Since it’s winter and races are months away, I wanted to take a moment and do a race review. First race review... so here goes. One of my favorite triathlons so far was the Old Forge Triathlon. Old Forge, NY is a nice town nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. The scenery is obviously phenomenal. This was the 2nd year of this event; so it’s very new. One of the special perks to this race is that signing up gets the participant entry into the Enchanted Forest water park! Sweet!
This is a sprint distance triathlon; with a 1000 meter swim, 22 mile bike, and 4 mile run. Sprint distances can vary slightly. And this one was on the longer side of “sprint”. So here was my day:
We drove to Old Forge early in the morning on race day. We live about an hour away so there wasn’t the need to stay overnight. Although, there are hotel options and some campgrounds very close by to stay at if a person wanted. I might have gotten a bit more sleep the night before if we camped right there at the KOA. But the morning drive was scenic and without hassle. This is a small event so setting up in transition was no problem. Volunteers were great as always! The bike racks were the ground-base type instead of the saddle-hang bar system. I don’t really care for the ground type racks; as I worry a bit about the plywood splinters and bike tires. I had no problem... just a preference. As usual, transition space is at a premium. I always try to do my part and keep a tight transition area. It amazes me how a few people set up like a yard sale is happening. To each their own. While waiting for the race to start, I like checking out the bikes and gear that other athletes are using. There was the usual spread of mountain bikes to fancy triathlon bikes with zipp carbon wheelsets; and everything in between.
SWIM:
I wore a wetsuit for this swim even though it was August. Practically everyone was in a wetsuit... the water was quite cold actually and the air temperature was still chilly that early in the morning. The swim start (8am) was a wave start; with 5 minutes between each wave. First out was under 40 year old males, then 40 and over males (my group), then the ladies. Whatever happened to chivalry and letting the ladies go first? It was a cool morning and mist was hovering on the small lake. The picture below shows the in-water starting area. Look out into the mist and try to find that 1st buoy... it’s there, just keep straining your eyes. Now imagine being in the water with your eyes only 6 inches above the surface and trying to find those things! Well, I was sighting relatively well until I made the turn of this triangle course. When I finally found the next buoy I discovered I had strayed off course. Nothing crazy, but adding distance in the swim was not part of my plan. I starting booking it back to where I was supposed to be; with other wayward swimmers following along. Made it back in decent time considering the side excursion. Swim Time: 1000 meters in 18 minutes 46 seconds.
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| In-Water Swim Start... I'm the one in the blue cap;) |
T1: There is a short run on grass to get to the transition area. Wetsuit off, helmet and shoes on, grab the bike and go. It took 1 minute and 34 seconds. That seems slow compared to some other races I’ve done. My bike was set-up in the furthest row from the transition entry and exit; but the whole transition area was quite small so this wasn’t really a factor. Oh well. But there were not many bikes gone from transition as I started heading out. That’s a good sign.
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| I'm the guy NOT mooning the camera! |
BIKE:
My bike is a Giant Defy 3; which is a entry level road bike. I bought it off Craigslist locally. I swapped out the curl handlebars for a base bar and aero bar set-up. It works great. I have since bought an actual tri-specific bike. This bike course was a blast. It basically loops around a chain of small lakes (First Lake, Second Lake, Third Lake, and guess what... Fourth Lake). Riders head out of Old Forge on Rte 28 toward Eagle Bay. The initial couple hills get your heart rate going, that’s for sure. Watch the shoulder of the road through the first half of this course. It’s has a narrow shoulder with some crumbled payment here and there. Riding just to the left of the white line gives you much better pavement; but make sure your are not too far over of you may get caught with what is called a “blocking penalty”. Riders continue on Rte 28 until they reach a tiny town called Inlet; where riders then turn right onto South Shore Road and head back toward Old Forge on the other side of the chain of lakes. The second half of this course has smaller hills and some flat sections. This is an area to really focus on cadence and good cycling form. The pavement is very smooth and a perfect to to get aero and move it. As riders crest the final hill and start down toward T2, there is a short “no race zone”. This is a safety precaution because the dismount line is around the corner of a small downhill section and there could reasonably be an accident in the making. The no race zone is very short and doesn’t really impact the overall race. One final tip for the bike section; what out for deer. They are plentiful on these roads and very friendly. I had one walk right in front of me and it had no plan to get out of the way. It wasn’t a close call by any means; but keep some vigilance just the same. Bike Time: 22 miles in 1 hour 6 minutes and 46 seconds.
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| The helmet is funky... I know |
T2: What can I say; rack the bike, helmet and bike shoes off, running shoes/hat/race belt on, and off ya go. I took 56 seconds in T2. Again, a bit slow for me but whatever. This is where doing bricks helps train your body for the weird sensation of running directly off the bike. I’ve gotten better at it but it’s still an area that I need to work on.
RUN: The run course was basically an out and back with a slight deviation on the way back. The 4 miles were all pretty flat. I once again had a deer walk in front of me and I needed to go around him. Maybe next time I’ll try riding him for a bit. I wonder if that would DQ me? Ha! The run was good, with a couple water stations along the course. The finish chute was lots of spectators for this small of an event. Ran under a ballon arch thing and met up with family. Run Time: 4 miles in 29 minutes and 4 seconds.
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| Final Stretch |
I finished the race in 1 hour 57 minutes and 6 seconds. My main goal was to finish and my secondary goal was to go under 2 hours. I definitely would consider doing this again in 2014. Best part of this tri is the course itself; mainly the scenery and the challenge of the bike. The volunteers were great. The Old Forge Triathlon is a small start-up triathlon so don’t expect the post-race party atmosphere or big swag stuff. There wasn't much for post-race food, so prepare accordingly. There are plenty of nice places to eat in this quaint little town. Also, remember the special perk of the water park entry. That was fun too and something quite unique as you select the races you want to do. So that’s it for my race review.
*Special thanks to Olivia; my daughter and awesome photographer!
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