Kinetic Half Race Report
History:
The Kinetic Half is where Setup Events Virginia Series got it's start. It is a great race located in Spottsylvania, Virginia at Lake Anna State Park. In 2013 the bike course was changed to a one loop course. The race is always held the second week of May and is a very popular season opener for racers located up and down the East Coast. The field is very competitive.
The Race Course:
The Swim: The swim is held in Lake Anna. Lake Anna is man made lake that serves as the cooling reservoir for a nuclear power plant. Since it was formed by damming a river, it has series of coves. The swim is held at the beach in Lake Anna State Park in one of these coves. The course is in the shape of a rhomboid and it is a beach start. The finish is about 100 yards down the beach from the start.
The Bike: The bike course was new for 2013. It is a 56 mile loop that winds around the edge of Lake Anna. That means that it climbs in and out the valleys that make the coves of the lake. While there are no true climbs there are considerable rolling hills. The bike course generally gains elevation through mile 30 then is slightly down hill to the finish.
The Run: The run is a 3 loop mess that winds though the Lake Anna Campground loop and then back to beach on a treacherous downhill one track path. It starts out with a one mile hill coming straight out of transition and is alternates up and down every mile there after.The Race:
Kelly and the kids picked me up from work at noon on the Friday before the race. We met my training partner and Snapple Teammate, Adam Frager, and drove up to Lake Anna. We got checked in to the camp ground, picked up our race packets, set-up camp, and then drove the bike course to get a feel for the elevation changes. After previewing the course we cooked up some spaghetti and made an early night of it. A huge storm rolled through that night and for about two hours I thought the tent was going to be swept away.The next morning Adam and I were up early but I was out of my routine. The pandemonium from the night before had me tired and groggy. I remembered to put the coffee on the stove fro Kelly, but rode away from camp without my bagel and I left my race nutrition in the back of the suburban. Halfway to transition I remembered and now Adam and I were mired in traffic. I scrambled to get my transition area set up, pick up my chip, get marked, and then I ran back to camp. It was a good thing I did, as it was the first time I ran the goat path that connects the campground to the beach area. That would help later. I managed to get my drinks and bars and made it back to transition in just about 10 minutes. Turned out to be the perfect warm-up. Once I had the gel, drink, and bars loaded up. I grabbed my wetsuit, cap and goggles - caught up with Adam - and headed down to the start. It's never bad to get Murphy out of the way early.
The Swim: Adam and I are in the 40-44 age group. We started in the second group. It was a lake swim with a beach start. No challenges like current or tide. Swim the buoys and stay calm. Easy, eh? Getting comfortable in the water is tough for me. It's a long story, but I had a traumatic experience in the ocean when I was young and I fight panic every open water swim. The horn sounds and Adam and I take off for the water. We enter the water side-by-side, but I lose track of him in the melee. I try to focus on staying long, distance per stroke, and fully exhaling. Once traffic cleared I found myself alone and on track for the first sighting mark. The main pack was slightly to my left. There happened to be a police boat with flashing lights sitting right on top of the turn mark, so I stopped worrying about the sighting marks and swam toward the lights. I didn't settle into a regular breathing pattern until the first turn mark. At the turn I found a pack of swimmers at my pace and I settled in on pair of feet to try and conserve some effort. We swapped positions a couple of times but we swam together all the way to the swim finish. I hit the lap button on my Garmin at the timing mat. Total time 34:53, 92nd out of the water. It was 10 minutes better than my last swim, but a little slower than I had hoped for.
T1: 3:35 - Terrible transition. I couldn't get the wetsuit off. I was tripping over my feet. I dropped my bike.
The Ride: I remembered when I racked my bike to shift into the small ring. The bike course starts going straight up a fairly steep, but short incline immediately from the mounting line. The guy right next to me didn't think to shift down and he fell immediately after mounting his bike. Small details matter. So I was off and I felt good. I got settled down and then at mile 3 I felt my gel flask slide out of my tri-top pocket and I heard it hit the road. Murphy just wouldn't quit. I kept rolling, knowing that I had 3 cliff bars and that should hold me through the ride. Always have a back-up plan. I felt really good on the bike. The course was full of rolling hills and I love to climb. Just ask Adam!! I found two guys by mile 10 that I was pretty evenly matched with and we started playing tag. One got away, but I would catch the second guy on the uphills and he would pass me on the downhills. I manged to keep the first guy in sight and focused on reeling him in over the next 30 miles. My coach had asked me to spin up the hills and work down the back side. He wanted me to go easy the first half and then push on the back half. Always trust the plan. The plan worked. To my surprise I dropped the guy I was initially playing tag with at mile 30. At mile 40 I caught the guy that got away. At mile 45 I passed Rachel Jastrebsky, one of the elite ladies racing that day, and another triathlete from the Hampton Roads area. I was steadily rolling up riders, and I was only passed once. That is a good day on the bike. Best of all I hardly felt winded. Bike Time - 2:30:13, 43rd fastest on the bike.
T2: 1:08 - Acceptable. I picked up my spare flask, swapped shoes, pulled on my visor and was off. I heard the announcer call out Rachel's name as I was exiting transition and I was determined not to let her catch me. I had no idea where I was in the overall, but I knew I was in front of the elite ladies and I had only counted 10 runners on the course as I came in on the bike.The Run: I am a runner. It's what I do. Having said that, I had been struggling with a shin issue since February and I aggravated it two weeks out from the race by doing a long run in new shoes. Rookie mistake, I know. But they felt good and I had worn them for a bunch of shorter run. Train smarter, not harder. So, I was a little worried about how the pegs would hold up. Up the hill I went and I was pleasantly surprised when my Garmin chirped at mile 1 - 6:54. I backed off on the downhill but when the Garmin chirped again it was - 6:30. I had to make a conscious effort to really hold back. Every mile after that was within 10 seconds 7:00 pace and finished with a 6:59 average pace for a 1:31:12 Half-Marathon. It was the 20th best run of the day. Not good enough to beat the elite ladies.
25th Overall. Total Time of 4:41:00. 3rd 40-44 Age Group. PR by over 16 minutes.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: You are all thinking that the run was the good, right? Nope, I'm crediting the swim. It's the first time I've held under 1:50 pace per 100m in open water. It's not a competitive swim yet, but I'm getting better. The bad - poor planning and not taking the extra second to secure that flask. The ugly - T1. You can't be competitive with 3:00 minute transitions. That's free time.
So elite ladies, you got me this time. I'll be seeing you at Rev3 Williamsburg and this time I'm going to take off the skirt.
