I got to Beltsville State Park in Lehighton PA on Friday night, and somehow I was only remembering the good things about those memorable triathlons I've done here. I tall looked so familiar, although they changed a bit the transition area. And looking at the lake, for the first time ever in my triathlon career, I looked at the buoy-lined course and thought it's not that long (I'm usually terrified by looking at the water).
Back at the house, I set up my race numbers, packed my bag, had a beer, ate some paste, and tried to go to sleep earlier. After all, I had to wake up at 5:45... And probably because of the stress I woke up on my own a few minutes before that. We drove to the park (about 20 minutes away), took my time setting up the transition, then started the struggle of getting into the wetsuit. In the meantime, the announcer was making jokes about how all wetsuits shrink over the winter, and it has nothing to do with our bodies. Since the swim start was on a different beach, I walked over there, and went in to warm up. Being around mid-May, the water was probably colder than I've ever swam in for a prolonged length of time (around 62 degrees). I took a few strokes around, trying to get used to the polar water, and was happy to notice that the lake was very clear.
I was, like so often, in the first wave (elite and 40 and under), so we were the first to get to the starting line (an in water start). The GO signal came and I started, like usual, at the back. I'm still not very comfortable in open waters (or, well, in swimming in general), so I prefer to stay out of the washing machine...
I'm the one in black with a silver capBeing a sprint, there are a lot of beginners in the race, so I was passing more people than I'm used to. Almost unusually many people, I was passing right, and left, and in between. The turn buoy came way earlier than I was expecting, so I went on sprinting towards the exit beach. I don't remember ever swimming that fast in a race, I had to go to breathing every stroke over the last 200-250 meters.
The big surprise came later in the day when I was able to check my swimming time. My fastest mile pace ever had been 43:54, last fall. Well, today, I swam the 650 meters in an astounding 12:09, which translates to a 30:33 min/mile pace!! It was not just faster than I'd ever swum, it really crushed my previous best time. Not to mention that I've never come out of the water this fast, and I'd done some much shorter races.
Next, T1. It may not sound like a lot to you, but my transitions are quite slow, especially T1 when I'm still confused out of the water ordeal. So my 4:02 transition was actually my fastest T1 ever. The race had just started, and I set two personal records. But that was about it.
The bike course was just 11 miles, but extremely hilly, and my plan was to hold back from going too hard, so I save my legs for Sunday. I tend to go really hard on the bike, so I had to fight my instincts and hold back. I still passed a lot of people, but I also got passed a lot. On the last hill before getting off the main road, a kid on a fat-tire mountain bike passed me! I was so surprised, but I knew the biggest hill on the course was coming up and I could already see him hitting the wall and dropping back. The Lovitt Hill is a monster, steep and neverending. And that kid wasn't going anywhere. He led the way as we passed two full pelotons of riders, and then he took off and I didn't see him again. But I made it in one piece to the top (while many others were walking their bikes up). From the top we began a long easy descent for about 3 miles. This was probably the best part of the race. I went down in aero and started spinning the pedals on the downhill road. I got up to almost 40mph, as I was going down almost head first, it was an amazing feeling!
Right at the bottom of that descent, the sadistic organizers put up a sharp right turn, and after the turn an evil extremely steep hill, almost like a wall. In past years, I've seen people scrambling to downshift here, dropping their chain, and falling down. I have the advantage of having ridden this course plenty of times, so I knew to get ready, but getting over the top was still a struggle. Then it was easy cruising into T2. Not a very good average (15.8mph), but considering the very hilly course and the fact that I was holding back a lot, I was content with it. Plus, it's the fastest I'd ever gone at Black Bear.
T2 was 2:06, seconds from my fastest triathlon T2 ever. Then I headed out on the scenic Black Bear run course. It goes along the lake for a half a mile, then into the woods, all on trails. I wasn't pushing at all, and I felt like I could go much faster, but I knew this is just the beginning of the weekend. People were going past me easily, but I just enjoyed the scenery. Out of the woods, we went up on the Beltsville dam, and we crossed it half way to the turn-around point. Coming back, towards the finish, I was easily cruising, despite encouragements from volunteers and other runners to go hard, cause the race is almost over. It was an unusual easy finish, since I tend to go all out towards the line. Running time was 26:13 for 5K, or 8:28/mile, my 2nd fastest triathlon run ever, only seconds from my best one.
So, a very successful first stage of my race weekend, that I completed in 1:26:17. Time is irrelevant in a non-standard sprint, but my final ranking, 140th out of 324 is the first time that I finish in the top half of the racers. Even more, I had the 178th swimming time, almost at the halfway mark, but so different from my usual "among the last ones" placements. Even my bike placement, 99/324, was my best ever in a triathlon!
The organization was top notch, as it's always with the Redrows and CGI Racing. They told me there's about 4 crazies that signed up for both races, so I felt like part of an elite few. I was a bit scared about next day, not sure how I can handle an Oly after a hard triathlon, especially terrified of the swim distance! But well, it was just an Oly, right?
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