Tri The Parks, Indian Springs Race Report

First of all let me say that for a race this size, the Indian Springs Tri The Parks Triathlon, was the most competitive race I’ve ever done. The race was packed with tons of heavy hitters that all seemed eager for some hardware.

Dan Arnett, a couple of friends, and I traveled down to Forsyth (the Jackson hotel was booked) on Friday evening and prepped for race day with some pizza at a local joint that proved to be pretty good.
Have you ever seen Bob Saget do stand up? If not you should look it up. I watched one of his shows on Friday night (the second I’ve seen) and it was hilarious. He didn’t do his Aristocrats joke but he didn’t need it.
Saturday morning came around and we all got up, ate breakfast, and got dressed and packed to go to the park. As we pulled up to the park entrance there were already cars lined up. Andy Stephenson greeted us at the parking lot with his usual happy attitude. Joking with him for a few seconds helped to calm the nerves that had been welling up in my gut since waking up. It didn’t take long before the transition area was packed with athletes. At one point I thought I heard one of the race directors announce 570 something competitors. That is awesome. As I set up my gear I got to say howdy to a few other teammates as well as some other friends and athletes. Dr. John Taylor was racing that day and any time you get to see him it will lift your spirits. He’s 87 years old and still racing triathlons…awesome. He wished me luck and told me that if I tried to swim over him in the water he’d pull off my goggles and punch me in the groin!!! Again…awesome.
Swim. 600 yards
My wave started second after the young guys took off. I knew that would cause some traffic I just didn’t think it would come so early. I made a mistake and started the swim in in the center of the start line. I usually start wide and pull hard to keep myself in clear water and avoid the hooplah of the churning water, kicking feet, and flailing arms in the middle of the pack. Some fellow teammates that I wanted to swim with/near were starting in the middle so I started with them hoping to catch some fast feet early. The mistake came when I was swimming water polo style for the first 100 yards and fighting constantly to just hold a line to the first turn buoy. Once I made the turn there was some clear water to swim in when suddenly I started seeing caps from the first swim wave already. I was hoping that it was my speed that was getting me to them so quickly and not their slowness. I thought I could see some All3Sports uniforms around me but I wasn’t sure until we reached the shore and there was a solid pack of us coming out of the water all together. I remember Trey Prophater, Ken Brown, Todd Kennedy, and just ahead of us was Dan Arnett.
To see all of that beautiful blue in T1 ahead of so many people was really cool and again made me proud to be on such a stellar team of athletes.
Bike 12.8 miles
The mount line of he bike course is on a down hill slope and can get you in trouble if you aren’t careful. I ran my bike towards the left hand side of the road and did a careful flying mount on to Darth Vader my P3. Trey and I took off and made our moves out of the park and towards the first climb. I took off up the hill passing Trey (temporarily) and showing as many people as possible that I wasn’t there to mess around with the petty hills that I complained about last year at this race. After cresting the hill I settled in to my cadence and started focusing on catching people in front of me. It wasn’t long before Trey came upon me and passed me giving me some encouragement to push harder. It worked and Trey and I ended up fighting and pushing each other back and forth for the entire ride and into the start of the run. Off in the distance I thought I could see Dan Arnett steadily pulling away from us. At the bike turn around, I was able to see that Dan had some distance but wasn’t that far ahead of us. There was another All3Sports athlete that was around me at the start of the bike but I’m not sure who (maybe Ken Brown). Sorry ’bout that. But as I said it was so much fun battling with Trey. Thanks a lot Trey for pushing me. I hope I was encouraging you to push as much as you were for me.
Again there was a sea of blue All3Sports uniforms in T2 when we came in hot and heavy to head out for the run. I had my best T2 of the year so far too.
Run 3.1 miles (5k)
I ran out of T2 just in front of Trey hoping to hold the intensity of the bike through the run. When Trey ran by me (within the first quarter mile) he said something to me but I was too amazed at how fast he passed me and then pulled away. That dude can run. My first thought was that he stole somebody’s shoes from T2 and had to get away but no…he just runs that fast. So at that point I had to HTFU and push. I felt like I was putting in the effort but wasn’t getting the speed that I wanted from the run. I was steadily catching one of my friends that came to the race with me (Marc Street) and made him my rabbit as well as the fleeting view of Trey. I was mentally prepared for the hills on the run so they were not too bad for me. Eventually I passed Marc Street and was within about ¾ of a mile from the finish and started to try and ramp up my pace for a strong finish. When I hit the grass and trail that takes the runners to the finish line I could hear some feet patting behind me. Street gave me a shout of “GO!!!” and I knew that it was time for me to give it 250% if I wanted to hold off the feet that were running me down. I never turned around to see who it was or how close they were and sprinted my ass off. I thought I could feel the breath of my chaser behind me when I crossed the finish line. It was Ken Brown that was running me down. Another All3Sports athlete jamming it out to the line. I was just barely able to hold him off.

I had to settle for 4th in my age group and 12th place overall. Compared to last year’s finish that is awesome…but I really like to go home with something hanging around my neck. Dan was able to just hold off Trey for 2nd place so Trey got 3rd in our age group. The top finishers were not messing around with anyone or anything and proved it by blazing out some unbelievable times. Again throughout the awards ceremony All3Sports athletes were making the walk to the table to gather their medals. Go team. Another fantastic race for our team.

Marc D. Thompson

Biking the Alps Part 2

We have been staying this week in a “Gite” in La Grande de Champeau which is a rustic vacation apartment attached to a home in the valley of Allemont. It was beautiful and the bonus is that we have a washer so our clothes finally smell better! The refrigerator is very cold which is great since ice seems to be somewhat of an odd commodity in France.

Our landlord Marc speaks some English and told us of great running trails. I was able to do my first long run surrounded by mountains, a river, and lots of rag weed which sent my hay fever into overdrive. So, the running has been spectacular, not fast, but gorgeous. One lesson I have learned while having to make a pit stop during my long run is that weeds that look like weeds from back home are NOT the same. I learned that about 15 minutes later when I had a horrible burning and itching sensation which lasted another 24 hours.

On tap this week was the riding the route called the Marmotte. It is a famous ride/race here that attracts 8000 people. The race is July 4th this year and we wanted to ride it before we were surrounded by 8000 people all descending the mountains at the same time. Kevin actually rode it Tuesday alone as I was doing a track workout and was not quite ready to take these climbs on. I needed more mental preparation! Here is a description of the ride:

“La Marmotte is one of the toughest one-day cycling events in the World, only 174km, but almost 17,000 feet of climbing The event goes over the col del la Croix de Fer, col de Telegraphe, col du Galibier and finishes at the top of one of the most famous Tour de France climbs, Alpe d’Huez!” A climbers dream!

Ok, I never thought of myself as a climber, but after doing this ride, I would now say I am! It actually makes the climb up Hog Pen in the north Georgia Mountains seem like an anthill!
The ride was 120 miles long and it took me 10:35 on the bike I have never been on a bike that long and in fact it is about the same time just riding as I did my fastest ironman race in! The col de Croix Fer was tough. It took me 1:50 to ride 31.6 km and climbing over 4950 ft . On top of that, an animal carrying truck passed us and continued to drop piles of poop along the route. So I tried to avoid those piles, concentrate on climbing and breathing all at the same time. Then a guy from England named Tim Fowler passed me and I could not just let him go by so, I caught him and started chatting. It was great as he spoke English and I had someone to talk with for the next 1:30! I am sure I climbed much better because I was not feeling sorry for myself! He left at the top and we continued to the col de Telegraph and col de Galibier. That was 36 km long and 6500 ft. of elevation. That took me almost 3 hours. I have included the picture Kevin took as I was lacking oxygen and brain power to get to the top of the Galibier. Kevin climbed about 9:00 min faster so he was a bit chilly with all that snow and wind. The descent off the Galibier is mind boggling. I remember watching the Tour riders in their drops, aero position, and flying down the mountain. In contrast, I am sitting up, hands on the brakes so much so that my joints hurt and I was not even close to flying down those 180 turns! But it was a “un adventure plus grande” nonetheless! But we were not done yet. We descended about 25 miles (awesome) and then ended at the bottom of Alpe d”Huez. It is 15.2 km and 3800 ft of climbing with the steepest grade being 12%, It was really a mental challenge ascending the climb. All the nutritional wisdom of consuming our protein/carbohydrate supplements was trumped by a deep ravenous hunger that had us sucking down Coke (which I never drink) Café au Lait, and platter of Pommes Frites (French fries, smothered in ketsup). After chatting for an hour with other Le Marmet survivors (Dutch and English) at the Café, we had the real pleasure of descending 4,000 ft in the late afternoon shadows and coolness. After starting at 6 AM, we finally rolled into our Gites at 7 PM – 13 hours on the bike without mishap, crash or flat!!!

Saturday was another beautiful day in the Alps. We headed off for a trail run and then an easy bike ride. What I have also learned is what you think will take two hours on a bike, actually takes 4-5 hours. The easy spin turned into another mountain pass called La Berarde. It kicks up to a 10% grade for 3 km. I was not ready for that and by the top I felt totally spent. But, it was a great descent down the mountain. Sunday is our first swim in a pool and then a short spin ride. We leave Allemont and head over to Avignon to take on Mount Ventoux. More to follow next week!

A Bientoit,
Laura

The top of the Galibier. Note the grade, avalanche photo, and warnings about ice on the top of the Galibier! All in a days ride

Red Hills Triathlon Race Report

If you can’t wait to get the season started and are looking for an early season race, you might want to consider The Red Hills Triathlon in Tallahassee, FL. The race always takes place in late March or early April and is an easy drive from Atlanta. It’s also a good warmup for St Anthony’s. The race has a short 536 meter swim in a clear lake in McClay State Park. The bike is a moderately hilly 15.3 miles on the streets around the park and you finish with a nice 5K again in the park and on very nice trails. The event numbers are held down to under 300 and the race fills up early. You never know about the weather in North Florida at this time of year so be prepared. This race is well put on and the after race food is great. I have done this race four times and it is a staple of my early season.

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Thank you for taking our survey on where you would like to see all3sports move if we need to get more space. We appreciate your support and will definitely use the information we gathered as we move forward.

Until then, we are staying where we are and will continue to strive to be your number one stop for all your triathlon and biking needs.

Dream Big. Dream Fast.

Peachtree International Triathlon

With all do respect to Chuck and Jim, our great local race organizers, I would like to recommend the Peachtree International Triathlon. This is the second year I have done the race and the organization is excellent. With lots of volunteer help the race runs very smoothly. The swim, in Lake Peachtree, is a time trial start. The bike is modestly hilly but the roads are great. The run is all done on the mostly flat shade covered bike paths of Peachtree City. They have a nice awards program and the after race food is tops. I trained through the race this year to get into a proper cycle for the Escape from Alcatraz race in three weeks. It was encouraging to still break 2:30 and win the 60-64 age group. If this race fits your schedule next year, give it a TRI.

St. Anthony’s Triathlon Race Report

OK, I like big races, the more competition the better. As the largest Olympic distance triathlon in the US you will never lack for competition there. I knew my main competition would be Mike Zinn an All American from Dallas, TX. We are fairly equal swimmers, he a much better cyclist, and I a better runner. After visiting the National Training Center in Clermont, FL this spring I was looking for an improved swim.  I was happy to PR the swim and find his bike still in transition at T1. As I guessed he pedaled by me at 8 miles. I tried to ride with him for a mile or so but just felt that the pace was too strong for me and the temperature was on the rise. Leaving T2 on the run my wife said he was 2:30 ahead of me. I just tried to stay controlled and see where he was at the 3.1 mile turn around. At the turn point I had made up 1:45 of the 2:30 and felt like things were going my way. However soon after that I started dealing with an upset stomach and had to back the pace down. I finally got him in sight with half a mile to go. I closed to within 20 seconds of him but had to settle for a second place finish. I was happy to PR the course. Getting older and faster is a good thing.

West Point Tri

Race morning started early as I stayed in the comfort of my own bed Friday night before the 7:15a start. I was rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 3:20a, and was on the road to LaGrange by 4am to race in the West Point Lake Triathlon.

The swim is a time trial start, which ideally sets up the race with the faster swimmers up front. I took a deep breath, and seconds before I hit the water remembered to stay focused on my strategy for this race. Hard Swim, Harder Bike, and hang on during the run. The swim was great, as the water was calm, and I was able to jump on the feet of a few people in front of me. I have been working on my stroke some, and over the past month it has started to come together a little better. A little more rotation, and a stronger pull under my body has improved my efficiency in the water. I navigated the course to perfection, which really helped my confidence as I saw others in front of me swimming off course. I hit the mat in 21:32, and felt good about my effort.

Out of T1, I tried to ease into the bike. I only monitor power and heart rate, and wanted to hold 275 watts for the entire race. In the distance, I saw a group of four guys riding strong. They had a little over a minute on me, so I now had a mark…I wanted overtake them as quickly as possible, but tried to remember to keep an even effort for the entire ride. Half way through the course, I was gaining on them. I knew I’d pass three of them by mile 14 or so. I checked out my watts and saw that my average power at this point was 282. My heart rate was just above steady state at 162. A little high, but I felt pretty good.

I made an aggressive pass and dropped em all after a minute of hard work. I just kept surging, and figured I’d snap them at some point. It proved to be a little harder than I thought, but I was able to break away and saw another cyclist in an All3 jersey about 15 secs ahead.

I rolled up on All3 teamate Daniel Arnett around mile 18. He informed me we had one in front of us…Dennis Reardon. Dan is a great cyclist, and I knew I couldn’t drop him, so I did my best to ride hard back to transition. As I dismounted I saw I had held 286 watts and 23.7 mph over the course that is slightly longer than 40K. The 1:03:55 was a PR for me on the bike course, but at what cost?

I quickly found out, as I left T2 with Dan, and was quickly gapped. By mile 2 he had put about 20 seconds on me. My legs felt bad, and I started coughing up all of my nutrition. By mile 3, something felt very wrong, as my stomach felt queezy and I couldn’t hold anything down. The next thing I know, I am being passed by a guy that appears to be running a 5 minute pace. I thought he must’ve been a relay runner, only to find out later that he ran a 35:01 off the bike. I was shocked at how quickly I was dropped. Somehow, as I hit mile 4, I started feeling better, and caught up to Dan around mile 5. We both sprinted the last mile in, and I was thankful to see the finish line. A horrible run of 41:58…but a 2:08 PR.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t Top 3 overall, however I was Top 5, and won the 35-39 age group.

Afterwards I caught up with Dan Arnett, Catherine Meihoffer, good friend Neil Simon, and childhood friend Scott Freidel. I always enjoy recapping the race with fellow competitors and friends. It’s fun to compare the day with everyone else.

It certainly was a good day for the All3 folks, as Dan and Catherine also netted 1st place age group honors.

Next up…Indian Springs and then off to Chattanooga.

European Vacation Week 1

Our first week in Europe was spent in Duignt France, on Lake Annecy.  It was incredibly beautiful with nice easy rides as well as in my opinion very difficult rides.  When we arrived it was 30 Celsius and sunny.  I promptly slept 3 hours due to jet lag and since my bike did not come I was off the hook for a ride.  However, we did go for a nice 6 mile run on a “Piste Cycleable” which is  an incredible bike path.  Friday morning dawn sunny and bright and Kevin was off for a two mile swim in 68 degree water.  Luckily for me, my wetsuit was in my missing bike box, so I slept in until 8:30 giving me 11 hours of sleep.  My jet lag was quickly disappearing.  Good news, my bike came about noon just in time to go on an easy bike ride.  Easy ride was a lie, or at least in my opinion it was anything but easy.  We started on that wonderful trail for 6 miles, and I thought, great, I can ride like this all day.  Then we turn and begin the climb up the Col De Forclaz in Annecy.  It was an 8km climb or 5 miles for those not used to kilometers.  I am quickly becoming an expert in “kms” as I always want to know how far it is to the top so I can tell myself I only have X amount of miles to go.  So quickly it becomes apparent that I am on my own for this climb.  At times I was going 4 mph and at best was going about 6mph.  It felt so difficult and I have yet to be able to find the % grade as the French seem to thing this “Col” or mountain is too insignificant to grade!  It took 46 minutes to ascend that climb!  Or almost 9 minutes a mile.  The picture that is included is what it looked like at the top.  It was truly breathtaking and we stood on the ramp that Para gliders lift off from…never in a million years would I do that!

Then Saturday comes and I get to do that climb all over again along with the Col De Croix Fry and Col De Avavis….three in one day and all done by the Tour De France riders in past years!  It was 72 miles and took me 5:30 minutes.  The descents were scary but I know that next weekend they will be much more difficult.  On the way up the first one, it took me 50 minutes, now I know I  am slower on the 2nd day, but after the descent, I stopped and realized that my back brake was rubbing, like it wasn’t hard enough without my brakes slowing me down.  I blame my time on that!!  I forgot to mention that as one climbs, your head becomes surrounded by about 30 horse flies.  They seem to be drawn to the sweat and that fact that I am going so slow.  As a matter of fact, since I tend to be a mouth breather, I happened to swallow not one but three horse flies.  I hope they enjoyed the journey down….I sure hated it and tried my hardest to cough them up, but climbing and coughing as hard as you can seems to be “tres difficile”

Sunday was again a beautiful morning and I went for a 2 hour run.  I love to chat with people I meet along the way as they pass me, but alas, my French goes back to high school only and it is sadly lacking.  So, for two hours I was in my own world again running on the bike path.  We then went for a 25 mile ride around Lake Annecy.  So beautiful, and we went through small towns where you can almost reach out and touch the side of the buildings.  We had one or I guess it was 4 switchbacks to get out of Taliore…no one told me about that climb in what was suppose to be flat ride

All in all it was a great four days during our stay in Duignt and we are off to Allemont and our climb up 4 mountain passes, the hardest on the Tour de France next weekend.  I am nervous and wishing I had a triple chain ring!  But since I don’t I will survive and look forward to sharing the week in the Alps with you.

A Bientot,
Laura

Catersville Century

Always a great option for those training for Ironman or Half IM and looking for a well supported long ride, the Cartersville Century is next Saturday, June 28th.

If you’re interested in this event, you’ll find information here: http://www.cartersvillecentury.org. Cartersville is a beautiful place to bike and the distance options for this ride are 15, 30, 55 and 100 miles. The terrain is rolling hills.

Note: this ride is not sponsored nor affiliated with all3sports. All questions, concerns, comments should be directed to the organizers of the Cartersville Century: Gordon Gilley at bgclubs@aol.com, or call the Boys and Girls Club of Bartow County, 770-382-5500.

Zoot Ultra Race Running Shoe

I was told I couldn’t wear the women’s race flat no matter if I liked the color better or not so I went with the Yangtze colored men’s model. Sea Foam Green isn’t that bad…right? Read the rest of this entry »

West Point Lake Triathlon - race report

The West Point Lake Triathlon was this past Saturday (6/14) in LaGrange, Georgia.�

Race conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for this time of year.  While this race has a history of hot weather, we got lucky with cooler temps and cloud cover.  This was my first time competing in this race and hot weather or not, the race is great - Jim Rainy and GA Multisports always put on a safe and enjoyable event.

The race was a time trial start, people going off in two’s every 3-5 seconds.  The water was clear and smooth.  The course takes you around a peninsula, keeping the buoys on the right - swimmers are never too far from shore and it’s very easy to sight.  I was far back in the start order and I was concerned about having to navigate around people, but the swim did not feel congested at all.

The bike course was one of the best routes I have ever experienced.  While the roads are open to traffic, I can’t remember even one car passing me.  The course is rolling with many hills, but none are gut-busting, out-of-your-saddle painful.  The down hills are a blast.  I just had my bike tuned up by Jason and the guys at All3Sports - my ride shifted effortlessly and I needed every gear.

Then the run, my most challenging leg.  The course is a mainly flat out and back - going across the top of the lake’s dam.  There was some shade, but the heat was starting to make quite a presence.   The 1.5 mile mark is the turn around for the sprint triathlon (which occurs at the same time as the Olympic), when I saw that I wished I had signed up for the sprint!  Soon though mile marker 4 appeared, then 5 and then the finish.  While my run was a disappointment, my swim was the second fastest female time of the race and my bike split was 5th - securing an age group win and 8^th place overall.

Post race activities were great - good food, drinks, massages, and camaraderie.  I caught with All3Sports teammate Ken Brown - who won his age group as well.

Next up for me is the Tri-the-Park’s Indian Springs triathlon June 28^th.  Hope to see you at the thrilla in Flovilla!

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Mulletman Triathlon

Race Report Race Name: Mullet Man Triathlon
Location: Perdido Key, FL (Florabama)Travel time from Atlanta: ~ 6 hrs
Distance: 400/17/4�

Swim Course:Ocean swim.  Out 50 meters to 1st buoy, parallel for 300 and back to shore.  Water temperature is wetsuit legal and you may have to encounter some breakers on the way out and in.�

Bike Course: Leave transition to the left for an out and back along the coast with a decent bridge at mile 2 and 15.  Road conditions were good as long as you stay out of the bike lane.  Ride in the road vice the bike lane.  Be careful of the turn around because it was not well marked.�

Run Course: Leave transition to the left and cross the road.  Run to the bridge, under it and back.  Water stops will be at mile 1, 2 & 3.  The second water stop is under the bridge.  If you are in a pack, try to get to the aid station first because there was only 2 or 3 people handing out the water. �

Transitions: This is an open transition.  What that means is that it’s a first come first served.  Get there a bit early so that you can get a good spot in transition.  I recommend somewhere near the road and to the left as you face the road.  It will give you a longer run from the water, but allow you to get in and get out faster overall. The transition is set up in a parking lot which has some large rocks.  If you have sensitive feet, keep a set of sandals as you come from the beach and into transition.  The run from the water is about 100 meters in sand.�

Post Race: This race is great for an early season low key time or a first timer.  The race is really informal and has a festive atmosphere.  You get tickets for free beer and food afterwards.  They have several categories to enter so there is a good chance of getting some hardware to take home.  ResultsI ended up 4th overall and 1st in my age group.  Not bad for running the 4 mile course in a mullet wig.

Post Race Blues?

  I would like to discuss a phenomena commonly referred to as post race blues.  You have just completed you’re ‘A’ race a couple of days ago and think you should be excited and on cloud 9.  But instead, you are moody and irritable.  Why is that? There are several reasons that have been attributed to this and I will briefly touch on some of them.  Essentially, you have set your sites on this particular race for a long time now.  Your body was primed for it, you went out there and gave it your all and now it’s over.  Regardless of how you did, your mind knows the task is complete.  So your body thinks it’s time to rest.  It’s trying to rebuild itself and you are trying to hold onto that peak fitness because you liked that feeling.  But you can’t hold-on to peak fitness for very long, that is just the nature of the body.  Mentally, you don’t have a goal on the horizon anymore and feel like you’re lost.  It’s best to focus on your recovery from the effort and the lessons learned from the race instead of “What do I do now?”  Training is about cumulative effort and the race you just completed is all part of that.  Let your body recover and focus on that.  Focusing on recovery allows the mind to have an immediate goal to concentrate on.  The lessons learned from the race will be flushed out soon enough.  Don’t dwell on how you could have done this better or that better.  Discuss with your coach how to progress from here.  Together, the coach and athlete will be able to gather the information from the race and use it to the athlete’s advantage.  Every race has great lessons to be learned, which are not all time related.  You might also experience some weight gain a couple of days after your race.  Don’t let this get you down.  Remember that you just pushed your body as hard as it could go.  You damaged your muscles and now they must repair themselves in order to get stronger.  The body will retain water around those muscles in order to help facilitate recovery and flush out any toxins that remain.  Allow yourself a couple of days to do the things that you prevented yourself from doing before the race.  Relax and enjoy the fact that you pushed yourself; all within reason of course.  With the guidance of your coach, you will slowly get back to full speed ahead training and set your sights on the next goal.  But don’t get frustrated that you feel down a bit.  It’s expected and totally natural.  But like anything, if it gets to an extreme, let your coach know and seek assistance from a professional.

- Coach Dan

Sweetwater Creek Triathlon 6/8/2008

This sprint triathlon is held in the State Park that I live in, Sweetwater Creek State Park. This is the 14th year of the race and it is put on by one of the local service groups in the county. I try and do this race every year since I can ride my bike to the race and because it is in my home turf and training grounds. This race brings a lot of beginners due to the distance but it also has a pretty tight level of competition from the West Atlanta triathletes that actually hear about the race. The entire race (other than the swim of course) is spent going up or down a hill so it can be a challenge if you aren’t ready. I was coming off a good racing high from a good strong finish at the Tri The Parks race the day before so I was excited to do my best here. The small field of racers (around 80) always seems to be upbeat and happy to be racing. My kind of people.

When we lined up in the water I was in race mode and ready to go. The swim is only an out and back 200 yard sprint so there is no time to waste in both the swim and T1. The race director said “go” and I did. I took the lead early (within 25 yards) and that for the first time in my life that was how I spent the entire race.
T1. Again after only a 200 yard swim even when you come out first your competition isn’t far behind. My heart rate strap had managed to slip down on the swim but as I ran to my bike I was able to get it into position. I strapped on my helmet and jumped on Darth Vader with a slap in the butt from my friend and roommate that was racing with me…that told me to get moving!!!
The short 10 mile bike section is “T” shaped with two turn around points. These turn around points gave me a clear view of my friends that were in second and third place and trying their hardest to catch me. As I said before I’ve never been out in front like this in a triathlon and I was starting to freak out. I didn’t have someone in front of me that was driving my racing instinct to push hard and catch them. All I knew is that I was giving it what I had and EVERYONE behind me was after me. At the second turn around I was able to tell that my friend in second place was inching closer to me so I pushed past the burn of the lactic acid to drive a little harder towards T2 and keep the lead.
T2. I climbed the hill into T2, hopped off Darth Vader, and slipped into my running shoes. I almost left my GPS and heart rate monitor on my bike but remembered it in the last second.
The run starts out on the road and then turns onto the some of the trails of the park. Again I was freaking out not knowing if I was going to be strong enough to hold off the racers behind me but that just made me push a little harder. It was hot already when I started the 3 mile run and I was in need of some cold water. I didn’t get it until mile 1 but took one cup to the head and one in the gullet. My friend who was in second place was right behind me. I’m talking 50 to 75 yards back. If I turned around, I could see his facial expressions. I thought for sure that he was holding that position and holding back so that he would try and out kick me in the last 1/4 mile or something. I didn’t know what to expect. There is a little out and back extension on the run where we passed by each other after I had made the turn and he was on the way to it. I think we both had the same look on our faces that said “this is all I’ve got right now” and that gave me a little ray of hope and a touch more energy. With about 3/4 of a mile to go I kicked it into high gear and managed to pull away from a charging second place and cross the line strong, soaking wet with sweat, and fists of victory in the air.

This was my first overall victory in a triathlon and it was a sweet one. My friends both finished strong in second and sixth place overall too so it made it even better that we all did so well. So I got hardware for two triathlons in as many days and my first overall win. I’d say that was a pretty good weekend. Later that day I did a little Corona with lime recovery kicked back on the couch.

Marc D. Thompson

Check me out!!!

Richard B Russell Tri The Parks Race 6/7/2008

This was my first race representing the All3Sports.com team and it proved to be a very fun time.
I was looking forward to this race after a fair finish last year and knowing that the water is very clean for the swim. The run was changed a little to shorten the distance but that is just fine with me.

When we lined up in the water for the start of the race I was chatting with Andy Stephenson and he pointed out Mark MacLaclan and Todd Kennedy in the water. I decided based on Andy’s description to try and hold behind their feet for as long as possible on the swim. When the buzzer went off the normal every man for himself splash fest started. I’m pretty sure I was swimming next to and behind those guys for about 80% of the swim before they pulled away from me and left me in clear water. I came out feeling good even though I was a touch disappointed with my time.
T1 was quick until I went to jump on my bike and realized that I had not put Darth Vader back into a good starting gear so I sprinted to the side of the road to mount up out of the way of anyone else that might possibly be coming up behind me.
The bike section of this triathlon is awesome. There are 3 hills that get your heart rate sky high going up and 2 blazing down hills to keep the speed junkies happy. I was moving right along passing a good amount of duathlon racers when a couple of triathletes caught and passed me. Racer instinct clicked in and I pushed a little harder to keep them in sight. The three of us battled out the remainder of the bike ride each spending time trying to fend off the others. As we entered back into the park I toned back a little to get my cadence up preparing for the run and let the two guys get about 100 yards ahead of me.
T2 was a smooth flying dismount and quick enough to get me back in line with the guys I was fighting with on the bike.
As I started the run I cheered on one of the other cyclists as I passed him and then I set my sights on the other. Running is not my strongest point of the race and the first 1.5 miles of this run was not a lot of fun. Aside from being uphill it was also starting to warm up outside. I was able to keep the elastic from breaking on the guy in front of me until about mile 3 when he decided it was time to leave me behind. At the turn arounds I could see that Mark MacLaclan, Thomas Pilliod, and Todd Kennedy were moving right along and All3Sports was looking at a 1, 2, 3 podium. When I rounded the last turn before the finish line I kicked in the rest of what I had in the tank for speed and finished strong hoping that I might catch someone that bonked right before the line.
I wish I could have caught the guy in front of me and made it to 4th place but in the end of the day I had to settle for 5th place overall. I did manage to win 1st place in my age group and I was very happy with that. Now it was time for some pancakes.

Just as a side note. My friend and I stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home and ate pancakes. These pancakes were awesome. Fellow team member and my coach Dan Arnett has a wife named Nancy who makes the best pancakes in the world but these pancakes were a close second. I’ll be searching out a Cracker Barrel again after my next race!!

Marc D. Thompson

70.3 Comes to Georgia

On June 2nd, the announcement was made that an Ironman 70.3 race will be held in September 2009 in August, GA! Registration will open July 1st 2008.

The full press release is available here.

The official website of the race is: http://www.ironmanaugusta.com

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all3sports Clinic Schedule

Thursday, July 24th 10:00am - Tri the Parks Transition Clinic

All participants will receive a coupon for 15% off their purchase in store that day! Regular coupon policy applies.

Length: 1 hour

Description: The clinic is held in conjunction with the Tri the Parks Race Packet Pickup (11:00 am - 3:00 pm). We will cover the basics of setting up your transition area for a quick transition. Bring your gear as you will have a chance to set up your transition and practice changing to bike from swim and to run from bike! Clinic is held in the store parking lot. In the event of rain we will still hold clinic indoors.

Have a suggestion for a clinic? Send it to us at contact us!

Run with all3sports

Every Thursday Evening!

We’ll be meeting at the store every Thursday at 7:00 pm to head off on a run! The run is from the store and covers both asphalt and trails and you can vary the length! This is a no drop run, we leave no man behind! If you are interested in joining, just come by on Thursday. Questions? Contact Alex (alex@all3sports.com).