Pumpkin Man Sprint Tri race report
It was great to be able to focus on one final race as the summer was winding down. I had been feeling good and trainging was going well. Because of weather and work along with other commitments I was unable to do the last few Nahant races. I think that it kept me sharpe not pushing myself. I actually tapered for this sprint. Not that it was a big taper but still I reduced and adapted my intensity so I could benefit from the recovery to let it all out on 09/10/11.
This race has been growing year after year and I am glad I did it. S. Berwick ME. There were some big pros there and a rather large field. I was registered as an AGE grouper and was slotted to go off in the 3rd wave. 4 minutes behind the elites. the swim was a 1/3 of a mile and the lake was perfect. A triangle, counter clock wise course. My wave was 30-39 so there were a lot of guys jumping in together and we followed the 40-49 men. I took off and felt strong and was moving to the front of the pack. We got to the first turn and there was a huge bottle kneck. As I made the turn I started to see the the caps from the 2nd wave and while frustrated I was able to find a line and pick it up. It was a straigh shot to the next turn before heading to shore. As long as I held a good sight line I knew I would have a great swim. I hit the turn and got to the shore in about 7 min. Once out of the water there a 200 yrd hill that is a 10% grade up. Good friend and participant Vin Miserandino said take off the wet suit before the climb, I did and it worked out well as I passed a few going up.
T1 was quick and I saw one other bike from my wave so I knew I had a good swim. I got up to power. The bike was fast and could feel like I wanted to go faster but I also wanted to make sure I didnt over do it and falter on the run. I was at 275-280 watts and around 23MPH for the 14.4 miles. I felt comfortable and held it there. I passed a few guys from wave 2 and made I made it to T2 feeling ready to run.
I was out of T2 in less than a minute and I felt pretty good. the first 1/4 mile of this run was down hill and that helped get a quick turnover. I saw elite Marnie Lawler and Vin M. out ahead of me. I was feeling good and the first miel was around 5:50. I caught Vin around mile 2 and knew that I was in a good position to take the overall AG win. I held onto the sub 6 min pace and finished the run in the 17:52.
My total finish time was 1:04:23. I was more that pleased with my race especially with the bad luck I had from the two previous ones. I know that those things happen and are out of my control. But it is a great felling going into the off season with a great race to end the season!
