From: birecree@bissun.kodak.com (Jack Birecree (D47 69629) OCR group (63771))
Subject: Union Springs Triathlon
Originator: birecree@bissun
Organization: Eastman Kodak
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 13:39:00 GMT

--------------------------------------------------------------

Union Springs Tri
1.5K/40K/10K
Union Springs NY


It was almost an afterthought that I decided to do the Union Springs
Triathlon this year. Major reasons being that this tri was close to
Rochester (about 1.5 hours) and it was very well run last year. Even
though I was in mediocre shape at best,  I decided to tri it.

The race was held on the banks of Seneca lake on July 18th. It started
at 9 AM, but as I was not pre-registered, I got there a little early.
So early in fact that I had to wait until the volunteers arrived to set
up the registration tables. .....So I miscalculated a little....

Once registered ($40), I had plenty of time to ponder my race strategy.
The 1.5K/40K/10K course was plenty hilly, and I hadn't been training
enough (who ever does?), but I figured I could complete the course
respectably. Nevertheless I visited the port-a-john quite a few times
(nerves....NAA!)

The race started under cloudy skies. The temperature was rising rapidly
and the air was still and quite humid from the heavy rains of the night
before. The swim portion was an out and back arrangement that exited
the water a couple of hundred yards down the shore from where it
started. For some reason my wetsuit had become extremely tight this
year. It's kind of unbelievable that this material could actually
shrink over the winter, but there was no denying the physical
evidence....

The course was extremely well marked and there was a team of
experienced lifeguards on surfboards to monitor safety. Despite this,
the lead swimmers were directed to "cut" off the course just short of
the turn-around boat. As usual, all of us middle of the packers,
followed suit and also cut off the swim course slightly. I was able to
hold a fairly straight line on the way out with the large orange buoys
providing an excellent sighting line. After the turnaround, I had some
trouble as we were swimming almost directly into the sun. My goggles
had fogged slightly and I was having a hellacious time swimming
straight. Fortunately I wasn't the only one having this trouble and I'm
sure the return swim was slower for the majority of the racers. Despite
this I posted either a great time for me (xx:xx) on an accurately
measured course, or an OK time on a short course. I suspect the latter.

I exited the water  and found my bike in the rack. The racks were
pretty full, so I felt good about my swim despite the trouble I had
sighting the finish. I had almost as much trouble getting out of my
wetsuit as I had getting into it, but after my usual slow transition, I
headed out on the bike.  Once I mounted my bike I must have looked
quite comical. The cold water had definitely affected my coordination
and I was all over the road. I remembered the bike course from last
year as being quite hilly. Unfortunately I had a good memory.

The first 10 miles or so were generally uphill. Compounding this was
the fact that my legs felt tight. It's awful tough to loosen them up
climbing hills. I could see the people ahead of me, and I wasn't losing
any ground to them, but neither was I gaining. This was disheartening
since the bike is my strongest leg. Oh well, at least it wasn't too
hot.....

At about the halfway point of the bike I found myself in a funk. I was
just putting in the miles, not really racing. The hills had taken their
toll. At this point Buzz went by and (as usual) started up a
conversation. This woke me up and I picked up the cadence to stay with
Buzz. A couple of miles up the road we came up on Bob Datola and an
unknown female and, after another brief conversation by Buzz, had a
group of four riding abreast. We continued to push each other for the
remainder of the course, and finished generally together.

After another terrible transition, I began the run. It began over the
grassy area of the park. Unfortunately, the ground was swamp-like and
my shoes got pretty wet. I saw Buzz and Bob vanish into the distance.
As usual with triathlons around lakes, the run was uphill for the first
3 miles and downhill for the last three. At about the half-mile mark I
began to notice that IT WAS HOT. The humidity was stifling and the
temperature had risen into the 80's. This was going to be tough. I
began to get Zen-like and just kept repeating "put one foot in front of
the other" to myself. Just after two miles, I saw the eventual winner,
Dennis Moriarty coming back from the turnaround. As we exchanged
high-fives he said I was in 16th place. Wow. I didn't think I was doing
all that well. Maybe I don't need to train.....

Shortly after that I made a tactical error in a water station. As I
approached, the kids manning the cups shouted, "want some water in your
face?"  Cool water in my face...... sounds good. "Yea" I shouted.  At
this point 4 (yes 4) kids blasted me with a cup of water in the face. I
was soaked! I could feel the water running into my shoes. Another
lesson learned => Take care of dousing your own face at water stations.

It was about at this point that my hamstrings began to cramp on every
downhill, foiling any thoughts of a 16th place finish. Even though I
was a couple of hundred yards up on the next racer, I knew I was in
trouble. I had to stop twice in the last 3 miles to stretch my
hamstrings and three people went by me before I struggled across the
finish line. Hot but happy!

Post race refreshments were superb. They had plenty of water, sports
drinks, beer, soda, and a chicken dinner for all racers.  Overall I
found this a tough race to compete, but very well run. I would highly
recommend it!