Several weeks ago, as I was scouting the Internet for races with prize purses (a girl's gotta make some money to fund these races!) I came across a NEW draft legal race at the West Point Lakes Tri. West Point Lakes is right outside of Auburn, and it was this race that I completed my first Olympic Distance four years ago.
Naturally, this caught my attention. The long term plan is to continue to get faster and compete in the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge next year. In order to be successful in my endeavors, a couple things need to happen: 1) build a stronger run [doable] 2) keep working on the swim so I can come out of the water with the lead group 3) get some draft legal tri racing under my belt.
I saw this as an opportunity to get #3 without having to sacrifice a huge trip and days away from the store. Unfortunately, this event is for youth/juniors and collegiates ONLY, and I am neither. I immediately emailed the RD to request permission to race.
Hi Jim,
I contacted you a few weeks ago about participating in the West Point Lakes draft legal race in April, and just wanted to follow up on the status of that. I am a competitive triathlete regionally and am trying to earn my elite license. Next year I plan on competing in the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge and the East Coast Triathlon Festival, both U25 developmental races with licence eligibility for the top 3 finishers. I would really like to participate in the West Point Lakes race for the experience and because the draft legal format is what I'm specifically preparing for in the near future. I'm really not interested in any type of award if I were to do well; if I'm allowed to compete in the collegiate race, I would like to forfeit my placement in advance (assuming I do well in the field).
Thanks for your consideration.
Denise Joplin
The response:
We reviewed your request and you can enter the race however you will not be eligible for any awards.
Here I am RIGHT AFTER my Aerocat arrived. This bike is stiff and LIGHT. It handles great, is super-fast, and I love it! This guy was my closest friend over the winter when most of the triathletes were hibernating. HUGE THANKS to Aerocat for the sponsorship and sending me this sweet ride!
On to the race strategy: That's right, draft legal racing requires strategy, a plan, and quick decision making in a race situation. Hence the importance of my participation. Kyle and I predicted that the field would be considerably smaller. The goal for this race was to have a good swim and feel comfortable in the water. Practice drafting, if possible. Quick T1. Should be tired when I start the bike, but take a couple seconds to spin, get my heart rate under control, and see who's around me. Chances were I was NOT going to be first out of the water, but I needed to catch the lead girls if there was going to be a chance of doing well. And if I was the lead girl, I needed to use my strength (the bike) to break the group up and try to wear some of the runners out. So I basically needed to hammer the bike, preferably with some help. Goal time for the run was ~22:00. This race was just as much about reacting to the various race scenarios & seeing where I was time-wise by the end of everything as it was about the actual drafting.
On race morning I was greeted by Kathleen Johnston, coach of the USAT southeast junior elite tri team. She old me that in addition to my registration, there was only one junior and one collegiate (an Auburn gal- War Eagle!) in the race, so the plan was to combine the 3 of us and send the junior & collegiate men out 5 minutes behind us. The hope was that by combining all the races, the guys would catch up with us and we would have an opportunity to get in on some draft legal racing.
Kathleen was awesome. She led the pre-race meeting, and took extra time to fully explain the rules of draft legal racing. I appreciated her knowledge and dedication to make this a learning experience. Most of the kids at the race were her athletes from the USAT junior team, but she took the time to talk to me and get to know my background and experience. It was simply affirming to see someone so passionate about growing our sport and dedicated to developing young talent. I could tell she was definitely a driving force behind the race, and it was inspiring. I left feeling inspired and excited for what we could achieve in our own community!SWIM- 11:41
This was a race, which meant the first 200m would need to be quick- stay with the group or get ahead. Settle into a rhythm, then pick it up towards the end. I felt surprisingly comfortable in the water (but I also had a good warm-up). The water temp was in the high 60's- warmer than my last open water swim. I made myself feel comfortable in the water during the warm-up, and practiced a few pick-ups. I think it paid off. This race was also a good opportunity to get used to being aware of swimmers around me. The junior athlete and I were together during the swim the whole time. I attempted to draft off of her towards the beginning, but she struggled to stay on course. It wasn't until the last 250m that I realized she had jumped on my feet, so we had a nice race coming out of the swim.
T1- :37
First out of the transition. Nothing sexy, just fast.
BIKE- 34:54
3 loops, and hilly compared to Clermont.The junior and I found each other at the start of the bike and began working together. She jumped in front of me and I stuck on her wheel for a bit. After a while I told her to get on my wheel. She said ok, and I picked up the speed a little. After a few minutes I looked back, and she was no longer behind me. At this point I decided I needed to do my own thing- have a solid bike. After all, this was a race, and chances were she would be able to run me down. I ended up doing most of the bike alone since none of the guys caught me (well one did, but he flew by so there was no drafting involved...)
T2- :23
Dropped the bike & helmet. The sock liner in my left flat got all bunched up when I stuck my foot in! I wasn't going to stop and fix it, which meant my foot fell asleep within the first mile...
RUN- 22:52
2 Loops. The strategy was to take the first quarter mile or so to get into my rhythm and feel my legs. Midway through the first loop I started to burp nuun (blah!). At this point I was thinking about being in terrible running shape, and wanting to come back the H-burg and get back to work (I always feel super motivated during a race...). I had a pretty good run. Nothing spectacular, but not terrible, either. I received a few Auburn cheers (I wore my Auburn kit)!
Even though I didn't get to draft a lot, I'd still say the race was worth the drive (6 hours!). Although I didn't get the draft experience, I went into the race with goals and an idea of how I would react in various situations. To me, that is where all the anxiety of this style of racing lies, so I was grateful for the experience. I thought my run was going to be faster, however I've yet to feel that 5K track intensity at the end of a tri, which tells me that even though I'm tired, I'm not quite racing at the intensity that I should. I know where my weaknesses lie, I know what I need to do to get better, and now it's time to get to work!
Up Next: Crawfish Man! (the party race- Cinco de Trio)
