Race Coverage

Racing Can Be Fun....

Wednesday, 07 March 2012 02:00

The Most Fun I've Had in a Race

By Dan Hedgecock (danhedgecock.blogspot.com)

This weekend I raced the age group draft legal race at the Clermont Challenge. It was a short trip down to Florida and back. I arrived in Orlando at 2:45 on Friday afternoon and flew back out at 6:30 the next day. Even with the quick turnaround I had a great time.

The race on Saturday was unlike anything I've ever done. I lined up with 75 other people, much more than the 20-30 that I'm used to. The swim was very physical. Most of the guys were at least decent swimmers because of the draft legal style of racing, and I swam over a few people, a few people swam over me, I choked down a lot of water and got kicked in the face. I came out of the water 42nd, still a lot of work to do there....

The bike was the highlight of the race. The wind was up very strong, and the field split into a lot of smaller groups of 5-10 guys. There were 3 laps to the bike, each one an out and back, so I could see exactly where I was plenty of times. I started hammering and was lucky enough to get a paceline going with 4 or 5 other pretty strong riders and we made up most of the time I'd lost in the swim. Kevin threw himself into the bike and we finished right on the tail end of the main leaders. Racing in a pace-line is more fun than any racing I've ever done. The difference in effort between pulling and drafting is shocking at race speed and it was a blast every time I got to tuck in behind somebody and soft pedal at 25mph. We were encouraging each other the entire time to keep catching people and our "train" rolled up almost the entire field

The run was hot. Incredibly hot. The heat index was in the mid- 90's and it was a shock after Minnesota, but I loved it. People started to drop out left and right by the end of the run. I found out in transition that I had a 15 second penalty (I jumped onto my bike a step early and got a mount line penalty) that I had to serve... during the race. So after lap 1 of the run I stopped in the penalty box, awkwardly waited for 15 seconds and then took off. It was a pain, but I don't think I'll ever jump on my bike early ever again.

Overall I got my butt kicked, and ended up 5th in 1:03.18 to the winner's 1:02.14. I don't mind though. There were a surprising number of fast guys there and working out up here in the snow hasn't even been on my mind. I feel good about pre-season fitness and feel ready to start serious training for the season. Up next: Elite Duathlon Nationals at Powerman Alabama on my 25th birthday, March 24th.

Pithy Words From Coach Kris

By Kris Swarthout

A great race on a hot day with the record 88 degrees. Trisha had a great learning day in the F1 race, watch for her to make waves as a 16 year old this season. Kate was set up for a super race, but was hit in the head by a kayak paddle which gave her a concussion. A scary situation to say the least, but after throwing up and not knowing quite where she was, she made it to her bike and we stopped her there. She will live to fight another day. Greta (photo L) and Paige Danielson raced consistently in a strong field and earned Paige a starting position next to her sister Greta and Kate Lowrey at the USAT Youth National Championships in Ohio later this year.

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