Shelbyville Triathlon Series Race Report

Weather in Kentucky in January, February, and March is always dicey- you never know what you are going to get. With our winter being colder with more than normal snow, I had a feeling that the entire race or a portion of it would be canceled. Sure enough, we had some sleet and freezing rain from the day before.

As I pulled into Clear Creek Park for the race, I got out of my truck and the lot was slushy. I walked in and before I even picked up my race packet, Bill Stearman, a friend of mine, told me the bike portion was canceled. Secretly, as much as I love the bike portions of triathlon, I was glad!

The race now was a run-swim, with a short transition inside by the pool. In order for me to place in my age group, 35-39, I knew that a fast run was going to happen. Whether I could run fast, that was the question! My strategy was to pace my good friend, Luke Powell on the run and hope that my extra time in the pool would help me get close at the end.

Headfirst Performance always puts on a great race!

 The run pace was pretty fast as we started, three guys went off the front and stayed in the second pack with Luke and Scott Groan, another friend who raced Ironman Muncie 70.3 and Ironman Louisville. Another 300 yards in, two more guys went and they got ahead by a hundred yards or so. It was now or never for me and I increased my pace from a 6:12 to 5:50 for a short burst to bridge up. At the turn around point, I had a good gap to the group behind me and had two guys in front that I saw were slowing. With a quarter mile to go, i was safely in 4th, 12 seconds up on the next guy. The guys up front, including Lewis Jackson had a good lead entering the pool. They hammered the run, which was the play in this kind of short race where your heart rate is maxed from the start. I entered the water in 4th.

Run - 11:33 6:12/mile for 1.86 miles or 3k

Being the tactical racer I am (LOL) I put my swim cap under my beanie and wore my swim goggles around my neck for the run to make my transition a little faster in such a short race. As you can see below, I failed to take off my race belt and actually swam with it for 200 yards! It definitely slowed me down as I took it off half way through and lost a few seconds!

Transition :29 seconds

Me entering the water with race belt!

400 yard pool swim

Swim - 6:58 400 yard pool swim

Whether you swim in the pool or open water, part of the race is flying elbows, arms, and legs. I ran into a swimmer or two completing the 8 laps, which slowed me down somewhat. Also, with my heart rate through the roof, it was nearly impossible to complete a flip turn, so I resorted to pushing off the wall, which I know lost me a few seconds. At the end, I ended up 5th male over all and 2nd age group! Pretty good start to the 2015 season!

Total 19:01

I'm really looking forward to the 2015 season and what it has to bring. I want to improve and hit some benchmarks I have set, but also learn more about this sport. Thanks to my coach Kim Schwabenbauer and all my wonderful partners who help make the racing possible!

Pin Point Perks Louisville

Primal Sport Mud

Honey Stinger

Training Peaks

Infinit