Minor VictoriesThe 2nd annual Evansville Triathlon was Saturday, August 18th, 2007 and I was looking to improve on my time from last year’s event (not unlike everyone else). My friend Mason and his wife Julie Flake invited me to spend the night with their family before the race on Friday evening in Evansville. I met Mason at the packet pickup at the YMCA and we headed over to his house from a nice dinner and conversation before heading to bed for what we be a 5 AM wakeup. Somehow I got bit by something a few weeks back and they have been testing me for Lyme disease. Nothing serious if treated, but makes for lots of sore muscles for a few weeks. This didn’t help my prep for this race one bit. With a top ten finish last year, and an age group win, the pressure was on for a similar race this year.
The race up the beach to the transition area where my bike was in rack #35 went really quick. I had my new Nike T-speed cycling shoes clipped in to the pedals ahead of time, so I just had to put my helmet on, grab the bike and run it to the road. Since this race was chip timed they got the splits on how long it takes in transition. This was my 3rd minor victory; I ended up with the fastest first transition (T1) in 27 seconds. The 19.6 mile ride starts with some good rolling hills. It also featured a bit of cross wind that challenged my bike handling skills while down on the aero bars. I felt fairly good. Since cycling is what I do best, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be go out as hard as possible. About half way into the ride I passed a guy who immediately passed me back. Last year I had the second fastest bike split, so I know it is a bad thing to be getting passed. However, I could see by the “B” marked on his calf muscle he started in the wave before me. I ended up trying hard to catch him the last 9 miles only to fail in my attempts. To be honest he did me a favor having someone to try and catch. We had a nice conversation after the race, knowing it made us both work harder. He was probably 10 to 15 bike lengths ahead of me most of the time.
The first mile of the run I felt decent, but got passed by two runners. One was Barry Knight who went on to win the race by 5 minutes. The second I believe was on a team of 3. From there on I finally caught up with a few other runners, but didn’t make up as much time as I had planned. In the last mile I had 3 people to try and pass, but I only got one of them. I ended up running the 5k in 22 minutes 7 seconds. My final time of 1 hour 23 minutes and 46 seconds was 9th fastest out of the 334 finishers. Bad news was I ended up 2nd in my age group. Not what I had looked for, but still 3 plus minutes faster than last year. Another minor victory after all was said and done. After I finished I walked back up the last hill to cheer on Mason who started in the last wave behind me. Good opportunity to cheer on everyone else who was headed down the stretch for the finish banner. Saw Mason not long after I made it up the hill and watched him run down. He also beat last year’s time, and had a decent race going himself. Having a high finish is a good thing, but certainly not as important as enjoying the company of friends and fellow competitors. After all, finishing any triathlon should be a blessing not to be overlooked. At 49 I know my number of top ten finishes is limited. I’ll be racing in the 50-54 age group next year, and father time waits for no man. God has been good to me in every sense of the word. Good friends, and competitive sport to enjoy, and the health to make it to the finish. I suppose the real finish is when you stand before God after the finish line of life. Will he say “Well done my good and faithful servant”, or something anyone would dread? My real goal is the former and not the later. |
On race morning we arrived at the race site at 6:15 AM, so plenty of time before the pre-race meeting at 7:30, and the start at 8:00. Had the opportunity to speak with several triathletes I know from other events as well as this event last year. Always a good way to start the event, having friends in this sport means a lot.
The start consisted of 6 waves in the swim, 3 minutes between each. I was scheduled for the 3rd wave, men 45+. Watching the first wave go off, the start was so shallow that most of the first 50 to 75 yards to the first buoy was a run in knee deep water. Can’t say I have ever seen that before. Once my wave started I also had the opportunity to run, and dolphin dive to the first buoy. My first minor victory, I was near the front at the buoy, and that never happens. The rest of the swim was comfortable which considering my swimming skill is also a minor victory. I made the 500 yard or so swim in 9 minutes 56 seconds. Not too bad.
We finally made it back for the second transition (T2) and I pulled my feet out of my cycling shoes in advance so I could make the quick get away to the rack in bare feet. I reracked the bike, threw on my running shoes and headed out for the 5k run. Found out later my bike split was 50 minutes and 39 seconds, 1 second faster than last year, but only 7th fastest for the day. My second transition was 36 seconds, about 9th fastest which is still good.