Race Coverage

Todd's & Ben's Words...

Friday, 01 July 2011 03:00

(Photo - The Greater Mankaro Multisport Club members who raced at the 14th North Mankat Tri last Sunday. Todd is the guy behind some girls and beside "Mohawk" guy.)

By Todd Landgraff

Race Coverage - It's always nice to pull off a win on the home course and the weather was perfect for racing this year, overcast, no wind, and temps in the 60s. I arrived about 6:30 to claim my spot in transition and pick up my race packet.

The swag was excellent as usual for this race, a long sleeve tech shirt, a pair of running socks, and to my surprise, a fancy Nathan race number belt. Not bad for a race that cost $35 to enter....

After a short bike ride, a 2 mile jog and some chit-chat with the other racers, I grabbed my wetsuit and made my way down to the lake. The bouys hadn't been placed yet and it was announced that the race would be starting 10 minutes late, so I got in a nice long swim warm-up and then stood around on the beach.

I lined up next to Jose Rosales just before the gun went off, hoping to catch a ride on his wake for the first 50 yards or so before he dropped me. It paid off, as I had my best short swim ever, exiting second in my wave.

On the quick run up to my bike I noticed Jose at the mount line as I was stepping out of my suit, so I knew I was in good position.

At the turnaround I had 2 relays ahead of me but my biggest worry was the wave 3 minutes behind me, as Taggart Downare and David Lyon were hammering the bike. Lucky for me they didn't catch me, but after a quick T2, I was running scared.

The run is a nice flat, fast 3.6 miles with a loop around Spring Lake on a nice trail which give a good vantage point as you can see the entire loop to keep an eye on your competition. I didn't wear a watch, but both Dave and Taggart were just starting the loop as I was exiting so I knew my 3 minute margin was close and I'd have to keep on it over the last mile.

After crossing the finish, I watched the clock count up and breathed a sigh of relief when it hit 1:00:23.

I hung around for the awards only to hear the sad news, Ann and Doug Vose are retiring from race directing and the 14th North Mankato Triathlon may be their last. There may be some hope though, as the Mankato area has a great multisport community and plenty of race sponsor opportunities, so I'm hoping the race gets passed on to the next generation. RESULTS

Best Regards,

TL

By Ben Ewers

Race Coverage - Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 is one of the few events that has qualifying slots for both the 70.3 World Championships (Henderson) and Ironman World Championship (Kona), so along with the $15,000 pro purse it attracts a serious crowd. Lubbock Texas (home of Texas Tech) has hosted this race for 22 years with the same race directors, Mike and Marty, with a Texas-sized concern for the athletes. Thus, the race start was accelerated to try to mitigate what turned out to be the second hottest day in Lubbock history, a high of 112 degrees.

West Texas is flat and windblown, with an occasional river creating a deep gash cutting through the farmland. Just outside of Lubbock and at the bottom of such a gash is a dam created lake called Buffalo Springs Lake, the site of the race. Both T1 and T2 are at the Lake, and the bike and run course climb in and out of the gash in the earth multiple times, with grades of 6% to 9% and durations of 1/4 to 1 mile in length. My computer showed a cumulative elevation assent of 1200 feet, but it felt like more. The only shade on the course came from telephone poles -- that is to say there was none. Did I say it was windy? Did I say it was hot? Did I say it was hilly? Did I say it was the second hottest day on record?

Coming from Minnesota with minimal heat training I realized that some serious course management was required, and in this case my mind managed my impulses. I was downright scared! First off I ditched my aero helmet for the better airflow of a regular helmet. I knew that I had to reduce my effort on both the bike and run to allow better absorption of liquids, and having a power meter on the bike I knew that I kept my watt output at 15% below what I train at for a comparable distance. I consumed over 1000 mg's of salt per hour on the bike and run to supplement the PowerAde, preventing muscle cramping and heat stroke issues. I started my run with a 2min/1min run/walk routine until I was comfortably able to increase the run segment somewhat. I finished under 5:30 (5:28:55) and accepted the Kona slot for my age group, happy and healthy. Other Minnesota finishers included Ken Hola (7:24:11), Tim Obrien (5:22:41), Dan Arlandson (4:40:17) and Merilee Sander (5:41:57). RESULTS...............BE