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Race Result

Racer: Brad Payne
Race: Reston Triathlon
Date: Sunday, September 12, 2010
Location: Reston, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group: Male 40 - 44
Time: 2:50:55
Overall Place: 216 / 386
Age Group Place: 36 / 54
Comment: Older and Wiser



Race Report:



Wow, its been five years since I've done a tri, and six since I've done Reston. Time does fly.

Swim 33:48
T1 3:38
Bike 1:14: 47
T2 2:46
Run 55:57 (PR for tri 10K!)

After a severe ankle injury wiped out my 2006 and 2007 seasons, I had slowly been trying to work my way back. Last summer I played "coach" and got my wife to finish her first triathlon while I concentrated on my favorite of the three sports: running. I earned PRs in both the half and full marathon and was fortunately paying attention when registration for Reston popped up.

However, as of 4th of July weekend, my swim training was non-existent, and my bike prep was middling at best. So being the dutiful project manager that I am, I devised a training plan with milestones that would ensure that I would emerge from a mile-long swim and still feel human enough to do the next two events. Until my neighborhood pool closed on Labor Day, I did all my swimming there--typically on way home from work, I'd hop in the water and do something like 4x100, 3x400, or 1000m. My "final exam" came at Cub Run on the morning of September 3 when I did 64 laps in 29 minutes and felt pretty good afterward. Later in the week, I came back with my wet suit to confirm that it still fit and wouldn't constrict my breathing. Yeah, I looked like a dork.

Whereas I salvaged my swim training, I learned in mid-August, that I was not going to have a stellar bike ride. Back in the day when I was a regular, early season training consisted of small-gear rides, and at mid-season, the shift to the big gear brought an immediate boost in power and speed. In mid-August, when I shifted the big gear into place, my immediate thought was "Ouch, this burns!"

And here is where the wisdom kicked in. In past years I used to emerge from the water exhausted, fry my legs on the bike, and then suffer through my favorite event. Not this time. I told myself--do not take off at 1:30/100 in the swim--do not hammer the bike, in fact do not use the big gear unless you're already going downhill, and if going downhill, coast if you can!

(I only ran twice a week, 6-10 miles total. I was pleasantly surprised at how little speed I lost. I ran a 5K while in San Diego for work and almost ran a 15 year PR!)

Pre-race: Packet pick up was a zoo as both my kids had stimulus overload. Sadly enough, the wife and I did not recognize most of the folks we saw wearing RATS gear. Guess I've got work on that! It also gave me a chance to thank Glen at Bonzai for the last minute spoke repair I needed. Thanks guys!

Swim: I knew I could do this as long as I was patient. I have to admit, after not doing any open water swims for five years, I kind of freaked out when I first jumped into the Lake. It was like tea in there! And the bumping in the first quarter mile was worse than I remembered. I was surprised to come out of the water with my timing anklet. A sprinter by nature, I have to admit, I did start to get bored in the latter stages of the swim...as my kids like to say, "Are we there yet?"

T1: I thought it went well considering I had done one in five years.

Bike: I wasn't going to win an age group award so I just had a leisurely ride and pushed it when I could. The rain was pretty steady, and I felt like the course was awfully narrow. I lost a few mph because I felt like I had to tap my brakes going down Twin Branches to make sure they would work at the dreaded turn to Glade. I maintained discipline, small gear on Glade-South Lakes, big gear on South Lakes-Twin Branches.

T2: Complicated by wet socks. I tried to keep them dry, but I should have thought out my packing better.

Run: After walking that first hill coming out of T2, I settled into a steady gear, just a little slower than my typical tempo run. My legs felt MUCH better than they did in Reston tris past. Another thing that helped my disposition is that hardly anyone was passing me either. Although I was wearing synthetic socks, around mile 3 I started feeling hot spots. I made the stubborn decision to muscle onward as I was at the front of a small pack, and I didn't want to lose all those places. At two miles to go, I started to remember that hot spots don't get any better, they only get worse. In the final mile, I rationalized, "well, I'm almost there!" Hearing the crowd and seeing the high school was quite a welcome sight. I was not wearing a watch during the race, but I already knew it was the best run I'd ever put together...so far...

And to my impetuous 35 year old self..."Hey, the old man kicked your butt!"