This Sunday I will toe the line for my last Triathlon of the 2013 season. I'm always a little sad when the final race comes around. I will have plenty of running races to occupy my time until the 2014 triathlon season starts, but it's still a little bitter-sweet.
This will be my first time racing the Susan Bradley-Cox Tri for Sight. The race is in Lexington, which is the main reason that it hasn't made it on my race schedule before now. In previous years, the race was a Sprint/Olympic hybrid, consisting of an 800 meter swim, 19+ mile bike ride and a 4 mile run. This year, they've changed the course to make it a true Sprint Distance race (400m swim, 13 mile bike, 5K run).
The race has a unique name and history. All proceeds go to eye research at the University of Kentucky and the race is named after the most decorated triathlete every to come from the state of Kentucky. You can check out Susan Bradley-Cox's profile here.
I have to admit, I'm very impressed with how organized this race is. I haven't even been to the venue yet and I can already tell that there will be no issues with coordination or organization. I've recieved several emails from the race director this past week and they have even posted a list of participants online with everyone's bib number and age group/category. This is great info to have prior to race morning.
The race starts 7:30, but I have to be there pretty early to pick up my packet (between 5:30 and 6:00). I like getting to races early, but seeing how this race is a little over an hour from my house, it's going to be an early wake-up call!
So I obviously want to finish the season on a high note and do well in this race. Ultimately, my goal is to finish first or second in my Age Group. There are 27 athletes that have registered in the Male, age 35-39 category. Since the race is in Lexington, I don't recognize any of the names, so I'm not sure what the competition will be like. But it does appear that 3 of the top 4 finishers in the Age Group from last year are racing again, so it's going to take a strong race on my part to crack the top two.
For most people, doing a Sprint distance race three weeks after an Ironman might seem sort of crazy. That would be true if my Ironman training had been traditional - consisting of lots of long, slow rides and runs. But since I did high-intensity, low-volume training instead, my legs are already used to the speed work. That being said, there's definitely going to be some pain involved in this one...I think Sprints are very demanding if they are done right. We'll just see what my mind and body have left after a long season of racing!
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