Bedford Brings the BOOM!

We've long had a flourishing endurance athletics group in Bedford. Though our town and community is small, we have a committed group of people that train to win. Today that training bore fruit.

Jimmy, Galloway, Rand, Scott, and I traveled to Jeffersonville for the Buckhead Border Challenge Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon competitions this morning. All but Scott were doing the tri, and he would compete in his first duathlon. It would also be the first race for his child bride Cervelo P2, doubly important because it was fresh from a custom fitting.

What took us all there? Galloway went for the bike course. I'd talked it up last year, and he was looking for a great bike ride. Scott wanted to try a duathlon, and this was the perfect introductory distance/course. Jimmy wanted a replacement for Cicero and a test of his fitness before the Nationals. Rand could probably be added to that list as well. I wanted to place well to help my rankings.

We all arrived in time to hit the early transition closing. One of the more beautiful aspects of this particular race is access - the parking is across the street from the transition area. Jimmy and I found the apex of parking, the premium spot for unloading, and after getting our bags and tags we moved our stuff in.

I took this opportunity to show the guys the water-to-bike transition. It was important intel as T1 involves a rather steep incline near the end. I'd warned them, and when they saw it they realized I hadn't exaggerated at all. It was fortunate the water temperature was 80 degrees, taking the wetsuit option off the table. There really is no way you'd want to be wrestling a wetsuit going up that climb.

We walked to the swim start. A change from last year, a derrick had been built on the course that necessitated the swim start farther west, head south toward the center of the river, then down the bank. It wasn't hard, but the derrick created a slack current which negated the 2.4 knot current advantage we would otherwise have enjoyed. This had the effect of slowing the swim down.

Things were going pretty smoothly before the start of the race, when suddenly I remembered I had taken my Garmin off my bike. I bought a 510 the other day and had planned to use it, but the mounting system I am using seemed a little crowded with my drink system in place, so I second guessed myself out of using it. However, in the rush to get ready I forgot to switch. I had some time, so I asked the raced director if I could re-enter the transition to place it. Long story short, I got it on my bike.

It was a time trial start, with about 3-5 seconds between athletes. Jimmy and I were in the first wave, Rand in the next, Tim in the last. Jimmy moved to the back of our wave, I was about midway. This worked out well. I had clear water all the way, passed one swimmer, and caught the back end of a clump of swimmers as I exited.

I had a slick T1, eschewing socks and any extras. I was lucky in that most of the bikes that had been crowded around me were already gone (duathletes), so there wasn't much to hinder my progress.

It's a fast course, or at least it should be. There isn't much elevation gain, though the corners are a little tight. The real complication is there are four races happening at the same time on the course, and laying into the tight corners incurred more than normal risk because there was a the very real probability you would meet someone coming the other way in the apex of the turn. Not a pretty thought.

I never felt like I was really "on", though I was crushing the field in front of me. There is nothing quite like being in good bike shape and smashing through a crowded race. And, like the swim, it wasn't difficult. Sure there were the normal levels of people riding on the left, but for the most part they moved when prompted with the "On Your Left!" command.

There were a few swimmers in our wave I'd taken notice of, figuring them to be the competition. One by one I passed them, making note of their distance from me after the turn. One in particular I noticed was a Purdue Tri Team member. He would be serious business.

The second transition wasn't as smooth as the first because the bikes were largely back. I was very crowded, and I had to make sure there wasn't any interference with anyone else's equipment. We'd been warned very specifically about a number of infractions, and this was one of them. I'd judged our referee to mean business, and I was right.

Onto the run, and I could see a stream of runners ahead of me. I'd seen a 54 on a calf when I got off the bike, and I guessed the first guy ahead was the same fellow. It might have been he was a duathlete, but I couldn't be sure. I had to pass him. Fortunately it didn't take long. Then there was the next. And the next. And the next. A steady stream of runners came and went, and soon I was looking for the turn. I didn't know how many of the runners were sprint or Olympic, but I knew the turn would sort it out. My place would be determined by how many people made the turn.

Only one.

He was 200 meters up, running steadily, and I didn't know if I could get to him. I took a good look at him as we passed, and he didn't give up much by appearance. He didn't look overly stressed, however he also didn't look like he was moving that fast. I figured I had a shot.

After I turned, I got a chance to see who was chasing me. About 30 seconds after the turn I passed the Purdue kid. That gave me about a minute in a mile and a half. I figured I needed right at a minute advantage to hold him off, at a minimum. If I could manage a 6:15 or so mile, he'd be forced to run upwards of 5:30 pace to catch me. Maybe he could, maybe he couldn't, but I wasn't going to worry about that yet. My immediate job was to catch the guy ahead.

I was drawing him in steadily, if slowly. I had it figured I would catch him by mile 3, at which time I could try to kick. It's a true mark of my desperation that I would even consider trying to kick, but I was fresh out of options. My secondary goal was to keep it close even if I couldn't catch him. Since we had a time trial start on the swim, there was a chance he started at the front of our wave (assuming he was a triathlete, not a duathlete). If I could keep it close, and he started at the front of the wave, I would beat the spread. I could give him maybe another 30 seconds and still win.

That's when the Purdue kid came by. We were around a quarter to go, and when he passed there was no question of keeping up. When he pulled alongside the guy I was chasing, they both accelerated. Thanks, Purdue guy! So it was on to Plan B, minimize the gap.

Now it was time to sort it out. I was 100% sure the Purdue kid won. I was almost certain I would have 3rd, at least. The gap between our finish and the next group was too great for it to be any other way. Our wave was the fastest of the swimmers, and I'd smashed the bike. It had to be us.

I'd seen each of the other guys out on the courses, both bike and run, and it was now time to watch them come in. Scott came first. He'd yelled at me when I passed him on the bike, and I saw him after both the bike and run turns, and he seemed to be holding his own.

Jimmy was next. His head was buried and he was working hard on the bike, though he was a bit more animated on the run.

Rand was stoic as always. He gave me a nod both times I saw him, almost a Joe Cool sort of deal. He did look strong.

Galloway was his normal self - I don't think I ever remember him looking differently in a race. Focus, head down, grind it out.

That's the order in which they finished too. Check the results here.

Here's the shakedown:

Jimmy - 1st in 55-59 - 20th overall
Rand - 2nd in 55-59 - 25th overall
Galloway - 1st in 60-64 - 28th overall
Bartley - 1st in 35-39, 2nd Hoosier, 9th overall
IronBill - 1st in 50-54, 2nd Hoosier, 2nd overall

As you can see, Bedford, brought it. Oh yes, we did! We may not have been the largest group there, but we were the loudest. Awards took a while, though they were worth it. Sure, we had to wait until the near-bitter end, but how could we leave before Bartley collected all his hardware?

I was talking to each of the guys after the race. I don't think any one of us was totally happy with their races, but realistically, how much better could our races have been?

Galloway has been hurt for much of this training cycle. It would be unfair for him to beat himself up about any of his numbers today, which were all solid.

Rand has had his share of stress and training interruptions... and he beat Jimmy in the swim AND bike. Victory.

Jimmy is in charge of everything in Bedford right now EXCEPT his training schedule. He was telling me at the finish this would be the day both Rand and Tim beat him. He was almost right, but he wasn't. Under the circumstances, that's a win.

Bartley was simply stunning. He was on himself about his 2nd run, but do you know how many duathlons Scott has done before today? 0. None. So, on his first duathlon, he won his age group and was 9th overall. Total win.

My primary goal was to score USAT points. Second place should do that in spades. I won't know until it all gets turned in, but I can't see how that doesn't beat the Terre Haute total. On top of that, for the second year in a row, I turned in the fastest bike. No, it wasn't as fast as I wanted. No, I wasn't happy with my run. But it was still a total victory.

Bike Leg