750 meter swim, 17 mile bike, 5K run
My inaugural Tri Latta was going to be a one-time unique opportunity I won’t get after this year. Starting last season, the race was split into a two day event – Saturday being the Elites and Age Groupers, then Sunday being an all Novice event. As mentioned prior, you get one full season to compete as a Novice in the NC Triathlon Series. In all of the other races, you are kind of competing against the whole field, but you are really competing for a win-place-or show in your category. This race, the competition is the whole field.
It was also going to be treat to have my dad there with me on Father’s Day. He had never been to or seen a triathlon event. I would have loved to have my two little ones there as well, however the race was a 6:30 start?!#@*%! A little too early for even those who often get up before the sun comes up to snack on Cheerios and watch Noggin or Playhouse Disney.
My dad, Allyson and I got up at a criminal hour to start getting ready. I actually got up first around 4:15 or so to make a few laps walking around the block listening to Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’ (my current favorite training tunes.) Then back in the house to load up the tri-bag. Seriously, this sport requires a lot of crap. A giant bag o’ crap. Bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, towels, water bottles, poker chips, jar of mayo, hat, shades, socks, toaster, (I could keep going…) Seriously, lots of crap.
The race site, Latta Plantation Park, is only about a 15 minute drive from the house. Participants were required to be inside the park gate by 6:00 or face the 2.2 mile bike/ride or walk from the main road. We made it in plenty of time and made our way through the dark to the race site, which I thought was a really great site. Very rustic. Out in the middle of nowhere. The transition area was in a field with a sand volleyball court in the middle. The run finish was on grass. The entry and exit to the swim were on a natural shoreline vs. a man-made beach area or boat ramp. Nearly all grass run from swim to bike. Au naturale.
TA setup, chip pickup, number stamp, all that jazz was pretty uneventful. I made my way down to the lakeside around 6:20. The start was a wave start alphabetically, so I was in wave #3 with all the males last name P-Z. Nick was in there with me and another friend of mine, James Ruth. The water temperature was ehck. Like 91 degrees. I heard from several folks they were embarrassed to post the temp because it was so warm. Like a warm bath warm. Wiggled my way to the front of the wave, horn sounded and we were off.
The swim went well. I saw my friend James to the left of me at the start. He pulled ahead about a hundred yards into it and that was pretty much how we came out of the water, 1-2 (James actually registered the second fastest swim of the day.) The traffic in the water was minimal. They did a good job of spacing out the waves. Only had one very minor run in near the turn around point.
It was up a slight hill to the TA. I had asked Allyson to yell out how many yellow caps came out ahead of me, so I heard her yelling ‘one! one!’ which I already knew because I had James in my sights (but thank you anyway, hun.) Another buddy of mine, Mike, snapped an action photo and gave a hand slap. He was there cheering for his wife who was competing as well. There was one five foot patch on the transition run that had really fine rocks on it. I’m such a foot wuss. I practically tippy toed across it. Such a foot wuss.
The transition was going great until I hit one slight problem – my shades were completely fogged over. I had set them out in my helmet in the TA on my aerobars and I guess the morning dew got the best of them. So I shoved the stems in my mouth and started running to the bike mount area. I had a small issue getting clipped in but resolved that and got on my way. I went ahead and applied the shades hoping the wind would dry them, which it eventually did by mile 3 or so.
If I hadn’t mentioned it, I suck on the bike. It is by far my worst of the three disciplines, and that became apparent yet again by about mile 4-5 or so heading up the first hill. I see a hill – not even get to it yet, just see it – and start slowing down. At the top of the hill, I started the first of a series of cramps in my right calf. Four times on this ride I had to stop pedaling, extend my right leg and stretch just to be able to continue.
As we were exiting the Huntersville Business Park I heard a loud “go Aryfi” from behind me. It was my teammate Nick rapidly approaching. If I haven’t mentioned it, Nick does not suck on the bike. He is very good on the bike. He paused very briefly to ask if I was ok, which I communicated I was cramping. I told him to go and win it and he was off. This all happened about midway through the bike. He pulled away little by little over the remainder of the ride. By the time we were on the two mile stretch on the side road back to the race site, I had lost him.
I kept pushing until the dismount area. I was coming in pretty hot and ended up skidding past the dismount line about five feet or so. I thought for sure I was going to get a penalty for this, but I didn’t. On Saturday I most likely would have. I entered the TA where I sort of had a tough time finding my rack spot. Probably lost 10-15 seconds or so there. Finally found it, transitioned and off to the run.
I really enjoyed the run. Mostly I think I was just happy to get off the bike. The run was a 5K on the packed gravel and dirt trail system in Latta Plantation Park. Though definitely not flat, it didn’t feel overly hilly either. Again, I was just happy to be off the bike. The run felt pretty strong. Though not my best 5K time ever, I was certainly happy with the time given the bike effort along with the cramping. I was able to pass a bunch of folks on the run. As I came to the finish line, Allyson and dad were cheering. A friend of mine (and Saturday 2nd place finisher) Lance Leo was yelling that I had someone on my heels. I kicked it in best I could, held the spot and finished at 1:30:06.
Over the next hour and a half we watched a dozen or so friends and acquaintances cross the line. Our marathon coach Eddie David was competing in his first triathlon and it was great to see him come across the line strong (and survive that swim! Good job, coach!) Normally they post results periodically as folks are finishing and you can kind of get an idea of where you stand. They did not posting results. Everyone was going to find out at the same time at the awards ceremony.
I had no clue if the time was good enough to place. Again, I was competing against a full field. My time would have been good for a top 10 the previous year, but not a place. This year they were giving out five place awards vs. the standard three. They started with 5th place at a 1:31:14, so I knew I had at least placed. The announcer kept working his way up the list. He then announced 3rd place Joe Smith at a 1:30:08 (Joe beat me for the Novice win at Over the Mountain and ironically was the guy in the video above that was two seconds behind me as we came to the finish line.) So second place it was - by two whole seconds - and 40 seconds off the win.
I was shocked and ecstatic. It was a great Father’s Day treat and great to be able to share it with my dad. The 2nd obviously helped with my opinion of this race, but all in all this was a great event that I look forward to doing again next year. It’s hard to beat an event right down the road in such a great setting, even though the start time should be outlawed. It's a four week break and it is onto the next Olympic distance race. And apparently a really fast race located on the Chattanooga downtown waterfront. Very much looking forward to it (and praying for a flat bike course!)
Official results 2nd overall
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