Tri-Shark – The Best Little Triathlon in the US (in my opinion)

I really, really like this race. I’m not sure why exactly. Maybe it’s because this race always seems to go off without a hitch. The race director (Colleen Klein) does a great job with this race, as she does with her other race - Evergreen Lake. She knows what it takes to put on a race – she pays close attention to all the details. Not only is it a great race but this race also has the best triathlon website I’ve ever seen (especially the results page) and the food after the race really hits the spot. The fact that registration sells out faster and faster every year speaks for itself.

Packet Pick-up:

Packet pick-up has never been a hassle and I’ve always done it the morning of the race. However, if you prefer to get it over with the day before the race, packet pick-up is open Friday evening (at the race site) between 5:00 and 7:00 pm.

Driving and Parking:

As you approach the race site (traveling east on Rt. 9 anyway) follow the signs. They may be small, but they’re accurate. After you enter the park and after you drive around the south end of the lake (over the dam) you’ll soon see cars parked along both sides of the road. I recommend that you don’t park at this location, unless you arrive extremely early. If you park here, mostly likely you’ll have a fairly long walk to the transition area. Keep driving. Soon you’ll be directed to a grass parking lot close to the transition area. If this lot is full, continue driving, and then you’ll soon see more parking along the road.

Transition Setup:

Make sure everything is set up just the way you want it for a fast swim-to-bike transition and a fast bike-to-run transition. Make sure your bike is in the right gear -- an easy gear. There’s a slight incline where you’ll be mounting your bike so make sure you’re in a gear slightly easier than usual. After setting up your transition area, verify you have everything and it’s set up properly, by imagining yourself running up to your spot (after the swim… and after your bike…) and mentally visualize everything you need to do to get ready for the next leg. This should weed out any problems.

The Swim:

This is a typical lake swim. There’s nothing out of the ordinary (that I can think of anyway) that you need to be aware of. The swim starts on a beach (an in-water start) and it finishes on the same beach. Usually the water temperature is “just right”. The temperature of the water typically hovers around a temperature where you can either wear or not wear a wetsuit and you’ll be comfortable either way. It’s a simple clockwise loop, where you always keep the buoys on your right.

I recommend you get in the water well before your wave start – to warm up. It’s hard to warm-up too much for such a short swim. The vast majority of your warm-up should be easy swimming; with just a few short, hard efforts.

Remember: If you get punched or kicked during the swim, the chances of it being intentional is almost zero, so don’t retaliate. Retaliation won’t help the situation, or teach anyone a lesson.

The Bike:

The bike course is also pretty basic. The course is relatively flat – with a few easy rollers on the east and south sections of the course. There are lots of right-hand turns, maybe 10, and only a few left-hand turns. The strangest thing about this course is a “false flat” along the south side of the loop (after you ridden about ¾ of the loop). Here, you’ll just feel slow. You’ll think you’re running out of gas. Actually, you’re riding uphill, but your surroundings are telling you differently. When this happens, don’t start thinking you’re running out of gas, because you’re not. Just keep your effort consistent and before you know it this feeling will be gone. From start to finish, try to stay in the aero position -- it’s your fastest position. However, don’t worry about staying in the aero position around corners, especially if you’re not comfortable doing so. I’d hate to see anyone crash, trying to save just a few seconds. If it’s wet, take extra time on the corners.

It’s always a good idea to drive around the course before the race (preferably the evening before) looking for loose gravel, potholes, etc.

The Run:

It’s an out-n-back, shady run, with a few easy rollers. Nice course. The only thing deceptive about the run is the “running back” part. After the turn-around and you run back around the lake, you’ll think you have just a few more curves in the road and then you’ll see the finishing stretch. However, it’ll seem like they added a few more curves in the road!!!

I’m looking forward to watching the race.

Race fast. Race smart. Enjoy the pain.

Dave Irion

June 4, 2008 | Permalink