Race Report: Rev3 Half Full Triathlon

Every race that goes onto the schedule is there for a reason. Some are those old favorites that you do every year and others are destination races, or an excuse to go somewhere cool but still race. Others are "A" races, or the race you put on the schedule as your one or two big efforts of the year. These are the races you (should) choose based on how they work into your training plan, but also are likely to provide you with the best conditions for your personal success.

On Sunday October 6, 2013 me and a group of friends towed the line at the Rev3 Half Full Triathlon in Columbia, MD. For me this was looking to be an "A" race with a great opportunity to test my fitness. The timing was good, the course was on challenging terrain (close to 3k ft of climb on the bike), and the weather is usually cool. 

And one week out, everything felt like it was falling into place. I was coming off a few good race efforts, the body was feeling, good, and we were talking about arm warmers, gloves and taking time to dry off before the bike. Fresh legs, a hilly race, and cool weather suits me fine. Looked like I would get my day.

Yeah ... about that weather forecast ... A few days later the last blast of heat was heading up the coast ahead of a tropical something or another. So much for the best laid plans ...

Getting transition set up pre-dawn.

Pre-race was fairly uneventful. Me, Em, and The Mayor drove down and met Phil, Becky, and Cassie at packet pickup. After stopping for some food we got our stuff, racked our bikes and checked out the lake. From there we drove the bike course and checked into the hotel. Em's friend Emily was also racing and we ended up eating dinner at her parent's house.

Race morning brought surprisingly cool temperatures and fog. There were three races going on - a college championship, an Olympic distance, and an almost 1/2 Ironman distance, with the rolling swim start going in that order. Except for Phil we were all racing the half.

I was in the third wave of the half, all men 40+, behind the survivors and those racing for The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. With the rolling swim start I chose to start toward the back of my group. The rolling start was spreading things out, keeping me from catching a draft, but fighting little traffic. The only place that jammed up was the swim exit as I caught the back of the Olympic race. 1500M Swim time: 23:32

Transition 1 was a fairly long uphill run but otherwise uneventful. T1 in 2:55

The bike was a lollypop-shaped, two loop course. The course was rolling terrain with a few climbs thrown in for fun. Areas of flat terrain were few and far between and my Garmin registered almost 3k feet of verticle. The weather was temperate to start ... until the fog burned off. With the expected heat my plan for the ride changed. Instead of attacking I held back and stayed well within myself. Most of the ride I was alone, passing a few and getting past by a few younger guys who started in the wave behind me. Letting them go was no problem. I entered T2 in the top 10. The ride was a few miles short of a traditional 1/2 Ironman distance. Bike 53 miles: 2:30:01

Change shoes and grab what I need for the run. In and out of T2 in 0:55.

The run. Yes, yes, the run. By the time I hit the trail out along the lake the temperature was north of 80 degrees, the sun was out, the humidity high. The course was two loops of hilly paved trails and roads. My goal was simply keep my heart rate in a sustainable range so I didn't blow up early. Energy-wise I was fine and I felt hydrated. I left transition at what felt like a sustainable pace ... for about five minutes  ... and then I hit the first hill. My HR spiked and I had to choose between blowing up or walking a bit. I power walked it. At the top I grabbed as much ice and water as I could and started the process of keeping my body as cool and hydrated as I could. This process continued on for the next 12 miles. Run 13.1 Miles: 1:57:26 

Overall: 4:58:50 6th in AG40-44 22nd overall (266 finishers)

If you add up the times listed you may notice my final time includes an additional 4 minutes, which I can only assume was some sort of penalty on the bike. Somewhere around the 12 mile mark I did see the USAT officials as they came by me, with the non-driver writing down what must have been my number. There were no bikes within a quarter mile of me at the time (or most of the day) so I couldn't have been blocking or drafting. I was riding the best tangent that I could ... but I never crossed over the double yellow line. Whatever. It was apparent at the pre-race meeting that the officials were looking to give out penalties so congrats to them. Again, whatever. I lost one place in the overall standings.

I also want to give a big shout out to the crew. Emily, Cassie, and Becky had great days at the Half distance, all placing in their respective age groups, while Phil took 2nd in his AG racing in the Olympic Distance race.

Overall I really enjoyed this race and would consider doing it again. The organization was good, the roads had volunteers all over the place for both the bike and the run, and the course was a nice challenge. And instead of the traditional t-shirt, everyone received a technical long sleeve jacket. There were, however, three issues, two minor and one larger, that need to be resolved to make this race top notch.

The major issue was one of safety. There were a lot of high school kids working the bike course, which I'm fine with, as long as they are paying attention. A large majority of them, however, were consumed with their smartphones, paying little attention to the traffic at the cross streets that they were responsible for. After the race I spoke with the race director who reacted in exactly the correct manner - he thanked me for the feedback, apologized, and said he would work on correcting the situation for next year.

One minor issue was the limited post-race food spread. Normally there is an area set up specifically for the athletes. Here, there was food available, but it was not clearly marked, and it was the same food they were selling to spectators. The choices, other than the free beer, were limited and not all that appealing. I do like me a bratwurst, just not 20 minutes after a 5 hour race. To be fair, I compare every post-race spread to the one at Timberman 70.3, which is simply awesome.

The other issue that I must mention is the race distance. The traditional distance for a Half Ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a half marathon. They bill this race as a 70.0 for the 70k young adults diagnosed with cancer every year, which is cool ... but the distances didn't match. They were very public about the swim being 0.9 miles, but the bike was only 53 miles and the run course a bit short, neither of which were well publicized. If I'm racing for almost 5 hours, I want to know before hand exactly what I'm racing.

Next up: A week of recovery and then prep for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon