by Ron Patrissi
Duxbury Beach Sprint – Sept. 20, 2014
“Yeah, that’s real fine expensive gear you brought out here, Mr. Hooper. ‘Course I don’t know what that bastard shark’s gonna do with it, might eat it I suppose.” – Captain Quint
It was my last triathlon of 2014 and it was another beautiful day for racing. I’ve been so lucky this entire season and the Duxbury Sprint was a great choice to end it. I picked this race because of the point to point swim and the quaintness of the town. Little did I know when I signed up, that Duxbury Beach would make national news with Great White shark sightings and an attack on a kayaker just a few weeks earlier. For me, I must admit, this was on my mind….
The Swim:
The swim was a point to point going West to East along the South side of the Powder Point Bridge. They call it a half mile swim but it’s more like .4. There was a Southwesterly breeze and the tide was coming in which created a current going North by Northeast, hitting us from the right. It was beneficial being in the 3rd wave as we were able to see how the first swimmers were getting pushed North into the bridge. As my wave hit the water I was able to navigate on the South side of the pack and keep a relatively straight line. As I was getting close to shore the thought of the Great White entered my head, and so did the voice of Captain Quint, “And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a lifejacket again.”
Swim time: 11:37
T1:
The transition area was long and we all had to run completely along the fence from South to North to enter to where the bikes where located. My Garmin had me at almost a quarter mile to get through T1.
T1 time: 2:44
The Bike:
The bike course was a lot of fun! Over the Powder Point Bridge and then a straight shot for about 6 miles with some nice rolling hills. There were a few sharp turns for the next mile or so as we went around a small circle and then back the way we came with a small variation for the last mile or so before the Powder Point Bridge which brought us right along the water. It was a beautiful ride. On a side note: the field had about 450 racers and some were wearing their ITU speed suits with their names on their butts. Now, as far as I’m concerned anyone can race and wear whatever makes them happy. However, if you wearing something advertising your name on your ass, you shouldn’t be allowing some like me to pass you. I’m just saying…
Bike time: 33:21
T2:
A little better. A straight shot through the transition area South to North and then out!
T2 time: 1:20
The Run:
The run course was great. Again over the Powder Point Bridge, and then a 2 mile loop and then back over the bridge to the finish. The air was cool with nice wind blowing and I hit a sustainable pace and kept it for the first 2 miles and then picked it up a bit for last one. My goal was to run 6:45’s or better and I was very happy to come in just under that.
Run time: 21:12
Overall:
This race was incredibly fun! The drive was reasonable, the area was beautiful, the organization was fantastic and the field was competitive. I really felt like I raced well and I only came in 6th in my age group and 25th overall. With that said, I think I will come back and do this one again! (-:
Overall time:1:10:11