Nation's Triathlon

I went to Washington, DC for the 2012 Nation's Triathlon on September 9, 2012.  This was a qualifying event for the USAT Age Group National Championship so I wanted to place high enough to qualify for the 2012 AGNC.  This is my second time in Washington, DC for the Nation's Triathlon and the one constant is the humidity.  If it's this humid in September it must be really bad in July and August.

We drove to Washington, DC on Friday and stopped at the expo to pick up my race kit.  How do you like my cover shot for Triathlete magazine?

We are required to rack our bikes on Saturday morning and just like last year I was one of the first people to drop off my bike.  Last year the racks were not numbered and it was first come first served if you wanted a good spot on the bike rack.  This year the racks were numbered but I still had a great spot on the end of the rack next to the main aisle.  The weather service was calling for a front to pass through the area Saturday afternoon so I covered my bike.

 My wife Carol was checking out the museums while I was dropping off my bike.  After lunch we walked around the Washington monuments and made it back to the hotel about 15 minutes before the storm arrived.  The storm brought lots of rain and high winds and maybe even some hail.  The storm blew away the heat and humidity so it should be perfect weather on Sunday morning.  There were messages posted on Facebook about bikes and bike racks blown over during the storm.  I hoped my bike wasn't damaged but there wasn't anything I could do except wait until Sunday morning to check out the bike.  

These very large buoys will be placed on the river every 100 meters so it shouldn't be too difficult to follow the swim course on Sunday morning.

A lot of the people on my floor at the hotel were with Team in Training and Saturday night their doors were decorated in purple with happy messages and best wishes.  The first bus from the hotel left at 4:30 AM and last year I was the only person on the bus that wasn't wearing purple.  This year it was just a handful of athletes and staff on the first bus.  I was able to borrow a bike pump and use my headlamp to illuminate the gauge.  The music and announcements started and we were informed that wetsuits would not be allowed.  I finished setting up my gear and headed over to the swim start without my wetsuit.  I must admit I was anxious about the swim start.  I had never done a swim start where every seven seconds six swimmers jump off the dock and start swimming.

It was finally time to close down transition and start the triathlon.  As each wave was headed towards the river he inched our way up the street.  At the top of the hill there was someone reading off bib numbers and another person punching the numbers into a machine.  I hope that guy works in accounting because he had to quickly enter those numbers.  We were told to keep moving and once we got on the dock it was lined off with stips of tape for each athlete.  I picked my sport and hung my toes off the edge of the dock.  The they said "go" I was gone and in the water before anyone else in my wave.  I zig zagged my way up the river and rounded the turn buoy.  I really need to learn how to swim in a straight line.  My downstream swim was much better.  I forgot to start my watch so when I made it back to transition I had no idea how long it took to complete the swim.

I didn't have any issues finding my bike in the transition area even though none of the bikes on my rack were missing.  I guess that meant I was the first person in my age group out of the water.  Since I didn't have to strip off a wetsuit I was fairly quick getting out to the bike mount line.  Last year I almost ran into the back of a bike that stopped in front of me.  I had to pull my foot out of my shoe and ended up scraping my toes on the street.  This year I practiced mounting the bike with my shoes attached to the pedals and the mount went well.  I was down into the aero position and shifted into a higher gear.  

I do love the bike ride in the Nation's Triathlon.  There are a few small hills but overall the course is flat and fast.  The turnaround uses the off / on ramp of the highway which is faster and safer then the typical orange cone on the double yellow line.  I passed, was passed and re-passed the same couple of bike riders for the entire 24 mile bike ride.  I never realized how many Cervelo bikes were used in triathlons until I bought my bike.  It's sort of like buying a new car and you discover every third car is just like your new car.  I need to customize my bike.  I slipped my feet out of my shoes and jumped off the bike ahead of the dismount line.  I ran past some other riders on my way into transition and then I racked my bike.

I took off my helmet and pulled on my socks and shoes then I put on the race belt as I ran through transition.  I'm trying to improve my transition times and putting the belt on while running does save a couple of seconds.  My goal was to chase down the runner ahead of me and that plan worked well.  Every time I passed a runner I focused on chasing down the next runner.  This is a program I recommend everyone use.

 I ran my own race and I finished well.  In fact I was elated to find out I finished with a new personal record and fast enough to qualify for the 2013 Age Group National Championship.