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White Lake Sprint Race Report:

May 4, 2008

White Lake, North Carolina

750 meter swim/ 14mile bike/ 3mile run

The White Lake, North Carolina race weekend is one of the most popular race weekends in the NCTS series. Set-up does a Half-Ironman on Saturday and a Sprint on Sunday. Each day they have a full field at almost 900 participants strong each day.

The morning of the Sprint was perfect for race conditions. The wind was almost non-existent from the passing rain showers that pushed through in the middle of the night. The sun popped out of the clouds right as the first wave of the swim went off. One of the reasons this race is so popular is the water conditions at White Lake. The water is extremely clear and clean. The majority of the swim you can literally see the bottom of the lake. The water is typically very calm. Much of the field are triathlon first timers that want to get in a race with a lake swim that is not too intimidating.

I was in the third wave and as typical to my strategy, I start off on the left of the pack. The swim was smooth, from every aspect. I paced myself well, the water was very easy to swim in, and I was able to get in the lead pack for most of the swim to avoid being climbed onto by some of the newer open water swimmers. The exit of the swim you have to climb out of a wooden ladder onto a pier and then run several hundred yards up to the transition area. I stripped my wetsuit, clicked my helmet on and took off. I already had my shoes in my pedals and my transition time was fast and controlled.

The bike is two loops around the lake to total 14 miles. The course is as flat as a pancake, maybe flatter. You can get in a large gear and push the pedals the entire time. The course only has three turns and not a hill to speak of. Once the bike started, the wind had picked up just enough to get the flags flying but it made only one segment with a headwind that was about 1.5 miles long. I tried to make up as much time on the bike considering that I knew I wasn’t going to have a fast run considering my left leg injury.

I got out of my shoes before the dismount line and took off down the long transition line of bikes to get on my running shoes and out of the other side to the run course.

The sun was out in full force by the run time. The 3 mile course weaves through a neighborhood that borders the lake. I went as fast as my leg would allow but each step of my left leg felt like a hammer hitting my shin. Once I hit the turnaround point to head back I had a pack of almost 15 chasing from behind me. I ran as fast as I could without having my left collapse beneath me to the end. Fortunately, only two from the pack caught me by the end of the race.