From: tjensen@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (todd.r.jensen)
Subject: Race Results: Rockford, IL
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 16:09:55 GMT

Rockford Triathlon - August 16, 1992 - [0.25M swim|15M bike|3M run]

Why was my alarm going off at 5:00 AM?  Off to yet another race.  I
rolled out of bed, rubbed some good old Ben Gay on my legs, threw on some
warm clothes, packed the car, and headed west on I-88.  I quaffed a Coke
along the way to wake myself up, but it didn't seem to help.  It was kind
of chilly outside, so I turned up the heat in the car.  Steam was rising
from all the ponds and creeks along the highway and created some low
lying clouds.  When I pulled into the parking lot at Rock Cut State Park,
I heard on the radio the temperature was 46 degrees Fahrenheit.  Felt more
like football weather than triathlon weather.  We must be entering another
Ice Age.

As I picked up my race packet, a volunteer asked me if I was ready to swim
in 50 degree water.  I hoped it was warmer than that - the brochure promised
water in the 80's, but I would be happy with 70's.  I was number 11, my
lucky number.  The number I wore as a star quarterback in Little League.
I've seemed to have built a small reputation for my bike prowess, and some
of the guys I've met over the summer were saying I would probably go by
them on the bike.  What they didn't know is over the last month I've been
working on my run, and I thought I could hold them off after passing
them.  I ran a few miles until I was sweating and then headed down to the
beach to warm up in the water.  The water wasn't bad at all and I swam until
they started herding us into a corral.

I was in the first wave of men.  The 50 of us kicked, pushed, shoved, elbowed,
and head-butted each other over the entire swim course.  I got out in 5:45,
which was 3-1/2 minutes faster than last year.  I assumed the swim course
was a bit shorter this year.  I had an OK transition and took off on the bike
at about 7:00 on the clock.

The bike leg was over some rolling hills - nothing too steep but nothing too
flat either.  I was steadily passing all the swimmers and was averaging just
over 25 MPH at the 10 mile mark.  I could see a pack of four familiar riders
just in front of me and knew if I caught them I would be near the front.  I
turned a corner and shifted up.  That's when whatever luck I had ran out.
TWANG!  One of my 18 spokes on my front wheel decided it had enough of this
stressful sport and gave up.  I slowed down and tried to keep riding but it
was clanging against my fork and I was afraid of doing an end-o if it got
caught around my fork.  I stopped twice to wrap the broken spoke around another
and then climbed back on and hobbled in to the transition.  Some of the guys
I worked hard to pass were now passing me as I nursed my bike in.  I was
frustrated as I trotted my bike over to the rack, but decided to just go get
a good workout on the run.  I ended up averaging 23.4 MPH on the bike (so I
lost over 2 minutes if I would have averaged 25 MPH for the bike) and started
the run at around 45:30.

The run started out on a hilly road, then cut through the woods along a muddy
and grass path, then back in on the road.  I tried to make up lost time and
ran myself into oxygen debt.  I've been doing a lot of trail running and was
prepared to run fast on the uneven surfaces.  I ended up running 5:30 miles
and crossed the line at 1:02:09.  Good enough for 11th overall and 4th in my
age group (25-29).  I was glad I didn't quit after my mechanical, but
disappointed because I would have finished much higher up.  Carl Nuccio blew
away the competition with a 55:35 and Darin Steiner was second in 59:10.  The
top woman did a 1:07:30.


Todd Jensen                                  o
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