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2002 Race results
Race name Series Date Location Distance(s) Place
Seagull Six Road Race 4/7
Woods Hole, MA
5.8
5
Wrentham Duathlon FIRM 4/28 Wrentham, MA 3-11-2
17*
US Coast Guard Duathlon FIRM 5/25 Otis Air Force Base 2-12-2
2
Weary Traveller's Road Race 10K 6/2 Pocasset, MA 6.2
2
Hyannis Spring Triathlon NETT 6/7 Craigville Beach 0.25-12-3.5
2
Ashland Metrowest Triathlon FIRM 6/16 Ashland, Mass. 1.2-25-6.2
1
Chatham Harbor Run 10K 6/23 Chatham Bars Inn 6.2
4
Fairlee Great Triathlon NETT 7/7 Fairlee, VT 0.5-28-5
3
Old Colony Triathlon FIRM 7/14 Middleboro, MA 0.5-12-4
1
Falmouth Sprint Triathlon NETT 7/27 Falmouth, MA 0.25-8-3.1
1
Kennebunk Fire Commission Triathlon** FIRM 8/11 Kennebunk, ME 0.25-17-3
1
Timberman Half-Ironman Triathlon 8/17 Guilford, MH 1.2-56-13.1
7
Cranberry Country Triathlon 8/25 Lakeville, MA 0.8-25-6.2
1
Maine Sports Triathlon 9/1 Camden, ME 0.3-26-6.5
50*
Run for Self Reliance 10K 9/21 Waquoit, MA 6.2
2
Cape Cod Marathon (just for fun in 3:04:14) 10/27 Falmouth, MA 26.2
56
* This season's only troublesome injury was a dislocated rib that made it painful and sometimes impossible to breathe deeply. Lucky for me I have a good chiropractor for a sponsor. The problem was solved as soon as it was diagnosed, but not before it affected several of my races. In April it knocked me out of 4th place at the Wrentham Duathlon. At the time I suspected a muscle tear. It happened again at the Maine Sports Triathlon, and this time I went straight to my chiropractor. A minor adjustment fixed the problem, and some preventive maintenance should keep it from coming back.
** There were some course problems at the Kennebunk Fire Commission Triathlon. Bill Reeves was the early leader but somehow ended up riding further than anyone else. He is listed in 7th place in the results, but he would have done better.

Points Series Results
Multisport Scorecard
Win / First place
5
2nd place
2
3rd place 1
7th place
1
17th place*
1
50th place*
1
dnf
0
There are two major organizers in the area that hold enough races to have a separate competition (based on points and placing) for the whole series.

The "FIRM grand-prix series" (Fiske Independent Race Management) is divided into age groups. I finished first in the men 30-34 age division.

The "NETT" (New England Triathlon Tour) has a separate elite division for those who prefer to race up front regardless of age. I finished 2nd in the men's elite/pro division. Had I done more than the minimum 3 races I might have fared better.

About 2002 - Personal Observations
In the past I've seen a few guys "own" the New England racing season by putting together impressive streaks of wins against the toughest competition around. Steve Eisenhower, Charlie Desourdy, and Travis Keane come to mind. I've never had a real triathlon winning streak, and this year that was my goal. My 5 wins were not consecutive, but I'll call it a streak anyway.

No ironmans for 2002. Ironman training takes too much time away from short-course training -- unless you are a pro with no day job. I decided to go for lots of shorter races instead. The Timberman half-ironman was even too long for my training this year, and I did best in the 1 to 3-hour range. Also, no draft-legal races for me.

Based on a quick web search of results for New England races, it looks like I might have the best record among New England guys. (If someone has done a more thorough search and thinks otherwise please tell me so I don't look like a fool.) I did all the major races, and I beat most of my competitors at least once. I split a win and a loss against the two guys I was worried about most -- sprint specialist George Bent and all-arounder Bill Reeves (**see above). They are from Cape Cod and New Hampshire respectively. I lost a few to some highly-ranked pros from around the country. Christophe O'donnell, Matt Seeley, Travies Kuhl and Junior Pullins (an age-grouper) were the most problematic. Anyway, by August complete strangers started picking me to win whatever race was next. I hated the pressure for a while, but it was a good indication that things were going well.

So many things can go wrong in a triathlon -- jellyfish stings, bad directions, crashes, flat tires, sprained ankles, etc. -- that winning is not something I count on until I cross the finish line. Even before race day there are months of training and preparation and plenty of chances for something big to go wrong and wreck the whole season (or worse). I stuck to a conservative training plan to avoid injuries, and I invested in quality gear and took good care of it. I still consider myself lucky to have avoided mechanical problems, crashes, and injuries. To complete a successful season after so many months of preparation was satisfying to be sure, but it was also a relief.

I did have one notable setback, a dislocated rib, but I don't consider it serious because its cause has been identified and it probably won't happen again. I had had trouble breathing in some cold-weather running races last year and in the Wrentham Duathlon in April. I was exploring the possibility of asthma or a muscle pull. From April on everything was fine until I spent the night sleeping in my car before the Maine Sports Triathlon (it's a long story). The same rib became dislocated on the bike for no apparent reason, and what had been a comfortable 2-minute lead was gone by mile 2 of the run. I dropped to 50th place by the finish, but I'm glad I didn't drop out. Given the symptoms -- difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, tingling down my left arm -- I was relieved when the EMT's at the finish assured me that it was nothing serious. The next day Dr Gallagher (my chiropractor and sponsor) diagnosed it and cracked it back into place and that was that. Now that I know about it, it should not be a problem in the future. Sleeping in my car is definitely NOT part of my usual pre-race routine.

The bike is where I made the most improvement and gained the most time on my competition. I think I had the fastest bike split in 6 of my races. My cycling put me in the lead starting the run in 5 of my races. I owe a lot to the guys I trained with, and also to some of my sponsors who helped me with gear and with maintaining my physical health so that I could push myself as hard as necessary. Somewhere in here I should thank my wife and coworkers for putting up with my excesses in training and racing even though I have yet to make any real money at it.

I am hoping for bigger and better things in the future. I'd like to be better prepared at the beginning of next season and extend my season longer into the fall. I may have to space my races out more and make some tough choices if there are conflicts on the race calendar. There always are. Staying healthy and injury-free will always be a priority. I'm considering an ironman event, but it will probably have to be in the fall and won't be Lake Placid (July). Qualifying for Hawaii is a possibility, but not a priority. It is expensive and my triathlon budget is limited, but I will check with my sponsors before making a final decision. Several closer, cheaper races might be more satisfying. I'm considering putting together a small and unusual event of my own, like a long-distance ocean swim. That could be fun.

Some races have an "elite" wave that usually starts first and allows those athletes who so desire to race for an overall prize. This has the advantage of head-to-head competition for the overall win, and makes it much more interesting and fair. Sometimes the elite wave is for pros only, and sometimes age-groupers can enter it.

Unfortunately (for me) USAT does not count elite wave races in the rankings for age groupers. Four of my races will not be counted for the 2002 season. Fortunately I'm not very attached to my ranking, becuase it will not reflect my racing very well. In 2003 I will have a pro card. Problem solved.

A note about USAT National Rankings:

Personal Triathlon History (short version)
1986 My first triathlon was the "Endless Mountains Triathlon", and they weren't kidding. The hills were unreal, and it wasn't short either. To make things even more interesting, I had never done an open-water mass-start swim, which can be quite traumatic. It probably wasn't a great choice for a first race, but it got me hooked anyway. I wasn't one of those phenomenal athletes who excels from the beginning though, and I finished in the middle of the pack. Another first-timer didn't finish at all. She was leading the race when she hit a tree on a steep descent. She suffered complete paralysis. I heard updates when I went to other races, but I don't know if she ever regained mobility. Almost anyone can get on a bike and enter a triathlon, but the danger should not be taken lightly.
1987-1990 College got in the way of triathlon -- or was it the other way around? I ran cross country and track at Wesleyan University with some success. Triathlons were almost too expensive for me back then. My bike was barely adequate, but I did okay. I was happy to place in the top 5. My first triathlon win was the Marlboro Cultural Affairs Triathlon outside of Boston. Lucky for me I didn't have to travel far to get to the first national championship in the sport of triathlon. It was held in Wilke-Barre, Pennsylvania near where my parents live. I took an elbow in the eye while swimming and finished with double vision. After college I made a decision to race competitively for a few years and see what happened. I went to my graduation (and almost missed it) with numbers on my arms and legs from a race I had done that morning.
1991 No big wins yet, but I was finishing consistently in the top 5. I often had the fastest run split, until I stepped on glass in a transition between swim and bike. I finished that race and got 12 stitches, but my season was over.
1992 I did a total of 37 races this year, which is a personal record. Not all were triathlons. They included running, in-line skating, road cycling, xc skiing and the Boston Marathon. I finished 14th in my division at the U.S. National Championship, which was one place away from qualifying for the National Team and going to the World Championship. This was my highest finish at a national championship in the 3 times I have gone, but I could probably improve on it now.
1993 This my most successful season ever at the time. I might have made All-American in the US national rankings, but race directors misspelled my name. This caused the computer that calculates the rankings to think I was two different people and split my points. This would also have been a good year to go and race in Europe. The Europeans were way behind on the triathlon learning curve, but there were lots of races with prize money. Friends of mine who could afford the plane ticket were coming home with substantial winnings. I missed out, but did win some races and found some great sponsors here at home.
1994-1997 Big-money races were disappearing, and the competition was only getting tougher. I needed to win big or get a real job. This kind of pressure is not a good motivator for me. I trained way too much and too hard, and in the end an injury made the decision for me. (Skip ahead to 2001 for my next decent season.) I raced sporadically and got a real job (unfortunately in molecular biology, which doesn't pay much). I did win some mountain bike races (in the "sport" class) and tried some ultramarathon cycling. My knees could only handle about 150 miles at a time, and I don't ride well without sleep, so I didn't excel at ultramarathon cycling. It was interesting, and I will give it another go sometime in the future if I need a break from triathlon.
1998-2000
Lots of real-life things going on: new job, marriage, condo, move to Cape Cod, house, etc. Somehow in the middle of it all I started to get faster. Triathlon was no longer the only thing going on in my life, and it because a stress reliever instead of a stress producer. I did Ironman Florida -- my first ironman (swim 2.4, bike 112, run 26.2) -- in 1999. My time of 9:57 was okay for a first try and with the flu. I was having a lot of fun. My triathlon club gave me the "Comeback of the Year" award, which was premature. They should have waited until 2001.
2001 Things came together nicely this year. I made All-American in the USA-Triathlon national rankings, and I was 2nd in the USAT New England rankings. I now had the patience and knowledge to train more effectively. My second ironman was Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY. My time, 9:58, was slower than my first ironman because of the hills, but it was fast enough to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. This would be my first world championship. Unfortunately the events of 9/11 overshadowed everything, and I had an uninspired and frustrating race. I plan to give it another try sometime in the 35-39 age division. Despite the focus on ironmans, my best results of 2001 were actually in "short-course" races. I won 3 out of 5 short course triathlons, which was very encouraging. I made plans to do more or them in 2002.