Race Result

Racer:	Steve Giorgis
Race:	Diamond In The Rough
Date:	Saturday, July 9, 2005
Location:	Perryville, MD
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 50 - 54
Time:	2:14:35
Overall Place:	48 / 668
Age Group Place:	1 / 24
Comment:	Nice Lighthouse.

Race Report:

Diamond in the Rough RR

I was looking forward to this race as an opportunity to really race all three legs and see what I can do. At Columbia, I flatted at the end of the bike leg, and at Eagleman, I simply ran it as a long workout, not really racing. So here was my chance to put it all together.

I drove up Saturday leaving at 4:20am and was in the parking lot by 6am, leaving me 2 hours to check in and get ready. Most of the 2nd hour was spent trying to decide if I should wear my wetsuit or not. The ‘official’ water temp was 77.8 degrees, making wetsuits legal but with pretty warm water for racing. Do I risk de-hydrating myself to get the extra 1 or 2 minutes advantage, or swim cool with a slower time? I went with the wetsuit.

Swim – Getting into the water was a challenge. I was the first swimmer to go down the 45 degree ramp, which was also the swim exit. I was in the 1st Wave (with the Clydedales), and we were a few minutes late due to the time it took to get everyone down the ramp. I knew the other waves were not going to go on time with only 3 minutes between waves. I got off clean, and took the lead with one guy on my feet. I was thirsty before we hit the first turn buoy...was this a bad decision? I kept my stroke long and relaxed and was able to sight well until the final turn into the sun. I couldn't see the buoys, the pier, nothing. So I let the drafter go and followed him to the finish, up the ramp, was told to walk on the pier and stairs (wait...isn't this a race?!), run to T1 about 100 yds away and finally got to my bike with a very high HR. I guess those stairs took more out of me than I thought. To calm down, I decide to sit to get my wetsuit off, shoes on, etc. and by then I was the second person out of T1. The first guy must have been from Wave 2, because the Clydesdale who beat me out of the water crossed the timing mat and basically stopped.

Bike - The first 5 miles were hard for me, due to it being primarily uphill plus my high HR from the swim & T1. Finally got comfortable and began to roll, just as many from Wave 2 and 3 were catching me. I was thirsty and out of water well before the first water stop, where I took on a whole bottle. The flat stretch back along the river was nice; maintained ~24mph until the 1.0M hill that topped out at 22 miles. The rest was mainly downhill and flat; kept up a good pace. I estimate I was passed by at least 20.

T2 -Executed a nice running dismount, a quick change and was gone. Much better than T1.

Run - After a hard ride, my legs were dead, and it took longer than usual to get going. On this out & back flat course, I managed to pick up speed the whole time, with the 4th mile really digging deep. This was probably too deep as I ended up slowing due to a stomach cramp/stitch. The last mile was slower as I tried to relax it away. I was ready to finish.

Details: 1st AG by over 5 mins., 48th overall Finish time- 2:14:35
Swim-15th in 20:29, T1- 2:12, bike-128th in 1:18:40 averaging 20.6mph, T2-0:52, run-40th in 32:25 averaging 6:29mpm

Mission accomplished! I raced the whole thing, pretty much red-lining it the whole way and didn’t blow up. There is still much room for improvement with my bike, and with a bit of speed work, the run can get faster too. Overall, racing and hanging out with the RATs was a great way to kick off the weekend!