Last weekend marked the first triathlon of the year for me. This was only my 5th ever triathlon, so still lots of learning to be had. Although, I don't think you ever stop learning in this sport. This was definitely not an "A" race on my calendar, more of a nice training check prior to the season really kicking off. Since this was just a training race, I didn't have a whole lot of expectations leading up. I knew that I could put in a strong performance for me in all three sports, just didn't know how that would have me stack up against the rest of the field. When MJ told me to "just go out there and go hard" on Wednesday, I figured I would do just that.
Pre-Race
It was a windy, but warm morning on race day. Apparently there were 50mph wind gusts overnight which had put the race in jeopardy. The race director finally made the call to hold the race, but it looked like we'd start about an hour later than originally planned. This really only had an impact on my pre-race nutrition plan, which essentially was thrown out the window at this point.
Morning Eats: 1 banana, 2 cups coffee, 1 GQ-6 bottle, 1 cup Oats, 1 large spoonful of peanut butter
Thankfully I had a bottle with 3FU3L in it, which bridged the gap from breakfast around 5am to the race start around 8:30am.
Race
Although I didn't have much expectation going into the race, I did have some basic pacing goals/guidelines I was planning on working with.
Swim: 1:30/100yd
Bike: 285-300 watts
Run: sub-7:00 miles
Swim: I was in the second wave due to the age-group breakdown. I told myself to just stay on the lead swimmers through the initial chaos and then draft the rest of the race. Thankfully, I was able to do just that. I spent the 24min or so in the water tickling the bottom of the lead swimmers feet. I'm sure it was annoying, but I honestly didn't care as I knew I'd be coming out of the water in a good spot. I had finally attacked the swim portion of a race and not just gone out to survive potential drowning. The swim was a bit longer than listed on paper, I had it at 1,660yards. I ended up clocking a 24:03, which comes out to around 1:27 pace.
Swim goal: Accomplished
Bike: I came out of the water feeling pretty fresh thanks to my drafting. I knew I exited the water with a group of 3 other guys, but completely lost track of them when I came into T1. I suppose lesson learned for me here on keeping tabs. Comic relief came when I tried to do a flying mount with my new shoes already clipped in. I've never had issues in the past with this, but the new shoes proved to be quite a challenge. Of course this occurred right in front of our big sponsor Sean Watkins from Wattie Ink, who I'm sure has some nice photos of me attempting to get my feet secured.
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| Flying around the course on my new IA...with my feet clipped in. |
After I finally got clipped in, I took down a quick Stinger gel and was on my way. The bike course was fast and flat. There were some headwinds and gusts at times during the bike portion, but no real different from riding next to the ocean everyday. I held onto my watt goal for the first 2/3 of the ride, but then pulled back a little towards the later half of the bike portion. Unfortunately I spent the bike in no-mans-land for the most part. By this point I realized I was either out of eyesight of the group I came out of the swim with or I had dropped them. Turns out it was the latter. Spent the majority of the bike picking off the middle and slower first wave athletes. Ran out of water with about 10 miles left in the bike and missed the one spot they were handing out water, that's what I get for being stingy and not brining an extra water bottle on the bike. I guess the dry desert air made me a little more thirsty than usual. I finished the bike leg having not been passed on the course, so I knew I was going to be in a good spot leaving T2. Put in a 1:00:16 on the bike split for 24 miles, easily under 60min if not for my shoe gaff. I was a bit off my watt goal, only averaging 266 watts.
Bike goal: Not accomplished - probably a tad aggressive
Run: Jumping off my bike, I definitely had an "Oh, no" moment. Although my Cabo run didn't pop up in my mind at the time, I could definitely tell my legs weren't ready to move. I didn't know this at the time, but my abductors were fried from the effort I gave on the bike. I had mentally been blaming the new bike seat I am trying out. Flat course=lots of constant pedaling. Another new learning for me. It took about a half mile to shake of the feeling in my legs and really get a good stride going. Right as I exited T2, I was passed by a guy who would eventually win my age group (spoiler alert). I made a mental note and planned on keeping him within 50 or so meters to make an attack later in the race. Unfortunately, I just didn't have the legs to go. I had some segments of 6:20 pace, but wasn't able to sustain without fear of running the engine too hot. I spent the race watching the guy slowly pull a little further ahead each mile or so. I really can't complain for me as I put in a 41:10 10K, pace comes out around 6:37/mile - although I had 6:49 on my watch.
Run Goal: Accomplished
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| This V got even deeper about 2 minutes after this shot. Check out those awesome Newtons! |
Overall, I am happy with the race. My effort landed me my first podium in the sport as I took 2nd place in my age group and 18th overall (amateur). It was awesome to be on course with the rest of my teammates and of course Heather Jackson out there hammering away. It was definitely some great motivation. All things considered, I accomplished two of the three goals and got the training benefit I wanted out of the race.
Next Up
Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside, CA on April 2nd. I'll be looking for some redemption at that distance.
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