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Race Result
| Racer: |
Matt Taylor |
| Race: |
Make-A-Wish Sea Colony Triathlon |
| Date: |
Saturday, September 20, 2003 |
| Location: |
Bethany Beach, DE |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - International Distance |
| Age Group: |
Male 25 - 29 |
| Time: |
2:39:06 |
| Overall Place: |
105 / 281 |
| Age Group Place: |
8 / 23 |
Race Report:
1.5 K Swim, 36 K Bike, 10 K Run
Short Story
------------
Swim: 35:00
T1: 4:43 (I don't remember showering and shaving)
Bike: 1:12:49
T2: 1:16
Run: 46:35
Final 2:39:06 8/23 Agegroup 105/281 Overall
MET ALL MY GOALS AND THEN SOME!!!!!!!!
Long Story
-----------
For those of you who live under a rock, or never read the postings,
this race was postponed to Oct 4 due to the hurricane. I snuck into
Lums Pond last weekend as a training race, and to make sure I
accomplished my goal of three races this year. After the beating I
felt like I took at Lums Pond, I was questioning this race a
little. But this was the race I trained for all summer, and I
wanted to the following: 1) finish 2) come in under 3 hrs 3) really
come in under 2 hrs 40 min 4) did I mention finish. Brady Dehoust
got me interested in this race as my first olympic distance, and I
am glad he did. I met up with Brady and another friend Dan and all
our respective others who were there to cheer us on, ate dinner, and
went our separate ways. It was cold that night and we were debating
the gear choices for the next day.
Race Day
----------
Woke up at 5:45 and went through the usual routine. We were staying
at the Sea Colony and Transiton was right out my front door.
NICE!!! I scored and end spot on the rack, noticing at lums pond if
you get the far end, you can spread out your stuff a little more. I
went for a short warm run with Brady and it was time to go. The
sick thing about this race is that they make you walk the mile you
are about to swim. Thankfully I had Brady and Dan to chat with the
whole way, or I would have been paying way to much attention to how
long that walk seemed. We were in the 2nd wave and at around 8:15
we were off..
Swim
--------
I was nervous about this swim, it was my first ocean event, but I
felt great the entire swim. It was warmer in the water than out,
and I relaxed into a rhythm quickly. Brady had recommended tracking
the yellow buoys, there were six in all, to figure out where you
were in the swim. Great advice. The waves picked up half way
through the swim and it became difficult to sight. If you timed it
wrong all you saw were walls of water. That took getting use to.
Around 1000 meters or so, a red cap passed me. That was the wave
behind us. That was non other than Troy Jacobsen on his way to
another win. Did I forget to mention he was racing again? I am
Brady will mention him as well. Anyway 35 minutes later I was out
of the water, feeling good and right on pace.
T1
----
A painful transition. They made you run, what felt like, the entire
sea colony parking lot bare foot. This is not a smooth lot and as
volunteers asked if I wanted water, I told them I wanted my shoes.
Advice for next year, lay the fake grass carpet or something. As I
mentioned above this was a longer transition than planned. I wored
my jersey under my wetsuit this race, which prevented me from doing
the stupid dance trying to get it on a wet body. You know the
dance, when it gets stuck on the middle of your back, and you can't
get it up or down. Anyway this time I fought with my arm warmers.
Wet arms and arm warmers don't mix. Brady generously offered that
next time I should roll them on to my wrist get on the bike and
ride. After a few minutes roll them up your DRY arms. Nice he
tells me this after the race. He had to keep his edge some how.
Bike
-------
Out and back to dewewy beach. Flat flat flat, except for one
bridge. On the way out there was a great tail wind. I flew out to
Dewewy averaging 24 mph. I was also looking at the riders coming
back, I saw them suffering. The same wind, was a head wind on the
way back. I averaged about 15.5 mph on the way back never breaking
17.0 mph. The wind only got stronger on the way back, and being a
litte guy, I was being blown all over the rode. But I mentally
prepared myself for this and just kept hammering. I of course got
passed this race, but the best part was that I never heard
the 'vroo, vroo, vrooo' sound. All those fancy disc wheels only
made matters worse on this windy ride. 1:12 later I was off the
bike and into T2.
T2
------
Flew by. Shoes off. Shoes on. Helmet off. Grab fuel belt. Buh
Bye. 1 min 16 sec. Awesome.
Run
------
50 yards into my run I pass Troy Jacobsen heading into the finishing
strectch. Impressive, but if I just saw him, that means I am racing
well. That was a nice boost. Another cruel part of this race is
that they put mile marker signs up. Evil on the way out, great on
the way back. I was convinced I had run a mile, before I got to the
first mile. I saw Brady around my mile one, and Dan around my mile
1.5. Got a boost from them and kept on running. I was passing
people again and feeling good. I was targeting and male in front of
me, mentally moving myself up in the overall. About 100 meter ahead
of me were three guys in my age group. The were running about the
same pace as me and I was not gaining and ground on them. They were
my final goal. I was determined to pass them. At mile 4 I caught
and passed the first guy. The remaining two were in front running
side by side, obviously friends. I closed the gap to about 50
meters. At 4.5 miles I got a stitch in my left side. Just had to
fight through it. I started to question if I had the kick in me to
catch them. I closed the gap to about 25 meters. Trying not to
push to hard, I paced them some more. Pass mile 5 my left quad
stared to twitch. UH OH...please don't cramp. Please don't cramp.
Keep on going. I told myself I would look at my watch approaching
mile 6. I looked down and it said 2:3 something. OH MY GOD, I can
make it under 2:40. Twitch, twitch went the quad. At that point I
said F it and lets go. I kicked into what was my remaing high
gear. It paid off. I passed the two left in front of me and
rounded into the finish. My wife, Brady, and the rest of the crew
started cheering for me, and I realized that the two were caught off
guard and did not have enough to catch me. I finished the run with
a time of 46:35. One of the guys I passed finished two seconds
behind me. I felt incredible, at the same time I was trying not to
lose it on the girl cutting of my time chip.
Overall
-------
This is a very well run race and there is a great after race
picnic. As I said above I accomplished every goal I wanted to, and
a few extras I added on the way in the race. To place 8 out of 23
in my age group is a complete shock to me, and I am really proud of
that. Thanks to my wife for cheering me, this being her first race
and the weekend of our anniversary. I am officially hooked, and
cannot wait until next year.
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