TBF NY Duathlon

My first race of the new year was a duathlon. It was nice to finally see Mark Shaw, Bill Driskill, Gloria Becker and Laurie Hom. Also, it was nice to see some of the Roseville Cyclery team. When the start of the run began I started in wave 1 of 2 and it was OK to start in that group. They were all really fast. About one mile into the run, I found a kid my age to compete with. He was a little better than me on the 2 mile run.

I was in a good spot when I started the 6 mile bike. I was about 60 seconds behind him. I didn't feel bad when I started on the bike, I had some Honey Stinger Pink Lemonade Energy Chews stuck to the frame of my bike. I passed the competitor at about the half way point of the bike ride.  One of Roseville Cyclery's fastest racers passed me just coming into the bike to second run transition and left transition before me. I accidentally left my Camelback on when I left for the run. The catch was that there were only five full drinks of water left in it. After that it was just annoying.The run course was the same as the Granite Man Triathlon so when I saw the finish line, I started to sprint.

I felt like I had a good race. Thanks to TBFRacing for the great events. Also, thanks to Bill Driskill for introducing me to Justin Mendoza, the overall winner and triathlete. 

Granite Man Sprint Triathlon

GRANITEMAN 

Spint Triathlon

9/21/14

I was looking for a sprint distance triathlon and decided on doing the Graniteman - 400 yd swim, 6.5 mile bike, 2 mile run. I started swimming with the ALT Dolphins swim team in June. In August, when the Dolphins season ended and school started, I had to swim before school. I rode my bike 4.7 miles to the pool where I would swim 500-900 yards. On the weekends, I would practice my open water swim at Stumpy Meadows (before it burned) and Granite Bay. I also rode my mountain bike a lot.

The morning of the race, I was worried about smoke from the King Fire but it was fine. I set up the transition and then got on the turbo trainer for about 20 minutes. Then I went down to the water. I was nervous about the swim because my swim is not the strongest. 

I started in the front row but 20 yards into the swim my legs locked up because I was nervous. I had to flip over on my back and do backstroke for a few feet to catch my breath. About halfway through the swim, I started feeling good. There was a current pushing me off course. I came in about 16-20th out of 36 people. I had some old shoes down at the beach and I slipped them on and started up the beach. I passed about 10 people jogging up to T1. The only other 19 and under was a girl named Emily. She is the 11 year old Tri4kids female champion. She was the second one out of the water and first into T1. She was a phenomenal swimmer and a great competitor.

I had a quick transition, washing the sand off my feet in the bucket of water we set up and getting my bike shoes, helmet and backpack on. I only passed a couple of people on the bike. I caught Emily about halfway and we went back and forth with another racer for about 1.5 miles and then I pulled ahead a little bit. I came in about 10 seconds ahead of Emily. T2 was rough because I set my shoes up wrong and still had sand on my feet. Emily left T2 first and was about 50 yards ahead of me.



I felt really good going into the run. I was able to catch Emily and we passed a lot of racers. She and I went back and forth. On the last hill, I did a mini sprint and was able to open a small gap. I sprinted across the finish only 5 seconds ahead of Emily. My run time for two miles was 14:54, the second best run time. My total time was 54:16 - 6th overall. I was the only 19 and under male.



This was my first sprint triathlon and I liked it. I think I can improve on the swim and T2. Thanks to TBFRacing for all of the races they do and Roseville Cyclery for the awesome bike.



Here is the youtube video my mom made:   GraniteMan Tri

Tri4kids 2014

#1 - 6/1/14 - I was excited to start the 2014 TBFRacing triathlon series. I had a new road bike and I had been training with Tri4kids. When we started the swim, I was in about the first 3rd of the group. I set up with no socks and no towel in my transition area but I couldn't find my bike. I finally saw it in the 11-14 yr old area. On the bike, 2nd place was right behind me and he stayed right behind me on the run. Then he passed me when the trail went from dirt to gravel. I passed him back where people slow down to save energy for the sprint finish. When we came across the line I was first but it was a sprint finish.

#2 - 6/14/14 - This was the first time my parents didn't go with me. My grandma took me. I took a picture of the transition set up at home to get it right. I had a new transition set up for race #2 and I was nervous about that. On the swim, I was about mid-pack. The new transition worked really well for me. On the bike I passed 2nd from the first race before the turn around. I was first in my class on the way back and passed some people from the older class. My transition from bike to run wasn't impressive. I couldn't get my left shoe on. The back that is supposed to go up on your heel wouldn't stay up.  After my second try, I just left it and went to my run. I sprinted the finish ahead of 2nd by 34 seconds.



#3 - 7/13/14 - I felt good coming into the third triathlon. I was hoping to continue my winning streak. I got there earlier than usual. I did breast stroke and freestyle to warm up my legs. I wasn't nervous at all because I was comfortable on the swim, transitions, bike and run. I'm most comfortable on the bike because of my Giant TCR from Roseville Cyclery.

When I came out of the water, I was in the top third of the group. This time my transition was faster than the last ones. I had some competition on the road bike. He and I went back and forth until the turn around spot. Then I sprinted up the hill and was able to drop him. When I was tightening up my speed laces at the bike to run transition, they came apart, so I had to run with my shoes untied. When I came in from the run, I sprinted really hard to pass another racer who wasn't in my class. I set a personal record, beating my old time by 20 seconds.

#4 - 8/3/14 - I was sad that it was the last race of the series. I still have another race but it's a stand alone event. I had some friends at this triathlon-Kyle, Gavin and Andee. It was Andee's first triathlon. I had a bad start on the swim because I was in the second row instead of the first. When I came out of the water, I was the last part of the middle group. Another problem was that in transition I couldn't get my bike shoes on. When I went out to the bike course, I was the 4th ten year old. One of the boys ahead of me was the competition from the last race. When I finally passed the first in my group, I knew the other three weren't too far ahead. When I caught the first 10yr old, we just came to the turn around spot. I made an attack on the uphill and dropped my competition. I had a strong run and was still able to sprint at the finish line. I took nine seconds off my best time.

Bike Course Photos by CMDvta PhotoEyeWorks

Series Champion - Last year I won the series champion but never won a race. This year, thanks to Tri4kids and Roseville Cyclery, I was able to win them all. I had some great competition this year. I am going to try a sprint distance adult triathlon this fall.