S: 9,250 yds - 2hr 9min
B: 57.20 mi - 3hr 8min
R: 22.06mi - 2hr 49min
Total: 8hr 5min
I've raced the Buster Britton Triathlon every year since 2008, and this year was no different. Oak Mountain State Park is about 15-20 minutes from my house, so it really is hard to turn down a sprint race in my own backyard, allowing me to sleep in my own bed the night before! Local races are also cool because everyone usually does them, so it's great to see tons of friends at the race site!
Anyone from Birmingham knows that Oak Mountain is pretty hilly. The 13 mile bike course is either uphill or downhill, with essentially no flat sections. Almost 800 ft of climbing in 13 miles may not seem like much, but there are several steeper sections (by triathlon race standards) that can really slow you down. The 3 mile run course is also pretty brutal, climbing 300 ft over the distance.
Now, let's look back at my history at Buster Britton. The last 6 years of this race have brought plenty of memories, both good and bad. 2008 - 2010 were my "learning years". I made some big time gains from 2008 to 2009. I can remember 2010 being one of the most awful races ever. 2010 was a brutal hot summer in Alabama, and I had just been sick the week before the race so I absolutely blew it. Learning years = high variability in execution.
Buster 2011 was my first ever overall win in a triathlon, barely edging local stud David Meadows by 7 seconds for the victory. I'll never forget that day. Buster 2012 was one of those bad memories. Going head to head with Aaron Ainsworth always brings out the best in you. I had a great race and unoffficially took 2nd place until I found out at the awards ceremony that I had been hit with a 2 minute position penalty on the bike. I was at the front of the race during the bike but was told that I got a position foul for not staying in the right hand 1/3 of the lane. I still disagree with this call. To add on to the bad news from this race, I had already found out that one of my best friends, who was participating in the race, lost control on a 40mph descent and slid into an oncoming car. He suffered some serious injuries but has since recovered. Still, note the steady improvement of times over the years with the exception of 2010 and the penalty in 2012. Consistency, time, steady, plan, improvement, and process are all words that come to mind here.
Year Place Time
2008 61 1:12:20
2009 23 1:03:21
2010 24 1:07:22
2011 1 59:45
2012 9 1:01:29 (59:29 for 2nd , then got a 2:00 penalty)
2013 4 58:11
And now, for 2013. After checking the participant list early in the week, I was pretty sure the race would come down to 5 people (Seth, Hunter, Jeffrey, Ben, and I). I figured that Seth Rider and Hunter Honeycutt (SE Junior Team) would be tough to beat. I raced against Seth twice at Memphis in May this year and he tore it up. For a 16 year old the dude is quick, going 1:59:06 for 2nd overall in the olympic distance there. Hunter Honeycutt (from my memory) would probably lay down a 16min 5k. Both of these guys are stud swimmers as well. I've raced and trained with Jeffrey Shelley enough over the last 3 years to respect his talent. It's rare that we race each other with a margin of more than 30 seconds. Ben Reynolds barely edged me this past April by a mere 10 seconds over a 2hr race, so I knew he would be bringing his A game. On race morning I ran into Bruce Gennari in the parking lot...I had not seen his name on the participant list. Anyone that races tri in the southeast knows Bruce, and you can obviously never take him for granted. All that being said, I knew that this race would allow for zero mistakes. The high school kids would likely put time on me in the swim, so I figured my best chance was to bike hard and hold on for dear life.
Swim - 5:55 (22nd)
The swim was advertised as 400 yd but was probably closer to 450. I was the 15th racer to go off in the time trail start. The USAT Southeast Junior High Performance Team was in full force at this race and I was stuck in the middle of them. Most of these kids swim year round and could probably swim circles around me so my plan was to just try and grab as many feet as possible. The swim went well and a hair under 6 minutes later I was running up to transition.
T1 - 1:29 (18th)
Smooth and quick, no mistakes here. Every second counts.
Bike - 32:40 (4th)
The bike is where I knew this race had to be won, so my plan was to be aggressive. The first mile of the race is flat/downhill before turning on the main road so I used that section to let my heart settle down a little bit. After hitting the main road I started to hammer. By the halfway point I had passed a handful of the junior guys and saw that only Bruce, Seth, and Hunter were in front of me. I could see Seth off the front with a decent gap. On the return trip I focused on maintaining power and reeling in Bruce and Hunter. I passed Bruce with mile to go and then passed Hunter about a quarter mile from transition.
 |
| first race on the new machine! |
T2 - 0:22 (6th)
No mistakes here either...just a quick in and out.
Run - 17:47 (10th)
The first quarter mile of the run is uphill, which really sucks. It makes it even harder to find your rhythm and get your leg turnover up. Hunter quickly passed me and went on to run 16:14. I struggled up the hill and was worried that I might have blown myself up. But as we crested the hill and turned downhill, I found my legs. Mile 1 went by and I was hurting bad but still maintaining pace pretty well. Mile 2 was more of the same and I saw that my gap on Jeffrey Shelley was less than desirable. He started 11 numbers behind me (30-40 sec) and was too close for comfort. The last mile gives you a nice little downhill and I sprinted it in, knowing that the time gaps would be close.
Total - 58:11 (4th overall)
After they posted results I saw that Jeffrey edged me by 23 seconds, with Seth and Hunter taking the top 2 spots. It always stings a little bit to narrowly miss the overall podium, but I was 100% sure that I went as hard as I could and left it all out on the course. Some days you just have to tip your hat to the better athlete, and this was one of those days. But today had plenty of positives; it was my fastest run and fastest time ever at Buster Britton, and I did get a pretty nice swag bag for 1st in the age group. Buster Britton is always a fun race, no matter what!
 |
| post race Vulcan Tri club group photo! |
