First off the Augusta area is a nice place for a triathlon. The amount of volunteers was amazing and the police were friendly – thanking me for coming out after I would thank them for their service. The weather was also perfect as the day started out in the low 60s and reached a high of mid to upper 70s with partly cloudy skies. The downside to being the largest competitor field of any half-iron distance triathlon is the number of waves at the start: 27! I had to wait over an hour for my wave to get onto the makeshift dock.
View of swimmers coming down-river
So the swim: the announced water temperature was 69 degrees Fahrenheit but it didn’t feel so cold when I (finally) got in. I did feel a bit of a chill on my face a little later on but not too bad. Being in a big wave was bad at the start with a bunch of other guys jockeying for position, but it thinned out pretty quick. Going with the current is a nice way to start a triathlon. The replacement goggles I had picked up at the expo worked well as I had no issues with glare (full tint), fogging or leak at any point. I got to the ramp and trotted over to the strippers (forgot to bring singles) and then headed into transition.
See – no sun-glasses! 🙁
Onto the bike: so the first transition is where it started going downhill for me. I got to the correct row (2240-2290) but somehow my bike and gear were not at my number – I spent a moment or two staring at sticker 2272, trying to figure how my stuff had moved since I was certain I had checked my bike on my race number. When I spotted my setup a rack down, I then couldn’t find my sunglasses – checked everywhere and then remembered that I had not taken them off my bag earlier that morning. After digging in my bag produced nothing, I am guessing that they had somehow fallen off between the car and transition. So I added bottled water to the Perpetuem already in my bottle (next possible error), put on my shoes and helmet, turned on my Garmin, and left transition.
We had driven most of the course Friday on our way to the expo, so we had some sense of what to expect, but I realized later the hard way some of the inclines are different in a bike than from a car. The first 20+ miles were manageable in elevation changed, but the roads were rough and a bit “bouncy” in the saddle. It was a few miles before the bouncy areas that my neck started to bother me (this will play a part later I believe) and the plain water (left my Nuun tablets at home) in my aero bottle along with semi-warm Perpetuem started to bother my stomach, or so I think as this combo was new. I usually freeze the nutrition but couldn’t due to the time from transition closing (7:15) and my swim start (8:44). So then I decided to grab a Perform at the first aide station to mix with the plain aero water – it might have had good stuff in it but the flavor was eck. Downhills were awesome (one was so long, I must have hit 30+ mph) and plentiful – except that an uphill usually preceded it. The long and low up hills were fine and there was only one steep incline (right after a downhill) that I did a little weaving for. I did a lot of switching from big to little chain ring, although there were some rollers I was able to develop enough speed to not have to switch into the little ring, just lessen the gear. Some areas were freshly paved – one intersection within possibly last week, that were nice towards the finish of the bike. Overall the bike course was full of nice views of hillsides, horse pastures, Jimbob’s Auto Sales, lakes/rivers and nice country with houses. Rolling into the Augusta Rowing Club meant the bike was finished and I could hop off and trot back into transition.
The run: oh, how that one hurt! Literally and physically. I started out okay, doing 8-2s for the first 3-4 miles of the two loop course. Then the pains started: neck pain (from earlier) spread to the shoulders and down my back, cramps in the lower abdominal area (thinking from un-chilled bike nutrition), and then upper leg and feet pains. The Heed I had with me I think settled the ab issues. I also found interspersing jogging with speed walking and regular walking worked out for me. The run course was pretty nice – the inner hook (east then west on Broad Street) was more populated with spectators than the outer streets. Aide stations were also nice, spread out and well stocked. I had my two fuel belt bottles with Heed, so I didn’t need (or want) the Perform, pretzels, gels or fruits; I did keep my bottles full whenever I passed the aide stations, except until I got near the end. I always seem to be able to jog the last mile of a long or rough run – crowds are always an adrenaline rush.
Our cheering section waiting by the swim exit
The end: the first thing I did after collecting my Finisher medal and hat, water bottle and photo? Take off my Newtons! Wow, my feet felt better (not 100%) so I walked over to the massage area to get on the list, grabbed a beer and then said “hello” to my parents and in-laws before heading back for my massage, followed by pizza. The not wearing glasses for the bike would rear it’s pain later that day, requiring drops, and Five Guys would be the dinner we would consume – yummmm!
Lessons learned: double check that you have sunglasses, SoFla boys hate hilly courses, figure some way to keep nutrition chilled if you have a long wait until your wave starts.
What do I think of this race? If you are not a fan of swimming and/or don’t mind hilly bike courses – DO IT!! There is a reason this is the biggest 70.3 in the world and a popular one for first-timers of that distance. I may never see a 26 minute 1.2 mile swim again. Unfortunately as of press time I have yet to resolve Garmin’s error in uploading my data to Connect, even though it imports to Training Center fine, so I can’t do screenshots of the maps or data, nor see what speeds, elevations or heart rates I had.
Oh well, on to the Miami Man Half in November!
