Race Result

Racer:	Jeroen van Ek
Race:	Try Andy's Tri
Date:	Sunday, September 21, 2003
Location:	Houston, TX
Race Type:	Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group:	Male 35 - 39
Time:	1:11:01
Age Group Place:	36 / 50
Comment:	First time tri-ing...battle of the brothers 1-0

Race Report:

Since one of the things I learn from and enjoy most on this list are
the RR's, I'll toss in my own. Be warned, this is a lengthy
rambling rookie race report on a sprint race…nothing compared to
the IM's I've been reading about….but my first foray into the
sport..

"Old Man!"
"Oh yeah? You're a hacking smoker!"
"Hah, I can beat your tired old body any day"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Prove it!"

Sibling rivalry. We may get older but some things never change.
These `fighting' words led to my first triathlon experience.
There was, of course, no way I'd let my younger brother get away
with this. So the search for an event worthy of testing our (aging)
mettle was on. "How about a triathlon?" I suggested "Sure, no
problem if you think you can handle that" came the confident reply. A
quick on-line search revealed that there was one right in his
(Houston) back yard: Try Andy's Tri.

Riding those fighting words, we both signed up on-line immediately.
The next day reality set in: we actually had to train for this event.
It was June and we had 3 months to go from zero to hero. We began
digging up tips on the internet, started going to the pool and riding
the bike. We even ran every now and then. Of course we overstated
our training efforts to scare the other into even more work, all part
of the sibling rivalry.

I started to maintain a training log and even did some regression
analysis to see where my times were heading. Being a former swimmer,
I found it easy to get some reasonable distance and reduction in
times with some pool time 3 times a week. The bike segment required
a different approach. Did I really want to invest in a new tri bike
or even a road bike? Quintana Who? Ke$trel? Nice bikes but what if I
never compete in a tri again? And hey, it's a sprint tri for
novices…Hmmm….my mountain bike frame was a well built GT and
I had a stiff fork. A little research showed I could get 23's on the
wheels. Patience on eBay got me some aero bars for $30 and voila! A
beginner tri-bike was born. Now to start getting some miles on the
WOD trail. Discipline to ride by yourself on a hybrid-ish bike is
hard, so a colleague provided the required training incentive by
hitting the trails with me on 20 mile jaunts. After a while I was
able to sustain 20 mph for the rides and was getting some good
feedback from some Lance look-alikes (ok yellow jersey and about 150
lbs on Lance) "nice pace for a mountain bike". Running was a
different story. I hate running with a passion and it was easy to
decide to go ride for an hour instead of running the trails. I did
some 2 mile stints here and there and figured it was the last segment
of the race and I'd push for the finish line regardless. All in
all I noticed I was getting into some kind of shape and was clocking
sub 5's in the swim. At this point I should probably tell you that
this beginner's tri was a 300m swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run, a
mere warm up for most of you but enough to give me a little test.

Just before heading out to Houston, I spectated at the Reston Tri.
Hmm..Counted less than 10 mountain bikes in the pack…serious
stuff. Of course I had heard that serious IM'ers use Reston as a
tune up (Tom Morris sr. used to live a few houses down from me) but I
resolved to get some more bike runs in. I found out I was seeded
towards the front of the swim pack and anticipated a race being spent
passed by others. Oh well, all part of the mental mindset. My
brother would start some 30 minutes behind me. No real way to compare
splits so just race my own race and see where it ends. He's a
dedicated mountain biker so it would probably come down to the run.

After flying out to Houston and a sleepless night listening to the
rain pounding away, we were off to Sugarland at 5AM. Sure it was wet
and maybe even cold, but nothing was going to stop us from competing
in our first tri.

Marking was fun; with everyone soaked some of the markers didn't
work. Nonetheless, I ended up with 4 numbers on various parts of my
body. And why is it that your age is marked? I mean it is interesting
to check out the competition ("yikes I just got passed by a 67 yr
old???") but I see no real use for it. The timing chips were in
a nice neoprene velcro strap and fit with no problem. Reading this
list, I had planned a whole transition lay-out. With the transition
area basically looking like a small stream, the planning went right
out the window and all the stuff went into a garbage bag. I racked my
bike with the handlebars facing out and my aero bars ready to
go…hmmm next to a Cannondale with aero wheels and a..yup Kestrel…what
happened to all the novices?

The swim required us to line up alongside the outdoor 50m pool and
start individually with 10 secs splits, run across the timing mat,
jump in, swim 100 meters in one lane, move to next lane etc. Nice
system to avoid lap counters. I was wedged in between two younger
triathletes (21 and 23…yeah for the age markings) and asked them
their target times. "About 5 min" they both said. Hmm I had
planned to go at 90% since I wanted to put some energy into the bike
and who knows what for the run...Oh well, just swim your own race I
told myself. The first swimmers were off and clocked a sub 4 min time
by my watch. Before I knew it they were counting me down and I was
off on my swim. Feet appeared in front of me after a few strokes,
was I going out too fast? Nope felt good, so go for the pass. This
pool turned into a battlefield with the middle of the lanes serving
as "suicide lane". I battled on and passed about a dozen folks, with
actual pool time of a shade over 5 mins, not bad

T1 and enter the transition slapstick. I hustled to my bike and put
on my helmet, oh wait…I need shirt. Off with the helmet and on
with my DeSoto power top…ok wet lycra and wet body make this thing
roll up..shirt on, shirt off, shirt on, shirt off…laugh..shirt
on…helmet back on, shades, ok camelback on and off we go. Lace
locks were no help as I spent nearly 4 minutes (yikes) in T1. Nice
10 mile ride through country club neighborhood with great volunteers
pointing out all the slick spots. I'm passing people as I settle
into a 19/20mph pace with the rain beating down. Hey I just passed a
set of spynergy's ..cool…whoosh whoosh whoosh…what's that..a
bike with closed rear disc wheel flies by me…but the 10 miles is up
before I know it.

T2, super fast…it helps when you ride with toe clips and your
running shoes. Cheered on by loyal fans I hustle out on my run and
settle into a moderate pace. Drinking while running needs more
practice as I cough up a cup of Gatorade. The course circles back to
the finish line and volunteers cheer me on "You're almost
there" but wait..What's this?…the course circles back away from the
finish and we're only at mile 1.5???? Ugh…plod on and use the
age marking (hehehe I like them) to hunt down some victims as I run
although I realize I'm not going that fast. Soon the bagpipes
being played at the finish are heard and all I have to do is make it
up the once grassy slope without losing a shoe in the mud. Finished,
soaked but hey that felt really good. I'm not winded indicating I
could have run faster. I end up nosing out my brother for the win

"Hey congrats!"
"Yeah you too, bet we can go under an hour next time"
"Yeah I think we can, but I'll still beat you"
"I'm getting a real bike and you'll be eating my dust..."
"Prove it. Same time next year?"
"You're on!"

As I said, some things never change.

TAT was a great way to try a tri. Despite the rain they had a great
turn-out and great volunteers. All in all this tri stuff is pretty
neat, I may stick around...