Race Result

Racer:	Steve Smith
Race:	Wilkes-Barre Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, August 4, 2002
Location:	Wilkes-Barre, PA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 30 - 34
Time:	2:11:09
Overall Place:	9
Comment:	Crappy swim, great bike, fair run

Race Report:

At some point and time I got it stuck in my head that the Wilkes-Barre olympic distance triathlon was a classic of our sport, at least in the Mid-Atlantic. While I don't know where I got that impression, I can tell you this: It is.

First, to answer the question that is burning in your mind: It's pronounced Wilkes-"Bare" or "Bear" as in "If you see a BEAR on the course, let someone on the race staff know" (no joke).

The course has character. Read: it's hard and spectacular. It's what I call non-trivial ... the swim, bike, and run are the types of things you'd do for training because they are scenic and challenging (and free of cars, I saw two the whole day). The bike and run are hilly and challenging, but not ridiculously so. This race has a point-to-point bike, so there are two transition areas.

And, before I get started, I have to say the best thing about this race was the big pool of cold water at the finishing area. They rigged some canvas into a 9'-square x 3'-deep "tub" and filled it with cold water. It was soooooooo nice to soak my hot and tired body in the tub while a gaggle of pro women triathletes sat and talked amongst themselves. That's living.

The swim is long, narrow rectangle in Harvey Lake, the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania. There's a distinctive mountain peak for sighting on the way out (as you swim into the sun), and an easily located flag pole for the return swim. It's a neat little lake community with houses right on, even in (on stilts), the lake. Every house has a pier with a boat and a table for lakeside dining, and there's a road that circles the lake, about 25 feet from the lakeside.

Both pro (4 men and 13 women, including Karen Smeyers; prize money went 7 deep with $1,500 for first) and age groupers had running starts for the swim--a first for me and really fun. Wetsuits were not permitted for anyone, and it was a good thing as the water temp was 80-degrees. I really enjoyed this swim, probably more so than any other swim I've done. When I saw the results Monday morning, I figured out why: I was 50th out of the water at 24:02; I can swim faster than that, and I have good balance in the water, so I don't gain as much advantage from a wetsuit as others might. Regardless, I found and enjoyed good rhythm in my stroke and I'm happy with my swim. But it's no secret what I need to focus my attention on this winter. Perhaps the full masters workout on Saturday morning wasn't a good idea.

Given the gravelly, sandy transition area, I opted to put my cycling shoes on my feet and run to the mounting line in them rather than clipping the shoes into the pedals and running barefoot. It would have been too painful, and awfully sandy, if I'd ran thru T1 barefoot. Still, I had poor transition (1:08 even without a wetsuit to strip), trying to get into the damn shoes. I have to learn to calm down and move more methodically.

The bike course is fantastic, perfectly suited for me. The first 2 miles follow the lake and are perfectly flat, allowing me to catch my breath. Then some rollers for a few miles before a hair-pin turn into this reaaaaaaaaallllllllllly long hill. The first mile has a couple of steep sections, before it eases into a long, low-grade, (5 miles? 2-3 percent?). Things got crowded here, people riding 3 abreast, and I often pushed hard to get away from the groups. The low-grade was hard and slow, but I had driven the course Saturday and knew that it would go much slower than I would want to on race day.

The bike course is largely shaded and passes some old farms, complete with freshly-painted red barns. I'd bet some of these barns are 150 years old and still in daily use. This is a scenic bike ride from beginning to end. After that long hill there course was more rolling. It was really well marked, albeit in poor condition in a few spots; still, the potholes and cracks were clearly marked in orange or white paint, and there was even a water bottle exchange at mile 15.

The bike course finishes with a 1.5-mile uphill piece into the Penn State-WB campus, not too steep but tough nonetheless. I felt really strong on the bike all day, even after going very anaerobic on some of the earlier hills. I was surprised to see so few bikes in transition when I arrived; I didn't get a good look, but it seemed like only a dozen ... I was the next-to-last wave in the water. Turns out I had the third best time at 60:05 (24.8 mph), one minute out from the best bike of the day. I'm thrilled with that time, especially for that course. Even though the competition thinned out after the long up-hill, I always had someone to chase after since I was one of the last swim waves, and I think that helped.

FWIW, I my setup is 53/42 & 12-23 and I never wished for anything different, so it's not *that* hilly. Lastly, I've noticed that (unlike swimming?) I tend to feel better on the bike if I do an easy ride the day before with two 3'-5' hard pushes.

Transition 2 went marginally well. My racing flats fit snuggly, which means they are very narrow and hard to put on. More practice needed.

The run is scenic ... it's the kind of training run I would do every week if it were near by ... and it is HILLY. The first 1.5 miles are an easy down hill, but then you hit some long up hills. Not much shade either. Very challenging run course, more so as it's 11k, hot and sunny. Still, I felt pretty good on the run. I didn't cramp (calves) off the bike, which is a major feat for me. I did sodium load starting Friday with some salt tablets during the day and some Gatorade at my side all day Saturday.

It wasn't until mid-run that I was able to get my HR up to the point that I can maintain in a 10k triathlon run. Three or four guys passed me on the run, which was a good thing ... boiling my competitive juices a bit. I definitely finished the run much stronger than I started it, but I didn't have much left after crossing the line. The sun was brutal. I placed 13th in the run with 45:09 (6:39 min/mile). Not a great run for me, but not a bad run either.

All that added up to 9th overall (5th overall age grouper), first in my age group (by more than 5 minutes) and, barely, the last male to beat Karen Smeyers (40 seconds). At 40 she is just freakin' amazing. For me it's just one more tune-up race (NYC) before Nationals at the end of August.

I would highly recommend this race. It's really well organized and the course is challenging but full of character. Given that it's run in August, the heat will always be an issue, and I think it could be noticeably worse than what we experienced. I think the run course would be a little easier to deal with after having run it a few times, at least mentally. Definitely drive the course before doing the race.

Swim: 24:02; winner, 19:41; best, 19:41
T1: 1:08
Bike: 60:05; winner, 59:04, best, 59:04
T2: 0:47
Run: 45:09; winner, 42:03, best, 40:07

Time: 2:11:09 (winner 2:02:45 w/ 1:00 penalty)
9/366 OA, 1/46 M30-34