By Ben Lakin

butriathlon.com

 Final 5:55:53

15^th M25-29, 224^th OA

Having spent a year intensely training with the BU Triathlon Team, I was ready for a new challenge.  I had completed three Sprint and two Olympic Distance Triathlons over the past year, and I was ready to try the Half Ironman distance.  I registered for the Patriot Half in East Freetown, MA in January, knowing that I wanted my second race of the season to be a half ironman.  I trained hard all spring, focusing on building a lot of base for the longer distances.  My goal was simply to finish in less than 6 hours (I was striving to break 5:45), and I was fairly pleased with my performance on race day.  I raced hard, learned a lot and gained confidence that I could complete longer endurance sports.  

RACE MORNING

Since the swim waves started at 7 AM for the Patriot, I awoke at 4 AM on race day.  I quickly dressed in my tri gear and warm ups, prepared an English muffin with peanut butter, woke up my girlfriend who agreed to come to the race with me (I know…what was she thinking?) and lugged all my previously-packed gear to the car.  We drove down to East Freetown as the sun was cresting over the horizon, and the scene made me more excited.  The drive lasted about an hour, and during that time I ate my English muffin and continued hydrating.  We arrived at the parking area around 5:30 AM. 

Unfortunately, the lines for registration and body marking were already fairly long and growing quickly.  I hurriedly signed in, picked up my “schwag bag” and waited to be body marked.  Once marked, I proceeded into the transition area to set up everything.  Typically, I warm up with a short run followed by a swim before the race start.  However, due to the lines to get body marked, I had to settle for just a warm up swim.  After ensuring my transition area was arranged correctly, I studied the entrances and exits to the transition area, memorized the location of my bike rack, donned my wet suit and headed to the race starting area for a warm up swim.     

With swimming not my strongest sport, I’ve started doing a warm up swim before each race to calm my anxiety and let my body adjust to the water temperature.  Thankfully, the water wasn’t cold on Long Pond as it was 70-degrees on race day.  This is my first year racing with a wetsuit, and I have greatly enjoyed the investment.   Before starting the swim, I examined my goggles and ensured they were adjusted correctly.  For the warm up, Mark Slater (another graduate student on the BU Tri Team) and I swam out to the first buoy and back, and I simply focused on sighting and form and mixed in a few accelerations to increase my heart rate.  Feeling pretty loose after the warm up swim, I proceeded over to the starting area and was ready to race.

SWIM   36:34

The swim was a 1.2-mile rectangular course with a shallow water start.  When our wave was called, we all proceeded over the timing chip mat and into the water.  I dipped under the water once more to check my goggle seal and then made my way over to the right side of the mob in an effort to avoid some of the craziness when the swam began.  Finally, the bell sounded and we started.  Despite trying to move to the right before the start, I still was kicked and whacked a few times in the first 100-yards. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to stay with the leaders on the swim.  I tried to stay focused, concentrated on my form, breathing and conserving energy for the remainder of the race.  Thankfully, my open water swimming skills have begun to improve, and I found myself tracking fairly straight and sighting well.  After about 200-yards, I fell into a rhythm and swam the long distance. 

T1   4:04

This year, I learned that swimming until your hands reach the ground is faster than standing up earlier and attempting to run out of the deeper water.  That’s what I did, swam until my hands touched bottom. Emerging from the water, I was dizzy.  I often become dizzy after a hard swim, but I focused on jogging out of the water and removing my goggles and swim cap.  I started stripping my wetsuit as I ran towards my bike. As I ran to my bike, I noticed my friend Mark was already at his transition spot.  Since we were the first wave, we were some of the first racers out of the water.  Being new to wearing a wetsuit, I learned I need to practice removing it quickly.  I struggled to remove the wetsuit from my feet before finally succeeding.  Since I was doing my first half ironman, I decided to don biking shorts for more comfort on the ride.  I slid those on over my underarmor shorts.  Then, I put on my shoes, gloves and helmet and ran out toward the mount line.

BIKE   3:11:32

Initially, it was a little cool on the bike as my skin began to dry in the wind, but the sun was continuing to rise, making for a beautiful day.  Thankfully, the bike course was fairly flat throughout the race.  I quickly settled into a rhythm and cranked out the miles.  The course was a double loop course and was not closed to traffic.  It was well managed and policed at the major intersections.  There were two water bottle exchanges on each loop that I later realized I should have utilized.  I had planned to average 17-18 mph on the bike to save something for the run.  My legs were feeling strong after averaging 18 mph on the first loop.  I kept the pace for the second loop.  It was encouraging to pass my friends, girlfriend and all the spectators at end of the first and second loops. 

After completing the first loop, the temperature began to rise.  I realized it was going to be warm on the run.  There was a beautiful causeway section over a lake on the ride about 20 miles into each loop.  It was foggy and gloomy on the first loop, but the scenery was spectacular on my second pass.  As I approached the camp and headed into the second transition, I knew I had lost a lot of ground on the bike.  I anticipated this. I’m fairly new to cycling and I don’t have an aerodynamic time trial bike.  I was also determined to save some energy for the run.        

T2   3:09

As I entered transition, my legs had their usual wobble.  I quickly racked my bike, changed into running shorts, slipped into my running shoes, grabbed my race belt and hurried toward the run out.  As I exited the transition area, I realized I forgot to grab my next GU.  Oh well…there would be plenty of aid stations with Hammer Gel.  I decided not to turn back. 

RUN   2:00:36

The first ½ mile of the run course follows the same route as the bike.  I had focused on bricks going into this race.  My legs quickly loosened and my stride settled.  I passed several people as I held my 8-minute mile pace.  I passed Mark around mile 2.  My legs and body were feeling great for the first 6 miles, and I maintained my intended pace.  At the six mile marker, I suddenly ran out of steam.  It literally felt like someone had turned off the power to my legs.  My legs didn’t hurt, but I didn’t have any energy.  At this point, I realized that it was quite warm (I later found out it was about 85 degrees) and I was beginning to feel the intensity of the sun.  I slowed and walked for about 20-yds to try to regain my focus.  I started running again, but my energy still was significantly lacking.  After struggling to get some momentum going, I finally reached the mile 7 aid stations.  I gulped down some water, HEED Sports Drink, and dumped a cup of water onto my race hat to cool off.  At this juncture, I created a new plan to finish this race.  I realized I was too dehydrated to maintain my goal pace.  I started running to each aid station.  I walked through the aid stations to pick up water, HEED and/or an orange slice (those tasted so good after 5+ hours of competition!).  Then, I ran to the next aid station.  I simply focused on running to the next aid station.  After 3 miles, I began to get into a rhythm.  This strategy quickly helped me get passed the 12-mile mark.  My adrenaline began to surge as I continued to run towards the finish.  I heard the spectators’ cow bells as I drew closer to the finish line.  What a relief.           

Coming into the camp, over the foot bridge and down the final straight across the line was a great feeling as the announcer called my name.  I grabbed a water bottle, took a seat and tried to relax for a minute as my girlfriend came to greet me.  I was pleased to complete my first half ironman and grateful that I was supported by several good friends.  I learned a lot from this race, and I think my next one could be even faster.

FINAL   5:55:53

By Katie Weller – May 23, 2011

butriathlon.com

Sandwich to Provincetown…and back – 112 miles

THE EARLY MILES

Overall, the CapeRide went really well and was an awesome experience for everyone. Gordon, Chris, and I left from Shawme State Park at 8 AM after having a quick breakfast of bagels and peanut butter. Chris and I camped there the night before in a yurt and the campsite let Gordon park his car in the parking lot all day. The prices were really reasonable and they had great facilities – I recommend the campsite to anyone who races on Cape Cod and needs a place to stay.  The weather was a little rainy and cold, but we all had the right gear; long cycling pants, under armour, light cycling jacket, full gloves.  Chris and I both carried Camelbacks.  Gordon carried two extra water bottles in his jersey pockets. We all had 2 water bottles on our bikes, GU gels, and NRG bars.

We stayed on route 6A the entire ride which was really convenient because there was no chance we could get lost.  Last year, Chris and I spent 10 miles riding around Sandwich looking for our car. We kept the pace around 17-MPH; relatively easy for the first 30 miles. We each pulled for 5 miles and took turns drafting.  The roads were not busy for the first 30 miles.

PROVINCETOWN AND BACK

We turned onto 6A.  Our pace slowed for the next 30 miles to Provincetown due to long hills and busy roads.  We each had 2 gels and a couple small NRG bar samples along the way.  We stopped in Provincetown to use the public bathrooms on the pier and ate sandwiches at one of the snack bar areas. We rested for about an hour, which gave us enough time to relax but didn’t put us behind schedule.  Provincetown was really cold and windy when we arrived, but we made use of a Bank of America ATM area and crammed all 3 of us and our bikes in to get warm!  We received some very weird looks from people walking by.

We finished eating, filled our water bottles up and headed back. At first, the ride was a lot harder.  There was a huge headwind and we were all cold from the rest. We powered up some big hills, which we found were a lot bigger on the way back than the way there. We struggled for a few miles and took turns pulling.  Once we hit 6A, the ride went really well again. We picked up the pace back to 17-18 MPH and finished the ride back in Sandwich where Chris’s parents picked us up.

The cool weather also kept us from sweating excessively. We ended up bringing more than we needed.  I ended up drinking all the water in my Camelback but only half a water bottle.  I wouldn’t bring less because if it were hot, we would have needed the extra calories and water.

This is my second year doing this ride.  It has been a great experience, but I probably won’t do it again. Route 6 is very busy and feels like you’re riding on a highway. It has also been cold and rained both years.  Many of the roads don’t have a much of a shoulder to ride in.  Regardless, I’m really happy I did the ride this year, and look forward to doing more century rides in other parts of the country.

June 4, 2011

Escape the Cape Triathlon

By Chris Tommila

butriathlon.com

Final 0:58:25

3^rd M20-24, 12^th OA

I came into this race feeling pretty good.  My training had tailed off a little bit towards the end of the school year.  I wasn’t coming in to it with all of the momentum I had hoped for.  However, I had been putting a lot of miles in on the bike and done some brick work.  Therefore, I was confident I could very well.  As it turns out, my expectations were spot on, and I performed exactly as I had hoped.

SWIM   9:28

The swim was slightly more difficult than I had planned.  The previous year, we swam with the current over the ? mile course.  This year, we battled it the entire way and it showed in my time.  Knowing that the swim course was a point to point, I decided to cede the inside line to avoid the typical mass of destruction and started about ten yards right of the start buoy.  Shortly after the start, I settled into a groove and had a good stroke going.   I saw a lot of guys surge from the start.  I knew the current was working against us and would be quick to push a lot of those guys back to me within 100 meters.  Luckily, my gamble paid off and I picked off most of them by the time we exited the frigid water (somehow the bay had not even begun to warm up yet).  I ended up coming out of the water 10th in my wave.

T1   1:17

I sprinted into transition from the swim, yanked off my wet suit and started getting ready for the bike.  I looked around and saw that most of the top 10 were still in the transition area at that time.  Having opted not to start with my shoes clipped onto my bike, I threw on my sunglasses, helmet and shoes before running my bike through transition.  I moved up to 8th in my wave in the process.

BIKE   27:44

I had a lot of confidence going into this extremely fast 10 mile bike course.  There are very few hills and they barely feel like inclines when climbing.  About 1 mile into the ride, I realized I was closing in on a couple of riders and made my pass by 3 miles putting me in 6th position on the road; and feeling good.  I fought for position with another oncoming rider before permanently dropping him by mile 4.  As I neared the “no pass zone” set up about a quarter mile from the turnaround, I decided to gun it, hoping that any riders stacked up behind me would have to ride a slower pace.  That tactic helped keep my 6th position until mile 8.  Two very fast riders passed me.  I remained in 8th going into T2.

T2   0:47

I tried the flying dismount for the first time coming into T2.  Luckily, it went off without a hitch and I saved some serious time by leaving my shoes clipped into my bike running into transition.  At this point, the field was spread out and there was only a couple athletes in transition as I threw on my shoes and ran out of T2 holding onto 8th.

RUN   19:10

My legs were a little tight coming out of transition and didn’t loosen up much for about half a mile.  At that point, I began to stretch out a bit more and my pace quickened considerably.  The course was very flat with the exception of one short steep hill about ¾ of mile into the run. After cresting the hill and cruising down the other side, my legs were shaken loose and I began feeling very good.  The rest of the run went by uneventfully and I came across the line in a triathlon 5K PR time of 19:10.  During the run, I had opened up a large gap on my next closest competitor without even noticing.  I had expected that a couple of athletes from later waves may have beaten me and they did.  I dropped from 8th to 12th place in the standings by the time all competitors had finished.

FINAL   0:58:25