Galena Sprint Triathlon Race Report:

I was a tad apprehensive setting up for the race due to the logistics of the race course. The bike is a point to point 17.4 mile ride so whatever you leave at the swim start will be transported to the finish for you at 1:30 pm. But I needed to leave an hour and a half prior to that to get back to Chicago for an art show my girlfriend was participating in, so I couldn't leave anything in T1 I wasn't afraid to lose. Hence, I would be braving the 62 degree water with no wetsuit. Couple that with 48 degree air temps at the start, and I expected to suffer out there. Oh, and the wind was howling out of the northwest at a steady 25-30 mph with gusts up to 40+, and the bike course headed pimarily west, so we had either a head wind or cross wind, nothing else.

Swim - 600m: I'm in wave 1 and line up a minute before the start and chat with some others in the group. We all decided I was the biggest idiot in the race, and I believe the only one without a wetsuit. No matter, they weren't mandatory, so the water can't be that cold. Plus, tt's a beach start, so at least I don't know what I'm getting into until the adrenaline hits as the gun goes off. The start siren sounds and we're running into the water. Legs not too bad, dolphin dive... oh my! This is cold. Sprint the first 100m to warm up and get out of the crowd, and I'm in the lead. Alright, let's hope I'm going the right way. Hard to the first buoy, and smoth, strong stroke through until the finishing 50 m, where I pick it up a bit and start kicking harder to warm up the legs. Come out of the water in the lead and tear off for transition. After a 250m run, I hit the timing mat and straight onto the gravel T1. 8:58, 1/799

T1 - Ow, ow, ow... running on gravel is killing. So I walk gingerly to my bike. Drop the cap and goggles, toss on the helmet and glasses and out. 8/799

Bike - 17.4 mi: The bike at Galena is the gem of the race. You're either going up, or you're going down. Add into that the winds this year and it made for a very tough ride. Getting out of T1, my shoes were no longer positioned properly. I get on the saddle, push down with my right foot and stop. My left shoe locks into the ground. ******!!! The forst 300m are straight uphill, so if everything isn't perfect, you aren't going anywhere. I try to reposition my feet atop my shoes, but can't make any progress against the hill. Ah, forget it! I hop off and sprint, running up the first hill. I lost about 20 seconds trying to get set-up, but I'm still in the lead, so no worries. Strap in the feet and start pedalling, put on some gloves (the air is still only 50 deg) but don't need the arm warmers, so I stuff them down the front of my race suit. I take off riding scared knowing that I don't have anyone to chase or work with. After 4 miles, one guy catches up and we work together, trading of the lead for the next 4 miles. On the longest climb of the day I look over and he's struggling to hold pace so I shift up a gear,get out of the saddle and drive ahead a bit. The up and over the summit and I start hammering the downhill. Didn't see him again. I keep up the pace and I think I'm making good time into the wind. Then, with 5 mi to go, I come up to a right hand corner and the leading truck is stopped. Right in the middle of the turn, while someone jumps out. "What the ****?! Get the **** out of the way!!!" I have to slow from 35 down to 10 to wait for them to get a move on. C'mon!!! Lost another 15 sec thanks to their stupidity, and curse at the people on the corner as I ride by. I finish off the ride with one guy hot on my heels, about 4 seconds back. 53:08 (19.7 mph), 11/799.

T2 - Helmet off, shoes on. And through the run out with the guy now right with me. 0:59, 3/799.

Run - 4.3 mi: I now have someone to go with, and it finally feels like I'm in a race after being off the front for over an hour. As he catches up, he asks "Orange or blue?" Referring to what wave I started in. "Orange, you?" "Blue." Damn... he's 3 minutes up on me, having the fastest ride of the day by nearly 2 minutes. Must be nice having people to chase down... Needing to put 3 minutes into him on a 4 mi run, I know I'm out of overall contention and we work together for the next 3.5 miles. I knew I had the AG win wrapped up, so I shut down my run a little early. I gave up 30 seconds more in the final mile, but crossed the line 2nd. 26:07 (6:05/mi), 8/799.

All in all, a pretty good day considering it was my 2nd ride on the tt bike this year, and my first run off the bike since last July. I easily could have made up a couple minutes throughout the day, pushing harder on the run, having others around on the bike to chase or work with, using a wetsuit on the swim, running through T1, but even that time saved probably would not have gotten me atop the overall podium. But being in the race would definitely have spurned me to work harder to get up to 2nd, only 1:22 ahead. Overall: 4/799, 1:30:22.