Sal's

Running, Biking, Swimming, Triathlons, Snowshoeing: what's next? Sal's kicks butt.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Tupper Lake Triathlon

The weather looks delightful for Saturday's sprint triathlon at Tupper Lake, NY, located deep in the Adirondack Mountains. Jan will be spectating due to a large boot holding her Achilles tendon secure, but Mike, Eileen and myself are competing in the race.
The sprint is actually more of an afterthought on this day, as the 1/2 IM distance is the star of the day. Typically 100 people do the sprint distance, .6m swim (or .5 depending on what you read), 18.6m bike (including a few rolling hills and climb up Mt. Arab) and a 6.6m run (or 6.2, depending on what you read again). Usually 400+ competitors are in the 1/2 IM.
The sprint is a mass start (though 100 isn't much of a mass nowadays), beginning at 8am. It will be nice to see where my main competition is throughout the race (Eileen and Mike).
I think these sprint distances favor a runner assuming you can come off the bike feeling peppy. Typically a sprint triathlon with an 800-1000 yard swim would be more likely to have 3.1 to 4 mile run.

Ten reasons to like competing in the Adirondacks;
1. Our motel is right next to the transition area. I mean hop a small fence and my bike is maybe 50 yards from my room!
2. Obviously this means no waiting for a port-a-john, I can use my own motel room!
3. The Adirondacks are beautiful anytime of the year.
4. I beat Mike a couple of years ago in the Tupper Lake 1/2IM. Oh, so he had a flat tire and drank hot Gatorade from a water stop and felt queasy. It's not my fault he has a sensitive stomach. A win is a win. Maybe I can make this a two-peat. I certainly can't beat him in a running only event anymore.
5. The Tinman events are relatively small. I almost finished the Disney 1/2 IM a few years ago, there were 2,000 people in the race. We were crunched in so tight in transition it was ridiculous. I don't need or want the big crowd.
6. Tinman will be a spectator friendly event for Jan.
7. An Irish pub opened recently in the village of Tupper Lake. I think that sounds like an after-race possibility for dinner?
8. It's always nice to ride a bike on roads when we are the main attraction instead of automobiles.
9. There are only two hills on the run course. Sure, they are more like mountains and one feels like a mile long, but still there's only two.
10. Did I mention this is the weekend someone close to me turns 55?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

good luck to all. Lou