750 meter swim, 20K bike, 5K run (run leg of relay)
The Jetton Tri is a race that was brought back to life by Jeff and Sheila Wakeman. Fellow Team In Motion club members and founders of Wakeman Charities. The Wakeman’s got with Setup Events and brought another great sprint race to the Lake Norman area. Better yet, to our back yard. Literally. We live just off of Jetton Park and had all of a .67 mile walk to the start finish line.
Our club was a sponsor on the event and had a tent set up as well as strong member participation. We also had the FCA-E tent setup and a few folks racing as well. The White Lake Half was the weekend before and a good many club members did it. With our club sponsorship came two entries to the race. Because so many people were doing White Lake, we were struggling to find individuals to do Jetton. So instead, we formed two relay teams – TIMTC #1 and #2.
I was placed on #1 with swimmer, Mike Stern and biker, Nick. The other team was Matt Perry in the water, Jeff Haas on the bike and Ed Sofio on the run. A pretty stout team as well. Mike is new to triathlon, however not new to the water. He was also going to be trying out his new wetsuit on this swim. I was well aware of Nick’s prowess on the bike, however he would be up against probably our club’s fastest guy in the saddle, Jeff Haas.
I went to greet Allyson and the girls who had walked over to watch. The swim was about 10 minutes away. I had not yet placed my number on my race belt and needed to do so. As I always do (because I don’t have the finger nails to do otherwise) put my race belt up to my mouth to bite off the snap, place the number and refasten. I bit and the snap flew to the back of my throat and down the hatch. Looks like I was going to be racing with a little extra weight.
Fortunately there was a spare on the belt. I felt like the snap was lodged in my esophagus, but I’m sure it was just mental. The swim waves started and the relayers were finally up. Mike killed it, coming out of the water first in his wave and about a minute ahead of TIMTC #2. Nick made the exchange and headed out for the bike, which he killed by the way. 32:24 or ~ 23mph. I did a little warming up as I waited for Nick. We made the handoff and the run was on.
The first mile of the run was uphill out of the park to Jetton Road. I am very familiar with the course as I run it at least one to two times a week. There was a good bit of traffic to start. I was only doing the relay and way back in the field, so it would appear I was going faster than most everyone else. By the time I got to Jetton, my HR was through the roof. I expended a lot getting up the hill. Things were pretty level for the middle mile, but really hot. The good part about that uphill was the big downhill coming back into the park. The exit was on the path and re-entry to the finish was on the road. A very wide open, good surfaced road. It was a matter of holding on to the finish.
Nick and my buddy, Nate-dog Hearns, joined me for the last quarter mile or so and encouraged me in. I needed it big time. I hadn’t tapped those fast twitch muscles in a while. I crossed the line in 19:54. A new 5K PR. I proceeded to go behind the FCA-E tent ‘cause I thought I was about to hurl (which may not have been bad. Perhaps I could have unloaded that snap.)
Our relay took first place and a $20 gift certificate for each of us to Inside Out Sports, or as I call it, Mother’s Day money. Allyson has wanted some tri shorts to wear to her spin classes. We didn’t win by much, but we won. Lots of FCA-E and TIMTC representation on the podium. As it turns out, the only person that bested our time was Nick Frank…the guy that won. Which isn’t saying much seeing as it was a 3 on 1.
So Whats?
- Don’t bite the snap off your race belt. Ever.
- Warming up before a run is helpful, however it is not that helpful if you have not been training those fast twitch muscles. A 5K can feel more difficult than a half marathon.
- Having the family out at races is what it is all about. Hanging out at a race sure beats sitting around in our pj’s all Saturday morning.
Had lots of fun doing the relay at Jetton. The race is definitely here to stay and will most likely pack out a full field next year. Next up is Tri Latta (Saturday this year vs. novice day Sunday.) It will be a stout, fast field.
No comments:
Post a Comment