Escape from Fort Delaware 2013 Sprint

On May 18, 2013 I went to an open water swimming session at Marsh Creek State Park.  After swimming I went straight to the bike shop to have my bike fixed.  The Cervelo P3 has a set screw in the rear dropout so you can adjust how close the rear tire is to the bike frame.  Somehow I managed to bend one of the set screws and I couldn't center the tire.  I didn't want to race with the tire rubbing the frame of the bike.  I actually got to the shop before they opened but I only waited a short time for the shop to open.  The mechanic had a little trouble getting the set screw out of the dropout and he had to get some assistance from the other mechanic.  After removing the screw they decided to thread the screw through small rubber washers so the screw would be less likely to bend.  I was only at the shop for an hour but it seemed like I was there much longer.

I went home, ate lunch, packed the car and headed to Delaware City, Delaware.  I'm glad I left the house when I did as it took almost two hours to get to Delaware City.  I still had plenty of time to check in and set up in transition but I was still a little stressed.  I've never done a late afternoon triathlon and given the darkening sky I was hoping we would finish before it rained.  It was very windy and there were white caps in the bay so I was happy we were swimming in the canal.  This was a wetsuit legal race and the water temperature was supposed to be around 70 degrees but it sure felt much colder.  There was a strong current in the canal so they had us queue on the boat ramp until the very last minute. 

 While it looks like there was plenty of room in the canal it was like swimming in a washing machine.  For the entire 500 yards I was hit, kicked, swum into, etc.  I was very glad to exit the canal.

They used the ladder truck to shower us with clean water as we ran up the ramp from the canal.

My fingers were numb and I was wearing a watch on my left wrist.  I had to carry my goggles in my mouth as I tried to get the wetsuit off my arm.  I didn't make any mistakes finding my bike or transitioning to the bike out on the road.

If I had know they were going to photograph me on the bike I would have worn my aero helmet.  As I said earlier, it was windy and I ready had to hang onto those aerobars to keep the bike on a straight line.  This was my first triathlon since I switched to the Zipp 808 wheels and was starting to question my decision to put an 808 on the front of the bike.  I passed a bunch of guys right after I got on the bike and another group of guys in the first couple of miles.  I settled into my comfort zone and just cranked out the miles.  It was an out and back bike ride and I started counting riders as they came back into town.  If my math was correct, I was in seventh place.

I was in and out of transition before one of the guys that rode in before me putting me into sixth place.  I wasn't going to let him catch me so I just ran as fast as I could.  I could see two runners ahead of me and I worked to chase down the slowest runner.  I counted the runners as they made the turn and headed back to the finish line, now I was in fifth place!  I crossed the finish line and everyone congratulated each other and confirmed our finishing place.  It's a fifth place finish for Bob!  I was the fifth fastest man but finished seventh overall as two of the women finished faster than me.

It was getting colder and starting to rain so they decided to have the award ceremony a little earlier then planned.  The guy that won the triathlon wasn't around when they took the photos.  Awards went to the top five men, the top three women and the winners in each age group.  

I was the third fastest cyclist in the triathlon.  I guess all those hours riding the bike trainer paid off.