Westboro Sprint Triathlon Race Report

On August 15th I raced at the Westboro Sprint Triathlon in Westboro, MA.  Once again this was close enough to my parent's house to enable them to spectate and I also was lucky enough to have my personal race sherpa/photographer in attendance.  This was a 1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike and 2.9 mile run format.  The bike course was mostly flat, with the exception of one moderate hill and a few short but steep hills right before T2.  The run course was half trails and half road, with a finish across the soccer fields.  This was also the first year the race had been held.  The race was held at one of MA's finest abandoned mental hospitals - very creepy.  The weather was cooler then recent races and it was a comfortable 60 for race time.

 

Also a change from the last few races was that I was in the second to last wave which meant plenty of traffic on course.  For the swim I decided to get a little more aggressive as I was thinking this race would play out similar to the Hockomock race.  I didn’t want to get trapped in traffic.  I figure it's time for me to start more towards the front as my times for these sprint races have been consistent.  I started right on the front row, on the inside half of the line.  Wow.  What a difference being in the front.  The wrestling match was crazy.  Lots of kicks, punches and people trying to swim over me.  Lots more contact in the initial few strokes.  Nothing I couldn't deal with but it was definitely more noticeable then starting further outside or towards the back. 

 

There I am in the top middle fighting with some other swimmers:

On the plus side, it gave me a better line and less traffic to the buoy.  That's me with the wetsuit on the left of both the below pictures.  Notice the floaters from the previous wave and the traffic coming in from the outside towards the first turn, while I am swimming straight at it.

 

        

Hit the beach with the exact same swim time as Hockomock, 6:57, which put me 4th in my age group and in the top 10% overall.  Was pleased as I didn't really feel like I swam very hard - just a nice controlled rhythm.  Both transitions has very long chutes in and out and T1 was steeply uphill from the lake and then another steep uphill from the soccer field to the road.  That spiked the heart rate. 

 

Once on the bike it was still uphill to the first turn.  Here's a shot getting going after the mounting line.

 

The below pic is right at the first turn.  I like the guy waving goodbye to us.  Notice the guy on the yellow bike.  He followed me around the entire bike course; you can see him again on the second picture still right behind me.  He ended up finishing second in my age group, obviously due to a fast run. 

My bike was great, I really liked the course.  Very flat up to the 11 mile mark and then a few quick hills towards the end.  I really felt good on the bike but saw a lot of blatant drafting around me.  A group of 10 guys tried to roll by me.  I called them out for being a bunch of cheaters and then attacked in anger up the next hill - never saw them again.  I ended up coming off the bike 2nd in my age group.  This was my fastest bike of the year and also my best placing, also inside the top 10% overall.

 

Here are some shots of me approaching T2.  The marshal was not impressed with my speed:

Had a quick transition, but again the timing mat was way down a chute so the time looks slow.  Right out of transition it was literally into the middle of a cornfield on a rocky trail.  The trail was narrow and uneven, so not good for any speed.  However, the other runners from early waves kept me motivated as I was passing some slower runners and not getting passed by many.  After the run through the cornfield, we circled the lake on a trail that was slightly uphill.  I was holding between 8 and 8:30 pace on my offroad adventure.  At about the halfway mark we got on pavement and I was able to accelerate.  Knowing there was only about a mile and a half left, I decided to see how fast I could go.  I was able to hold around 7:30 pace the rest of the way.

 

Entering the soccer fields with about 300 yards remaining, I saw this guy behind me trying to outsprint me.  I was already at my limit from running harder for the last 1.5 miles and couldn't sprint much faster - only at about 6:20 pace for the last quarter mile.  He was able to catch and pass me.  Two races in a row this has happened.  Unlike at Marlboro this was a loss of position in my age group.  Very frustrating to lose a position by just 6 seconds.  I guess I'm not much of a sprinter running - which is interesting because I always used to have a very good sprint on the bike.

 

 

I beat my expected overall time by about 2.5 minutes, mostly due to a faster bike and run then I was forecasting.  This was also my fastest run in a race, at 7:41 average pace.  This led to a breakout performance for me, as I almost made the top 10% overall at the finish.  Knowing I started the run in 2nd place was also a best for the year.  I was only passed by 5 guys in my age group on the run.

 

I thought it was a well run race, particularly given that it was in its first year.  I loved the bike course, but the run would be a disaster if it was not dry conditions.  The parking was pretty far from the actual finish line area which led to a lot of walking for my spectating crew.  The run finish in a wide open bowl was good for watching the conclusion of the race.

 

Here are the final stats for the race:

 

	Time	Distance	Pace	AG Place	%	Overall Place	%
# Entries				31		316
Swim	6:57	1/4 mile	1:35/100 yd	4	13%	32	10%
T1	2:17			9	29%	59	19%
Bike	39:46	14 miles	21.12 mph	5	16%	27	9%
T2	1:19			9	29%	39	12%
Run	22:18	2.9 miles	7:41/mile	16	52%	84	27%
Total	1:12:35			7	23%	34	11%