Race Result

Racer:	Stuart Brandt
Race:	Timberman Sprint
Date:	Saturday, August 21, 2004
Location:	Gilford, NH
Race Type:	Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group:	Male 40 - 44
Time:	1:36:49
Overall Place:	195 / 580
Age Group Place:	27 / 60
Comment:	Pouring rain = big confidence boost

Race Report:

Course was .33mi / 15mi / 3mi

Prerace: This race came on the last day of a 2 week vacation through VT/NH, so I had some good opportunities to preview the course. This was particularly helpful in figuring out how to manage a hundred yards or so of knee deep water on the swim. Spent a soggy but fun 5 days in a tent at Gunstock camping earlier in the week which proved to be a sign of things to come. Hit the registration/expo at 5pm on Friday, attended the first-timers session, picked up the goodie bag, went out for pasta, then headed back to hotel. Up at 4am, noticed lightning outside, crossed my fingers that it would go away and got to the site at the recommended 5am arrival time (only the 3rd participant to arrive). Set up transition in light rain and tried to keep warm/dry.

Swim: Both a curse and a blessing. I had a plan in my head of how I wanted to swim, but the course ended up about 300-400yds longer than I planned for. The RD later confirmed that the middle buoy had indeed broken loose and started floating away, so the course distance was off. Started front/outside of 3rd wave, found someone to draft off of, and headed out strong. Reached the midpoint, sighted the finish area and realized that I still had a long way to go. Threw my plan out the window and switched to Fun-Tri mode. One of these days I'll realize that Fun-Tri should be plan from the outset. The general consensus was that the swim was probably 800-900yds long based on times.

T1: Sloooow. Had a prime end spot, but glasses kept fogging in the pouring rain so I had to keep squirting them with water so that I could see what I was doing. Also spent a lot of time trying to make sure things would keep dry while I was biking.

Bike: Good confidence builder. The course was hillier than what I train on (W&OD), so I was a little worried going into it. The course is an out-and-back comprised of two fairly long, but not overly steep hills with a mile or so of flat in the middle. Despite the rain and taking downhills at speeds well outside my comfort zone, I really enjoyed this ride. I took the cyclometer off a couple weeks before the race, so I have no idea what speeds I was hitting, but I'm pleased with an 18.2 avg for this course on this day. Biking without the cyclometer might be a permanent thing now.

T2: Shoes were dry, but I was soaked so I'm not sure my T1 efforts to cover things were worth it. Walked to the exit chute to make sure I stayed relaxed.

Run: Fairly flat course. Slight upgrade going out translates to nice downgrade coming back. T2+ 3mi Run was 28:18. My last tri was 32:24 for the 5K run by itself, so I'm glad to see some improvement here. I definitely like running in the rain.

Finish: Greeted with a dry towel, a finishers water bottle and a watterlogged/tired family.

Swim: 14:23 (43 OA)
T1: 4:36
Bike: 49:32 (164 OA)
Run+T2: 28:18 (409 OA)

For anyone considering a first Tri or just a Sprint distance in New England, this is a great one. They've turned it into multi-day expo with seminars on various topics and a fair number of vendors. Race organization was top notch, volunteers / local services / spectators were amazing (especially given the cold/wet), the course is a lot of fun with a fairly shallow swim, and the NH Lakes region is an outstanding destination.