2023 Miamisburg Triathlon Review

 This was my second time competing in the Miamisburg Triathlon.  Last year was the first time I ever competed in this race.  I learned a lot about how to navigate the course and hoped to utilize that experience to improve on my 2nd place overall finish.   Weather conditions were very favorable with temperatures in the high 60’s with low humidity and low winds.  The solo competitor race field was fairly small with most participants choosing the 2 person team division.  I knew going into the race that the winner from last year would be racing again this year.  He is a stronger biker than I am, but I am a faster paddler and runner.  My strategy was to try to get enough of a lead on him in the kayak and run legs that I might be able to hold him off in the bike leg.

The race started off well for me.  The gun went off and it quickly became a two person race.  I immediately sprinted to the front wanting to send a message that I was there to win.  Last year’s winner chose to stay close behind me drafting off of my wake which was a smart strategy.  At times he moved up close to the side of my kayak but I was able to regain the lead and was first to the kayak / run transition area.  One change I made from last year was to not change out of paddling shoes into running shoes.  Instead for the first time in a race I kayaked in running shoes.  To accomplish this I used my Stellar S18S Multi Sport surfski.  I have a faster longer Stellar SR Multi Sport but the foot board is too narrow for me to paddle it wearing running shoes.  The strategy seemed to work well as I had and extremely fast transition to the run.  The downside to this strategy was running in wet shoes.  It was an issue for about the first half mile but then most of the water had drained out and I was good to go.

My run was a little slower than last year especially the first mile as I caught my breath from the kayak leg.  Each mile I got a little more comfortable and faster.  By middle of the 2nd mile I had built up a decent lead on last year’s winner. Heading into the bike transition area is where I started to have issues and lose time.   At the end of the run I heading into bike transition I asked the security worker which way to enter the transition area.  He pointed me down a shoot leading to the finish line.  As I approached the finish line the timing officials yelled that I went the wrong way into transition.  I had to stop, turnaround and run back down the shoot and to the other transition timing mat area costing me valuable seconds.  Apparently racers entered and exited the transition area in the same place which was a change from last year.  As I left the transition area on my bike I was blocked from entering the street by 2 men not associated with the race out on there own bike ride.  They for some reason stopped on the sidewalk right in front of the transition area blocking it.  This cost me more seconds.  I was finally on my way.  As I headed down the street I heard a group of people yelling “You are going the wrong way!”  Again I was forced to stop and I started to turn around when they began shouting that they were yelling at the to men biking on there own who began to head down the bike trail that was closed for the race.  This delay again cost me more time and now I was getting pretty frustrated.  I don’t have much experience being the overall leader of a race field but I suppose these kind of issues can occur in that situation.

By now I had lost minutes and was trying to crank out the miles as hard as I could.   I was 3.5 miles into the bike ride and hitting 23 miles an hour when just in front of me a green truck driven by an older man  pulled out into traffic turning left.  I slammed on my breaks, my back wheel skidded going sideways and my hands ended up on the side of his truck.  Besides almost killing me, I again lost a lot of time.   Last year’s winner took advantage of my bike course hang ups and at mile 6 he passed me.  I tried to keep up with him but he was much stronger on the bike than I was.  Fearing other faster bikers would also catch me I continued to push hard to the finish.  The winner beat me by just 33 seconds.  I was happy to finish second overall but a little disappointed the race got away from me with the bike issues.  The good news was I beat my time from last year by almost 90 seconds.   When I returned to the finish area it was good to see the race directors had repositioned cones at the run / bike transition so that other participants did not make the same mistake I did of running to the wrong transition area entrance.

The race was well organized by Miamisburg Park And Recreation Department and Speedy-Feet.  Their were lots of volunteers which I always appreciate.  Participants received nice t-shirts and finisher medals.  Post race snacks included fresh bread products from a local bakery, chocolate milk, and Cliff Gel samples.  They only thing I would like to see done differently is for the race to offer awards.  There are no awards presented for overall winner or division winners.  The course is fast and flat and great for beginners looking to get into multi sport racing.  I look forward to doing this race again next year.