Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon
On June 22 I made my first ever trip to Philadelphia to race in the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon. After an easy run on Friday night I drove 4 hrs to Syracuse NY then finished the drive on Saturday morning. It was exciting to see a bit of Philadelphia and I stayed with Tom B. who lives only a couple streets away from the historic Art Gallery (site of the “Rocky steps”).
On June 22 I made my first ever trip to Philadelphia to race in the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon. After an easy run on Friday night I drove 4 hrs to Syracuse NY then finished the drive on Saturday morning. It was exciting to see a bit of Philadelphia and I stayed with Tom B. who lives only a couple streets away from the historic Art Gallery (site of the “Rocky steps”).
I can’t thank Tom enough for his hospitality! I had such a great time hanging out with him and fellow elite Eric Limkemann and Eric’s wife Ashley. Friday night we went for dinner to a great little spot in Tom’s funky neighbourhood. Although I was leaning towards the pasta, Eric let us all know that he had one of his best races off a pizza dinner. I couldn’t turn that idea down (anyone who knows me well knows how much I love a good pizza). And this pizza was great!!! I am already looking forward to next year’s event just so I can order the pizza again.
Although we were all having a good time on the patio, the next morning’s 7:00am start was on everyone’s mind. We called it an early night and walked back to Tom’s apartment. Both Eric and I were admiring the neighbourhood as we sauntered home.
Race morning came very early – getting up in the 4’s never feels good. But with a point to point race, you have to get there early to set up and warm up. Tom and I rode together and he helped me with some last minute tips on the course. After a quick setup and run warmup, I was on the bus and heading towards the start, eagerly looking forward to try out my new Kiwami Amphibian tri suit.
Upon arriving at the race start, I slipped into the water immediately and snuck in a short swim warm up. I felt a little sluggish and was worried about being able to keep up with Eric, John Kenny, Cameron Dye and others. Eric got my nerves going when he admitted to feeling nervous about some of the others. When a guy who’s swum 15:11 for a 1500 is nervous about keeping up, then you should be very, very afraid!
The excitement grew as athletes were instructed to get out of the water and were ushered into starting pens. Some last minute instructions were barked out and the national anthem was sung, then it was time to spring into action.
The gun went off and I waited for someone to take the lead. No one was taking it. I waited longer. Still no one. Finally two guys jumped up front and started pulling the train but the pace was no where near what I had expected! In fact, I had to swim MUCH harder the previous week to stay with the guys in Muskoka than I did here (and that was a much longer swim). Although I would have liked a faster swim, it was nice to sit off the leaders and rest up for the final two legs.
I exited the water with the lead group of about 6 or 7 guys (plus Canadian female pro Alicia Kaye – great swim Alicia!). It looked like we had a pretty good lead on the rest of the field so I was feeling good about my chances. Unfortunately I fell flat on the bike. For whatever reason, my legs felt completely dead and I watched everyone from my swim group ride away from me. Then about 5km into the bike 2 guys past me, which meant that I had already lost about a minute on the bike – ouch!
I continued to struggle for the entire first lap (of two). My average speed for the first lap was below 37km/hr and it was a constant struggle. It wasn’t until about half way through that I started finding my legs. The next lap was considerably faster as I watched my average speed climb higher and higher. Unfortunately for me, the damage had been done and I was completely out of touch with the leaders.
The bike course was very scenic and had a great mix of shortish hills and long flat sections. It finished with a fast downhill into transition. I got off the bike in 7th position and about 2 ½ minutes back from the next guy.
The run went well – I ran steadily the whole way and made up about 40 seconds of 6th place. Probably I should have run a little faster but by half way through there was nobody in sight either in front or behind me. So I cruised in for a 35:30 10km and a 7th place finish.
In the end I was mostly happy with the race. The swim and run were solid – the bike should have been a lot faster. I would definitely recommend the race to anyone! The organization was top notch and it definitely lived up to the hype of being a premiere US race.
Following the race Tom invited Eric, Ashley and I back to his place, along with his partner Jen (who also did the race). We hung out at his place for a while then hit the pubs for a bite to eat. As we bounced around a couple eateries, Tom (who seems to know everyone), was recognized everywhere we went. I felt like I was hanging with Norm from Cheers! The afternoon was very relaxing and I really enjoyed hanging out with the group. I might have enjoyed myself a little too much - I was expecting to leave Philly in the early afternoon but ended up staying until 5:00. That made the 7 ½ drive seem like forever!
