My race season began with the Sudbury Spring Sprint Triathlon on May 9. Bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection had taken me out of commission for three weeks causing me to miss my standard season opener, the Wrentham Duathlon. My disappointment over missing the Wrentham Duathlon was short lived when torrential rains and chilly temps hit the area that morning.
Race day for Sudbury brought temps in the low 40’s and windy conditions with gusts over forty mph. My husband had asked me if I still wanted to use my trispoke given the strong wind gusts. I told him that I thought it would be better not to risk having control issues and to put a regular front wheel on my new Kestrel. He promptly ignored my input and put the tri spoke on the bike. (Why does he even ask my opinion?) As we walked our bikes to the transition area and the wind kept whipping the bike from my hand, Don indicated that he may have chosen the wrong front wheel for me. His timing is beautiful.
It felt great to be at a race after a long, cold winter, especially since I was not doing the swim. This race has a pool swim so I opt to compete in the relay division rather than waiting literally hours for my start time. Each year I line up a fast swimmer to do the swim segment, and I do the bike and run.
The night before the race, my husband begged me to switch swimmers so he could have my early start time. I said ok and switched swimmers giving him my #20 start spot and taking his #136 spot. I knew that I was probably giving away my chance at winning the female relay division by giving up my really fast swimmer. (My best friend who is so fast on a bike in windy conditions was racing in the same category with a really fast swimmer). But I relented because my hubby wanted to finish early so he could ride extra laps of the bike course after his race.
It turned out to be my day for “mechanical issues”. The first issue hit when the zipper on my Kestrel tri shirt ripped when I zipped up my shirt in the morning. Not a big deal since I was going to have to wear an extra layer due to the cold temps. Then a more significant mechanical issue hit--the skewer on my disk broke when I took my bike off the trainer after warming up. I had about ten minutes before my swimmer would be coming in and my disk was leaning against my Kestrel. V3 Multisport radioed for their mechanic who was on the bike course and asked her to meet me in the transition area. Just then my husband returned to the transition area having completed the bike segment of the race. He hadn’t even handed off his timing chip when I was bellowing about my disk. Don diagnosed the problem and the Todne, the V3 Multisport mechanic, pulled a skewer from a different Kestrel, and I was set to go with less than two minutes to spare.
It was windy out there, but the Kestrel rode like a charm. The front tri spoke ended up being a good choice as I had no handling issues. However, I didn’t ride very well. Each year I’m a little rusty in my first few races. This race I was definitely over geared finding myself slogging along in a 56 x 11 way too often and unwilling to downshift. Not a good strategy. I finished the bike, had a somewhat leisurely transition, and then hit the run course where I was able to push the pace for the entire route. Since my heart rate monitor strap was around my waist (“mechanical issue” number three), I didn’t have that objective feedback, but my huffing and puffing and occasional groan led me to believe I was hanging near my lactate threshold. Yea, those early season brick workouts were paying off.
Overall my performance wasn’t great, but the Kestrel was fabulous, and it was a fun race--a really nice way to spend Mother’s Day morning. My next race is the US Coast Guard Duathlon. I love that course with its short runs, flat bike route, and no swim.
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Elaine Vescio
USAT Triathlon Level I Certified Coach
Vescio Multisport Performance Services
Member Kestrel Triathlon Team