Quartermax Triathlon – Race Report
July 31, 2005 – Innsbrook, Missouri
A massive field of 500 triathletes took on the ¼ Iron-distance “Quartermax” triathlon on a warm and sunny summer Sunday. Temperatures climbed toward 90 degrees throughout the morning, but, based on the previous weekend's triple-digit temps, there wasn’t much complaining.
Much to my chagrin, the lake temperature was well above the wetsuit-legal limit. My wave-1 comrades and I blasted forward when the cannon sounded, counter-clockwise around the buoys for the .6-mile swim. There were well over 100 guys in their 30s, several of whom were podium contenders. I emerged around my expected time to a boisterous crowd on the beach and heard the announcer read my racer bio. As I ran up the hill to my bike, I heard encouragement from friends’ voices and thought, “This is cool, even if the announcer can’t pronounce my name.” As I reached my bike, I realized I had completely lost focus and needed to concentrate on a quick transition.
The first five (of 26) miles of the bike were inside the scenic resort, loaded with hills, turns, and speed bumps. My Profile drink bottle dislodged and crashed to the pavement. No turning back. I had another bottle on my bike and could get more at the aid station. Once outside the resort I started to get the feel of my new Javelin Barolo tri-bike. It flies on the flats. I pulled back a lot of people, working my way up to about 12th into T2.
I got more encouragement as I headed out into the shaded hills for the 6.5-mile run. I caught a few guys and started counting my place at the turnarounds. The guys in front weren’t slowing down, though, and I eventually ran out of real estate, crossing the line in about 10th for the 1st wave. After everyone came in, I dropped to 20-something, 6th place in my age group. My pre-race prediction for my age group had exactly the five guys I thought would be tough to beat finishing 1-5. Respect.
SwimBikeRunStLouis.com has a video recap (17.3 MB, WMV file) of the race.
Next Race: Age Group National Championships, Olympic Distance, August 13, Kansas City, Missouri.
A massive field of 500 triathletes took on the ¼ Iron-distance “Quartermax” triathlon on a warm and sunny summer Sunday. Temperatures climbed toward 90 degrees throughout the morning, but, based on the previous weekend's triple-digit temps, there wasn’t much complaining.
Much to my chagrin, the lake temperature was well above the wetsuit-legal limit. My wave-1 comrades and I blasted forward when the cannon sounded, counter-clockwise around the buoys for the .6-mile swim. There were well over 100 guys in their 30s, several of whom were podium contenders. I emerged around my expected time to a boisterous crowd on the beach and heard the announcer read my racer bio. As I ran up the hill to my bike, I heard encouragement from friends’ voices and thought, “This is cool, even if the announcer can’t pronounce my name.” As I reached my bike, I realized I had completely lost focus and needed to concentrate on a quick transition.
The first five (of 26) miles of the bike were inside the scenic resort, loaded with hills, turns, and speed bumps. My Profile drink bottle dislodged and crashed to the pavement. No turning back. I had another bottle on my bike and could get more at the aid station. Once outside the resort I started to get the feel of my new Javelin Barolo tri-bike. It flies on the flats. I pulled back a lot of people, working my way up to about 12th into T2.
I got more encouragement as I headed out into the shaded hills for the 6.5-mile run. I caught a few guys and started counting my place at the turnarounds. The guys in front weren’t slowing down, though, and I eventually ran out of real estate, crossing the line in about 10th for the 1st wave. After everyone came in, I dropped to 20-something, 6th place in my age group. My pre-race prediction for my age group had exactly the five guys I thought would be tough to beat finishing 1-5. Respect.
SwimBikeRunStLouis.com has a video recap (17.3 MB, WMV file) of the race.
Next Race: Age Group National Championships, Olympic Distance, August 13, Kansas City, Missouri.
posted by JPD at Wednesday, August 03, 2005
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