Storm the Fort
Kingston, TN
8/24/2019
I like reading the race reports of others, so thought I'd put my own together for a change.
Pre-Race
I took Friday off from work and came down to TN from IN on Thursday night. My wife wanted to travel with the 2 kids during nap time and I had to work pretty much a full day Thursday, so we took two cars which ended up working out well. It felt ridiculous to take two cars but we had plenty of room for all of the tri stuff, kid stuff and baby stuff. Were also able to bring home some extra junk post-race. I got to my momās house around 8pm in time to read bedtime stories and tuck my daughter into bed and then I went to sleep as well.
Friday, I slept in while my wife went out for her long run. I woke up around 8 (I canāt remember the last time I slept this late) and went for a short 20 in bike with a 10 min run. Training/tapering had felt pretty bad over the last week, so I was glad that this short brick felt good. The rest of Friday was spent doing the obligatory family visits (stepmom/grandmother). Ate a small dinner, packed the car for the morning and got to bed early.
Woke up around 5 on Saturday after a solid 8hrs of sleep feeling pretty good. Ate my typical 3 packets of instant oatmeal w/ peanut butter and hit the road for the ~30 min drive to the race. Transition was fairly empty when I got there and packet pickup was quick. Set everything up, ate a granola bar and banana about an hour before the start. Got a quick swim in and had a gel about 15 mins before we started.
Swim
Water temp was 81, so swimskin it was. The course was two loops of an elongated rectangle. Race was sent off in 2 waves, all men and then all women+relays. The menās wave was ~70. The cannon fired and we were off. The first couple of hundred yards was mildly crowded but thinned out pretty quickly. At the first turn, I could see saw a small pack ahead, but no one immediately around me. I tried to put in a couple of minutes of harder effort to see if I could bridge up, but to no avail. Realizing I was going to be swimming alone, I settled into a steady effort and just got to the end. Came across the mat in 8th out of the water and 6 minutes back, but didn't know this at the time. I was happy with this considering the lack of wetsuit and no crowd to draft off of. My wife, my mom and 3 yo daughter were waiting for me at the swim exit and cheered me in into T1 which was great.
35:51.7
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648419247
T1
Uneventful. In and out. Still in 8th place.
Bike
Right out of T1, I passed a couple of guys and then tried to settle in. Race plan was to target 215-220 NP and keep most of the hills below ~260. With the first big climb right out of T1, NP was up to 250, but I knew it would be high to start and take a few miles for the averages to come down. I could see 2 guys ahead of me and at about 10 miles in, I was passed by 3rd. I was able to keep him in sight for a while, but kept telling myself to ride my own race and let him go. I know Iām a better runner than biker, so had to keep telling myself that Iāve got a chance to catch him on the run. At this point, I knew there were at least 3 people are ahead of me, but didn't know how many more. A little while later, I caught sight of a 4th, so I knew that Iām at least 5th. At 20 mi, I see my support crew along the side of the road. My wife yells at me that Iām 3mins back with 4 people ahead of me. The course was an out and back and a couple of miles before the turn around, I pass 2 more guys, moving up to 3rd on the road, and then promptly get chased by 2 dogs. I later heard that they bit one of the racers. Coming back in, my wife tells me Iām now 3:30 back on the lead. I'm thinking that's not too bad and I lost less time than I was expecting. From then on, it was fairly uneventful. I couldnāt see anyone ahead or behind me. Just concentrating on biking within my limits and saving energy for the run. On the final climb, Iām passed one more time with another guy closing in and the 3 of us enter transition pretty much together.
2:27:47.8
22.4 mph
AP 215, NP 227
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648424128
T2
Fast T2. Flying dismount, rack quickly, shoes on, grab my hat w/ belt and banana in it and start running. Passed 1 guy in transition. My wife lets me know I'm in 3rd place coming out and about 5 minutes back of the lead.
Run
Immediately out of T2 Iām passed by a guy like Iām standing still. Heās probably going <6 min/mi. My first mile clocks in around 6:20 pace; I know thatās not sustainable for me, so I try to rein it in to something more manageable. It must have been too fast for the guy that passed me as he slowed down as well. A couple of miles in, I pass him and then shortly after pass another guy; I'm now into 2nd. By this point, Iāve settled into a 6:40-6:50 pace and clicking through the miles feeling pretty good. As I'm coming past the playground after the first out and back section where my wife, mom and daughter are now camped out, I get a high 5 from my daughter and update that the gap is now down to about 2.5-3 minutes. Thatās closing a lot faster than I expected. The thought of wining overall was dim possibility at the start of day, but it was starting to sink in as a real possibility. Further on, I get some encouragement from oncoming runners that the leader is just ahead and catchable, but I canāt see him ahead. As weāre going around the hills at the fort, around mi 5.5, I catch my first glimpse of him. I'm slowly gaining on him until we pass transition for the start of the 2nd lap where I make the pass. Average pace to this point is right around my target of 6:45/mi. Knowing I'm in the lead now, I rein it in some more trying to keep something in reserve in case he finds a second wind or someone else comes up from behind. At least that was my thinking at the time. In reality, 6:45s was probably unsustainable based on how I felt at the end of the run. Coming back by the playground on the 2nd lap, a glance back shows Iāve created a pretty good gap on 2nd place, so I stop and give my daughter a big sweaty hug. Over the last couple of miles, I keep checking behind me, but never see anyone coming, so keep on cruising at that easier pace. My 2nd half averaged about 40s/mi slower than the first. The race finishes inside a reconstructed civil war fort on top of a hill. Coming in, I see my daughter waiting for me at the entrance to the fort and hear her yell āDaddy Iām going to run with you!ā She then starts sprinting towards the finish line and we cross together to celebrate the win!
1:27:44.5
Average pace 7:04.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648419329
Overall time
4:33:20.6, a 70.3 PR even when you adjust for the short run (12.4 mi) and mildly short bike 55.3).
Post Race Thoughts
My support crew was fantastic all race long. I know spectating tris can be extremely boring, but they were out there the whole time cheering and giving updates. They kept popping up in places I didnāt expect to see them like on the bike course or so many times on the run. It really helped me that they were so engaged. This is on top of all of their patience throughout all of the training.
I grew up in the area, so I donāt know why I ever come back to race in east TN and expect anything besides a hilly bike and/or run course, but every time I get caught out on exactly how hilly itās going to be. I knew there was going to be a reasonable climb to start the bike and 2 more coming right at the end, but this whole course was constantly up and down rollers and I underestimated their total contribution. Same for the run. Strava is showing almost 900ft of elevation gain; Garmin had ~650. This is probably the most challenging 70.3 course Iāve done, especially w/ the brutal climb around and up to the fort at the finish. I'm glad the weather wasn't as hot as it could have been or it would have been much worse.
Speak of the weather, it was about as perfect as can be for a late August race in TN. Air temp was low 70ās and it was overcast for most of the morning. It was humid, but not oppressively so until after I was done.
I really like these smaller 70.3s. Starting the day, I knew anything from a top 10 and an AG podium to the overall win was a possibility depending on who shows up. To come home with the overall win was a fantastic experience. I know Iām reasonably fast, but Iām not nearly fast enough to have this same kind of racing experience in bigger races. During this entire race, I genuinely didnāt believe I had a chance at winning until I passed the lead runner at the end of the first loop of the run course. The passing and back and forth and changing pacing decisions that come with actually racing others make things a lot more fun than just time trialing and just seeing where you stand at the end.
Race Day Events puts on a great event. Everything is top notch from the challenging course to the well stocked aide stations (on the bike and run), swag (sweet defeet socks), post-race food (pizza, sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit, coke, powerade, even chicken wings!) and awards (cannon ball trophy and unfermented champagne celebration!). Even better that the race was only $80! Itās everything youād want in a race without all of the fluff, multi-day commitment, jumping through hoops and high costs that come with WTC events. I can't recommend this race enough.
I noticed afterwards that the run was about 0.7 miles short at 12.4 mi. Same with everyone one else on Strava that I looked at. Looking back at the course maps online, it was a bit short by design, but we were supposed to turn left onto the track just before the fort and run most of a lap before continuing up to the fort. The turn was unmarked and everyone turned right and took the short way across. This would have added back about half of that missing distance.
They really went all in for the fort/cannon theme. Socks, shirts and medals were all covered with cannons. The awards were cannon balls (OA) and cannons (AG). The fired a miniture cannons for all of the wave starts.
While Strava stalking, I also noticed a couple of references to Slowtwitch. If you were there, say hello!
My next stop is Toughman TN/Atomic Man in October. If youāre there, stop by and say hello. Iāll be in the bright blue and orange Tri-812 kit.
~Matt
Kingston, TN
8/24/2019
I like reading the race reports of others, so thought I'd put my own together for a change.
Pre-Race
I took Friday off from work and came down to TN from IN on Thursday night. My wife wanted to travel with the 2 kids during nap time and I had to work pretty much a full day Thursday, so we took two cars which ended up working out well. It felt ridiculous to take two cars but we had plenty of room for all of the tri stuff, kid stuff and baby stuff. Were also able to bring home some extra junk post-race. I got to my momās house around 8pm in time to read bedtime stories and tuck my daughter into bed and then I went to sleep as well.
Friday, I slept in while my wife went out for her long run. I woke up around 8 (I canāt remember the last time I slept this late) and went for a short 20 in bike with a 10 min run. Training/tapering had felt pretty bad over the last week, so I was glad that this short brick felt good. The rest of Friday was spent doing the obligatory family visits (stepmom/grandmother). Ate a small dinner, packed the car for the morning and got to bed early.
Woke up around 5 on Saturday after a solid 8hrs of sleep feeling pretty good. Ate my typical 3 packets of instant oatmeal w/ peanut butter and hit the road for the ~30 min drive to the race. Transition was fairly empty when I got there and packet pickup was quick. Set everything up, ate a granola bar and banana about an hour before the start. Got a quick swim in and had a gel about 15 mins before we started.
Swim
Water temp was 81, so swimskin it was. The course was two loops of an elongated rectangle. Race was sent off in 2 waves, all men and then all women+relays. The menās wave was ~70. The cannon fired and we were off. The first couple of hundred yards was mildly crowded but thinned out pretty quickly. At the first turn, I could see saw a small pack ahead, but no one immediately around me. I tried to put in a couple of minutes of harder effort to see if I could bridge up, but to no avail. Realizing I was going to be swimming alone, I settled into a steady effort and just got to the end. Came across the mat in 8th out of the water and 6 minutes back, but didn't know this at the time. I was happy with this considering the lack of wetsuit and no crowd to draft off of. My wife, my mom and 3 yo daughter were waiting for me at the swim exit and cheered me in into T1 which was great.
35:51.7
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648419247
T1
Uneventful. In and out. Still in 8th place.
Bike
Right out of T1, I passed a couple of guys and then tried to settle in. Race plan was to target 215-220 NP and keep most of the hills below ~260. With the first big climb right out of T1, NP was up to 250, but I knew it would be high to start and take a few miles for the averages to come down. I could see 2 guys ahead of me and at about 10 miles in, I was passed by 3rd. I was able to keep him in sight for a while, but kept telling myself to ride my own race and let him go. I know Iām a better runner than biker, so had to keep telling myself that Iāve got a chance to catch him on the run. At this point, I knew there were at least 3 people are ahead of me, but didn't know how many more. A little while later, I caught sight of a 4th, so I knew that Iām at least 5th. At 20 mi, I see my support crew along the side of the road. My wife yells at me that Iām 3mins back with 4 people ahead of me. The course was an out and back and a couple of miles before the turn around, I pass 2 more guys, moving up to 3rd on the road, and then promptly get chased by 2 dogs. I later heard that they bit one of the racers. Coming back in, my wife tells me Iām now 3:30 back on the lead. I'm thinking that's not too bad and I lost less time than I was expecting. From then on, it was fairly uneventful. I couldnāt see anyone ahead or behind me. Just concentrating on biking within my limits and saving energy for the run. On the final climb, Iām passed one more time with another guy closing in and the 3 of us enter transition pretty much together.
2:27:47.8
22.4 mph
AP 215, NP 227
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648424128
T2
Fast T2. Flying dismount, rack quickly, shoes on, grab my hat w/ belt and banana in it and start running. Passed 1 guy in transition. My wife lets me know I'm in 3rd place coming out and about 5 minutes back of the lead.
Run
Immediately out of T2 Iām passed by a guy like Iām standing still. Heās probably going <6 min/mi. My first mile clocks in around 6:20 pace; I know thatās not sustainable for me, so I try to rein it in to something more manageable. It must have been too fast for the guy that passed me as he slowed down as well. A couple of miles in, I pass him and then shortly after pass another guy; I'm now into 2nd. By this point, Iāve settled into a 6:40-6:50 pace and clicking through the miles feeling pretty good. As I'm coming past the playground after the first out and back section where my wife, mom and daughter are now camped out, I get a high 5 from my daughter and update that the gap is now down to about 2.5-3 minutes. Thatās closing a lot faster than I expected. The thought of wining overall was dim possibility at the start of day, but it was starting to sink in as a real possibility. Further on, I get some encouragement from oncoming runners that the leader is just ahead and catchable, but I canāt see him ahead. As weāre going around the hills at the fort, around mi 5.5, I catch my first glimpse of him. I'm slowly gaining on him until we pass transition for the start of the 2nd lap where I make the pass. Average pace to this point is right around my target of 6:45/mi. Knowing I'm in the lead now, I rein it in some more trying to keep something in reserve in case he finds a second wind or someone else comes up from behind. At least that was my thinking at the time. In reality, 6:45s was probably unsustainable based on how I felt at the end of the run. Coming back by the playground on the 2nd lap, a glance back shows Iāve created a pretty good gap on 2nd place, so I stop and give my daughter a big sweaty hug. Over the last couple of miles, I keep checking behind me, but never see anyone coming, so keep on cruising at that easier pace. My 2nd half averaged about 40s/mi slower than the first. The race finishes inside a reconstructed civil war fort on top of a hill. Coming in, I see my daughter waiting for me at the entrance to the fort and hear her yell āDaddy Iām going to run with you!ā She then starts sprinting towards the finish line and we cross together to celebrate the win!
1:27:44.5
Average pace 7:04.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2648419329
Overall time
4:33:20.6, a 70.3 PR even when you adjust for the short run (12.4 mi) and mildly short bike 55.3).
Post Race Thoughts
My support crew was fantastic all race long. I know spectating tris can be extremely boring, but they were out there the whole time cheering and giving updates. They kept popping up in places I didnāt expect to see them like on the bike course or so many times on the run. It really helped me that they were so engaged. This is on top of all of their patience throughout all of the training.
I grew up in the area, so I donāt know why I ever come back to race in east TN and expect anything besides a hilly bike and/or run course, but every time I get caught out on exactly how hilly itās going to be. I knew there was going to be a reasonable climb to start the bike and 2 more coming right at the end, but this whole course was constantly up and down rollers and I underestimated their total contribution. Same for the run. Strava is showing almost 900ft of elevation gain; Garmin had ~650. This is probably the most challenging 70.3 course Iāve done, especially w/ the brutal climb around and up to the fort at the finish. I'm glad the weather wasn't as hot as it could have been or it would have been much worse.
Speak of the weather, it was about as perfect as can be for a late August race in TN. Air temp was low 70ās and it was overcast for most of the morning. It was humid, but not oppressively so until after I was done.
I really like these smaller 70.3s. Starting the day, I knew anything from a top 10 and an AG podium to the overall win was a possibility depending on who shows up. To come home with the overall win was a fantastic experience. I know Iām reasonably fast, but Iām not nearly fast enough to have this same kind of racing experience in bigger races. During this entire race, I genuinely didnāt believe I had a chance at winning until I passed the lead runner at the end of the first loop of the run course. The passing and back and forth and changing pacing decisions that come with actually racing others make things a lot more fun than just time trialing and just seeing where you stand at the end.
Race Day Events puts on a great event. Everything is top notch from the challenging course to the well stocked aide stations (on the bike and run), swag (sweet defeet socks), post-race food (pizza, sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit, coke, powerade, even chicken wings!) and awards (cannon ball trophy and unfermented champagne celebration!). Even better that the race was only $80! Itās everything youād want in a race without all of the fluff, multi-day commitment, jumping through hoops and high costs that come with WTC events. I can't recommend this race enough.
I noticed afterwards that the run was about 0.7 miles short at 12.4 mi. Same with everyone one else on Strava that I looked at. Looking back at the course maps online, it was a bit short by design, but we were supposed to turn left onto the track just before the fort and run most of a lap before continuing up to the fort. The turn was unmarked and everyone turned right and took the short way across. This would have added back about half of that missing distance.
They really went all in for the fort/cannon theme. Socks, shirts and medals were all covered with cannons. The awards were cannon balls (OA) and cannons (AG). The fired a miniture cannons for all of the wave starts.
While Strava stalking, I also noticed a couple of references to Slowtwitch. If you were there, say hello!
My next stop is Toughman TN/Atomic Man in October. If youāre there, stop by and say hello. Iāll be in the bright blue and orange Tri-812 kit.
~Matt