I posted this in my log, but wanted to post it here in case you don't read my log:
5430 Sprint Triathlon Race Report
Woke up at 4:30am, had some 1/2 cup of coffee (for bathroom purposes), 1 banana, 1/2 bagel, and a bunch of water. My training partner picked me up at 5 and we were off. We got to the res at 5:20, and started setting up transistion. The one and only Mike Ricci (see
www.beginnertriathlete.com or
www.d3multisport.com if you don't know him) body marked me and my buddy (he's a D3 athlete). Set up transistion, warmed up, hit the john, warmed up some more, hit a gel at 7:10 and we were rolling.
Hit the 67 degree water at 7:30 on the dot. My swim wave was the Male Pros, and all men 29 and under. What a group of swimmers. It felt like I was in a washing machine. I got punched in the head and kicked a few times, but that just wakes you up. It was acutally a hard swim, but I did pretty good. My wetsuit feels like it shrunk a bit, and my chest was pretty compressed, but I think I just need some more open water swim time.
T1 was good, I had a hell of a time getting my wetsuit off. Other than that, I was good.
The bike was remarkable for me. I averaged 20.9 mph over a 17 mile course. Lots of false flats and rolling hills, but I picked a few studs and just kept them in my sights. A few times, I was just turning a big ring on the flats, and looked at my computer to see 26 or 28 mph. Pretty sweet. I had a gel at mile 9 and had to really cut back on my fluid intake on the second half of the ride to fight off cramps on the run. I had about 1/2 a bottle of Gatorade and 1/2 a bottle of water.
T2 was smoooooooth. Out of the bike shoes on the course, left them on the bike. Ran in, shoes, hat, race belt, gel, done. Off I go.
The run course was long, flat, and HOT. We ran along the dirt path around the res, and all I wanted to do was shut it down or jump in the lake. But then I remembered Fish - "I got no quit in me" and just unzipped the jersey, splashed some water on my face, and grinded it out. I ran a 7:20 mile pace, which is spot on. I was really happy with it.
I only lost to my training partner by 3 minutes and change. He is a fantastic biker, and worked me there. I whipped him on the swim, and he ran a whole 3 seconds slower than me. So I need to work in the saddle baby.
I feel good today, sore hamstrings, and just lethargic, but overall good. I spun the legs for 45 minutes, and have a long swim planned for this evening. Keep on keepin on - long training week planned. Thanks for listening!
E