Beach 2 Battleship

Yes, I am a little slow in posting this.  Day late and dollar short - that's me.  Anyway, I did want to give a review of the Beach 2 Battleship iron distance race on November 7th and give congratulations to all who competed, especially those that did their first iron distance race.

The day dawned COLD as...  Let's just say it was cold.  The race starts with a brisk swim in the Intracoastal Waterway.  The iron distance event (there is also a half iron distance race that starts about an hour later) starts at the South end of Wrightsville Beach, just past the Coast Guard Station.  The air was cold enough that the 67 degree water felt good and believe it or not, some people were nuts enough to go without wetsuits!  Can you spell hypothermia boys and girls?  

Anyway, the swim is with the tide and is FAST.  I did the swim and was amazed how quickly Harbor Island zipped by!  A new record was set this year (0:39:49 for 2.4 miles) by Todd Pletcher, beating Matt Wisthoff's record by 10 seconds.  

The swim ends at the Seapath Yacht Club (just like the Wilmington YMCA Triathlon) with the first transition area across the street in the field near the WB municipal buildings.  

     

Dale Lamb Doing a Great Job Representing the WFD

The bike course leaves Wrightsville Beach and heads out I-140, up 210, down 41, and finally  back to Wilmington on Hwy 421.  Reports were a tailwind right up to the point you headed home on 421, when you encountered about 40 miles of headwind.  I rode up 421 for 30 miles +/- cheering people on (yes, I was the guy going the wrong way) and stopping to offer a tube, a CO2, or anything else I might have to anyone that might need something.  When I finally turned around to head back to Wilmington, I was glad I didn't have the extra 50 miles on my legs that the competitors did.  That headwind made itself known pretty quickly and you were in it right up to the point you reached the Battleship.      

DJ Spricigo Proving That Manual Labor Counts as a Taper

Ahh, the run.  That wonderful part of the race we all look forward to.  The B2B run course was revised this year to only tie up one of the bridges into Wilmington.  Runners leave the 2nd transition area at the Battleship and head up 421 to the Elizabeth Holmes Bridge and into Wilmington.  The run fairly closely mimics the first half of the Battleship NC 1/2 Marathon (see previous post), but has a turn around halfway around Greenfield Lake.  This loop is done twice to get the required 26.2 miles.  

Famous for Dominating His Age Group in a Run Earlier This Summer, Mike Jones Attacks the B2B Course

It is always interesting for me to see the changes that take place over the run in an iron distance race.  Some people make it halfway through and look like the walking dead.  Others look great only to be forced to dig deep within themselves as the final miles unfold.  Meanwhile, there are always those that look fine all the way through.  I was really impressed to see my friends and training partners falling into the last category.  You guys may have felt like collapsing, but you did a great job putting your game face on.

Brian Moxey Knowing He Has Another "Uncrustable" in His Special Needs Bag

Again, congratulations to all the finishers and especially to the first timers out there:

John Holbrook

Mike Jones

Dale Lamb

Brian Moxey

DJ Spricigo

Sorry if I missed anyone, it was not intentional.

John Holbrook Proving He's Not A Crook

A big congratulations also goes to John Holbrook for not only completing his first iron distance race, but doing it in 10:25:46 - placing 3rd in men 45-49.  Great job John!