My First Multisport Win at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon

Sunday I raced the Greater Cleveland Olympic Triathlon at Mentor Headlands. This race is literally in my backyard and the race director Mickey is a friend so it makes sense to race it. After another hard week of marathon/ironman training last week I was not sure how things would turn out. I just knew that I would give it my best effort. I had been practicing OWS swims at Headlands for a few weeks as well as riding the bike course so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect Sunday.

Steve was racing too so we got up around 5:30, which is late for a triathlon but with it being so close we could sleep in. After getting dressed in my new SL3 Triathlon kit we ate a couple bowls of cereal, loaded up the car and we were off to Headlands Beach. I was in an especially chipper mood singing along to some tunes on the radio and about 10 minutes later we were parking. After entering the transition area we learned that the swim was cancelled due to poor water quality and potentially unsafe waves. I was disappointed like many other triathletes because I was ready to tackle that swim and besides who wants to sprint a 5K before the bike and then again after the bike?! Ouch! Duathlon hurts. I give them a lot of credit for killing their legs like that!

Prerace

I was able to rack with Steve and some of our friends and we knew lots of people racing so it was fun to catch up with everyone before and after the race. After setting up transition with just my bike stuff it was time for the prerace meeting and then my wave was first to start run #1.We would be doing a 5K run, 24 mile bike and a second 5K run for the olympic distance.

Run # 1 - 5K - 20:58 - (6:46 pace)

I lined up near the front with the guys and did not really know many people in my wave so I just tried to stay loose and go hard but not all out for the first 5K. I was first woman into T1 with a time of 20:58 (6:46 pace) although I think the course was a little short. I saw my husband in transition as I was leaving he was coming in but it was nice to be able to say hi.

Bike - 24 Miles - 1:12:31 (19.9mph)

on the bike!

Leaving the park I just tried to hammer the first part of the bike on 44 knowing the first 3-5 miles were pretty flat. I felt good. There are a couple of climbs on Heisley but other than that it's pretty flat and fast. Jackson was just bumpy and then Hopkins has a long gradual climb before crossing over to Chillicothe. Chillicothe is fast and there's a downhill with a very sharp left turn at the bottom so I had to slow down there taking the turn onto Baldwin Rd. Baldwin is pretty fast and scenic. From there we went left onto Hart Rd which has a nice climb coming up to Little Mountain. It flattens out for a minute and then there is a long, crushing climb up Little Mountain to Morley. I made sure to take in some nutrition here and really took advantage of the downhill on Morley Rd. Much of Morley is downhill and then there are a couple of rollers at the end as you cross over 44 to Newell Rd. The course then is very flat but bumpy and has some bad train tracks. From there we took Blackbrook up to 44. This was all very flat and windy. I started laboring a little but knew the bike was almost done. Another female Pam Semanik who was racing in the duathlon division passed me on 44. She is a great cyclist so I just made myself stay close to her. We came into transition at the same time but I knew she had started a few minutes after me.

Run #2 - 5K - 22:28 (7:15 pace)

Pam and I started the run together and she looked strong. I was not able to pass her until the very end. Even then it didn't matter since we were in different races. I was just happy to have someone pushing me for those last miles.

Finish & Post Race 

winner winner chicken dinner!

I ended up finishing in 1:58:01, good for the win in the "triathlon" olympic division. The next closest female was 2:08:39 so even with my swim not being my strongest I still would have had the win most likely. After 5 years in multisport it was nice to add a win to my list of accomplishments. I can see that the hard work I have put in this year and last have paid off.

Steve ended up coming in 8th male and 3rd in his age group with some tough competition from Nate Loman and Mark Durno. After the race awards we headed over to Winking Lizard Mentor for post race food and beverages. It was a fun day and I definitely pushed myself. I am looking forward to racing more short tris next season but this was my last one now until Beach 2 Battleship 140.6, which will be a long one. I do have another 5K, The Rock Hall half marathon and then the Erie Marathon before that so I will be focused on running and long rides and swims for the rest of the season.

Closing Thoughts

Special thanks to Powerbar for fueling countless workouts and races this season and to Cleveland Triathlon Club for some terrific training opportunities this season including the inaugural Emeraldman! I am lucky to be part of such a terrific local tri community!