RCVman as critic.
I suppose it was inevitable. I go to a lot of races. I record them to video. I then take the footage and create training DVDs for CompuTrainer as well as trite little event snippets, married with 'borrowed' music, for YouTube and blog entertainment purposes. All fun stuff. However, there is a reason that prior to any Hollywood film you see the "standard movie disclaimer' announcing that the following film is not necessarily the views or opinions of the studio, producers, or anybody who stands to be sued as a result of some first amendment challenged idiot taking offense to the content. Trust me, this sadly happens all too often.
So when I was asked to review, more accurately critique, the events that I cover, I was a little concerned that a "conflict of interest' situation might arise, biting the very hand that feeds. As a former event director, card-carrying member of the media and active race participant for over 15 years, I have perhaps a unique understanding of all that goes on from the time of conception to the first birthday of an event. The immediate image of Dad chain smoking Camel straights in the maternity waiting room nails the anxiety filled life of a first time event director. So many things can go wrong, potentially scarring the little one for life.
Further, I like these guys. I know what they have to go through and the degree of difficulty associated with their jobs. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here blogging for you. Yes, there are massive egos and flat out jerks, but for the most part the people involved with triathlon do it because they love the sport. And that, my dear friends, is a pretty good place to start. So me, calling to light their weakness, failures or oversights, is going to be a rough row to hoe. But I'll give it a go.
And we'll start with yesterdays USAT National Age Group Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
One would expect that the national governing body of triathlon should be able to walk the walk (or swim the swim, bike the bike or run the run), There are now over 125,000 members of USAT with over 3,000 sanctioned events. They can stage one of their own once a year, right?
Right, they can. And did. And do. With the event location changing every two years to add a touch of spice, AKA Super Bowl.
That is not to say that they do it PERFECTLY, however, and here is where we get into an interesting opportunity to examine ourselves and contribute towards our sports improvement.
THE GOOD Tuscaloosa, Alabama. University of Alabama. The Black Warrior River. The Riverwalk. Tim Yount, Charlie Crawford and solid supporting sponsorship.
THE BAD Army Corps of Engineers. Whomever measured the bike and run courses, the inclusion of ITU events after the AG Championships. Bike turnarounds. Mile markers. Wave start timing. AG whiners.
Right from the start of this exercise I want to lay the foundation for what is to follow by saying that I am a firm believer in playing the hand you're dealt. That means on race day. Environmental factors out of our control are not subject to critique, comment, yes, whining no. Not now and not ever. It is not the fault of the RD that it rained, the tech director did not arrange for 20-mph headwinds as you climbed the course and it should be understood that if you are sweating in the 100 degree summer sun, so is the guy ahead of you.
Granted you need to consider these things in the initial course design and have workable backups ready as well as course necessities (ice, water, signs, gels, information) but after than, we, as athletes, are on our own. No outside assistance. You either make it through or DNF. Be prepared.
It had rained hard the week of the race. The Black Warrior River was swollen with brown water that looked as ominous as its name. The (infamous) Army Corps of Engineers decided to open the upstream floodgates the morning of the race causing a current that made the 1500 meter swim seem like 2.4 miles to many. I have no idea if there was a dialogue between USAT and whomever gave the "open the gate" green light, but the fact remained that at race time, the water was movin' pretty fast in the opposite direction. Tough. Swim a little smoother and get your ass upstream.
It appears that both the bike and run courses were short. My Garmin 305 had the bike at 23.89 and we did the two laps pretty much with the group at just under an hour (59:44) with a max speed of 40.9, very legit. There was a perfect spot to extend the mileage and set the distance standard at the first turnaround, where it so happens a moto collided with a cyclist because the turn cones were placed way too narrow, ye ol bottleneck. On this some one could have done a better job.
The run was as beautiful a course as I have seen, along the river path with zero traffic. Yes the sun was hot. The 6.2 miles could have been short as well but I did not measure it. Both the bike and runs were the same distance for everybody. Yes, the governing body should have nailed this, but there was no advantage accrued so I am quite confident that they will do the nailing next year.
I am big on intangibles, those things felt rather than seen. The expo was OK, registration a breeze and info on the race logistics, plentiful. There was a video on the USAT site, sessions with staff and officials and plenty more. If you had a question, you could find someone who had an answer.
I am not a fan of wave starts. I like the big bang. More for clarity at the finish I suppose than any other reason. The first person back, wins. With wave starts and especially the way that USAT overkills in the attempt to break up bike packs, is annoying, confusing and boring. They even create a 30 minute break BETWEEN the waves. Talk about nullifying drama at the finish line.
The finish area, transitions and course were all superb. Good food, nice awards, music, and a sanitary, efficient bike pen. For once there were enough porta potties. Lotsa cops and smiling volunteers helped. The media was notably nonplussed, however as it was me and Endurance Films. No big guns.
This venue is as perfect for multi-sport racing as they get. The Birmingham airport is an hour away, there are plenty of cheap motels and a Krispy Kreme was open at 0500 race day morning. The day was ideal. The object is to have outdoor, recreational, wholesome fun. If that means winning your age group, that is fine. Tuscaloosa is a cheap date compared to the high maintenance events I recently shot in New York, Calgary, and yes even Everett, Washington. As I sit and blog in the Houston airport waiting for my connecting flight home (and I have issues, Continental, being a former shortstop, boarding at Gate E6), I think of how lucky we are to be able to do all this.
We have only one more year here and then it's on to a new venue, a new start. In a sport logistically as demanding as ours is it asking too much to get it right the first time?
THE GRADE Because I believe that the correct answer to the above is no, the first RCVman course review grades out this effort at 90% of max, good for an A-.
Please tell me if you disagree. And no whining.
USAT's Tim Yount, 19 years is nothing to cough about.
In the Black Warrior with 10 seconds to go.
RCVman ran his first triathlon while working in the MWR department of the DoD in the Indian Ocean. He has been event director for over 500 events and since 1999 has been combining his passions for triathlon and film onto video. Currently he produces the popular Real Course Video line for CompuTrainer. You can follow his travel and work at RCVman.blogspot.com
