Login
Reston Area Triathletes RATS.net Logo

Race Result

Racer: Brad Payne
Race: Reston Triathlon
Date: Sunday, September 12, 2004
Location: Reston, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group: Male 35 - 39
Time: 2:45:05
Overall Place: 216 / 427
Age Group Place: 34 / 52
Comment: Daddy on the loose



Race Report:



Swim: 34:15
T1: 3:13
Bike: 1:07:39 (20 mph)
T2: 1:38
Run: 58:21

Its been a wacky month in the Payne household. Our first child was born in August, and all of the sudden, Tuesday and Thursday night workouts with the Reston Masters became difficult to attend. It was the last race of the season for me, and I was chagrined to learn that it would be the same weekend as a Payne family tradition: the Virginia – North Carolina football game. Fortunately, kickoff was at 3:30 on Saturday, which gave me enough time to pick up my packet, and more importantly, the wife was willing to let me run loose across the state of Virginia for 24 hours.

I passed Jamie as I was leaving South Lakes Saturday morning. We laughed at Florida State’s continuing futility against Miami the night before: wide right, wide right, wide left, snuff! Noticing my bright orange apparel, she wished me luck and hoped I enjoyed the game from the comfort of my sofa with lots of fluids.

What the experts recommend [paraphrased]:
Take it easy before race day, do not linger at the expo, rest, drink lots of fluids, and stay off your feet.

What I did on Saturday:
Drive to Charlottesville, eat fried chicken, drink beer, walk to stadium, stand on my feet and cheer, walk back to car, eat more chicken, drink another beer, and get home around 10:30. By the time I’ve paid my penance in feedings and diaper changes, I’m allowed to pack my gear and get to bed at 1:30.

RACE DAY
Alarm goes off at 5:00, and I feel like I simply blinked. Oops. Oh well, the game was fun. Drink Gatorade, eat an EAS bar, throw gear in car, and I’m off to South Lakes. For the past few months I’ve been cursed with early morning calls of nature, but today I’m fortunate, and this one comes while I’m next to a port-a-john with minimal wait and even better, BEFORE my wet suit is on! Of course, pedaling down to the lake, in the dark, with the rest of my gear is not fun--probably my least favorite part of the race.

However, there is always something that goes wrong in the moments before the gun goes off. Several minutes before my wave starts, I begin to zip up the upper portion of my wet suit. It gets snagged on my bike jersey. A Good Samaritan tries to help out, but before I can warn him about my quick-release zipper, he yanks my zipper all the way to the top…, which completely undoes the zipper down to my waist...D’OH! Samaritan wanders off, and I can either find someone who knows exactly what to do--or strip out of the wet suit, reset the zipper, get back in, and rezip in less than three minutes before my wave starts. Considering how long the latter could take, I choose the former option as I spy Ward from Trinergy, where I bought the wet suit in the first place. Ward saves my bacon as he gets me zipped up in seconds.

SWIM
I found the third wave to be a rough bunch. The washing machine, in my opinion, lasted for several hundred yards. A rather large triathlete wedged me in between him and the rope. I became magnetically bonded to the rope managing to get snagged in it several times during the course of the swim. I got to the turn-around in 14 minutes, and I was quite pleased, as I had been dreading the swim for weeks. I had even hoped the recent spate of hurricanes might screw up the water quality and turn Reston into a duathlon. Unfortunately, the missed swim workouts took their toll on me on the way back. Took 20 minutes to swim back and beach myself.

T1
3:13 is much better than the five-minute picnic I had last year.

BIKE
My legs felt sluggish for the first couple of miles. It was crowded, and the recent threads about drafting on the message board were echoing in my head as I tried to find a healthy gap in which to ride. The variations in speed with FOP and BOP riders on the course at the same time kept me on my toes. Someone (who will remain nameless) passed me on the right as we turned right onto Glade from Twin Branches at the end of the first lap which really pissed me off. My mediocre bike leg got much faster after that as I decided I wanted this individual as far away from me as I could get him. I did a much better job taking in fluids as last year both water and gatoraid bottles were nearly full after the race! I felt like I was getting stronger with each lap, and the third lap was much easier since the FOP were gone. I became the passer rather than the "passee." At some point, Jamie yells out to me "Fried Chicken and Beer!" I can’t help but smile.

T2
Had to crawl under my bike to reach my running shoes as I had placed them to close the cross bar during the wee hours. Grrr

RUN
I did not have a particularly strong run as I gave up nearly 50 places, but I did maintain a steady pace without resorting to walking, as I had to do at Eagleman and Columbia. Just as I left T2, I could saw the leaders coming out of the woods with Steve closing the gap. I offered some encouragement, and I had a primo view of Steve actually grabbing the lead on the track as I entered the woods. I was hurting and managed to tolerate the pain for the next hour as best I could. It never subsided but it never overcame me. Running into a fellow RAT was always good for the soul. Just before the turn-around Ward shot past me, and I continued to thank him profusely, "You saved my race!" The return leg was much easier, and I actually felt strongest when I stepped onto the track. Felt good to finish.

POST RACE
Found my wife and daughter right after I crossed the finish line. The live music was a bit much for Nora (baby RAT or BRAT for short) so we hid over in the shade between the track and T2. I was pleased with my 12 minute PR and the fact that I ran the entire course (albeit slowly). I improved 97 places from last year’s race so I’d have say I got a lot stronger this year. I’ve been patiently been building base, and I managed to go the entire season without injury. I know I can still go much faster, and that day will come if I can figure out how to juggle my many interests and responsibilities. Being a triathlete, a parent, a student, an engineer, and a football fan requires balance, and I have to say, it was quite an exciting weekend!