Rocketman Triathlon Race Report

Rocketman Triathlon
1500m swim, 24.8mile bike, 6.2mile run
August 25, 2013
Huntsville, Alabama

The sport of triathlon is continually evolving, and to me that is REALLY exciting. One thing that impresses me about the Louisiana races is that MOST of them are wave starts, some of them even have elite/open waves, and most of the time there is prize money up for grabs.

The first year my dad took over Rocketman & lengthened it to an Olympic Distance Race, the local pro triathlete told him he should consider making it a wave start, or perhaps do an open wave for the more competitive racers. At the time, I was not a fan of this idea. Like most age-groupers, wave starts are intimidating, chaotic, blah blah blah. Most triathletes like to race THEMSELVES, and want to do it in the time trial formal to avoid any unnecessary contact with other athletes. But I now see the benefit of waves:

• Head-to-head racing with your competition. No guessing on where you are in the race, and no surprises of getting beat by .5 second or tying by a tenth of a second with your competitors. In other words, it's an actual race!
• Benefit of drafting. Kyle has us practice this useful skill in masters. If your able to draft, you may be able to get on the toes of someone slightly faster & put in a great time. You could come out of the water slightly less fatigued and be able to throw down a great race.

This spring I asked Rocketman to revisit the idea of an elite wave. In its 4th year as an Olympic Distance,  the Rocketman Tri is one of the more competitive events in the south. A large handful of strong athletes race every year, most of whom would probably PREFER to race in a wave format. After sending out some inquiries, Rocketman approved the Elite Wave!

Local stud Brinn & I left Saturday morning so that we would arrive in plenty of time to get to the expo, attend the race briefing, and get in a short brick. It was a long day, but we got to refresh a bit in my mom's pool (I haven't just PLAYED in a pool for YEARS!) & enjoyed a delicious grilled meal.

The next day we arrived at the race site as soon as transition opened. Good thing, I was getting really stressed with my bike. The night before I put my race wheels on & tried to transfer my bike computer to the new front wheel. As I was tightening it, the stupid thing snapped in half. I went through 4 cycles of super-gluing it & having it snap on me again! That morning I FINALLY got it on, but then when I tried to pump up my tire it would not inflate. Fortunately, Steve with Madison Cycles (who sold me my bike) was set up at the race site for bike support. He was able to inflate my tire to at least 100psi. He guaranteed that with my small(-ish) frame 100 would be just fine. I took it out for a warm-up spin and everything felt ok.

Swim 28:18
We gathered at the race start where the open wave would be taking off first. They called our names one at a time & we jumped in and waited for everyone to be called. Since there were about 20 racers total racing in the open wave, they decided to combine the men & women. As we were treading water, I noticed that I kept getting pushed back- there was a decent current! Some others remarked about it as well. The swim course is 550m against the current, then 100m across the Tennessee river and finishing the last 850 with the current.
As the gun went off we took off, and of course it was chaotic. Fortunately I've been swimming enough that I now feel extremely comfortable in the water and getting kicked & splashed is no longer a problem. I jumped on someone's feet & tried to maintain the draft at a higher intensity than I really felt comfortable with, but at the same time I knew that the longer I could stay on board and let them break the current the better off I would be. I stuck behind them for about 200m, then fell behind. As I worked against the current alone, I could tell that I wasn't getting nearly as much distance per stroke as usual- I was using the bank and my feel for the water as a gauge. I starting swimming a bit choppier, shortening my stroke and turning over a bit faster. It wore me out, but I think it helped be in the long run.
I'm not sure what the distance of the swim was, but I was told by several people wearing GPS watches that it was long. That, combined with the current, made the swim very difficult for most people. I forgot to start my watch so I had no idea what my time was coming out of the water during the race, which was probably a GOOD thing. I do know that there was one woman right in front of me and another right behind me from the wave.

T1 :40 (fastest!)
Quick QUICK QUICK! (seriously, this is how Kyle and I strategize)

Bike 1:10:21 (21.2 mph)
I knew I needed to have a strong bike. Relative to the female open field, I was one of the stronger cyclists, so if I wanted to hang I would need to get in front on the bike & just hang on for the run. All did NOT go according to plan. I felt like I was dealing with a lot of resistance. What was it? Wind? Well then EVERYONE is dealing with it! Rubbing? I heard a lot of screeching, but since I was using a disc that is still fairly new to me I assumed it was normal. I just felt like I was working a lot harder than normal and just not getting my speed up, or wasn't able to maintain it. I contemplating getting off and checking my wheel, but decided against it because I thought it would cost too much time.

T2: 1:01


Run 53:39
The Rocketman run course is challenging. The first 2 mile you run off road and through some trails. You then run over these gravel mounds, get back on the main road, then enter another gravel looped road with some elevation change. After that you run on flat pavement for a bit, then finish going back over those mound things. There's not a ton of shade coverage, and even though it WAS windy there were trees blocking most of the breeze.
I got off my bike and knew I was in for a tough run. I tried to get past it mentally, but my legs were pretty burned out. I stuck to the plan- take half a mile to get my cadence up, work the stiffness out, then maintain a good pace. I felt ok for about a mile, but by mile 2 things got bad. My stomach started cramping up, my Achilles started throbbing,  and I had a hard time getting my legs to cooperate. My dad rode along beside my on a mountain bike for a while to cheer for me, which I appreciated. I tried to get past my frustration with the bike & just finish ... 53:39, pretty rotten!

Finish 2:33:57
A year ago I would have been ecstatic. My goal was to go under 2:20, which I still think was realistic. Music City was definitely a harder course, and my run (AND BIKE) have improved since then. I ended up finishing 5th in the Elite Open wave. After the race was over I spun my back wheel and it was DEFINITELY rubbing. UGH! Time to re-evaluate my plans... I am now going to finish the season strong with  Girl Power, Santa Rosa Island, and of course, Mighty Magnolia. This winter will be the time to work towards the Olympic Distance & improve my run. Then it's time for FAST RACING in the spring!
The moral: use your disappointments to keep moving forward!

Results here

UP NEXT: Girl Power!