What is Triple-T?
Well, according to the race jerseys we wore all weekend, TTT is:
Essentially, it's an Ironman-distance race broken down into four smaller races completed over a weekend.
For me, Triple-T was a solid training event, a stepping-stone to my first big race of the season – Ironman Coeur d’Alene at the end of June. My goal was to race hard, race fast and see where I am in terms of fitness and determine what I need to focus on for last 5 weeks leading up to Coeur d'Alene.
TTT was also an opportunity to hang out with and race alongside of friends from Northern Virginia including Team FeXY plus a chance to work closely with two of my coaching clients – TTT veteran Bill Beyer (read about Bill in "The Beyer Project") and TTT virgin Tom Impellitteri.
Overall, I had a very positive experience at the event and feel good about my performance. More than anything, the quality of the field has improved since I last raced this event in 2007. I feel like I am still on track for a sub-9 hour goal time at Ironman Coeur d’Alene.
BTW, congratulations to everyone who finished – as it was truly an epic event!
What went well for me?
My new all liquid nutrition and hydration strategy (no gels or bars) that I adopted from friend and fellow coach David Ciaverella of Summit Performance Coaching in Portland, OR. No problems with gastric distress, bonking, cramping or dehydration. BTW, David and his wife, Ann, were recently the top overall Master's finishers at New Orleans 70.3 in April.
I rode strongly on the bike finishing up near the top bike times in all the race (except for Sunday's race where I had a slow leak and had to change the tire). I'm looking forward to getting my new – and of course faster – triathlon bike very soon…
What did I still need to work on?
I need to improve my quality and quantity of rest every day. Running 3 different triathlon camps in the last month plus more upcoming events has left me exhausted most of the days in the last month leading up the weekend.
I need to run faster off the bike. This is directly related to rest above plus I will feed this back to my coach who will adjust my training schedule accordingly.
Continue to focus on my swim by swimming 4-5x / week with Coach Doug Alban at Goucher College Master’s with a goal to get my swim time down to 52 minutes for Ironman Couer d'Alene.
Race Highlights
Here are the highlights for each of my four races:
Race #1: Friday @ 5 PM
Distance: Super sprint (250m swim / 5-mile bike / 1-mile run)
Results: 22:16, 14th overall
The forecast called for rain and the sky poured rained through early afternoon at the park but had stopped raining late afternoon just in time for the race.
This was a quick race for everyone. Turkey Creek water was cold (maybe 60F?) so the swim warranted a full wetsuit even though it was only a few minutes long. The roads were still a little wet so I played it cautious on the bike turns and descent, especially since I crashed hard during this race in 2007 when my rear tubular tire rolled off the rim and sent me flying.
Overall, this was a very fast and very hard effort and I kept my heart rate near max during both bike and run. I felt fine afterwards – less sore than past races at TTT.
Race #2: Saturday @ 7:30 AM
Olympic #1: 1500m swim / 24.8-mile bike / 6.55-mile run
Results: 2:16:58, 11th overall
Rain overnight raised the water level Turkey Creek up about 2 feet so we didn't actually get to exit the water in between the two loops of the swim since the swim exit was now flooded. The water was even colder than Friday so I was thankful for my full wetsuit.
Each bike course at TTT is different normally, but we had to ride the afternoon bike course since several trees had fallen down on the planned course. Since the courses were the same, we'd be able to compare bike times between the two events. I rode strongly on the bike keeping my efforts mostly just under lactate threshold.
The run is out and back on a hilly fire road (mostly uphill on the way out). My heart rate remained elevated above ventilation threshold (I was breathing very heavily) throughout the duration of the run. I kept my pace as fast as I could maintain but my time was a minute or two slower than the last time I raced in 2007.
Race #3: Saturday @ 3 PM
Olympic #2: 24.8-mile bike / 1500m swim / 6.55-mile run
Results: 2:19:42, 8th overall
This race is unique in that it starts with the bike then the swim before ending with the run. For anyone racing as a team, the two team members can draft off of each other. I rode almost exactly the same bike split as the morning on tired legs so I was happy with that. My heart rate was lower, too, for the same level of perceived effort, which I believe is due plain fatigue. I've observed the decreasing heart rate in past years' events, too.
After the bike, the trick to a quick transition into a wetsuit is to place plastic bags on your feet before stepping into the wetsuit. Done! The challenge with swimming after a hard effort on the bike is not to cramp. I did fairly well with this since only my right glue seized up for a few seconds in the water. Once out of the water, then it's onto the same out and back course as this morning. The splits aren't posted yet, but I believe I lost only a minute or so versus the morning run.
Race #4: Sunday @ 7 AM
Half Ironman: 1.2-mile swim / 55-mile bike / 26.2-mile run
Results: 5:17:55, 38th overall
This race is toughest because it's the longest and the last one. All of us racing are just plain tired.
The water felt even colder this morning. For the first time in years, I had to fight down 2 panic attacks both on the backside of the 2-loop swim course. I think it was the cold and fatigue.
I started strongly on the bike for the first part of the first loop then began to feel sluggish – like I was pedaling through sand – and I began to get passed. I opened my brake hoods just in case but it didn't help.
When I almost went down on a switchback descent because my front wheel didn’t hold the road, I realized that my front tire was flat. A slow leak.
I opted to refill with a CO2 cartridge to see if it would hold the air rather than take the time to change the tire. I rode cautiously and slowly on all descents, as I watched my tire. Twenty minutes later it was flat. I used my second cartridge then flagged down a SAG vehicle, which gave me a floor pump to use so that I could change my tire. I unstuck the tire from the glue holding it to the wheel, stretched out the spare tubular I had borrowed from Bill then seated the new tubular on the rim. At this point, I had mentally “checked out” of race mode and into “training mode” since I had lost 15-20 minutes between riding a flat and changing my tire.
The rest of the race was uneventful. Because of the out and back run course repeated twice, I had the opportunity to see all my friends racing. As expected, my heart rate was even further suppressed from Saturday's races.
I finished strongly and I felt that tremendous sense of accomplishment that only comes from an epic event.
Today my legs are still sore, my body is tired and I feel hungry every couple hours. I’m looking forward to a few easy days before ramping my training up for the last hard push to Coeur d’Alene.
Live strongly and boldly!
David
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David B. Glover, MS, CSCS
Triathlon Coach, Athlete and Writer
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Every Day Life
Web: enduranceworks.net
© 2010 David B. Glover
Whether you're training to win a triathlon, training to finish or just need inspiration from my life journey as a cancer survivor, Navy officer and sub-nine hour Ironman triathlete, my book will inspire you to chase your dreams and live life richly and boldly.
Awesome job, Dave. I wish I could've been out there racing with you all. Looks like a really fun event.
Scott
[...] racing 4 triathlons in 3 days from May 21-23 as part of Triple-T (TTT) in Ohio (read my Triple-T race report), I became just like "Angry Closet Monkey" from Family Guy or perhaps I was could be more [...]