2012 Gary Kirby Triathlon Race Report

The 7th annual Gary Kirby Triathlon was held on Saturday. I competed in this event last year and was looking forward to this year's event. We had great weather conditions with the temp in the low 60's and cloudy.

Arrived at the race site early and proceeded to setup my transition. My friend Dan arrived at about the same time to setup his transition area, so it was good to have someone to talk to. Once transition was setup, headed over to get my timing chip and then body marking. I was competitor number 38. That was unique for me as that is also my age. In triathlons, your competitor number is written in black permanent marker on your upper arms and quads. Then on your right calf they write your age. So I was a walking billboard for 38!

Headed to the pool area at 7:40 am for the opening announcement from Scott Kirby. This race is a great event for your first triathlon as evident with approximately 30% of the participants being first-timers. Scott closed the announcements with a prayer and it was time to line up for the start.

With the temps in the 60's it was a little chilly. All of us were commenting about how we wanted to get started just so we could get the blood flowing and warm up.  I hopped into the pool to get used to the water temp. Dan was starting 3 minutes before me so gave him some encouragement as he started.  At 8:09:15 am, it was time to start as I hear 3..2...1...go! Throughout the swim I felt pretty good, quickly getting into a decent rhythm.  In a pool swim for a triathlon, everyone starts 15 seconds apart.  You never know with this around you if you will have that gap of 15 seconds.  Fortunately the gap between the guy in front of me and behind me stayed the same. This made for a good swim by not feeling any added pressure. Overall swim time time was 5:54 (this includes a 20-25 second run from the pool until crossing the timing mat).  Improved my time by 8 seconds compared to the 6:02 in the 2011 race.

On my way to T1, I heard Dan's wife and daughter cheering for me as well as my friends from the local Chick-fil-a (Katherine, Lindsey and Brandon). Thanks for the support guys. A routine T1 in getting my socks, cycling shoes and helmet on with a 1:00 time and off onto the bike course I went.

The bike course is, in one word, fun! It is 4-laps with each lap being 3 miles. The first part of the lap includes a steady climb and then you hit the downhill section where you can put the hammer down. There are some traffic circles to navigate on the course, which adds to the fun. My goal coming into the race was to improve my bike split from 2011 which was 41:29. I successfully accomplished that goal with a 39:48 split for the 12 miles.  There is also great crowd support on the loop with many residents coming out to cheer you on.  Great to see the support from the community.

T2 was also routine with a 1:03. Changed into my Second Wind shirt, running shoes, grabbed my visor and race bib and I was off.

As with the bike, my goal coming into the race was to improve my run split over 2011 which was 29:58. On the run I felt pretty good. I was keeping a consistent pace throughout and improved my time this year with a 27:31 for the 5K. That is a new PR for my 5K time.

Coming to the finish line area I saw Dan and gave him a high-5 as I passed. He had already finished about 10 minutes ahead of me.

Crossed the finish line with a total time of 1:15:14. That was a 3 minute 57 seconds improvement over my 2011 time of 1:19:11. For my age group, I finished 15 out of 22 and for the over males I was 57 out of 100.

Overall the Gary Kirby Triathlon is a great event. I would recommend this race to anyone and look forward to the 8th annual race in 2013.

Transition

Ready for the Gary Kirby Triathlon

I am looking forward to the 2012 Gary Kirby Triathlon on Saturday. This was a great event last year and I knew I wanted to race it again this year. This race benefits cancer research in honor of Gary Kirby who passed away in 2006.

The race format is a 300 yard outdoor pool swim followed by a 4-lap bike course (12 miles) and then a 3.1 run through the Bedford Falls neighborhood.

I love how on the competitor shirt they have 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 listed which says "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". Prior to the start of the race, the Kirby family gathers all of the competitors at poolside and tells about Gary and then opens the race with a word of prayer. A time to reflect on what Gary means to the event and to also allow God into your heart. What an amazing way to start the race.

This year I am looking to improve on last Year's time of 1:19:11. Regardless, I am going to enjoy the day and give all the glory to God.

Gary Kirby Triathlon

On Saturday was the 6th annual Gary Kirby Triathlon. What a perfect weather day God blessed us with for this event. Earlier in the week temps were in the mid 90's with high humidity. Saturday started out with a little coolness in the air an low humidity. Perfect conditions for the race.



Arrived to the race site early in order to get the transition area setup. Pretty cool to see all of the different bikes that every has. From one extreme to the other with all types of colors.

I setup my transition sporting an NC State University towel and my Running of the Ears (ROTE) visor. After getting transition setup it was time to get our timing chip and body marking. I was # 49 and the person who wrote the numbers apparently wanted to make sure everyone knew my number....they were huge. No one would have any problem seeing what number I was on the course.

Transition are setup.

At this point the excitement was building. A pre-race meeting was held poolside for last minute announcements. The meeting ended with a word of prayer and it was time to line up for the start. While standing in line you could see the nervousness, excitement and anxiousness of the athletes (including me). This was at an outdoor pool and the sun was shinning down on the pool in glorious fashion. At 8:00 am the first swimmer started. My start time was 8:12 am.



3...2...1...Go!



I was feeling a little sluggish in the swim after the first 100. Not sure why, but just battled through it to the finish. Overall swim time was 6:08. That included probably 20-25 seconds from exiting the pool until crossing the timing mat.

Great photo my wife took of me.

Heading to T1

In T1 I got my sunglasses, helmet, socks and shoes on and it was time to attack the bike course. The bike course was 4- laps consisting of 3 miles each lap. I was wondering as more and more athletes got on the course if it might get congested, but that was not a problem. The course was all throughout a subdivision with several traffic circles to navigate. I used the first lap to get a feel for the course since it was new to me and get an idea for shifting. There was a stretch in the last mile of the loop that was downhill and that was a blast to ride. Throughout the course there was great crowd support cheering every athlete on.

On the bike course.

As I came back to transition for T2 and dismounted the bike, I about dropped my bike running with it. I let go with one hand and the bike drifted out from me. One of the pedals cut the back of my right calf in that process. Overall time on the bike was 41:29 for the 12 miles. Average of 17.5 mph which is about 2 mph faster than my training rides. I was really pleased with the ride.

Cut on the back of my leg from pedal at T2

Read for the run!

Once back at the rack in T2, I just needed to grab my race number and visor and I was off for the run. Felt pretty good in the first part of the run. I was at a 8:30 pace, which was too quick for me. I slowed the pace some in order to make it to the finish. Part of the course was sharing the bike course. Plenty of room and actually pretty cool to see the other bikes while running.

On the run course

As I made my way towards the finish, with about 0.6 miles left in the run I got my second wind.  Great feeling when you get that second wind as this carried me to the finish and as the organizer of the event (FS Series), says in their name....I was able to Finish Strong. My run time was 29:58 for the 5K.

Finished

Overall time for the triathlon was 1:19:11. I was 75th overall for males and in the Clydesdale category I finished 6th out of 14. 

This was a great event and well run. FS Series put on a great race. I would like to thank the Kirby family for their hospitality.