Race Report: TriRock Clearwater Sprint
Last year, I participated in TriRock Clearwater at the end of the season. I placed 4th in my AG, missing the podium by less than a minute. Since I now live in Tampa, I decided to do this race again. I aged up this year so it would be even more of a challenge. Every new age group comes with increased competition as I head toward the more competitive age groups.
TR Clearwater is a sort of home course for me. Because our Outspokin Multisport Team trains frequently in Clearwater Beach, I swim, bike, or run portions of the course once, twice, or even three times a week depending on my schedule. It has been unusually hot over the past week. However, I can't tell you the number of days I've sweated it out in Clearwater Beach this summer. So this would definitely feel like my nice usual weekend group training ride.
Race Day
I got up early and made my way over to Clearwater since traffic can get bad on the island and parking is always a challenge on a normal day. I decided to bite the bullet and park at the Hyatt. I could have found cheaper or free parking but the garage there has easy exit to Sand Key Bridge if the center of town was backed up, plus the Hyatt has nice bathrooms on the second floor and shelter should it decide to storm before I was ready to leave.
Swim (12:38)
The swim is approximately 500m in a triangle starting on the beach. It is a time trial start where waves line up but swimmers are released three at a time with about 5-10 seconds separating each triad. I like this type of start since it reduces the mass traffic jams. There are still traffic jams and all of the full-contact of triathlon swim, but not all at once and only as people either gain on you or you overtake those ahead.
I started in the first wave somewhere near the middle of the group. The Olympic distance had already gone off but their course was markedly longer. This wasn't a particularly fast or good swim for me. The water temperature was 80 degrees so no wetsuits but I swim here all the time without a suit. I don't know what it was but I felt very low energy in the swim. It may have to do with all of the waiting that I did at the start. I forgot to bring some gatorade to sip on so I didn't have anything since about 6:30. We started around 7:20. Regardless, I was confident in the swim but on the slow side. Additionally, the swim time encompassed the entire run up the beach to transition.
T1 (1:33)
T1 was uneventful. Really, I put on a helmet and shoes.
Bike (40:19)
The bike course is a single 13-mile loop encompassing what we call the "three bridges loop". There are three causeways on the course (the Memorial, the Belaire, and the Sand Key). Each are relatively short but are steep at about 6% grade. These represent the "Florida hills" we speak of here. Other than that, the course is flat. The wind today was coming from the southeast so it really did not affect speed besides a slight crosswind during the last few miles.
I had a difficult time getting up to speed on the bike. I was feeling the swim so I took a gel, some Gatorade Endurance, and a big drink of water just as I was heading out. I needed to get some energy so that I could keep the hammer down. I climbed the first bridge and did feel better. I pushed the pace a bit in the middle of the course and tried to make sure I switched to a higher cadence in the last few miles to get me ready for the run. Overall, I averaged about 19.4 miles per hour. I was hoping to average above 20 but I'll take it. Since I was in the front, there wasn't many passes or traffic around. I pushed it right to the dismount line.
T2 (1:54)
T2 was very slow. I don't know if it was trying to get my bike racked or my Kinvara shoes which are not as triathlon friendly as other shoes I have had in the past, but something just took me some extra time.
Run (23:59)
The run course loops along the beachfront and then out along the running path along the Memorial Causeway. The sprint turns around before actually going over the bridge section of the causeway so I am thankful not to have to run up and down that bridge like the Olympic distance had to do twice. It was pretty hot on the run and none of it is shaded. I used both water stops on the course to drink and also to pour some water over my head. I started out at a good pace and slowly accelerated throughout. One by one, I would see people ahead of me and work to pick them off. This isn't my best run but given that I'm trained more for distance rather than speed, it was a good run. I did pass many of the stronger bikers and swimmers back on the run as I headed in.
Overall (1:20:25)
My time was about three minutes slower than last year. However, last year was wetsuit legal and not 88 degrees. That does factor into the times. I knew I had done my best and left all I had out there. I was surprised to find I placed third in my age group. Our team had six or seven podiums in all between both distances, which is awesome for the group.
An AG podium was a great way to end my triathlon season, especially after the debacle that was Ironman Maryland. I've set my sights in a few road races coming up (Space Coast Marathon, Gasparilla Half, and First Watch Sarasota Half) and then back into triathlon. I have been lucky to be a part of the Outspokin family this year and I am looking forward to the rest of the year and next season. It's Florida running season. Hopefully it cools off.
TR Clearwater is a sort of home course for me. Because our Outspokin Multisport Team trains frequently in Clearwater Beach, I swim, bike, or run portions of the course once, twice, or even three times a week depending on my schedule. It has been unusually hot over the past week. However, I can't tell you the number of days I've sweated it out in Clearwater Beach this summer. So this would definitely feel like my nice usual weekend group training ride.
Race Day
I got up early and made my way over to Clearwater since traffic can get bad on the island and parking is always a challenge on a normal day. I decided to bite the bullet and park at the Hyatt. I could have found cheaper or free parking but the garage there has easy exit to Sand Key Bridge if the center of town was backed up, plus the Hyatt has nice bathrooms on the second floor and shelter should it decide to storm before I was ready to leave.
Swim (12:38)
The swim is approximately 500m in a triangle starting on the beach. It is a time trial start where waves line up but swimmers are released three at a time with about 5-10 seconds separating each triad. I like this type of start since it reduces the mass traffic jams. There are still traffic jams and all of the full-contact of triathlon swim, but not all at once and only as people either gain on you or you overtake those ahead.
I started in the first wave somewhere near the middle of the group. The Olympic distance had already gone off but their course was markedly longer. This wasn't a particularly fast or good swim for me. The water temperature was 80 degrees so no wetsuits but I swim here all the time without a suit. I don't know what it was but I felt very low energy in the swim. It may have to do with all of the waiting that I did at the start. I forgot to bring some gatorade to sip on so I didn't have anything since about 6:30. We started around 7:20. Regardless, I was confident in the swim but on the slow side. Additionally, the swim time encompassed the entire run up the beach to transition.
T1 (1:33)
T1 was uneventful. Really, I put on a helmet and shoes.
Bike (40:19)
The bike course is a single 13-mile loop encompassing what we call the "three bridges loop". There are three causeways on the course (the Memorial, the Belaire, and the Sand Key). Each are relatively short but are steep at about 6% grade. These represent the "Florida hills" we speak of here. Other than that, the course is flat. The wind today was coming from the southeast so it really did not affect speed besides a slight crosswind during the last few miles.
I had a difficult time getting up to speed on the bike. I was feeling the swim so I took a gel, some Gatorade Endurance, and a big drink of water just as I was heading out. I needed to get some energy so that I could keep the hammer down. I climbed the first bridge and did feel better. I pushed the pace a bit in the middle of the course and tried to make sure I switched to a higher cadence in the last few miles to get me ready for the run. Overall, I averaged about 19.4 miles per hour. I was hoping to average above 20 but I'll take it. Since I was in the front, there wasn't many passes or traffic around. I pushed it right to the dismount line.
T2 (1:54)
T2 was very slow. I don't know if it was trying to get my bike racked or my Kinvara shoes which are not as triathlon friendly as other shoes I have had in the past, but something just took me some extra time.
Run (23:59)
The run course loops along the beachfront and then out along the running path along the Memorial Causeway. The sprint turns around before actually going over the bridge section of the causeway so I am thankful not to have to run up and down that bridge like the Olympic distance had to do twice. It was pretty hot on the run and none of it is shaded. I used both water stops on the course to drink and also to pour some water over my head. I started out at a good pace and slowly accelerated throughout. One by one, I would see people ahead of me and work to pick them off. This isn't my best run but given that I'm trained more for distance rather than speed, it was a good run. I did pass many of the stronger bikers and swimmers back on the run as I headed in.
Overall (1:20:25)
My time was about three minutes slower than last year. However, last year was wetsuit legal and not 88 degrees. That does factor into the times. I knew I had done my best and left all I had out there. I was surprised to find I placed third in my age group. Our team had six or seven podiums in all between both distances, which is awesome for the group.
An AG podium was a great way to end my triathlon season, especially after the debacle that was Ironman Maryland. I've set my sights in a few road races coming up (Space Coast Marathon, Gasparilla Half, and First Watch Sarasota Half) and then back into triathlon. I have been lucky to be a part of the Outspokin family this year and I am looking forward to the rest of the year and next season. It's Florida running season. Hopefully it cools off.
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