Today was a short local race called the GJCC Memorial Triathlon. It is a different race than I normally compete in because it is geared for the very swift, very light guys. But, I thought I would give it a shot anyway. Weather was good and I was feeling better after my few days on the couch with a stomach bug. Headed to the race and got set up quickly and easily (nice racing in your home town). Headed off for the swim and all was good.
The swim started with a time trial start based upon projected swim time. Well, I guess I sold myself a bit short on my projected swim start and I lined up 74th. That upset me a bit as I watched some of the swimmers 20 or 30 spots in front of me. I just knew I was going to be swimming over people and getting jammed on the walls. My 200 yard swim started well. I got on the heels of the guy in front of me about thirty yards in. Rode him into the wall, got a good push and powered by him heading back towards my 100. Made the turn and this guy didn't want anyone passing I guess. He drifted towards the left of the lane and tried to block me, I guess. We played footsie/handsie for about 15 yards before I did what I hate to do and swam over his left side. Got to the wall in front of him and got another good push. Headed into the final 50 and fortunately had another pair of heals to swim in on but this guy was moving at a good clip so no need to push beyond him in the final 50. Got out in 3:11 and headed to transition.
Transition was a bit of a run through the clubhouse and down the stairs into transition. Got to my bike quick, helmet on, bike off the rack and I was off. Then I heard a volunteer yelling "wrong way". Apparently we were supposed to run down the right side of the transition and I was headed down the left. U-turn and I was on my way. Got out and onto the bike and time to start hammering for the 8.8 mile bike. This was a bit of a tough bike because there was no time to get into a rhythm and to get your heart rate down. It was go from the gun and then the hills started. The bike went quick thankfully and I was back in transition in 26 minutes. This is where better communication would have been nice. I came around the corner and headed into t2 and heard someone yell "get off your bike". Now, there wasn't a mount line on the ground (which I asked about) so I wasn't too surprised not to see a dismount line. There was some writing on the ground but in the blur I couldn't read it. I jumped off the bike and then the rest of the crowd yelled "don't get off your bike". I was pretty upset. Assessed the situation and decided to run the last 100 or so yards into transition. No big deal, but a bit annoying.
Headed out on the run and tried not to get pulled into running down the real fast guys and just tried to hit my pace. 2 mile run felt good. Saw some friends on the out and back which made the runner more bearable. Headed into the finish and stopped the watch at 46:20. Good days work. Earned me 1st overall clydesdale, 2nd in my age group and 15th overall. Not to shabby for a days work.
Now time to get refocused for Mach Tenn next Saturday. Busy week of work and other events so training has to find it's time...it will.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Memphis In May - The Wind, The Rain, The Extra Half Mile
Well, Memphis in May has come and gone for 2011. I am glad that I was talked into competing in this new 5i50 race, as I had struck it from my calendar a few months ago. Shane receives the credit for keeping me honest with my race schedule. My reluctance to compete in this race was namely due to my expectation of extreme heat and humidity in Tunica. What a surprise I was in for.
We got into town late Friday night. Got settled and off to bed. Woke up Saturday morning and went down to watch the sprint race. This got us excited about our race the next day. After the sprint was finished we headed off and got our packets and some goodies from the guys at ACME Multisports. Then we were off for our practice swim. The lake (large pond) was only five feet deep at the deepest point. Strange to swim a few hundred yards out into the middle of the lake and stand up to get your sighting points for the next days race. Finished our swim and felt good. Headed out on the bikes for a bit just to make sure everything was working. The wind was howling and we only rode about 7 miles before we called it quits. No need to fight the wind anymore. Got back, cleaned up the bikes and got our transition bags ready.
Sunday morning came early. I woke up feeling groggy and a bit lazy. Ate breakfast and headed down to transition to check in the bike and get set up. This was really nice as the transition was in our hotel parking lot. Got transition all set up quickly and headed off to the swim start. I was #323 which meant I had about 20 minutes to watch the race get started. Soon enough my time came and I headed into the water. My BlueSeventy Helix suit felt great. Got in the water and started making my way through the field. This is when the shallow water started to really upset me. The weaker swimmers who usually backstroke or breaststroke when they get tired were now standing up in the middle of traffic. I swam square into 3 racers during the swim. This brings you to a dead stop. Very frustrating. Swim really went well and I felt strong. Got out of the water right around 26 minutes....wish I could have brought that down a bit, but this was my tune up race for the year so no pushing the pace.
T1 went really well. Got through transition and out on the bike. This is when it happened. The sky opened up on us. Not a sprinkle but rather a real southern storm. Torrential downpour, lightning, thunder and heavy wind for the whole ride. This caused a lot of nervous riders and a lot of blocking (guess people were nervous about riding the line). The bike went well, no wrecks, flats or other issues. Got off the bike in 1:04 and headed into T2.
T2 went well also and was out on the run in under 1:00. I really tried to control the pace on the run as I have not been real religious with my run training lately. First mile ticked off quickly and without much issue. Mile 2 went about the same way. Mile 3 and mile 4 seemed very very long. I really resisted the urge to look at the watch to confirm my suspicion. Just focused on pushing through. The run wrapped up and I crossed the line in 2:27 and some change.
I was happy with the time, especially when I learned that the run was actually .5 mile long. This finish was enough for me to place 2nd out of 50 in the clydesdale division. This earned me a spot at the Hy-Vee 5i50 championship in Des Moines in September. I was excited to hear about this as I now have a fall "A". Now off to bed so I can get up early and get on the Powerbeam Pro trainer to get ready for the GJCC Super Sprint this weekend here in town.....
We got into town late Friday night. Got settled and off to bed. Woke up Saturday morning and went down to watch the sprint race. This got us excited about our race the next day. After the sprint was finished we headed off and got our packets and some goodies from the guys at ACME Multisports. Then we were off for our practice swim. The lake (large pond) was only five feet deep at the deepest point. Strange to swim a few hundred yards out into the middle of the lake and stand up to get your sighting points for the next days race. Finished our swim and felt good. Headed out on the bikes for a bit just to make sure everything was working. The wind was howling and we only rode about 7 miles before we called it quits. No need to fight the wind anymore. Got back, cleaned up the bikes and got our transition bags ready.
Sunday morning came early. I woke up feeling groggy and a bit lazy. Ate breakfast and headed down to transition to check in the bike and get set up. This was really nice as the transition was in our hotel parking lot. Got transition all set up quickly and headed off to the swim start. I was #323 which meant I had about 20 minutes to watch the race get started. Soon enough my time came and I headed into the water. My BlueSeventy Helix suit felt great. Got in the water and started making my way through the field. This is when the shallow water started to really upset me. The weaker swimmers who usually backstroke or breaststroke when they get tired were now standing up in the middle of traffic. I swam square into 3 racers during the swim. This brings you to a dead stop. Very frustrating. Swim really went well and I felt strong. Got out of the water right around 26 minutes....wish I could have brought that down a bit, but this was my tune up race for the year so no pushing the pace.
T1 went really well. Got through transition and out on the bike. This is when it happened. The sky opened up on us. Not a sprinkle but rather a real southern storm. Torrential downpour, lightning, thunder and heavy wind for the whole ride. This caused a lot of nervous riders and a lot of blocking (guess people were nervous about riding the line). The bike went well, no wrecks, flats or other issues. Got off the bike in 1:04 and headed into T2.
T2 went well also and was out on the run in under 1:00. I really tried to control the pace on the run as I have not been real religious with my run training lately. First mile ticked off quickly and without much issue. Mile 2 went about the same way. Mile 3 and mile 4 seemed very very long. I really resisted the urge to look at the watch to confirm my suspicion. Just focused on pushing through. The run wrapped up and I crossed the line in 2:27 and some change.
I was happy with the time, especially when I learned that the run was actually .5 mile long. This finish was enough for me to place 2nd out of 50 in the clydesdale division. This earned me a spot at the Hy-Vee 5i50 championship in Des Moines in September. I was excited to hear about this as I now have a fall "A". Now off to bed so I can get up early and get on the Powerbeam Pro trainer to get ready for the GJCC Super Sprint this weekend here in town.....
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