Detroit Lakes Recap

Here we go with the Young Life Detroit Lakes triathlon recap held August 15, 2009. A muggy day with overcast skies and threatening storms on the horizon greeted me as I drove to the city beach.

This event had two distances: a Oly and a sprint. There was a single Oly male wave that led off the morning at 8 AM followed 3 minutes later by a single Oly female wave. Twenty minutes after that the sprint started with males 39 and under followed (in 3-min increments) by males 40 and over (and who would dominate) and then two waves of females.

When you watch the video, be sure and pay attention during the first part which is showing swimmers warm up. Important for two reasons. You see a solitary figure standing in waist deep water about 75-100 yds from shore. Waist deep! That is yours truly. During warm up I was walking through muck and sinking to mid-shin. Then the first 20-yds of swimming was total blackout before the bottom sediment cleared and you could actually see bottom. So I'm swimming out during warm ups and couldn't believe how shallow the water was.

Second, notice the first big buoy. THAT was the sprint turn-around! We were all, 'are you sure!?!?' when the race director indicated the sprint waves would turn around at the first buoy. We thought for sure it would be the second. So, needless to say...the advertised 1/3 mile swim was not 1/3 mile. Maybe 400-yds.

My goals heading into the D.L. tri, and results. I'm again pleased.

My targets were:

Swim (0.33 miles)
Gear: Tyr Solid Lycra® Square Leg; Tyr Nest Pro googles (yellow lens)
Target - 10:38
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 7:19
Official Result - 7:18
Overall Place - 32nd(215 total)
Age Group Place - 4th (27 total)

Notes - So, the swim was short as already noted. Works for me! I felt very comfy the whole way, using a swimmer to keep pace on the way out. Then dropping that swimmer at the turn and drafting off two swimmers on the way in. Bad thing about out and back courses....we strayed off the line a bit on the return and strayed head-on into the last female wave....oops!

T1
Target - 1:30
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 1:18
Official Result - 1:20

Notes - The transition was a long one from the beach but it went smooth. I elected to put the bike shoes on in T1 as opposed to having them already clipped in. I did this as there were three tight turns within 2-blocks of leaving T1 and I didn't want to be messing with getting my feet in.

Bike (12-miles/12.52 by my bike)
Gear: Cervélo P3/ZIPP 404 front-rear disc by Gear West. Retul bike fit by Curt Wood (Gear West). Giro Filter sunglasses with ZEISS certified lenses. Giro Advantage 2 aero helmet.
Target - 32:43 (22 MPH)
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 32:25(22.8 MPH)
Official Result - 32:34 (22.7 MPH, yes!!!!)
Overall Place - 5th (215 total)
Age Group Place - 3rd (27 total)

Notes - Nice course, again advertised as 12-miles but everyone I spoke to had it between 12.4 and 12.5 miles. Only one hill to speak of. Wind in our faces for first third or so. I was pressing hard to get the speed up and when we finally turned so the wind was cross or at our backs I was simply gone. I picked off so many younger riders it was almost comical. Only got passed by the eventual 3rd place finisher. My best bike in the last two years, period. If anything negative it was that I got caught up in the moment of pressing for 23 MPH average..which I reached about a mile from T2. But paid the price as my left calf was a little wicky-wacky for the first mile of the run. But this alone made my day.

T2
Target - 1:20
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 1:18
Official Result - 0:54

Notes - Since I red-lined on the bike, I was careful to take my time here. As the video shows I took one last swig of Hammer Perpetuem. Walked a few steps with my race belt but by the time I passed my bride taking the video...I was in full swing.

Run (3 mi)
Gear: Nike Luna Racers
Target - 20:15 (6:45/mi)
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 20:27 (6:49/mile)
Official Result - 20:27 (6:49/mile)
Overall Place - 8th (215 total)
Age Group Place - 2nd (27 total)

Notes - While the run was not as strong as two weeks ago at Waseca, I'm still happy with it. The Achilles had been barking at me all week again. And after hammering on the bike, the left calf was on the cusp of a full blown cramp crisis. So I tried to work it out in the first mile, which I ran at a comfy 6:40. This was an out-and-back so I was able to see everyone. I knew there were two 40-49 AGers ahead of me and I tried valiantly to catch one. But being honest, the mugginess was starting to get to me and the last mile was simply a survival journey. On the video, as I come into the finishing chute note that a young lad in a green shirt is sprinting along with me. That would be the Boy® who seemed pleased with his old man's finish.

Total
Target - 1:06.27
Unofficial Result (my watch) - 1:02.36
Official Result - 1:02.31
Overall Place - 5th (215 total)
Age Group Place - 3rd (27 total)

Notes - A nice event. I believe I would do this one again as we can tie in family visits. The Lodge on Lake Detroit turned out to be a swanky place to stay complete with spa that the WKW (Well Kept Wife) could enjoy. The race day staff and volunteers were eager and helpful. And when you review the Sprint results, just be sure and note that the Top 5 Overall went to those males over in the 40 and over category. That had all five of us talking afterwards!

The Video -



Sprint Results
Oly Results