Post by Rodney on Aug 29, 2011 13:06:58 GMT -5
Hi All, I’ve enjoyed reading others’ stories and thought I would contribute. I’m a newb in my first season and not yet a full CTC member. This was my third triathlon. Pirate Traithlon in Fairport was the first and GCT next. Presque Isle is a great venue and I hope to do it again.
My schedule kept me from heading up the night before so it was an early start. Left the house shortly after 4:30. Had a beautiful crescent moon on the horizon that led us all the way up to Erie. Got there early enough to get a good parking spot, pick up my packet and set up transition before the masses arrived. Met and chatted with some nice guys and saw a couple of sick bikes.
It was a cool morning in the 60s with a comfortable race time temp around 70. The event was fairly well organized with a few issues. My active.com registration was misplaced and I had to fill out another form. They didn't hassle me and were already aware of the problem. It did mean that I have to wait for my t-shirt so no report on that. Transition area was fine except that they didn't keep out the visitors so there were non-participants hanging out in the transition pre-race.
The field of almost 400 was broken into three waves by race number, not gender and age. So the groups were large and quite varied in ability (not ideal). The swim was held in the bay, so the lake was calm. The course was a little more than 600 yds and triangular in shape with two turns moving in a counter-clockwise direction. There was lots of seaweed and reeds in the water for almost the entire swim. It was really distracting for me as I got a little tangled at the start and finish. My swim was much weaker than I expected. Multiple swimmers kicked and swam into me, more than usual, and my goggles flooded twice. This, plus the fact that I had to breath almost exclusively to my weaker side to spot properly, kept me from getting into a good rhythm. I just didn't focus well.
T1 was also tough too. I splashed water when trying to clean my feet and soaked my cycling shirt. It took a little extra work to get my feet clean and my shoes didn't want to go on as easily as I'm used to. All-in-all, I think I lost close to two minutes from what I expected in just the swim and T1.
Once I got onto the bike the race got much better. My legs felt strong and it was a beautiful ride around the park. The roads are two lanes and we had one full lane plus the bike lane. There was minimal traffic. It was a flat and smooth 13 mile course (one full loop of the park) with scenic lake views for much of the ride. I'm a middle of the pack cyclist but because I was in the last heat and slow on the swim I didn't get passed much and used my passing opportunities to try and help pump up some of the other participants. One of the things I love about triathlon is how people motivate and support each other. It feels more like family to me than stiff competition and I try to share that.
I was feeling great as I started to run, even singing to some Rusted Root that was playing on the sound system as I came through T2. My wife was there to give me a high five and shout encouragement. The run course was a nice out and back loop, 3.4 miles so slightly longer than the sprint Tris at Fairport and Headlands. They had a water station in the middle and turnaround so there was water almost every mile. Run felt good and I had a little bit left to give it a nice kick for the last quarter mile or so. Overall, it was my best triathlon performance but I finished 15th of 27 in my AG. The competition was stiffer than Fairport and Mentor. Had I improved the swim by just 45 seconds I would have moved up four places in my AG. Plenty of room for improvement.
Post race was nice. The entire area was shaded with lots of picnic tables and a large shelter. The spread was decent. They had a selection of bagged snacks, granola bars, fruit and pb&j sandwiches which was available to all participants and guests. Results were posted quickly and available online later in the evening. At $55 the cost was very reasonable and the venue really is ideal.
My wife and I drove around the island and hung out at one of the other beaches where they were flying a bunch of kites and relaxed for a bit. Then we headed up to the spa at Peak 'n Peek for massages and hung out at the pool and hot tub for the afternoon. It made for a nice quick getaway. Definitely looking forward to next year.
My schedule kept me from heading up the night before so it was an early start. Left the house shortly after 4:30. Had a beautiful crescent moon on the horizon that led us all the way up to Erie. Got there early enough to get a good parking spot, pick up my packet and set up transition before the masses arrived. Met and chatted with some nice guys and saw a couple of sick bikes.
It was a cool morning in the 60s with a comfortable race time temp around 70. The event was fairly well organized with a few issues. My active.com registration was misplaced and I had to fill out another form. They didn't hassle me and were already aware of the problem. It did mean that I have to wait for my t-shirt so no report on that. Transition area was fine except that they didn't keep out the visitors so there were non-participants hanging out in the transition pre-race.
The field of almost 400 was broken into three waves by race number, not gender and age. So the groups were large and quite varied in ability (not ideal). The swim was held in the bay, so the lake was calm. The course was a little more than 600 yds and triangular in shape with two turns moving in a counter-clockwise direction. There was lots of seaweed and reeds in the water for almost the entire swim. It was really distracting for me as I got a little tangled at the start and finish. My swim was much weaker than I expected. Multiple swimmers kicked and swam into me, more than usual, and my goggles flooded twice. This, plus the fact that I had to breath almost exclusively to my weaker side to spot properly, kept me from getting into a good rhythm. I just didn't focus well.
T1 was also tough too. I splashed water when trying to clean my feet and soaked my cycling shirt. It took a little extra work to get my feet clean and my shoes didn't want to go on as easily as I'm used to. All-in-all, I think I lost close to two minutes from what I expected in just the swim and T1.
Once I got onto the bike the race got much better. My legs felt strong and it was a beautiful ride around the park. The roads are two lanes and we had one full lane plus the bike lane. There was minimal traffic. It was a flat and smooth 13 mile course (one full loop of the park) with scenic lake views for much of the ride. I'm a middle of the pack cyclist but because I was in the last heat and slow on the swim I didn't get passed much and used my passing opportunities to try and help pump up some of the other participants. One of the things I love about triathlon is how people motivate and support each other. It feels more like family to me than stiff competition and I try to share that.
I was feeling great as I started to run, even singing to some Rusted Root that was playing on the sound system as I came through T2. My wife was there to give me a high five and shout encouragement. The run course was a nice out and back loop, 3.4 miles so slightly longer than the sprint Tris at Fairport and Headlands. They had a water station in the middle and turnaround so there was water almost every mile. Run felt good and I had a little bit left to give it a nice kick for the last quarter mile or so. Overall, it was my best triathlon performance but I finished 15th of 27 in my AG. The competition was stiffer than Fairport and Mentor. Had I improved the swim by just 45 seconds I would have moved up four places in my AG. Plenty of room for improvement.
Post race was nice. The entire area was shaded with lots of picnic tables and a large shelter. The spread was decent. They had a selection of bagged snacks, granola bars, fruit and pb&j sandwiches which was available to all participants and guests. Results were posted quickly and available online later in the evening. At $55 the cost was very reasonable and the venue really is ideal.
My wife and I drove around the island and hung out at one of the other beaches where they were flying a bunch of kites and relaxed for a bit. Then we headed up to the spa at Peak 'n Peek for massages and hung out at the pool and hot tub for the afternoon. It made for a nice quick getaway. Definitely looking forward to next year.
