Triathletes will be happy to know that I’m moving all my t-shirts from Cafepress to Zazzle. Not only are Zazzle’s prices better, but now you will be able to get all my designs on Premium wicking fabrics. Now you will actually be able to train and race a triathlon in your favorite Triathlete T-shirt. Check out the new Zazzle store below!
Don’t be discouraged if you get sent to Cafepress, it will take a while for me to update all of my links.
Triathlete T shirt
The Catfish Triathlon was held on July 19th on City Island in Harrisburg, PA, and it is nearly a repeat of the NAI/CIR Harrisburg Triathlon that I raced in June. The big difference was the on the run we went south after the bridge instead of north, but mostly I think the Catfish Triathlon was not as well organized. Maybe this was due to the fact that it was NOT USA Triathlon sanctioned, but it’s hard to be sure. Also the Catfish Triathlon cost more, but had less post race food, and other amenities. Overall I would participate in this race again, but if I had to choose between the two races, I would race the Harrisburg Triathlon instead (put on by multisport maniacs). Enough commentary, on to the my race report.
Thankfully they started my wave first, because I hate having to pass too many people, but this time around the river was much slower. Last year swimming in the Susquehanna River in August at the Harrisburg Triathlon was tough because it was slow and very shallow. I even had to stand up and run in some spots! This year however the swim at the Harrisburg Tri was deep, but super fast back in June. In July the swim was just right; not too fast and not too shallow, so this was a big plus for me. It also gave me an opportunity to gain ground on my fellow triathletes who are not as good at swimming.
I went out pretty hard and then fell into a good rhythm about 200 yards into the swim. Drafting during the swim of a triathlon is legal, but today I couldn’t find anyone who was a good match for my speed so I ended up about 10 yards behind the lead group of very fast swimmers. The biggest problem I ran into while swimming was the sun rise burning into
Catfish Triathlon Open Water Swim
my eyeballs every time I tried to breath to my left. Since I’m good at bilateral breathing I found this annoying because I like to switch sides every 50 yards or so. The water was a very comfortable 75 degrees and I like to swim without a wetsuit in anything over 70, but I know they make you faster, so I might invest in one again some day. The course was well marked with buoys, but the rising sun in my eyes made it hard to navigate the course. With the current much slower at this triathlon I had a slower swim, but this was to be expected and my 17:16 was very respectable.
I quickly exited the water and headed up the boat ramp to the Transition area. This time around I didn’t waste time drying my head and face, so my transition time was a blazing 44 seconds. Easily among the fastest compared to other triathletes for T1.
Triathlon Bike with Triathlete T Shirt Stickers
Soon I found myself out on the bike and I used my flying mount technique along with putting my shoes on after getting moving to get a good lead on several riders. There was no real wind on the bike course, unlike the Harrisburg Triathlon last month which had a nasty headwind going out on the bike. The lack of wind and a very flat course allowed me to really hammer on the pedals and take advantage of my aerodynamic position and helmet. I was trying to maintain my speed at about 22 mph and in the end I think I averaged close to 21 which is my fastest bike split for this course. The extra bike training that I did with my cousin leading up to this race really helped. He is doing his first triathlon in August with me and he shows a great deal of natural talent for triathlon. My final split was 40:37 which was great, but might have left me a little flat for the run.
My second transition was a little slower than T1 at 57 seconds, because I put on socks with my shoes and I felt a couple of cramps in my calves starting out. Once I got about 1/2 mile into the run I started to get into a good rhythm and settled into a fast, flat run. The Catfish Triathlon took us south along the river after the
Triathlon Run
bridge and it was cool to here the crowd cheering other triathletes from across the river. Another small complaint I had about this race was that the water station was at the turn around which gave you only one chance to get a drink. Most triathlons will place a single station halfway to the turn around so that you get two chances to get water, but you still only need one or two volunteers. My only mistake was in taking only one cup of water, and dumping almost all of it on my head. I definitely needed to cool down, so it wasn’t wasted, but I wished they had some gatorade or something. I ran mostly by myself, and didn’t get passed by anyone in my age group. Over the last half mile there was another triathlete who had been behind me slowly gaining for about two miles and he finally got by me, but I out sprinted him in the last 200 meters. My final time for the run was 23:19 which was about 30 seconds slower than last month.
Triathlon T shirt and Triathlon Bike
Overall I was very happy with this triathlon and my final time of 1:22:53 was enough to get me 5th in my Age-Group and 37th over all. There were some mighty fast triathletes that showed up to this race, but I’ve been really surprised by some of the talent at these triathlons in Pennsylvania. My time was also good compared to the Harrisburg Triathlon because, the river current made my swim time artificially fast, but at the Catfish Triathlon it was more reasonable. As always I want to thank my wife and kids for supporting me at this race and cheering me on to a strong finish, it really makes racing a triathlon worth it in the end.
by Joel Getty
Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC