Mark Yost – Luray Sprint – Sunday, August 20, 2017

I highly recommend the Luray triathlon weekend. There’s something for everyone: spring, international, aquabike and relays. In the two times I’ve done it, it has been extremely well run. The course is awesome and there’s a camping option. The highlights this year were about others. Matt beat me by over 7 minutes, placing 10th overall. Deb Taylor and Danny Mooney continue to rock their races. Deb took 1st in her age group in the sprint and Danny took 2nd in his. I signed up this year for the Hawksbill Double, which meant I planned to do the international distance race on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday. It didn’t happen. Due to work travel to NYC and Matt’s XC, I didn’t make it for the international distance race, but Matt and I did make it for the sprint on Sunday. I’d planned to camp at the race site, but (again because of work), I didn’t get organized in time to camp. I had a free hotel night at a Holiday Inn, so we stayed in Front Royal, about a 45 minute drive from the race site between Luray and Shenandoah National Park. The race day weather was perfect. Low 70s at the start and clear. Water temp was in the low 80s. Transition set up was quick and easy on Sunday morning, except whoever put the number stickers on the racks put 5 of us about six inches apart. The last 3 guys had about 1-2 feet each! Fortunately, most of the guys in my age group are reasonable and all 8 of us on the rack adjusted. Swim: 16:01 (4/16 AG) The 750m swim is in Arrowhead Lake (more like a pond). Smaller than Centennial Lake, I think, and certainly warmer. It was like bathwater. I was in the second to last wave, so I watched Matt exit the swim as I entered the water. Matt looked good. His last sprint swim had been about 11 minutes, so I was hopeful that he would do well. He did. Even with a 13-minute swim. Maybe the course was long. My goal, as always, was to find a draft partner. No such luck. So, I was on my own the entire swim and passing through what was left of the slower swimmers in the early waves. I thought I was swimming well, but it was a figment of my imagination. The timing mat is about 30 yards from the water, but it was still a pretty slow swim. Even for me. T1: 1:33 (1/16) The run from swim out to transition was across a beach, then up some stairs. It’s not long, but I got caught behind a slower guy going up the stairs. Other than that, T1 was uneventful. My shoes were already on the bike, so it was just a matter of stripping the speedsuit and putting on sunglasses and my helmet, and I was out. Since it was a short bike, I went without socks. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I came out of the water 4th and passed one guy in transition. I knew Greg Nelson would be out of the water well before me, but I didn’t know who else was in the race. Greg and I are in the same age group for 3 out of every 5 years. I have a great deal of respect for him and like him a lot. He is a runner who can swim. Those are the triathletes I fear the most. Bike: 54:52 (18.3 mph avg) (2/16) The 17-mile bike course is a blast. Grueling climbs with fast downhills. It’s a fair, but hard course. Great scenery as you race in the shadow of the Shenandoahs. I pushed hard, but my bike legs are a little weak this year. Since I was in the second to last wave, all I did was pass people, but (to be honest) I was still passing 60+ year olds in the final miles. Riders were polite, riding to the right with little or no drafting that I observed. The lollipop course starts with an uphill leading to long and often steep downhill, and finishes with a short downhill after a long and steep uphill. I took GU gels at about 5 and 10 miles, and went through one bottle of fluids (Powerade) on the bike. The nutrition and hydration were perfect. T2 0:054 (T2/16) Almost uneventful. As I entered the park, I watched Matt running neck-in-neck down the chute with another racer. I shouted “stay loose” as I passed, slipping my feet out of my shoes and around the corner to the dismount line. (Matt out-leaned the 19 year-old from Virginia Tech at the finish, beating him by .1 second). I entered transition and then, for some reason, became a little disoriented. An age group issue, perhaps. I lost a few seconds finding my spot, but then racked the bike and slipped on socks and my racing flats. I had developed a blister running in Prospect Park in Brooklyn while on work travel. Socks are always important for me. In this sprint, they were even more important. Run 21:12 (6:51 min/mile) 1/16 I felt good but not great on the run. The course isn’t easy, but starts with mainly downhill so you can build into it. I shortened my stride but pushed hard. After the turnaround, it seems you spend most of the time climbing back towards transition. I knew Greg was ahead of me, but I hadn’t seen anyone else, so I was worried. On the way out, I saw Dan Mooney, looking strong as he climbed the hills coming back. Just before the turnaround, I saw Greg. He was about one half of a mile ahead of me. I told him to “kick strong”, hoping I could catch him anyway. I passed a lot of people, including a 65-year-old in the final mile (omg! He was in my swim wave!!), but not Greg. Finish: 1:34:29 (2/16 AG, 34/368 overall) The finish is a slight downhill, overlooking Arrowhead Lake. I crossed the line knowing that I had pushed hard, and knowing that it wasn’t enough. Greg finished over two minutes ahead of me. I ended up second, so I must have passed one 55-59 old fart on the bike that I didn’t notice. The highlight was Matt’s finish, 1st in his AG and 10th overall. He would have won almost every other age group, except 35-39 and 40-44, I think. It’s nice to see him develop into a mature triathlete. Luray is a fun race. Last year, I did the international distance and this year the sprint. I’m going to keep doing it, as long as it works with Matt’s XC schedule. I’m becoming fond of the shorter races too. Ironman takes so much time, and I’m developing the view that the shorter races are not only less selfish for the family but probably healthier. You have to push hard the entire race (unlike an Ironman where you have to loaf in pain for 11 hours) but it’s not as hard on the joints. It’s less selfish in terms of training and travel time, and it’s far less expensive. I may be a slow-twitch-muscle racer and Ironman distance addict, but I think I’ll be doing more sprints like Luray in the future. Luray 2018 is definitely on the schedule.