The Triple T (TTT) weekend began on Thursday with a drive down to Henryville, Indiana to pick up Tom Geldermann. We competed as a team last year. As the photos of our home offices demonstrate, we probably lack the similar mindsets that underpin smoothly functioning teams. This year we decided to go solo. We got a late start on Friday morning, but made it to the lodge at Shawnee State Park in plenty of time. That was when things began to come a bit off the rails. It turned out that our reservation was for the next weekend.
I immediately tried my old and inevitably useless tactic of asking “where would you put President Bush should he suddenly show up asking to stay the night?” The indirect answer was a mirthless “We have no vacancies and no cancellations.” Someone later pointed out that the Secret Service would probably pay a registered guest several thousand bucks to take a hike. Being neither presidential nor Warren Buffetian, I accepted the help of sympathetic desk clerks at the lodge, who were able to find a room for us in downtown Portsmouth, Ohio.
Before heading there, we did the Prologue, a short 250 meter swim (more like 350), a sharply ascending and steeply descending, five mile bike ride (more like 4) and a one mile run. It was just a warm up for the weekend’s activities. This short test was the fastest I’d done in the three years I’ve competed at the TTT. Tom took a more conservative approach given our meltdown last year.
As would be the case for the rest of the weekend, we met our two rackmates, Martin Cole and Jerry Donohue during both transitions. However, as he would all weekend, Jerry went on to trounce us all on the run. Before the Prologue began, I ran into Ben Niles of Multisport Madness, and Russell Lane of TrainingBible Coaching. They both went on to have great races all weekend.
The following morning, the first Olympic distance race went pretty well. I was about two minutes slower than 2006, but a little faster than last year. Tom, again playing it conservatively was a few minutes slower than last year. The swim and run are on the same course for all the races. The water was quite cold this year. The reported temperature was 56. It was cold, but I don’t think it was actually that frigid. The morning bike course twists and turns its way through the Shawnee State Park and featured the steepest climb of the weekend, a 14% grade that gradually leveled out to an 8% pitch for the rest of the mile ride to the summit. The run goes up up up and down over a rocky, eroded and very hilly trail that winds through the forest. The weather was perfect, although a bit cold at 45 degrees for the start of the swim. It warmed up to the low 70’s by the end of the first race.
We headed back to the hotel for a nap before the afternoon Olympic. For those not familiar with the distances, an Olympic Triathlon consists of a 1.5 K swim (almost a mile), a 40 K bike (almost 25 miles), and a 10 K run (6.2 miles).
We were a bit groggy as we headed back to the transition area. The afternoon race is the beginning of the team competition in which two person teams are allowed to draft each other on the bike. I must have been groggier than I thought since I arrived in the start line with a flat tire. I managed, even in my building panic, to change the tire in time to start a bit behind my seeded spot. But since we’re timed using an electronic chip around our ankles, no harm was done. I was a little nervous about riding on a new tubular tire that had not be glued down, especially after the unnerving speed wobble that I had experienced during the morning ride. Unconventionally, the afternoon race began with the bike, a straight out and back along the main drag leading to the park. The first 9 miles are generally hilly, but at about mile seven a steep climb begins which is followed by a steep 1.3 mile descent to a 3 mile windy flat out to the turn around. The climb on the way back is a killer.
I had my second scary speed wobble on the big descent. As I passed a guy, I could see the fear in his eyes. I can only imagine what he saw in mine. My bike was shaking so violently while descending at almost 40 mph that I was afraid that the top tube was going to snap. When I got control on the flat portion, I stopped until I stopped shaking and checked everything out. It seemed fine, but I was very conservative on the way back.
Swimming after the bike was a welcome relief last year. It was 93 degrees, and the water was a perfect 74. This year the cold water left me on the verge of cramping the entire swim. As I emerged from the water, I saw the beach and bridge back to transition littered with bodies in various frozen and cramped positions. Some of these competitors had attempted to save time by swimming without their wetsuits. Not a good idea.
I managed to keep running for the entire run course, but my pace was considerably slower than the morning’s effort. I did manage to beat my best time from the previous two years by a couple of minutes. Tom beat our time of last year by minutes as well.
We were pretty tired at this point. So, we drove back to Portsmouth, ate and went to bed.
The next morning we packed up early and headed to the park for the half ironman, a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Hills, hills, hills. I took it easy on the swim, and headed out for the first loop of a two loop bike course. After an easy five miles, we hit the long 1.3 mile switchback climb. This double loop is the most beautiful of the weekend, although I’m not sure that everyone was in the best frame of mind to appreciate it. I was faster on the bike, (although that’s a relative term), than my two previous years. As I started the run, I was tired, but felt pretty good. I intended to finish the event by running the two loop course. However, after the first turn around, I was passed on a steep incline by a guy who was walking. It was time to re-think my plan. I walked up the steep parts for the rest of the day. At mile 12 my IT band began to cause some serious problems. I was forced to walk a considerable portion of the last stretch. Even with the walking, I was amazed that I was 13 minutes slower on the run than 2006. But, with faster swim and bike splits, only 4 minutes slower overall. Tom finished almost 30 minutes ahead of our time from last year.
263 of the 287 who started the Prologue finished the last event. I was fifth out of 15 in the 50+ age group, and around 175 of the 263 finishers. For the third year in a row, I was the oldest person at the race. I will not be the oldest in next year’s race. Three Triple T’s are enough.
For pictures, click HERE.
