I think the Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon was actually the first triathlon I registered for. I was able to get in on the ‘early bird special’ by way of being a Cornelius YMCA member. Apparently the Y gets a certain number of reserved spots for this race, which came in handy for a race that typically fills up online in about 15 minutes.
So I went ahead and registered. I recall this being right around Christmas time. In fact, I think it was Christmas Eve because Allyson and I went to a spin class that day. I filled out the registration, cut the check and there it was. Only two problems at this point…
One, I couldn’t swim. I mean I could tread water and make it to the shore if I survived a crash landing in an airplane or the cruise ship I was vacationing on capsized or something. I could do the tread, doggy paddle, tread, doggy paddle routine. That was about it. As far as getting in a lap pool and churning out laps like a real swimmer, I was clueless.
Two, I didn’t own a bike (see more in the ‘Tri Transition’ entry in the archive.) I had started doing some spin classes in anticipation that I was heading in the direction of triathlon, but as far as actually being on a road bike with gears puttering around the streets, I hadn’t done that in probably 20 years. Needless to say I had a lot of work to do…
By the time the LKN Tri rolled around, it would be my sixth race of the year, so no worries on the swimming and biking. I had plenty of practice at this point. Probably one of the only concerns going into the race was that it sort of snuck up on me amidst my training for my first half Ironman in late September. I hadn’t been doing any sprint distance training. Only longer training sessions.
A few weeks before the race, my training partner Nick got him some Mavic Cosmic Elite aero wheels. They were hot. They looked good and made an already fast guy on the bike even faster. After a couple of rides he said they made a considerable difference. I believed Nick, but I guess I needed to find out for myself. My friend Robert Ray let me borrow his Cosmic Elites for a long ride we did. They made a huge difference.
Robert graciously offered his wheels to me for the half, which was very cool of him, however he was going to need them for LKN, so I was on my own. The week of the race, he called and said he was demoing some Zipp 606’s and I could use his wheels for the race. Needless to say, this was music to my ears. Heaven knows I can use every bit of help I can get on the bike. If the wheels gave me even a minute on the bike, I’d take it. If someone told me that if I rode naked it would help, I would seriously consider it (my crotch is already all chapped and burning anyway, so why not…)
The Y is literally five miles from Nick and I’s ‘hood. We actually considered just riding to the race versus trying to find parking. The field was around 800 participants, so parking was going to be limited to say the least. We re-thought that idea since it was going to be pitch dark at o’ 5:30 in the morning and the potential for an errant flat was highly probable. My dad and mom stayed over Friday and he offered to drive us and drop us off.
The race site was buzzing. It was great because this was pretty much the homer race for all my tri club buddies and other friends that live in the area. I’d say there were nearly 25-30 folks in the field I was either good friends with or knew on a first name basis. Chip pickup, body marking and transition setup was pretty status quo. I did sort of have a funky TA spot located on this small, grassy parking lot island, which was a little weird. I had to step on an off it versus everyone else that was on flat, paved ground in the parking lot. No biggie though. The actual spot was easy access to all the entries and exits.
I headed down to the beach for the swim start. Like usual, the Novices were in the last swim wave. While waiting, my sexy wife and the rest of the family arrived. Allyson is in the throws of training for her first marathon. She actually ran to the race from our house. That’s hot. Her and her friend, Kalyana (Nick’s wife) ran together. The family all met me down at the beach for hugs and kisses before shoving off. My mom was at the race, too. Her first triathlon ever.
Water temp was quite warm and there were lots of Novices and relay folks. Probably 40-50 in our wave. The horn sounded and we were off. The first part of the swim went off without a hitch. I rounded the first turn, no problem. Headed toward the second turn where our friend, Jamie Sickmond was lifeguarding in one of the kayaks. Of course, Nick and I didn’t know that until after the race or we certainly would have stopped for a quick hello, maybe a high five or some swim tips.
Rounded the second turn and the fun began. At this point, we were swimming about 300 yards back toward shore directly into glaring sunlight. I couldn’t see a thing. I was hoping the splash from the swimmers in front of me was in the general right direction because that was all I could see to follow. The buoys were visible once you got right up on them. Past that, it was like swimming directly into a spotlight.
Finished the swim and onto the bike. It was a short run to the TA. Got all geared up and started the trot to the bike start, only to come upon two ladies literally walking their bikes to the exit and having a nice little chat. As kindly and gently as I could said, “Come on ladies, we’re racing here.” The one gal didn’t seem to like that, responding with an ‘ok, ok…’ They moved aside and off I went. As I exited the parking lot passing a couple of folks, I nearly ran head first into my friend Lance who was coming in from his ride (in first place overall, might I add.)
The ride started off without a hitch. I made the right hand turn near Davidson College, tucked down on the aero bars and settled in. Shortly after, up ahead I saw a guy walking his bike back in the direction of the Y. I remember instantly thinking, ‘dang, that sucks. Poor guy.’ About a second later I realized it was my friend Robert that had let me borrow his wheels. He flatted the $1200 rear wheel he was demoing. Needless to say, I felt horrible. He’s walking and I’m cruising on his wheels.
I pressed on. Around mile 4 or 5, the inevitable pass by my teammate Nick happened. If I hadn’t said it before, Nick is wicked fast on the bike. He’s an animal. No matter what the race, if by chance I come out of the water first, it is only a matter of time before he goes zipping by me on the bike. He did and I followed closely for a little while. At one point, he nearly ran over a cat, which was scary and hilarious at the same time. Shortly after that, he started pulling away. Side note: I felt bad for the two or three homes along the course that were trying to have garage sales that morning. All the bikes on the roads certainly didn’t help business.
I actually felt like I picked up pace on the last third of the ride, even with the big ol’ hill on Midway Lake Road (I’ve climbed that hill more times than I’d like to admit.) The ride back into Davidson/Cornelius was great and fast. Cruised back into the Y parking lot, off the bike and onto the run. The transition was a good one. All of the family was right there cheering.
It was certainly warming up outside by the start of the run. I dumped a cup of water on my head at the start of the run and settled into a steady pace that felt good. The run was through Victoria Bay, a neighborhood there near the Y. Pretty flat for the most part, except for one gentle, steady hill around mile 2. Just before that hill, I caught up with Nick and we hoofed it together for a while. Several folks made comments as we ran by. One guy asked us to slow down so he could draft.
I started my kick with around a mile to go. The last half a mile or so was a fairly steep downhill, which was nice and also a little worrisome. Definitely not good on the old knees pounding into the pavement that fast. But who am I kidding, I loved it. I felt like putting my arms up and pretending it was the first downhill on a rollercoaster. It certainly felt that way coming to the finish.
I approached the finish line and there was a mat on the ground. I thought it was the finish line mat but it was actually a notification mat to alert the announcer of who was coming to the line. I was slowing to a stop and heard Allyson scream “Keep going! That’s not the finish!” I picked it back up and finished at 1:27:43. I thought on my best possible day around a 1:28 was the best I could do and was expecting closer to a 1:30, so I was pleased with the results.
The post-race festivities and awards were great. Lots of folks stuck around and as I mentioned before, there were a bunch of people there that we knew. I watched several friends and acquaintances get awards in their categories. It came around to the Male Novice results. They had not posted results, so the awards were a surprise to everyone. They started with first and I was fortunate enough to win it, followed very closely behind by friend and teammate, Nick. He had an outstanding race as well, around 4 minutes ahead of last year’s Novice winner time.
Bill Scott, the NC Triathlon Series coordinator was doing the announcing. He had seen Nick and I on his podiums a number of times throughout the season. After calling up Nick and reading off his time, he says - over the loud speaker in front of the whole crowd might I add - “those are some good times, guys. No more Novice for the two of you.” That got a laugh from the crowd, but he was right. That would be our last Novice race in the NC series. Next year it would be onto the age groups to get my butt handed to me in the most competitive group in the series, the 35-39 year olds.
But before that, one more Novice race in the SC Triathlon Series at the SC Half Ironman in Greenwood, SC. This is the big one. Nick, Brandon and I had put nearly 11 weeks of training into this race so far. There would be five more leading up to it on September 28th. I’ve had a blast so far this year, but this will certainly be the pinnacle. I would have never dreamed a year ago a half was remotely possible. Three marathons and six triathlons later, it was rapidly approaching. This is going to be fun…
Official results - 1st place Novice, 63rd overall
