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I have been mentally preparing myself for this race all last week. I worked my way through the transitions, my position on the bike, and what pace i would run out of T2 (notice not much swim visualizations). But nothing really prepares you for the real thing, and since I haven't done a tri in 4 years, I was reminded of all that on Saturday.<br>
Due to animal housing concerns, we weren't able to stay at my parent's house this weekend, meaning we had to drive to the race from home, a good hour, ten minutes away.<br>
When we arrived we were only about 50 minutes from the gun, and that is not enough time in my book to get ready. Next time, we'll get there earlier. But we quickly got registered, got our bikes down, and headed to the trans. area with 30 minutes to go. Of course, we only had about 15 minutes til the mandatory pre race meeting at the water, so really, I had 15 minutes to set up shop.<br>
I had everything finally set out (minus my Gatorade that I left in the car), and headed the water with 2 minutes to spare. Excellent, no time to check out the water. <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"><br>
The water temp was about 74, colder than the first two tris I had done, so we were entering uncharted water (HA!). Meeting goes on, and I head to the beach. The gun went off, and we all headed in, where I was greeted by the cold arse water on my face and chest. It kinda shocked me, and I think that set off a comedy of errors that doomed me.<br>
The coldness made me hold my breath too long, which made me eventually have to get up and take a breath after every other stroke, which made me swallow more water than intended, which made me have to burp, which made me have to stop and burp. It was hell. By then I was so flustered, that I was just floundering in the water (apologies to the flounder for comparing my performance to his.) Then my goggles fogged which messed up my aim, which made me swim a square instead of a triangle. Anyways, I was out of the water in 23 minutes (yes, for .75k) Although I dont feel as bad about it compared to what I was expecting, because it seems as though everyone was swimming a good 3-4 minutes slower than last year.<br>
I decided then and there that since I survived the swim, I will dedicate my day to improving on the bike and my run. It was a good 2 minute run to T1, then I pulled off a 1:54 transition, first in the Clydesdale group. To get the bike to the road, you had to run through some sand, and I think this is what prevented my left cleat from clipping in. I decided to just deal with it and see how much time I could make on the leaders. Well, on this ride, I found out that Im a decent cyclist. Even with a pretty rough headwind for half the race, I cranked out 20.5 mph for 12.4 miles, second in Clydesdales. Nothing too noteworthy on the bike other than the cleat.<br>
I was able to get through T2 fairly uneventful, and then headed to the run.<br>
It was clear that I did not have much of a problem getting back on my running legs, as I was blowing passed everyone like they were standing still. People even questioned how I had the energy. I told them it was due to being on my back for alot of the swim. Anyhow, I just ran at the pace that felt good, since Garmin wasn't finding a signal fast enough, and pulled into the finish line with a 20:18 run for 2.75 miles (7:23 pace). I was blown away by that time, as well I should have been. I was fastest Clydesdale runner. Too bad I missed out on Clydesdale hardware by 3 minutes.<br>
In the end, I think I coulda hit it a bit harder, but I wont complain since it was my first race back. I know I have a ton of improvement to make in the swim, but from what everyone says, you improve fastest in the swim, so that makes me feel better. I also have had very little time in the saddle so far, but am excited to see how much better I can be. And the run, well, Im just glad I still have it in me, considering how little cardio/running I have done since I messed up the leg. All I know is that I am even more excited to train harder, and especially to come back and avenge my race next year. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">
Due to animal housing concerns, we weren't able to stay at my parent's house this weekend, meaning we had to drive to the race from home, a good hour, ten minutes away.<br>
When we arrived we were only about 50 minutes from the gun, and that is not enough time in my book to get ready. Next time, we'll get there earlier. But we quickly got registered, got our bikes down, and headed to the trans. area with 30 minutes to go. Of course, we only had about 15 minutes til the mandatory pre race meeting at the water, so really, I had 15 minutes to set up shop.<br>
I had everything finally set out (minus my Gatorade that I left in the car), and headed the water with 2 minutes to spare. Excellent, no time to check out the water. <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"><br>
The water temp was about 74, colder than the first two tris I had done, so we were entering uncharted water (HA!). Meeting goes on, and I head to the beach. The gun went off, and we all headed in, where I was greeted by the cold arse water on my face and chest. It kinda shocked me, and I think that set off a comedy of errors that doomed me.<br>
The coldness made me hold my breath too long, which made me eventually have to get up and take a breath after every other stroke, which made me swallow more water than intended, which made me have to burp, which made me have to stop and burp. It was hell. By then I was so flustered, that I was just floundering in the water (apologies to the flounder for comparing my performance to his.) Then my goggles fogged which messed up my aim, which made me swim a square instead of a triangle. Anyways, I was out of the water in 23 minutes (yes, for .75k) Although I dont feel as bad about it compared to what I was expecting, because it seems as though everyone was swimming a good 3-4 minutes slower than last year.<br>
I decided then and there that since I survived the swim, I will dedicate my day to improving on the bike and my run. It was a good 2 minute run to T1, then I pulled off a 1:54 transition, first in the Clydesdale group. To get the bike to the road, you had to run through some sand, and I think this is what prevented my left cleat from clipping in. I decided to just deal with it and see how much time I could make on the leaders. Well, on this ride, I found out that Im a decent cyclist. Even with a pretty rough headwind for half the race, I cranked out 20.5 mph for 12.4 miles, second in Clydesdales. Nothing too noteworthy on the bike other than the cleat.<br>
I was able to get through T2 fairly uneventful, and then headed to the run.<br>
It was clear that I did not have much of a problem getting back on my running legs, as I was blowing passed everyone like they were standing still. People even questioned how I had the energy. I told them it was due to being on my back for alot of the swim. Anyhow, I just ran at the pace that felt good, since Garmin wasn't finding a signal fast enough, and pulled into the finish line with a 20:18 run for 2.75 miles (7:23 pace). I was blown away by that time, as well I should have been. I was fastest Clydesdale runner. Too bad I missed out on Clydesdale hardware by 3 minutes.<br>
In the end, I think I coulda hit it a bit harder, but I wont complain since it was my first race back. I know I have a ton of improvement to make in the swim, but from what everyone says, you improve fastest in the swim, so that makes me feel better. I also have had very little time in the saddle so far, but am excited to see how much better I can be. And the run, well, Im just glad I still have it in me, considering how little cardio/running I have done since I messed up the leg. All I know is that I am even more excited to train harder, and especially to come back and avenge my race next year. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">
