Race Recap: Ft. Ritchie Triathlon
Event: Ft Ritchie Triathlon and Duathlon
Location: Cascade, MD
Distance: Olympic (Sprint also available)
Date: August 4th, 2013
This past weekend I participated in the Ft. Ritchie triathlon held in the Cacoctin Mountains in Cascade, MD. Ft. Ritchie is an old abandoned military installation near Camp David and serves as the backdrop for this event. This year was the event's fourth year. This year, the race was sanctioned by USAT for the first time. Cascade is about an hour and 45 minutes from Annapolis (one hour thirty minutes if I don't drive). This would be my second Olympic distance triathlon.
Swim: The swim course was in Lake Royer on the Ft Ritchie grounds. The lake is small and is not open to swimmers or power boaters except for events. The Olympic course was two 750m loops. You had to run along the beach and down the pier in between loops. The water quality was cloudy but surprisingly clean. There was a moderate amount of vegetation, especially in more shallow areas. There were also sections of the lake that were 3 feet deep or less in areas. The average depth was somewhere between 10-17 feet. The water temp was 73 at the start and wetsuit legal.
I started in the last wave with the under 40 men. I was actually the last one to cross the start line as I started in the back right to avoid getting beat up. This was a big mistake as I have become significantly faster since my last tri. It was amazing to see the difference. I was trying to pass and was caught in traffic for most of the first lap. I will probably start closer to the front next time and try to get out into clearer water in the early stages. I was pleasantly surprised that I was very straight in my course and was able to sight every two to four breaths. I swam the entire course without using backstroke, which is a definite improvement for me. My stroke was very fluid and once in the open by myself, I felt very comfortable in my rhythm. I finished in about 34 minutes, cutting 5 minutes from my previous time.
T1: Transition was very close to the swim area and had Olympic Du and Tri bikes racked on the right side and Sprint Du and Tri bikes racked on the left. It was self serve racking and I was able to get an end spot so I had more room and wouldn't be crowded. T1 was pretty slow for me at 2:23. I was a bit overworked as I had trouble unzipping my wetsuit on the travel from the swim to the transition area and I just couldn't concentrate from there. I had to stop for a few seconds to retighten my shoes before exiting transition. The setup was good but I always say transition is all mental.
Bike: The bike course left the Ft. Ritchie grounds and descended for 6 miles to the valley below, then returned to Ft. Ritchie. The fort was at the top of the hill about 1600 ft above sea level. We woould descend about 1000 vertical feet near the beginning. The course started with a steep hill to get to the "real" top of the mountain. This climb was only about a quarter mile or more long but it was pretty steep. It took some by surprise and several were already off of the bike. After that, the course turned onto a main road with wide 9 ft shoulders. The course was not closed to traffic, although there were deputies at the major intersections to direct traffic and help the bikes to nagvgate the course. The course was well marked with arrows and signs. After descending for around 5 miles, the Olympic course split from the Sprint course and did a separate loop around the valley. The roads were a little chewed up at parts and you had to watch your line. Most of the valley was single lane farm country road with very little traffic. Plenty of fields and cows. After the valley, the Olympic rejoined the Sprint course and climbed back up the hill. MapMyRide places the main hill of the climb as a Category 3 climb using their scale. The main portion of the climb is about a 3.5% grade for about 4 miles and then another climb of 4% grade for another mile or so. All in all it is about 6 miles of uphill until you are at the top. You reach the Grace Church of God (and thank him) at the top of the hill and then proceed down a very steep descent with a few winding turns to the transition area.
My ride was pretty good. I started out conservative since I had already ridden the course and knew about the challenges. I passed four or five people right off the bat on the first climb. I took the descent at a moderate pace, averaging about 38mph for that portion. I used it as a chance to stretch out my legs when I could coast and make sure my hamstrings were not tight. I was feeling it a bit in the hamstrings (which are naturally tight and inflexible) and wanted to conserve for the valley and uphill. In the valley, I noticed a rattling on my bike somewhere. I at first thought it was a loose spoke and started worrying about losing a spoke. I figured out about halfway through the valley that my bottle cage was loose and it was the screw rattling. Nothing really to worry about for the function of the bike. It was, however, something that I did not check before the race. I checked all of my components, gears, shifters, brakes, etc to make sure nothing got knocked out of place on the car ride but did not check the cage. I will certainly be doing a bottle check next time. I climbed the hill using whatever strength I could and passed many people going up. A few passed me, mostly on road bikes, but I had already passed them before or would pass them on the run. Many people were walking and/or really struggling to get up this hill. I felt bad for those using mountain bikes with fat tires on the hill. The gearing on those bikes likely wasn't ideal for continued climbing, not to mention the weight. I finished the bike in 1:23 with an average pace of around 17mph. That is faster than my Rocketman pace.
T2: I was pretty well set up for T2 and I flew through in just over a minute. I will say that I almost fell at the dismount as I unclipped one leg and was coasting to the last minute trying to do a rolling dismount and I miscaluclated my speed. But I yanked the other foot out just in time to catch myself before embarrassment. All is good.
Run: The run was a double loop again. It was a 5k loop, one for the Sprint and two for the Olympic. The run course was all on the grounds of the fort. It featured some hills, including a pretty steep one to get to mile 2. The second half of the run was downhill, which helped coming into the next loop and the finish. It was a very good run as you ran past old bunkhouses lined on the roads and some of the old buildings. There were a few places of gravel on the base and then you ran around part of the lake. There was also a mixture of sun and shade. Water stops were at mile 1 and 2 so there was plenty of course support.
I went out conservatively on lap one since I wanted to feel out the course and finish strong. I kept my pace somewhere between 8-9 minutes per mile for most of it, except up the big hill. My goal was to be consistent through the run. I felt pretty good and had enough to really run the last mile once I got there. The rest of the run was pretty uneventful and I fibished in about 52 minutes, improving 5 minutes on my last time but not coming close to my road racing PR of 44 minutes.
Overall, I improved on this triathlon (by almost 5 minutes in the swim, 3 mph in the bike, and 5 minutes on the run) compared to my last endeavour. I came in 75th overall, which put me in the top half of finishers. I ended up 8th in my age group, although I will say this was a very fast field. I will definitely be doing this race again. Racine Multisport put on a good race with a well organized, well supported event. With the option to do the sprint or olympic, tri or du, this event has options for my wife and others to come next year. The Ft. Ritchie community center was open with showers after the race so you were even able to change and shower before hitting the road. That is a huge plus. It is close to Waynesboro, PA which is where we stayed the night before the race. I recommend The Waynesburger if anyone goes to that town. Don't let it fool you, it's a Greek place with more Greek food than burgers (which is good news to a vegetarian). A great race in a great location with great company.
Location: Cascade, MD
Distance: Olympic (Sprint also available)
Date: August 4th, 2013
This past weekend I participated in the Ft. Ritchie triathlon held in the Cacoctin Mountains in Cascade, MD. Ft. Ritchie is an old abandoned military installation near Camp David and serves as the backdrop for this event. This year was the event's fourth year. This year, the race was sanctioned by USAT for the first time. Cascade is about an hour and 45 minutes from Annapolis (one hour thirty minutes if I don't drive). This would be my second Olympic distance triathlon.
Swim: The swim course was in Lake Royer on the Ft Ritchie grounds. The lake is small and is not open to swimmers or power boaters except for events. The Olympic course was two 750m loops. You had to run along the beach and down the pier in between loops. The water quality was cloudy but surprisingly clean. There was a moderate amount of vegetation, especially in more shallow areas. There were also sections of the lake that were 3 feet deep or less in areas. The average depth was somewhere between 10-17 feet. The water temp was 73 at the start and wetsuit legal.
I started in the last wave with the under 40 men. I was actually the last one to cross the start line as I started in the back right to avoid getting beat up. This was a big mistake as I have become significantly faster since my last tri. It was amazing to see the difference. I was trying to pass and was caught in traffic for most of the first lap. I will probably start closer to the front next time and try to get out into clearer water in the early stages. I was pleasantly surprised that I was very straight in my course and was able to sight every two to four breaths. I swam the entire course without using backstroke, which is a definite improvement for me. My stroke was very fluid and once in the open by myself, I felt very comfortable in my rhythm. I finished in about 34 minutes, cutting 5 minutes from my previous time.
T1: Transition was very close to the swim area and had Olympic Du and Tri bikes racked on the right side and Sprint Du and Tri bikes racked on the left. It was self serve racking and I was able to get an end spot so I had more room and wouldn't be crowded. T1 was pretty slow for me at 2:23. I was a bit overworked as I had trouble unzipping my wetsuit on the travel from the swim to the transition area and I just couldn't concentrate from there. I had to stop for a few seconds to retighten my shoes before exiting transition. The setup was good but I always say transition is all mental.
Bike: The bike course left the Ft. Ritchie grounds and descended for 6 miles to the valley below, then returned to Ft. Ritchie. The fort was at the top of the hill about 1600 ft above sea level. We woould descend about 1000 vertical feet near the beginning. The course started with a steep hill to get to the "real" top of the mountain. This climb was only about a quarter mile or more long but it was pretty steep. It took some by surprise and several were already off of the bike. After that, the course turned onto a main road with wide 9 ft shoulders. The course was not closed to traffic, although there were deputies at the major intersections to direct traffic and help the bikes to nagvgate the course. The course was well marked with arrows and signs. After descending for around 5 miles, the Olympic course split from the Sprint course and did a separate loop around the valley. The roads were a little chewed up at parts and you had to watch your line. Most of the valley was single lane farm country road with very little traffic. Plenty of fields and cows. After the valley, the Olympic rejoined the Sprint course and climbed back up the hill. MapMyRide places the main hill of the climb as a Category 3 climb using their scale. The main portion of the climb is about a 3.5% grade for about 4 miles and then another climb of 4% grade for another mile or so. All in all it is about 6 miles of uphill until you are at the top. You reach the Grace Church of God (and thank him) at the top of the hill and then proceed down a very steep descent with a few winding turns to the transition area.
My ride was pretty good. I started out conservative since I had already ridden the course and knew about the challenges. I passed four or five people right off the bat on the first climb. I took the descent at a moderate pace, averaging about 38mph for that portion. I used it as a chance to stretch out my legs when I could coast and make sure my hamstrings were not tight. I was feeling it a bit in the hamstrings (which are naturally tight and inflexible) and wanted to conserve for the valley and uphill. In the valley, I noticed a rattling on my bike somewhere. I at first thought it was a loose spoke and started worrying about losing a spoke. I figured out about halfway through the valley that my bottle cage was loose and it was the screw rattling. Nothing really to worry about for the function of the bike. It was, however, something that I did not check before the race. I checked all of my components, gears, shifters, brakes, etc to make sure nothing got knocked out of place on the car ride but did not check the cage. I will certainly be doing a bottle check next time. I climbed the hill using whatever strength I could and passed many people going up. A few passed me, mostly on road bikes, but I had already passed them before or would pass them on the run. Many people were walking and/or really struggling to get up this hill. I felt bad for those using mountain bikes with fat tires on the hill. The gearing on those bikes likely wasn't ideal for continued climbing, not to mention the weight. I finished the bike in 1:23 with an average pace of around 17mph. That is faster than my Rocketman pace.
T2: I was pretty well set up for T2 and I flew through in just over a minute. I will say that I almost fell at the dismount as I unclipped one leg and was coasting to the last minute trying to do a rolling dismount and I miscaluclated my speed. But I yanked the other foot out just in time to catch myself before embarrassment. All is good.
Run: The run was a double loop again. It was a 5k loop, one for the Sprint and two for the Olympic. The run course was all on the grounds of the fort. It featured some hills, including a pretty steep one to get to mile 2. The second half of the run was downhill, which helped coming into the next loop and the finish. It was a very good run as you ran past old bunkhouses lined on the roads and some of the old buildings. There were a few places of gravel on the base and then you ran around part of the lake. There was also a mixture of sun and shade. Water stops were at mile 1 and 2 so there was plenty of course support.
I went out conservatively on lap one since I wanted to feel out the course and finish strong. I kept my pace somewhere between 8-9 minutes per mile for most of it, except up the big hill. My goal was to be consistent through the run. I felt pretty good and had enough to really run the last mile once I got there. The rest of the run was pretty uneventful and I fibished in about 52 minutes, improving 5 minutes on my last time but not coming close to my road racing PR of 44 minutes.
Overall, I improved on this triathlon (by almost 5 minutes in the swim, 3 mph in the bike, and 5 minutes on the run) compared to my last endeavour. I came in 75th overall, which put me in the top half of finishers. I ended up 8th in my age group, although I will say this was a very fast field. I will definitely be doing this race again. Racine Multisport put on a good race with a well organized, well supported event. With the option to do the sprint or olympic, tri or du, this event has options for my wife and others to come next year. The Ft. Ritchie community center was open with showers after the race so you were even able to change and shower before hitting the road. That is a huge plus. It is close to Waynesboro, PA which is where we stayed the night before the race. I recommend The Waynesburger if anyone goes to that town. Don't let it fool you, it's a Greek place with more Greek food than burgers (which is good news to a vegetarian). A great race in a great location with great company.
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