Race Result

Racer:	Keith Bohnenberger
Race:	Reston Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, September 12, 2004
Location:	Reston, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 35 - 39
Time:	2:43:08
Overall Place:	200 / 427
Age Group Place:	29 / 52
Comment:	perfect weather for a fast race

Race Report:

Goals:
Swim 0:35:00
T1 0:03:00
Bike 1:15:00
T2 0:02:00
Run 1:00:00
Total 2:53

Splits:
Swim 0:34:36
T1 0:03:44
Bike 1:11:24
T2 0:01:16
Run 0:52:09

Short Story:

I was feeling really nervous in the days leading up to the race. I don't know if it was work stress, moving stress, mild injury stress or what. Once the race started, that all melted away and the race was a lot of fun. My swim was about as pathetic as I expected, my bike was a little faster than expected and my run was quite a bit faster than expected. However, my run goal is hard to estimate because I only run once a week and only 3-5 miles at a time. Overall it was great crossing the finishing line with family and friends cheering. The best part was the fact that I felt so much better than I did after Columbia and was able to hang out after the race and cheer on other people.

Long Story:

I was not feeling very confident going into the race. Too much work, throw in a move and general summer activities and my training leading up to the race was not where I wanted it to be. However, doing Mouseman and the preview brick the weekend before restored some confidence. I didn't sleep well saturday night and finally woke up around 5:00. Had some fig newtons and a banana for breakfast, hit the bathroom and headed for the race a little after 6:00.

I parked at the high school and started getting my stuff together. It was dark but I though I recognized Steve Smith the next car over but then I saw this person walk over to another car and borrow a pump. Couldnt be Steve, the dude who was racing for the victory showing up without a pump could it. I walked over and it was indeed Steve who explained that his pump bit the dust. I wished him luck, he told me to have fun, and I headed over to T1.

It was strange putting only my running stuff out. My area looked so lonely but after reviewing everything I was good to go and headed over to T1 with all my swim/bike stuff. The bike ride over there was awesome. Dark, cool, slow moving, just something about it was so enjoyable. I got to T2 and set up my transition area. They put all the slow people all the way in the back of the parking lot. Bummer. Oh well, chatted with Bethany, Amanda, Jamie and a host of other Rats and a few of my neighbors that were doing the race. I kept a lookout for my wife and kids but as my wave was getting close to starting still no sign of them. About a minute before my wave (5) started I heard some yelling, it was my lovely wife and daughter. My 2 year old son didnt look at all happy to be awake at this point. I positioned myself at the beginning of the swim wave and we were off. Nothing to remarkable to say about the swim except that I never really got into a comfortable groove. It seemed that I couldn't get away from people. I did run into the rope a few times which was good because if I didnt I would have hit swimmer coming the other way. I also managed to hang onto the feet of other swimmers here and there which I never managed to do before. I hopped out of the water and heard my wife and daughter screaming, my son still wasn't happy.

I actually tried to be fast in T1. I don't know what happened other than to say that I couldnt get my napsack in that darn plastic garbage bag. 3:44 later I was on my bike and as usual my legs were not quite there yet, which I don't quite understand because I literally do not kick at all during the swim. Glade was a bit rough but then I started feeling better zooming down south lakes. Katie passed me on my second loop (her 3rd) and pulled away from me. I knew we had about the same bike goals so it was a bit depressing that I couldn't keep up with her. I hammered down south lakes and then just survived the long up hills. I definitely got into illegal drafting areas a few times but it was only on the up hills or the tight corners and I tried to fall back or pass the best I could. Overall the bike was great. I liked the 3 loops.

I pulled into T2 feeling pretty good. Got my run stuff on and took off. It was just after the transition area that I realized I still had my pump, spare tube, tire levers and spoke wrench in my back shirt pocket. Oh well. The first 3 miles I fought a right side-sticker, then a left side-sticker, then both side-stickers, then my calf started tightening up, then my lower back started getting tight. All the while seeing RATS coming back the other way. Amanda and Katie were looking fast. Brad was looking pretty strong. I love the out and back. Its great seeing how people look coming back. Some look great, some not so great. I was in the not so great category but then at the turn-around point something magical happened. My side-stickers went away, my calf was feeling better and I felt fast. I had a great second half of the 10K. I was passing a lot of people (mostly the benefit of starting in wave 5). The hill coming back into the stadium didnt feel to great but then as I came onto the track I saw Jen who started screaming "Go Keith". Her cheering propelled me around the track. At the finish, I felt like someone who just did an olympic distance race which was way better than I felt after columbia. It was great seeing Jamie, Bethany and all the other RATS after the race and it was awesome seeing Steve and all you fast guys/girls collecting the majority of the hardware. The next day I looked at my time and was happy to notice that I beat my goal by 10 minutes.

Next and last race of the season: September 26, Jones Beach Sprint!