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Race Result

Racer: Brady DeHoust
Race: American Cancer Society (Salisbury) Sprint
Date: Sunday, May 4, 2003
Location: Salisbury, MD
Race Type: Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group: Male 25 - 29
Time: 1:15:31
Overall Place: 15
Age Group Place: 3



Race Report:



Salisbury Sprint

This was my second go at the Salisbury sprint tri, and I’ll be sure to continue to do this race year-to-year. It’s a great early season test of off-season training.

One of the greatest things about Salisbury is that it’s a 9am start. I stayed in Ocean City with a few friends, about 35 minutes from the race site. This year, we did it right by picking up our packets on Saturday, and not having to get to the race at 6:30am to get all that done. At packet pick-up, there were a few competitors testing the water temperature. This was somewhat of a concern; given the cool temperatures we’ve had this spring. I headed down to stick my hand in the water to see how miserable it was going to be. At waters edge, I realized the athletes going for their warm up were Amy Smith and Eric Stanley. They assured us that the water temp wasn’t too bad. I took their word for it, never touched the water, and headed out.

Sunday morning we arrived at the race site a little over an hour before the start. After finding a spot to squeeze in on the rack, I was able to get in a quick little run warm up. The air was cool, but seemed to get warmer by the minute. At that point, I didn’t think it’d be necessary to do anything different for clothing (i.e. wear gloves or a long sleeve jersey). I figured the first few minutes of the bike would be a little uncomfortable, but certainly not bad enough to warrant all kinds of extra clothing. I was pretty excited to see a few familiar faces in transition…. tri season was here!

I got in the water about 5 minutes before the start. I was in the first wave (male 29 and under). The shock of the cold water to the body made it very hard to breath for the first few strokes I took warming up. I panned around to see if I could spot Guzek, to make sure I wasn’t anywhere near him. I am not real strong swimmer, so I had no business being close to the guys who’d be coming out first. The horn sounded, and we were off. My swim was pretty uneventful. I was able to hold a spot without any battles for the entire swim. The only real issue was one big gulp of pond water…ugh!

Wetsuit off -- helmet, shoes, sunglasses on…let’s go. Being a not-so-strong swimmer, I really look forward to getting on the bike and trying to pick off a few of those who passed me in the water. The bike was an out and back, so it’s easy to see how you’re doing in your heat. I passed four before the turn around, at which time I saw Guzek riding strong holding 4th. I didn’t feel spectacular on the bike. Every gear seemed like the same amount of effort. At any rate, I seemed to be holding my position, and making up a few on the way. Coming into T2, I had passed five or six on the bike. Unfortunately, I ran into a little mishap and went to the wrong rack in T2. It’s funny how stupid you can become in the middle of a race. I think I did a few circles, looking for my running shoes and my little green towel. It seemed like five minutes, but in reality, probably cost me no more than 30 seconds.

Okay, five (or six?) on the bike, let’s get a few on the run. Coming through the transition area, some dude sprinted by me like he was doing a 400 repeat. About 30 seconds later, at the first turn, I cruised by him, as he was huffing and puffing from his brilliant T2 exit. Shortly after (within the first mile), I passed two others. At this point, my feet had regained feeling and I was feeling strong. About one minute later, I was passed by a Navy guy, running a pace too fast for me to hold on to. Close to the turn around, I saw the two leaders shoulder-to-shoulder. I thought how great the finish was going to be. Then, the Guzek sighting…he was holding on to sixth, and definitely would not be caught by me. About a mile from the finish, I caught and passed one more age grouper, not knowing that this would slide me into the third place AG slot.
Congratulations to Mike Guzek for his 10th overall and 2nd AG! Also, congrats to Amy Smith (1st place AG and 6th overall female), and Eric Stanley for strong races.

--Brady DeHoust

http://www.dnbdehoust.com/SalisburyTri03/Salisbury03.html