Mountain Lakes Sprint - Race Report

Saturday was the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Guntersville, AL. It's the AL State Sprint Championship so all of the big boys show up to see how they compare. This is the second year I've competed in this race. Earlier this year, I reconned this course in the Marshall County Du held in the same location so I felt pretty comfortable with the layout of the race.

The morning began at 4:00 am. Lauren and I stay with my parents 30 minutes north of the race site in a camper on Lake Guntersville. Nothing says comfort like a pull out sleeper sofa in a camper. I made it over to the race site a little early to ease some of the stress. There were 896 participants signed up for this race so I wanted to get there early to get a good parking spot and get set up. I had plenty of friends in this race so it was cool to be able to see them before the start without feeling rushed. I didn't feel the nervous anticipation with this race that I usually feel. For some reason, it was hard to really get excited about doing it, but this is the only race my parents will get to see me compete in so it's easy decision to compete.

The Swim - 600yds - I was # 204 so with a 5 second interval start for each competitor, I was a good 17 minutes behind the 1st guy in the water. The swim was fairly easy overall. I sighted well and only tired in the final 150 yards. I kept looking for some bubbly toes to stick on, but they were never there. I did however have some guy drafting on me the whole way. Overall, I'm not a great swimmer, and my time showed it. 10:36. (2006 - 11:10)

T1 - There's a 100 yard run up to T1 from the beach. The wet grass served well in getting the sand and debris off of my feet. I went with only a helmet, shades, and shoes on the bike. No time for a shirt. I was set up in the front of T1 so after a long run out the back I was out of T1 in 1:38. (2006 -2:22)

The Bike: As always, this is where I'm the most comfortable and where I make up the time I lost on the swim. The course is fairly flat or rolling. My plan was to stick to a certain speed and keep it there. There was no reason to be a hero. Save some for the run I kept telling myself. I made a point to encourage those that I passed on the bike that appeared to be struggling. They all smiled kept fighting just reinforcing my belief that triathletes are some of the nicest and least prideful people you'll meet.

My plan on the bike worked perfectly. I felt great coming into T2 and still put up a new PR for avg mph in a race. Just over 23 mph - 42:08. (2006 - 43:56)

T2 - Flying dismount with the shoes and a sprint to my spot. Helmet off. Shoes on and I'm gone. - 49 seconds. (2006 -1:44)

The Run - 3 easy miles. I could tell for the first time that the sun was having some effect. I started my race at 8:00 which is incredibly late. Out of T2 I grabbed a cup of water and threw in on my chest. The chill of the water let me know just how hot I'd gotten. Legs felt ok, but I was sucking wind. Don't know why to tell you the truth. 1st mile was 6:52, 2nd was 7:15. I was slowing down, and I don't think I really cared. Over the last mile, I toyed with the idea of turning it on for a strong finish. I felt like I could have, but just couldn't muster up the will. I was sucking wind and didn't want any more. I finished the last mile in 7:12 for an over time of 21:24. (2006 - 24:55)

Final time - 1:16:38. (2006 - 1:24:10) Not great, but about where I thought I'd be. My swim was slower than expected and I should have been a little faster on the run. Not a bad performance at all, but not one to tell the kids about. I was 11th in my AG and 69th overall. (2006 - 36th/359th)

Despite not being really excited about this race, I had a great time. Like I said, I had lots of friends there to see and chew the fat with. I even met the one and only Trisonq (Patrick). He's a very likeable guy and a great athlete. Zbuck was there and threw down on the race as well. He bested last year's time by 11 minutes. Congrats buddy!

So where to now? I'm looking forward to not racing for a little while. I'm going to enjoy being in town for a while and dedicating some weekends to training for the So Carolina Half at the end of Sept, but I'm also going to get some much needed things done around my house. Being out of town 3 out of 4 weekends will leaves quite a few honeydoes left undone around the casa. So, thanks for reading, I've got work to do.