I was very excited about racing this past weekend at the HITS Hunter Mtn series for a couple of reasons. My son was going to race in his first Tri, I was racing at my favorite distance- 70.3 and I wanted to experience the HITS Triathlon Series with the hope that it would be another set of 70.3 and 140.6 races.
All three of my reasons for being excited were definitely exceeded.
The venue for the race was near Hunter Mountain at the North South Campground in Haines Falls. Packet pickup took place right at the campground and near the finish line. It was easy and while the expo was small there were some good vendors providing a wide range of gear. In the race bag was your standard mix of product samples and a nice tech t-shirt. And your race number envelope. HITS provides a full sheet of numbers from Tri Tats including some extra numbers- just in case. Plus Tri Tats race number temporary tattoos and your timing chip.
What made this even better was the fact that my son who was competing in the Open distance got the same packet that I did. However the cost to race the Open distance was FREE- except for the one day USAT license. HITS treated the Open competitors identical to all other racers. Their race was just as important as the other four distances- perhaps even better since they were given VIP treatment. On to the races.
My son raced in the Open which was a 100M swim, 3 Mile Bike and 1 Mile run. Sure the distance is short, but it was all about the experience. There were 3 waves- Men, Women and Family&U17. Each wave had a ten minute break in between- more than enough time but allowed for major separation and avoided a lot of bunching up on course. What was really cool is Mark Wilson the race director took the time to learn each racers name before the start. As they excited the water he greeted them by name- Really cool!
So my son was in the 3rd wave- definitely had his share of pre-race nerves but was excited for the race to start. When the horn sounded he looked like a motor boat for the first 50 meter or so. I am not sure if he paused to breathe- just swam as hard as he could. When he hit the Turnaround, he seemed to tire a bit but finished the swim well. I got to run with him up to T1 and then get some pictures of him getting ready for the bike. HITS does a great job in transition- everyone has a personal rack and stool. And my boy used the stool. While his T1 was not blazing fast, he did everything correctly and was soon running his bike out to the mount line. The bike course was a 3 mile out an back- the road was a bit bumpy and definitely not flat. He has a good ride, especially considering he had a chain issue. Coming back into T2 he looked tired, but excited. His bike to Run transition was very good- he did not sit nor waste time. He did take a big swig of water- which was a good call since the 1 mile run did not have (nor need) an Aid Station. Once he took off I ran up to the Finish line to wait for him. And soon I saw his white visor turning the corner to the 200 Meter uphill finish line. And when he hit that stretch he turned on the gas a bit- he ran hard to the finish line! He ended up finishing 1st in his Age Year (HITS reports AG to USAT, but awards based on Age Year). So in addition to getting his race packet, tshirt & finisher medal, he got a plaque, second tshirt and swim cap. And he was Happy!
Following his race and awards ceremony, it was time for me to rack my Bike and have the Half and Full athlete meeting. The meeting was pretty cool- outside with all of us gathered around Mark Wilson to share some key thoughts about each of the courses. What impressed me is he covered the tight turns and key "gotcha" sections of the bike both by mileage as well as landmarks. So as we were riding it became very easy to make sure you were ready for those hard turns and quick climbs that can jump out at you. Once the meeting was done, it was time to set up our campsite- first time camping before a Tri. I will do it again!
One of great things about being in a small town like Hunter is the local food scene. For dinner T-Dog and I went to a place that served artisan cheese, sold antiques, had 300 different types of beer and some awesome burgers. Yeah cool place.
Race Morning- The day could not have been better- about 60 degrees, very light wind and an overcast sky. Since I camped close to transition, it was a very easy morning and I quickly set up my transition area and had some great conversations with the folks around me. I think pretty much all of us wanted to see the race be successful so HITS becomes another long course option. I am a big fan of Ironman branded full and 70.3 races but hope HITS can gain enough traction to give us more choices. More long races is a good thing.
Swim- The swim was a single loop with left turns (most of my races have right turns, but I like breathing more on the left so this was pretty cool). The water was cool- about 65 degrees- perfect wetsuit water. And the lake was pretty clear so finding friendly feet to draft was rather easy. There was only one wave for the half and full (the full did two laps) so we had a pretty nice scrum at the start. I did have to flip on my back twice to clear my left goggle, but within 200 meters settled in to a nice steady stroke. I felt pretty strong and consistent through out the entire swim. The only real challenge was when we turned at the final swim buoy, we were swimming into the sun rise so sighting was a bit hard. But since I was in a pretty good pack, I stayed on course and was quickly out of the water. I usually swim about 37-38 minutes for the 1.2 miles. This race I was out of the water in 34:45 and hit the transition mat at 35:35ish. I was pretty happy about that, although I knew it was likely the swim would be the only fast leg- after all we were racing on a Mountain.
T1- I am pretty good at T1 and T2. I do a good job of getting my gear set up and come into the Transition area with a clear plan of what I need to do and in what order. What was pretty cool is the AV crew was taking video of me as I got ready to head out on the bike- I will share the link if I can get it. Time was about 1:15.
Bike- The first 35 miles were flat to a slight downhill and I hammered Hard. While I had not ridden the course, HITS is working with Map My Tri to showcase route details including elevation, so my pre race strategy was to ride hard during the first 35 miles and then sit up during climb or the last 21 miles- at an average grade of 5%. I executed well- first 35 miles in about 1:25. Next 26 in about 1:27. Total time 2:52. Which is about 15 minutes slower than what I usually do, but I knew the course was very hard so I was happy with my effort. And coming into T2 I felt very good- legs were loose, stomach was fine and I was looking forward to 13.1 of up and down- yeah the run was a lot like the bike.
T2- nailed it- 46 seconds. My T1 time was the fastest and T2 was second so practice and consistency works.
Run- An out and back with minimal turning laterally, but lots of up and downs! The first 4 miles were pretty much downhill outside of two short but very steep hills. Then the next 5 miles were rolling hills. I felt pretty good- although I did have two blister form and pop- one on each heel. Once they popped I did not feel any pain (but knew I would later). Since the first 4 miles were downhill, the last four miles were uphill. I ran slower than I would have liked, but never once felt like I needed to walk or even slow down (my body did that on its own). Normally I run a 1:40-1:45 for the run- but I ran a 1:58. Given the heavy climbing and the fact that I was recovering from a minor knee injury I was very pleased.
Total time- 5:28:53. 18th place overall and 4th in my AG (40-44). In the last two years I have been pretty consistent finishing in the top 10-15% in most races and my performance was on track.
Post race- plenty of food- bagels, pretzels, HEED recovery drinks, lemonade, coke, ice tea and fruit.
Without a doubt this was the hardest 70.3 I have done (number 6 so far). But also very satisfying. I nailed the swim, nutrition, transitions and executed my pre race strategy. I will definitely do another HITS race and recommend it very much to everyone else. And bring one of your non triathlete friends to do the open- soon they will be one of your triathlete friends!
You can check out the rest of the HITS season of races here www.hitstriathlonseries.com
