Triple T Ohio - 4 Triathlons in 3 days

This is not your typical event.  This is a weekend consumed by triathlon.  Each day is a physical and mental challenge to keep you moving.  Over 3 days, the body will have raced longer than an Ironman distance.  However, the race is broken up into “manageable” distances. 

Here is a recap from my perspective.

Day 1 – Super Sprint Triathlon (SST) :Swim – 250m, Bike – 6K, Run – 1.6K

Start time was 5pm on Friday, this was to ensure everyone driving to the event had time to check into their motel/cabin or tents.   I’ve never done a SST so I was pumped to give it a shot!  At just over 20mins in length, this was a great way to kick off the weekend! 

The course was not built for speed however.  The swim was a muddy beach start with swimmers let off at 3-5s intervals much like Ironman Louisville, KY.  The bike had a 1Km climb with sections of 6-15% gradient and the run course was an out and back over a wet grassy section.  Add in 450 participants and you’ve got one giant mess!

For me, this was all about getting the legs stretched out.  Driving 13 hours from Ottawa, I was just happy to be not sitting in a car!  I went out hard but having talked to some previous racers; this was the least important race.  If you’ve never done a SST though, I recommend giving it a shot.  Its a true shock to the system.

Day 2 – Olympic Race 1 (OR1): Swim – 1500m, Bike – 40K, Run – 10.5K

Olympic Race 2 (OR2): Bike – 40K, Swim – 1500m, Run – 10.5K

Yes this was going to be an interesting day.  After a huge lightning storm the night before, so intense it set my car alarm off, we found out that the mornings original bike course had to be closed because of depris.  So both OR1 and OR2 had the same bike course.

Start time for OR1 was at 7:30am.  With the nights rain, the water level has risen by a few feet and was also a balmy 60 degrees F.  It was the same format as the SST, swimmers started 3-5s apart based on seeding times (these were submitted prior to the event on your predicted total finish time of the TTT).  It was a two loop course which for the most part, is very relaxed due to the slow enterance of all the athletes.

The bike was daunting, a triathletes worst nightmare: big hills.  After leaving transition its almost an 8K climb before you can seriously go aero.  Then, you descend another 6K to a flat section of road to the turn around where you get to do the course in reverse.  On the website is says bring your climbing gears: if your not a mountain goat, consider riding with a compact crank.  There are some steep grades but for the most part it’s just a grindfest.  Knowing that I had to do this again in less than 8 hours made me reserve a bit.  But for the most part everyone was giving it full gas.

This run course should get an award alone.  After leaving transition the race begins to climb up and up and up.  Its literally 5K up and 5K down all on trail.  Having previewed the course before the race, I knew what I was getting myself into.  Thankfully, I like hills and like trails running even more!

My goal for OR1 and OR2 runs were just to run a hard steady tempo; don’t blow up and keep the effort consistent.  Looking at the previous results, so many people blew up on Sunday.  Reserving  energy was going to be crucial to getting through the weekend.

Upon finishing OR1 it was time to fuel up.  My goal was to eat roughly 1600 calories before starting OR2.  I had a mix of solid and liquid foods at my disposal and went about consuming them slowly as I rested.

When 3pm came around, the start of OR2, the electric energy that had been there in the morning was turning into a dimming light bulb.  Instead of jumping in the water the race had us start on our bikes in the same format as OR1 swim.  The race quickly separated as the better cyclists got to show their cards.

One cool element of the TTT is they have a team challenge as a part of the weekend.  Teams of 2 (men, women or Coed) can compete together with the total time of their races added together.  The top 3 teams get prizes at the end.  In the SS1 and OR1 the athletes have to compete separate but in OR2 and  the half, they are allowed to draft off each other.  They must also finish together so blowing your teamup will only hinder your time!

Having done the same ride in the morning everyone knew what was coming; lots of climbing!  I managed to shave a couple of mins off the morning time as I entered T1.  Instead of running shoes it was into the water for a 1500m swim!  If you’ve ever tried to get into a wetsuit when your sweaty, let me tell you it’s tough!  Make sure to bring plastic bags for your feet as it makes it easier to slide the suit on.

For me the swim went well.  Some people had a tough time adapting to the cold water temperatures where their legs literally locked up.  There were only a few people in the water as I got in but the numbers slowly grew as I made my way around the 2 loop course.

Again, it was back to the hill for another 10.5K bashing.  I kept with my tempo and realized that I was starting to feel better as these events went on.  It also helped that I was passing a lot more people as the effects of todays events were really beginning to show.

After finishing, it was again back to eating, stetching and relaxing.  My body had a hard time shutting off as I didn’t get to sleep till late.  Racing and traveling was beginning to take its toll.  At 5am when my alarm went off I felt like I had been hit by a bus.  Just 2 hours before the last event: the Hardenst half ironman distance on the planet!

I can’t tell you how important it is to keep eating throughout the weekend.  Instead of my usual light breakfast I had to add in a lot more fuel.  My body was preparing me for what was to come!

It didn’t come as a surprise that people were late getting into transition.  The race got off about 15-20mins late as people slowly sauntered in; “the death march” as the TTT people call it.  Just before jumping into the water I had a quick look at the results, the first time I had looked at them all weekend.  To my surprise, I sat in 5th spot for the top solo!  This gave me a good boost which lasted until about  the first buoy!

What makes this the toughest half distance?  That would have to be the 3200 ft of climbing on the bike and then following it up with running two loops of the 5K up and 5K down course.  Also, having done arguably a half iron distance the day before; you get why this is tough.

The bike course was different from OR1 and OR2.  It had much more ups and downs on tight narrow roads.  If you like a challenging technical course, this would be it. 

Pedal, pedal, pedal.  Eat, drink, eat, drink.  My goal was to go under 3 hours for the bike and I completed it.  In most 90K training rides I would be disappointed in a 3 hour time, however I was just happy to be done!

Out on the run is where the carnage began to add up.  The Ironman shuffle was in full effect.  Guys/gals that had beautiful strides just 24hours earlier were now walking.  It paid to stick to my strategy as I made my way to 4th by the end of the half.  Upon finishing I was also given the pleasant surprise of finishing in 3rd overall!  A great bonus on an awesome weekend of training!

Thanks for reading, I’m off to have a nap!

The race location is just outside Portsmouth, Ohio which has some local chain motels with not much else.  Most people stayed at the many camp sites or cabins located near the venue.   These book up early so if you’d like to give this race a try, put a reservation in early!