Race Report: Fort Ritchie Triathlon

“Over the mountains and through the woods…”

“I probably should have looked at this bike-course profile…” I thought to myself, as we drove up the mountain towards the race site. The final 10 miles into Fort Ritchie was an almost nonstop ascent, with narrow roads and steep grades. Of course, at 4am, it looks even more ominous, as everything is pitch black. One of the problems with races with an early start time, is that if you live more than an hour away, it’s going to be a long day. Reds and I were out the door by 4am, and arrived in time to check-in by 5:30. The sun didn’t bother to make an appearance until I was in transition getting my gear ready.

I was scheduled in the final wave of all the racers (the Sprint triathletes went first, then the elite/pro men and women, and finally, the Olympic age groupers). That wasn’t a big deal though, as it gave me an opportunity to watch the swim; the venue was rather unique. The lake was man-made, with barely a ripple on the surface. The sprint athletes did one-lap of the course, while the Olympic athletes did two. After one lap, we hopped out, ran across the timing mat, down a dock, and then jumped back in for the second lap. The swim was wetsuit legal, at just under 78 degrees, so I finally got to wear my wetsuit for the first time this season.

The gun went off just after 7:20am, and away we went. The water was murky and black, and since our group went last, there was a lot of debris stirred up from previous racers. This was including a whole bunch of aquatic grass that was literally like swimming though spaghetti…which was rather unpleasant. The first lap felt nice and relaxed, plenty of room to swim without contact from other swimmers, and good sighting to the buoys. The second lap was a bit more crowded, and my goggles sprung a leak. I had to take them off and re-adjust what seemed like every 100 yards, which was very frustrating. I finally just ratcheted them onto my face as tight as the straps would allow, which hurt, but I was pretty pissed. I hauled ass on the final 500 meters, and somehow managed to have my best Olympic-distance swim ever, despite the issues.

Swim time: 26:40
Swim place: 11/160

Slowly jogging into T1, it felt like it took forever to get the wetsuit off and my bike gear on. I was surprised to see the time-split later, as I managed to get in and out in just under 90 seconds. Not bad, considering the wetsuit was maybe 30 seconds of that time.

T1 split: 1:24

According to Mr. Garmin, I was either traveling 40+mph or 10mph during most of the bike. There was literally no in-between. The first 3 miles, we climbed out of the park on some very steep grades, I would estimate ramps of 15 percent at points. Not exactly a good way to calm down one’s heart rate after the swim. But I have always been a decent climber, and noticed that I pulled away early from my T1 companions. After a rough 15 minutes, I crested the hill, and began the long 4 mile descent into the valley. Bombing down the hill at 40mph in wet clothing, I clamped my knees to the top tube and prayed that I wouldn’t freeze. Mountain air that early in the morning is anything but warm, and I began to shiver just as I reached the bottom. Fortunately, there were plenty of rollers over the next 10 miles to get my temperature back up. The route was actually a scenic mix of farmland and state park, so it kept my mind off the pain. But in the back of my head, it dawned on me that we would be riding back up that long 4 mile hill on the way back into T2. Ugh. I used the time on the rollers to take in some nutrition and hydrate. At the turn around, I realized I hadn’t seen too many other riders on the course, and I had only passed 3-4 people. I began to think that maybe I had a pretty good swim, and got out of the water before most of the masses. This was confirmed on the return leg of the bike, where there were dozens of riders going in the opposite direction. I hit the base of the final climb knowing that I had to pick the right gear and just spin it, being careful not to blow up. Riding 4 miles on a TT bike at 10mph up a mountain isn’t what I had in mind, but that’s what I get for not previewing the course. When I got home, I looked at the profile and saw that there was roughly 2000 feet of climbing on this course…and it certainly felt like every bit of that. I took my time, passed a few more riders, and crested the hill feeling ok. The descent back into the park was fast, and before I knew it, we were back in transition.

Bike: 1:15:21 @ 18.9mph
Bike place: 23/160

My time in T2 felt just as slow as the first transition, partially because it took me a few seconds to get the Garmin off my bike handlebars and onto my wrist. A little slower than I had hoped, but not terrible.

T2 split: 1:06

The run course was advertised as “mostly flat”. This was “mostly true”. The first half mile was flat, and then we hung a left and began a series of switchbacks up towards the north end of the park, similar to the path we took on the bike. It wasn’t a soul crushing hill, but knowing that there were two laps didn’t make me relish the prospect of having to do it twice. Then again, if I plan on finishing an Ironman in 3 months, I should be able to take a little adversity…which this course had in spades. Multiple false flats and downhills, followed by short-but-steep climbs, littered the course. I managed to come through the first lap feeling pretty strong, in 23:xx for the first 5km. The second lap was a blessing and curse…I knew exactly where the hills were. To be successful, I had to run within my ability, right on the limit of blowing-up. It was an effort in pacing, which I think I managed to do pretty well. I lost a bit of steam in the final mile, but came through the line strong (and nearly puked on the volunteer who was attempting to retrieve my timing chip).

Run: 50:45 @ 8:11 pace
Run place: 27/161

Overall Age Group: 4/16
Overall Place: 10/160

Top 10 overall! This was a nice surprise, as there were so many people on the course, it was difficult to tell who was doing the sprint or the Olympic race, and which lap they were on during the run…I had no idea I would place that well in the overall. Of course, 3 of the guys in front of me were also in my Age Group, so no podium place, unfortunately. But given the nature of the course, I was very happy with my pacing and overall times. Over the next couple months, the mileage really ramps up, so this was probably the last “speed” I will be using for a while. But it’s nice to get out there every now and then and kick the tires a bit after so much long/slow distance work.