Race Result

Racer:	Keith Jacobson
Race:	Reston Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, September 9, 2007
Location:	Reston, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Time:	2:51:38

Race Report:

Got to SLHS early and began to unload in the dark to the familiar sound of tires being inflated. One of my friends parked next to me by coincidence. We went over to setup T2 and from there got into an unlit bike convoy to T1. Setup T1 and socialized a bit and made use of the bathrooms. The sayings from the Reston Aquatic staff in the bathrooms were encouraging - a nice touch.

Swim (34:15)
Next fun sound of racing from the beeps of the timing pad. That is so cool! I was in the last wave and some jokes were keeping the mood light. Someone asked where the toilet was; my response of 'you are standing in it' received a laugh. I seeded myself to the back right of the wave since I did not want a repeat of my
Philadelphia swim. Went out cleanly and dropped into a smooth rhythm. My goggles started leaking – they only leak during races. A quick flip and site and no worries. Continued my swim and I soon realized I was not seeing many of my color caps around. On the next sighting, I looked around me and there were only about 5 of my cap around me and I was mixed in with preceding waves. My swim suddenly became very exciting. Should I try and really push it? Logic quickly over ruled that thought, but it kept me focused in the swim. Came around the buoy cleanly but was getting jostled around so I went wide right. Got back on track and swam hard to the drainage trading positions a few times with another wave swimmer, but I could not hold it. Tight turn at the drain and had a clean line to the ramp. Swam all the way to the volunteer’s feet on the ramp when he told me I was clear (I did not want to stub my toes).

T1 (3:53)
Came out of the water and volunteers handed me a cup of water - nice. "DADDY!" Awesome, my girls were right there. That was a highlight. Transition was uneventful, but had to jam my wetsuit/towel into the transition bag. Onto the bike was great, the girls were there again!

Bike (1:11:55) (18.6MPH)
Started the ride with the earlier waves coming by on the left. My goal was to have a strong ride and keep it smooth. Thanks to the RATS prep ride for the previous week, I knew what to expect. My second goal was hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Coming up onto South Lakes there was a police officer on the corner, by the second lap she was cheering for the riders like a true fan :-)! The police at St. John Neumann’s did an awesome job of traffic control - thank you.

T2 (1:58)
Slow but smooth transition - OK, I dilly-dallied. Spectators and volunteers at run start were great.

Run (59:39) (9:36 pace)
Ouch. Slow to get going and the first hills hurt. Dropped into a steady but slow pace. Quickly got too hot and took my hat off. There was a lot of traffic on the trail but got in with a few others trading positions. Finally after the turn I wanted to see if I could drop the main guy I was trading with. I did and brought it in as hard as I could. On the track I was spent, but it was great to come around that final turn!