2013 Petersberg Stovepipe Triathlon

2013 Petersberg Stovepipe Triathlon


(500yd. swim 9:28, 13 mile bike 32:40 23.9mph, 3.1 mile run 18:08 5:51 pace)
1st Place 1:01:14

First triathlon since 2009.  I had been injured with knee pain for a while and two weeks before this race I started training in general again. By general training I mean I was biking with little running and swimming. I heard about this race the night before and heard it was supposed to rain so I was just going to wake up morning of and play it by ear.

Picture is actually from the 2013 Decatur Lakeside Triathlon

Day of the race I woke up and decided to go for it and see what happens. On the drive there it was spotty rain and a little chilly. I thought to myself how good a warm bed sounded but figured Im out here now so lets go for it no matter how bad the weather gets. With conditions like this you just have to have that frame of mind; I know Im going to get wet and thrown around on the bike and get drenched on the run but oh well everybody else is in the same boat.

Got there, checked in, found a spot in the transition area and went for a short jog then hopped on the bike for a small ride out and back. After the meeting the Intermediate distance went off and I hopped in the water for a short warm up. By the way prior to this race I had never done an open water swim. Also before this race I had only put in two swimming sessions in the YMCA pool. So I went into the swim not expecting a whole lot just to basically survive and stay within contact. But honestly once I got going I felt pretty good but had no idea where everybody was. Got out of the water in 14th and headed up the long ramp to the T1. Had a quick and trouble free T1.

Not much to say on the bike. Got into 2nd position on the bike quite quickly behind another local rider I knew who was stronger on the bike than I was so I just tried to stay with visual contact with him. A side note...I dont have a TT bike, its a Madone 4.7 with attached areo bars and a HED 3 front wheel that I throw on for tris and TT's (which isnt terrible for a Tri but I wish I had a TT bike I could really cut alot of time and effort). Went into the T2 in 2nd place about 30-45 seconds behind. Turned a corner and had my eye on the leader. I knew I could slowly reel him in so I went out conservative.

On the run a felt decent for just starting to run  a week early off my injury. Closed the gap on him as rain started coming down harder and harder. With 1/2 mile to go I was in the lead with a new 2nd place racer closing really hard (come to find out hes a Millikin XC guy who is a pretty solid 5k guy).  Came out of Lincolns Home area and didnt know which way to go, no obvious or visible markers. I saw yellow flags off to the left so left I went.......I was supposed to go right. As Im yelling "Where the hell do I go" and meandering around an open parking lot I see the 2nd place, now 1st place guy far off to the right across the parking lot. So I sprint across the parking lot to catch the guy as he slows for me because he knew I took a wrong turn. Awesome display of sportsmanship on his part. None the less I finished 1st 5 seconds ahead to win my first Tri in 4 years. 




Results:


http://itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=602