August Rewind: Cranberry Sprint 2014

Three weeks ago Eileen and I loaded into the car and headed south for the Cranberry Triathlon Festival in Lakeville, MA. It's a race I've always wanted to do as it gets great reviews, but it's never fit into my schedule before (or better put, I've never fit it into my schedule before now). For years it fell on the same weekend as the Kennebunk races. After that, I spent a few years heading to USAT AG Nationals in late August. And, last year, given the choice between REV 3 in nearby Old Orchard or a trip to Lakeville, I decided to chase my pro card in OOB. With REV3 dropping it's pro fields in '14, the opportunity to earn a pro card was erased. That, in combination with my desire to change up my race calendar, gave me the chance to finally check out Cranberry.

Rather than make the two hour drive ridiculously early (even mores than a normal race where you leave the house at 4:30am), Eileen and I headed for Cape Cod the day before the race. Yes, I realize we passed the race venue on the way, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time with my brother-in-law, Eric, and sister-in-law, Amy. We love seeing with Eric & Amy which made the decision to combine the race with a visit an easy decision.

I headed into race day with my confidence at an all time high. To that point, I'd had the best season of my life and was training at a very high level. I knew I was capable of another great race so long as I didn't force the issue. I wasn't sure whether or not I would win, but I figured I'd have a decent shot even against what I'd heard was going to be some difficult competition.

The rumors of a few fast guys in the field were true and I witnessed that first hand when the gun sounded. Immediately, two guys jumped off the front of the swim and I had no chance of getting on for a ride. They put 25-30 meters into me right away, but the gap sort of stayed there for most of the swim and never really grew after the initial surge. Once things settled, I found myself in that weird position between the leading two and the rest of the field. Things stayed this way until the first turn of the half mile course. As the guys in front veered left and I followed. The course, from shore, sort of looked like a pentagon. It seemed strange as the course was suppose to be a rectangle, but the shape was very clearly marked as a pentagon. I even stopped and took a look at things during warm ups to make sure I hadn't missed something. Turns out, I had...

As we made the turn toward the far end of the course I was struck by the paddle of a lifeguard trying to get across the course in a kayak. I assumed she'd just drifted too far into the course and was trying to get out of the way just as I went through,  but a minute later my evaluation of what had happened at that turn changed. In front of me I saw the two leaders swimming back across the course to the right while we should have been going left. Shit. There had been another buoy creating the advertised rectangular course and the three of us had missed it. Basically, the pond is a figure 8 shape and narrows in the middle. The result is that you couldn't see the final buoy until you were 1/4 mile into the lake. It was impossible to site from the shore. There was nothing I could do then, though, as the damage had already been done. So off I went back toward the actual course. The damage done here would end up having some serious implications by the finish. As I made it back to that hidden buoy, I saw that fourth place had closed the gap. Apparently, from what I was told after the race, the lifeguard was able to correctly redirect that athlete and my little adventure in the wrong direction allowed him back into the race. I wasn't pleased. The lifeguard, though trying to redirect me, had been right in the sight line of the final buoy. Had she been positioned a bit away from the buoy which I was swimming past, I would have been able to see beyond her and to the correct line. She was literally on top of the buoy where we took a wrong turn, giving the implication that we were to turn there. Had I kept swimming straight - in the correct direction - I would have hit her boat. She was completely blocking the line rather than helping make sure we were on it. I get that she was a volunteer and doing her best, but when I put my race director hat on, I can tell you that there were a number of ways that sort of situation could have been avoided. That said, I understand it was 100% my responsibility to know the course and I likely should have just swum the whole thing during the warm up given that I'd noticed it looked different from the advertised maps. Lesson learned.

Out of the water in 3rd with some work to do to get to the front

As we exited the water, I was not pleased to see that I had company just behind me. The mishap on the swim had caused me to blow a 20-30 second gap that I had gained early on. My only hope was that the guy in fourth couldn't ride a bike or run.

Things continued to get weird when the first guy out of the water dropped his cap and goggles at the feet of the two officials on course. I was shocked when he didn't stop to retrieve them. The rules on the abandonment of equipment are clear and I had a strong suspicion that he might end up being hit with a 2 minute penalty. 

Of the two athletes who exited the water before me, only one left transition before I had mounted my bike. For miles I could see the flashing lights of the pace car just ahead. I tried for the first 10 miles to bridge the gap, but I just wasn't making up ground. I didn't seem to be losing much - maybe a handful of seconds - but it became clear that I was going to need to do work on the run in order to win the race outright. Other than my frustration about riding in second place - something I haven't done much of this season - the bike portion was pretty boring. I didn't encounter another athlete the entire way and just did my best to give myself a chance to run for the win.

Charging into T2 in 2nd place

I got out onto the run course quickly, but noticed that as I exited transition I was followed fairly closely buy the guy who'd bridged most of the gap during the swim fiasco. Again, SHIT! 

Over the first 1.5 miles of the run, I simply put my head down and chased hard. I was making serious progress on the leader, but I wasn't sure I could completely reel him in by the finish. Unfortunately, around the halfway point I heard the footsteps of a chaser. Actually, what I really heard was the aid station volunteers cheering for someone else immediately after I exited. It's a sound nobody at the front of a race ever wants to hear. Seriously, at that moment cheering is like a slap in the face. Now, I knew it had taken this athlete almost 2 miles to make up 30 seconds which meant that my hope for a wain wasn't necessarily over. I communicated to him that we'd nearly made up the gap to first and that the leader wasn't a strong runner. For awhile, we ran together. I literally closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and forced myself to embrace the burning pain that comes with this sort of effort. But, it wasn't something I could sustain for a mile and I was dropped with just a few minutes to go. All three of us were entered the finishing straightaway within sight of each other, but by that point the positions were final. Thirty seconds separated first through third by the finish.

While I didn't win, I was pleased with my race (note the personal growth year over year here, people!). I'd put everything I had into the race and was simply beaten by guys who had better days. Sure, I was frustrated by the swim confusion as the guy who finished in front of me surely gained more than 15 seconds when I went off course. Had that not happened, I'm sure the outcome would have been different. However, that's racing and sometimes bad things happen to spoil the party.

Discussing the swim course screw up with the rest of the overall podium

By the time the awards ceremony got underway I had forgotten about the leader abandoning his swim gear at the feet of the official early in the race. As it turns out, the officials were on the ball and did indeed site the first guy across the line with a 2 minute violation for abandoning equipment. That got awkward as clearly he hadn't heard the news until he was called as the third place finisher. Seriously, it was REALLY uncomfortable.  He argued with Mark, the race director (who puts on a number of great races and is very good at what he does). Mark was able to end the conversation relatively quickly by calling for the officials.

Thanks to a penalty, third turned to second...

At this particular race the overall podium is called twice (well, the top 3 overall is called once and the elite podium is called separately, though in this case the two were one in the same). If the first introduction was awkward, I don't even know how to describe the second. Michael Emmons - the now third place finisher - was off to the side pleading with the officials and would not return to the podium when called. That left only two of us to step up, quickly accept our awards, and depart before things got any uglier.

Just let me go home before a fight breaks out over a stupid plaque!

Despite Mr. Emmons' best attempts with the officials, his penalty was upheld. And it should have been. The rule is clear and he violated it. Now, you can make the argument (and he did) that he didn't gain an advantage by making this mistake, but I don't see it so simply. Had he been forced to stop and retrieve the equipment when he dropped it, he and I would most likely have left transition together. That would have been a total game changer and surely would have impacted the outcome in a race that was decided by seconds. The entire race would have played out differently had he followed the rules. Since he didn't, he was penalized. Rules are rules. We all know them going into the race and we risk penalization any time we break them, regardless of whether or not we do so intentionally. The penalty he earned was rare, but deserved. This, of course, isn't to take anything away from Michael; he's a great athlete who happened to make a mistake at an inopportune time.

Second or third, the outcome was really the same. I raced hard and am proud of the effort I put in. As it turns out, Matt Migonis went on to win the M30-34 ITU World Championship and place 4th in the M30-34 Olympic Distance World Championship the following weekend. Those are amazing accomplishments and I'm happy to have gone toe-to-toe with someone with such talent. Michael went on to win the Cranberry Olympic the following day and I'm genuinely happy he was able to capture a win after what was clearly a frustrating moment during the sprint. Both of these guys have a ton of talent; I'm excited to follow their careers and to get the chance to race with them again in the future. 

And, with that, my 2014 triathlon season came to a close. Five of my six races were huge successes and in those events I took home three wins and two seconds. There was a Challenge St. Andrews finish I'd rather not think about in the mix, too, but it was outweighed by all the positives this year. The future is bright and I am excited by the possibilities that lay before me in 2015 and beyond.