Race Result

Racer:	Bradley Schultz
Race:	Kinetic Half
Date:	Saturday, May 9, 2009
Location:	Spotsylvania, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group:	Male 40 - 44
Time:	6:09:35
Overall Place:	209 / 360
Age Group Place:	38 / 67
Comment:	What goes up, must come down!

Race Report:

The comment refers to the run, which was a true slog on this day where the temp was in the 90’s and the humidity was announced at 97%--at 0630, before the swim start! Didn’t matter---I absolutely loved this race; it was my first 70.3, and you always remember your first time, right? ;-)

SWIM (41:13; 292/360 Overall, 56/67 40-44 AG)
A typical swim for me, avoiding the crowd and doing my own thing. I was glad for the run across the sand between loops, which enabled me to reset psychologically and immediately fall into my rhythm, leaving the anxiety of the first loop behind. Glad I did Dave Glover’s Luray triathlon swim clinic, which luckily was offered the week before Kinetic; I really need open water time to work my head into race shape.

T1 (5:16)
No issues. Peeled off my wetsuit and shook out the cobwebs, which clearly took a while, and off I went.

BIKE (2:58:53, 18.8 mph; 185/360 Overall, 29/67 AG)
The bike course was beautiful, with great lake views and country roads. I got stuck behind a tractor at one point, and lost my chain at the bottom of a hill I didn’t see coming, probably from scrambling to downshift before losing forward momentum. Otherwise, the bike went off without a hitch. I kept to my every 10-minute hydration and once per hour Endurolyte plan. For my second ride ever of 56 miles or more, I was happy with my near-19 mph pace.

T2 (3:39)
Didn’t realize I forgot my race number until I was a quarter mile out on the run course. Dodging timing mats and explaining to volunteers/marshals what I was doing, I doubled back and grabbed it up and got back on my way. So my 70.3 was actually more like a 70.8.

RUN (2:20:37, 10:44 min/mi; 225/360 Overall, 44/67 AG)
The run was a very rolling three loop course, each loop basically boiling down to going up, then going down, then up, then down--very little flat. You pretty much get an idea what you’re in for right from the start, with a hellish hill heading up from the parking lot out toward the park entrance—which you get to repeat at the start of each run loop. The first loop was brutal; it was a real test of my mental toughness to not only keep running, but also to ignore the voice in my head telling me how great it would feel to just stop running and walk it. By the second loop, I found my rhythm and knew I was going to make it. My survival tactic after about mile 4 was to walk through each water station, pour water on my head, dump a cup of ice in my cap, drink and go. My 10:44 average pace is testament to how gassed I was, not to mention the course and conditions. Not sure if I was slogging, or if I was merely in the midst of a 2 hour bonk. Whatever, I was very happy to se the finish line!

CONCLUSION
I feel like I really nailed my nutrition & hydration for this race. Despite the conditions, I never even came close to cramping. My tri shorts chafed pretty good; I’ll have to remember to slather on the Body Glide for my next long course race. I was a bit undertrained due to rehabbing some winter injuries, so I know I have room to improve. I’m signed up for Eagleman next year, so hopefully I’ll PR since it’s waaaay flatter than Kinetic. I will definitely do this race again.