 2:25:03 9th AG and 49th OA. Again off to hydrate and claim my 15 minute massage then rest for the afternoon race.
The afternoon race had a different format, bike, swim, run. The bike is an out and back time trail on route 125. They just recently paved route 125 so I was looking forward to a great ride. This is where the team format comes into play. Teams are allowed to draft off each other. The solo racers are left to fend for themselves. The first part of 125 goes uphill so it was a little garbaged up with packs of teammates trying to settle in and spin it out. Other than that it’s a very fast out with some screaming downhill segments. The only problem is that you have to climb them on the way back. With a 3:00 start time the heat became a factor on the climbs coming back. I went through 2 bottles of fluids trying to stay hydrated. I managed to slip into the wetsuit without issue but did cramp on the second loop of the swim. I’ve never cramped before in the water and hope I never do again. That did not feel good. Then that stupid run course AGAIN. It was hot, I was tired and running 2+ miles uphill to start this run again was not my idea of a fun filled afternoon. But just like the morning race, you just keep chipping away at the course and once you reach mile marker 4 it feels like you just won the lottery. As long as you can keep your feet moving gravity works in your favor and practically carries you to the finish. Only 5 minutes off my time from the morning 2:30:03 4th AG and 32nd OA. Another massage and this time I spent a few minutes soaking the legs in the frigid creek. What a location for this race, they have a built in ice bath right there on site.
Within 24 hours of arriving here the energy levels we all had from Friday evening quickly disappeared. The agenda was shower and head to dinner at the Mexi-Italian restaurant in town. Spaghetti and meatballs for me, I wasn’t brave enough to do Mexican the night before a race. At the campsite we were twenty minutes from civilization with no access to cell phone service or emails. It must have been comical for the locals to see us sitting around the dinner table at the restaurant taking advantage of a brief window to text and email the friends & family we could not stay in touch with during the day. Makes you wonder what we did before cell phones?? I was way too tired to visit the campfire or consume recovery drinks Saturday night. I packed my transition bag, brushed teeth and hit the sack.
Sunday morning was a quick breakfast of coffee, banana and Cliff bar. Filled my bottles for the race and headed up to transition. It was a cool morning with a touch of humidity. As the sun began peeking through I could tell it was going to be a hot day. The water temps were now in the 60’s so the sleeveless wetsuit was selected this time. The swim start was a little less formal as they advised us to swim with your teammate or jump in and seed yourself. The first lap was non-eventful. I cleanly exited the water and began the second loop. Rounding the first turn buoy I could feel something loose on my left ankle, it was my timing chip. The Velcro wasn’t holding very well and the chip was about to fall off. I was able to tuck it under the wetsuit and keep going. I didn’t kick at all the entire second loop as I was determined to have a good race and wanted my time to be correct. After finishing the second loop I reached down and felt the chip still on my ankle so I was good, ran up the bridge into T1, wetsuit off, helmet and glasses on, look down to my ankle, no timing chip. Where could it be? I shook the wetsuit, moved my towel but no chip to be found. Fortunately a volunteer saw me scrambling and asked if I had lost my chip. She told me to follow her, grabbed a replacement chip and I was off to the bike course.
On the bike course again teams were allowed to draft off each other so early on there were packs developing and you couldn’t tell which groups were teams or which were trying to benefit from the confusion. I don’t think it mattered much since the course is mostly rolling with a TON of climbing. The descents were technical which didn’t allow you to make up the lost time from climbing. I felt strong on the hills and played it safe on the descents wearing out some fairly new brake pads. I had guys yelling that they were to my left or to my right and they were pulling some dangerous moves going downhill. Thankfully I did not see anyone wipe out and ironically I would catch those same yahoos on the subsequent climbs which seemed like they would never end. After the first loop you have an opportunity to refill your water or locate any bottles you left on the special needs tables they provide. I opted to keep one spare with me on the bike with my Infinit powder and planned to just fill it from the water buckets there. With one fresh bottle of Infinit and one fresh bottle of plain water the second loop began. I noticed my Garmin had my time at 1:30 and over 1,900 feet of elevation. I was feeling good overall and questioned whether I went out too hard on the first loop. Yesterday’s races had about 1,900 feet of climbing on each course, I just climbed 1,900 and had to do it again, then run two loops on a hilly course on what was expected to be a hot and humid day. I decided it was time to go one gear easier and start taking in the nutrition. A Powerbar gel was selected as I turned on FR1. I reached to take a sip of water and it had an almost unbearable taste of bad hose water. “That’s nasty” I cried out while almost dumping the bottle. I tried the Infinit and it tasted like Infinit mixed with bad hose water. How could I not have planned better for this? I brought extra bottles with me on the trip and easily could have set up my own stuff on the special needs tables. With the heat and humidity making it’s way into the day, just had to suck it up and choke it down.
About mile 50 I decided to take whatever bike legs I had left and hammer it back to T2. I was only a minute slower on the second loop from the first and now it was time to run. Legs felt good and my focus was that there is only 13 more miles to go and it’s all on foot. Those 13 miles proved to be the most miserable of the entire weekend. I was taking water and Infinit at each water stop and it wasn’t until mile 2.5 (the first downhill segment) that I began to feel like I could actually finish this race. At the turn it was one sip of water, the rest dumped on my head to cool down cause it’s back uphill. Again there is new life when you see the mile 4 marker since the course turns into a mostly downhill grade. It briefly lifts your spirit until you hit the 6.5 mile turn and have to go back for one more loop. This loop featured some very sunny segments of the run course topped with 89 degrees and humidity. By now I was dumping more water on my head and was forced to walk up the steep segments. At the turn I saw Christian Kurilko who was walking and complained of cramps. I knew that my overall time was pretty close to his and if I could muster up the energy to finish strong and perhaps beat him in this race, that would be quite an accomplishment for me. So that became my motivation to get past the final hill. At mile 4, I saw Janet & Tim Edwards (teammates not related) and they indicated that Chris was just ahead. Facing the downhill portion of the run it took everything I had to keep up the pace, determined to find him. I finally did catch him, only it was at the finish line about two minutes after he had crossed it. Little Smokies finish time 5:22:37, good for 2nd place AG and earned me 2nd place in my AG for the entire event!!
The Triple T is simply an amazing event! IMHO this course is as difficult if not harder than doing an Ironman. Standing at the finish line five years after not finishing the Little Smokies portion of the weekend, I found myself completely depleted and satisfied at the same time, much like the feeling I had from both 140.6 finishes. Another item I can now check off the bucket list….
