CarbonMan 2007 Race Report

The morning of the inaugural CarbonMan Triathlon started at 5:15 am. I kept my eyes closed as I ate two packets of Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal. It's important to keep the eyes closed if you plan on going back to bed which I did. I had little to pack and prepare for since I took the time to do so last night. I finally got up for good at 6:30. Took my acid zapper and went over my transition bag.

Lauren and I met Brent and his wife over at Oak Mountain Park at 7:30. It was sunny out, but the temp was still just below 60 degrees. I began to worry a bit about the temp of the water, but a quick check proved that it would be just fine. I set the race up to be a 400 meter swim, a 12.3 mile bike and a 3 mile run. If you're familiar with the Buster Britton race, we used the same course. Very short, but it would give me a chance to work on transition times and pushing myself in each leg without doing to much damage. Also, Brent has never competed in a Tri before, so this was a chance for him to get a small taste.

Swim: - Spotting was key in this section. There are some yellow pipes floating the length of the beach out in the water that I tried to stay close to but due to their arc I had to keep spotting ahead to stay on course. Say good-bye to those wonderful black stripes in the pool. They don't put them in the lake. Also, the distance for the swim ended up being 300 yards. Either that or I'm fast. I finished in 4:33. Things to work on: spotting, keeping my head down when not spotting, and finding a rhythm out of the gate rather than trying to sprint the entire distance.

T1: A short run from the beach to the parking lot was easy enough. Threw on the helmet, shades, and shoes. Crap! Forgot the sweatband. Start over. - I'd made the decision to put my shoes on then get on the bike as I don't have tri shoes and I'm not that swift on jumping on my bike on the go. It may not be as fast, but at least I kept the rubber side down. Total time: 1:40. Way too slow.

Bike: I was out of the gate full blast. Breathing was heavy, but legs felt good, for now. I hit the hills of Oak Mtn and I felt like I weighed 400 pounds. I just couldn't keep up my speed on the bike. This leg of the ride really wore me out. With about a mile to go before the turn around, I wondered if my back break was rubbing. I reached back and released my back brake just in case. I discovered later that it hadn't been rubbing,but mentally, it worked for me. I found my strength and took off. The aero position felt great. Despite a bad start, I finished the 12.3 miles in 34:57. A 21 mph average. Good, but not great. Things to work on - learning to drink from my aero bottle.

T2: I did go ahead and slip out of my shoes as I was riding in. Throw the leg over the bike and I was off and headed to the transition area. Threw on my shoes with the Yanks shoes strings and my trusty visor, and I was gone. Total time - 27 seconds. Booyah. Things to work on: 27 seconds are you kidding me? I couldn't have done it better.

Run: This was my best leg. I'm notorious for suffering through this portion. No today. I felt great the entire run. It was gorgeous out and I was feeling great. 3 miles in 20:27. A 6:48 pace. Wow.

Total time: 1:02:05.

So for me, today's race was incredibly beneficial in that it gave me a chance to throw the hammer down without all the worry and stress of an actual race. After about 2 seconds on pondering the question, I decided that there will indeed be a CarbonMan 2008. So set your calendars.

Looking forward to reading your race reports. I'll post a link to them on Monday. Thanks to everyone who participated.