Lawyer Landau Cops Gold Medal at Mid-Atlantic Triathlon Championships
The Bear Triathlon at Lums Pond State Park in Delaware was the site for the 2019 USAT Mid-Atlantic Sprint Triathlon Championships. Danny Serpico and his outstanding race team at Rip It Events were greeted by a warm, sunny day for the first time in a long while in these parts. Athletes came from all over the region to see who would come out on top in this sprint, swim, bike, and then run format.
A full moon and clear sky the night before meant that racers could look forward to almost ideal conditions. Rather than the rain that has plagued the East Coast for the last two months, dry surface meant safer cycling at higher speeds for athletes of every shape, size and age group. Previewing the course the night before, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau of Abrams Landau law was able to familiarize himself with the turns, non-paved parts of the run course and the speed bumps through the park that bicyclists would encounter.
While the air temperature was in the 60s, the race was “wetsuit legal,” as the water was in the 70s. Landau took advantage of wearing his full body suit for his first open water swim of the season. In his last several events, his running speed has been not much under eight minutes per mile, and his biking has been about 20mph. This would not be fast enough to get on the podium at this competitive event.
In order to make the most of the race, Landau had a reduced volume and intensity week. While he was not able to nap, or get as much sleep and stretching as he would’ve liked, he nevertheless was not over-trained or injured. He knew that there were much better swimmers in the race, and that he would have to get to the front of the pack on the bike leg of the race in order to have a top placement.
Lawyer Landau had a good warmup in his wetsuit on the beach before entering the water. More importantly, he had the kind of swim that did not result in any problems once he got out of the water for the long transition to the bike. Although not his fastest T-1 split, he worked hard on the bike such that no one passed him the entire time, and he averaged 23 mph. He had a “technical” during the second transition. His wheel locked up, from a dropped chain, so he carried his bicycle over the line. Landau passed several more athletes in the bike corral.
Once out running on the grass, he tried to keep his cadence high, as his form, and photos from other races did not comport with his proprioception. He managed to pick up a few more runners, and appeared to have cracked the top 10. At the turn around, he could see the competition, and he realized there was one other athlete over 50 let to catch up to. Landau surpassed this triathlete shortly after the turnaround to win his age group by over a mile. He had the fastest time for nearly all of the other age groups and came in 7th overall. He received a prize for the race, as well as a gold metal from the USAT Mid-Atlantic region. Landau hopes this will be a good start for his preparations for the National Championships the first week of August, back in Cleveland, Ohio.
The top finishers at the US National Championships qualify to represent the United States at the 2020 ITU World Championships. Landau has already qualified to be a member of TeamUSA in Duathlon. He would like to see if he can get his ticket punched a second time! Landau saw friends, clients and other lawyers at this event, and he enjoyed racing in hot, dry weather on a flat, safe course.
Landau’s next races at the “Salute to Military Rev3 Triathlon” at Vint Hill Station in Warrenton, Virginia on Memorial Day weekend. If he recovers from his Saturday sprint race, he may also do the “Salute to the Military” run on Monday, at OneLoudoun, in honor of his son, Battalion Surgeon Dr. Zach Landau, USMC/USN Lava Dogs.