A.D.D version -- I did well, B did VERY well, and areas on which I need to focus were identified.
We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday, went through Rego w/o any problems, and decided to take a swim -- the lake was a balmy 63 degrees, so, on with the wetsuits, and out into the water to practice some sighting drills, and get used to not being in a pool. We also did an easy trip through of the run section of the course, then it was the race meeting (nothing new there, just basic info about rules and regs) and off to the hotel room.
4 am Saturday, B was up, and I dragged out of bed at 5. Brekkie was Oatmeal and tea; we arrived at the race at 6:30, a bit early for an 8 am start, which turned out to be a good thing. Everyone competing was assigned a space in the transition area, each space neatly labeled with everyone assigned a space by their bib number (racing number, that you wear on your bike helmet, taped to your bike, pinned to your running jersey, and markered onto your arm and legs). This transition area was in the parking lot of the marina for the lake, and could really have been swept better, there was a lot of gravel. We got set up, and started to warm up with a quick bike ride, when B discovered that there was a mechanical problem with his racing wheels -- he got it sorted, but barely.
This race used "time trial" starting, which is unusual for triathlons. Usually, everyone gets into the water, and goes like hell when the gun fires. This makes for some fairly aggressive play in the opening stages, and people tend to clump together, based on their overall speed. At THIS race, they started two people every 15 seconds, which worked out pretty darn well - no elbows thrown, no one kicked in the head. B had #23, I had #60, so B started about 5 mins in front of me. I waded into the water with #59 on my right, and at 8:05:45 started my race.
750 meter swim, a triangle course. The swim was good for me -- better than last year -- I wasn't trying to go as fast as I could, because last year, I started out swimming hard, TOO hard, and ended up having to roll onto my back and rest. This time, I kept my breathing pretty even, on threes (meaning I breathed every three strokes, which is, in theory, better than always breathing on your right or your left), and came out of the water feeling pretty good -- I dropped #59 about 3 minutes into the swim, and passed a bunch of other people as well.
Into T1, from Swim to Bike, where I ditched my wetsuit and put on biking gear. I lost some time here because I decided that I wanted a longsleeve shirt for the bike ride -- that was hard to get on, on account of me being wet. But, long sleeves on, I started running the bike out of transition. I made a minor error after I crossed from T1 onto the course, when getting on the bike I accidentally lost one of my shoes. I had them clipped into the pedals already, that being the fastest way to get moving, if you don't blow it. I had to stop, put that shoe on, and get moving again -- up a short but steep hill that ended in a speed bumb - and out onto the bike course.
14.5 miles on the bike. This segment also felt pretty good (although it turns out, not so much). I picked off several people, including someone who came out of T1 with me; #59, my swim-start partner, flew past me like I was standing still about mile 5, and I didn't see him again until after the race. My plan for this part of the course was to start out not too hard, pick up the pace a bit at 5 miles, and again at 10 -- that worked pretty well, in as much as I wasn't completely fashed by the time the run started.
T2 is, as you will have guessed, is the transition from Bike to Run. I came screaming down that hill with my feet out of my shoes, and hopped off the bike moving about 15 mph at the line labeled "dismount." Ran to the bike -- ow ow ow ow -- gravel -- racked the bike, lost the helmet, on with the running shoes, and out onto the run course.
3.1 mile run (5k) This is where I felt the least positive (although, in hindsight, not so much). I ran the first mile in about 7 min 15 seconds, (passing B going the other direction, him heading towards the finish line) which was faster than I expected, the 2nd mile in about 8 minutes, which was too slow though uphill, and although B (who had finished and walked back towards me) goaded me to "bring it in!" I found I didn't have a lot of kick left at the end, which is unusual for me. Still, across the finish line, and the race was over.
Results. B Won! 1:10:15 was his official finish time.
I came in 45th/186 overall, and 7/23 in my age group. 1:26:52.
Swim: 15:30 -- not fast, it turns out, this is about 2 minutes per 100 meters, and in theory I might could have done it about 10 seconds/per faster, -- 75 seconds on the table. B's swim time = 12:55.
T1 - 1:22 -- not great but not at all terrible. A good minute faster than MANY people who finished between 30th and 60th. B's T1 = 50 seconds.
Bike: 46:02 -- this equates to 18.9 mph over the course, and while that isn't terrible, my bike time was between two and four minutes slower than the other people in my neck of the race. I could have gone harder through this section, I think. A consequence of the time-trial start was that the field was pretty spread out, and so I didn't have a lot of people to pace my self against. Lesson learned. I'm saying I left two minutes on the table here. B's Bike split = 37:35.
T2: 54 seconds. This was good -- my best event of the day. B's T2 = 30 seconds.
Run: 23:05. Also pretty good, for me. That works out to 7:26 per mile, 30 seconds faster than my marathon pace and, considering that I haven't been back on my feet much since then, what with the knee flaring up and all, understandable. Still. I should run that in no less than 21:45, so 1:20 on the table. B's run split = 18:25.
Overall -- 1:26:52 (B = 1:10:15)
So -- first Tri of the season. MAJOR kudos to B for getting me to a place where I could go out and finish in the top %25. I did the work, but his coaching made this possible. It was a "C" race, which means its more about getting a feel for the game, working out kinks in set up, prep, execution, and seeing where the work really needs to be done than it is about being all hung up about results. I'm NOT beating myself up about this race.
However, I think I did race conservatively. If I had laid it all out, I might of course have cracked and finished badly. OR, if I had worked to get all that time that I left on the course (1:15 + 2 + 1:20 = 3:35) and finished at 1:23:17, I would have A: finished on the podium for my age group, and B: finished 28th overall. That first thing means more at the end of the day than the second, and for THIS race it really doesn't matter at all. But I note that I tend to race conservatively in my head, if that makes any sense, telling myself to race smart, pace the effort, not go too hard. I think I need to TRY to go too hard at next month's race. Not so hard that I hurt myself, but really to lay it down and leave nothing on the course.
This race was a training race -- and a good time. It was great seeing B win, and knowing that he not only won, he won by more than 2 minutes this early in the season sets the bar pretty high for him; he's going to be working himself hard, and one of my challenges this spring and summer is going to be to keep myself to an honest training schedule that respects the more important aspects of my life -- family and school. Because, I don't know, I am beginning to get the idea that I might just be a wee bit competitive, and I can see how folks start to get worked up about the difference between finishing 45th and 28th. I'm not going to do that, but I am going to 1) train hard when I am training, and 2) train smart by focusing on technique and endurance. Spring races, sprint races, are all good fun, but the 'A' race this year is 140.6 miles long in September. How well or poorly I do over 18 miles in April or May just really doesn't matter, except to point up where the work needs to happen.
Because yeah. I want that 8th age group spot for Kona. Theres no reason to expect at this point that I can get it, and I'm not going to sacrifice the things in my life that are truly important in an effort to get there, but someone's going to get that slot.
As long as I don't leave any time out there on the course, though, its a win.
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