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Race Result
| Racer: |
Bradley Schultz |
| Race: |
Worlgate - Race for Taylor Love |
| Date: |
Sunday, September 20, 2009 |
| Location: |
Herndon, VA |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - Sprint |
| Age Group: |
Male 40 - 44 |
| Time: |
1:11:17 |
| Overall Place: |
11 / 83 |
| Age Group Place: |
2 / 20 |
| Comment: |
PR + Podium...nice way to start the day! |
Race Report:
Second in my AG two years running…cool! Very small field, the big dogs were at SavageMan, but…I apologize for nothing! I'm just an average age grouper and I have no delusions of grandeur, which makes this all the more sweet. In fact, thanks to the esteemed company of Keith Bohnenberger, RATS took 2 of the top 3 spots in our 40-44 AG! If there was a RAT-Power salute, we could have thrown it up as we stood on the podium, 1968 Olympics-style!
I was happy to PR this race by more than 3 minutes, but the feeling was tempered when I realized the gain almost entirely in the swim (which was a disaster last year). I know I have it in me to improve my run, as I’ve done a half marathon at the pace I notched for this two miler. But any bike improvement will be uncharted territory since I’m a definite novice in the saddle. I’ll be looking for ways to take my cycling to the next level.
SWIM
My stopwatch had me within 15 seconds of my practice 300 yd time trial, so I was very happy with that. I probably would have beat even that, but the breast-stroker in front of me didn’t understand what tapping her foot meant, even after I escalated to slapping her calf in frustration. I couldn’t stand it and did a suicide pass mid-length when I saw there was no oncoming traffic. Maybe I should have tried Jeroen’s tactic of tickling her feet.
BIKE
Flatlined. I felt like I really sold out on the bike, but I only made a mild improvement over last year’s time. Fun, nonetheless. I was in total comfort thanks to having the foresight to put my neoprene toe covers on my shoes. Mmmm, toasty!
RUN
I put all I had left into it, but still could not break 14 minutes. I would have been even slower than that, if not for my duel with a 16 year-old who doubtless was motivated by the “43” on my calf. Little did he know he was Hincapie leading out Cavendish!
And in the “Why We’re Here” department, the best part of the day was that 4 year-old Taylor Love herself was actually there at the race for the first time, and looked great. (The family was supporting Taylor’s dad two years ago while he was doing a cross-country bike ride to raise funds for and awareness of neuroblastoma, and last year they were at Disney World courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.) What an adorable, courageous little girl.
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