I had hoped to do some training today, but work called and offered me an overtime shift. Hard to pass up, so I took it. Luckily I was on the Rescue truck and so I was on the road most of the day. That meant I could spend my birthday gift certificate at the local bike shop. A floor pump and a back-of-the-seat bottle cage set up was the result of my shopping trip. Tomorrow I'll try out my new toys.
I'm ready to get back into it, thanks to a little reflection and some encouraging words from
Crew'd Thoughts.
So it was a rough race.
After careful consideration, I feel a little better. I have to be honest and admit to myself that my training has slid, so I deserve what I get. Here's the race in a nutshell.
Pre RaceI made the 3 hour drive to Huntsville and arrived at about 1300. I had lots of time, so I racked my bike and went to register. To my surprise, I was listed in the 20-24 year old category (I'm 38). At least I was listed as male. I talked to an official, and she said not to worry, because I was a clyde 39 and under, so where I started didn't matter. This mad sense, since if I changed waves, there was no guarantee that my time would be correct. I didn't want an extra 6 minutes added to my time because I had the wrong chip. The only drawback was explaining to the 100 or so people who asked why I was in the wave I was in. But I ended up with a great bike rack position, and met some great people.
SwimThe 750m swim starts about 800m down a gravel road,
so I wanted to be at the start in plenty of time. Little did I know that the race organizers have a delivery service for any equipment you bring to the start. I could have worn flip flops and picked them up after the race, but in my ignorance I walked the gravel road barefoot instead. I'm glad I had lots of time, because it was a slow walk.
Got my wetsuit on, did a good warm up, and met some more people. Race started, and I did a quick sprint to the first turn. I allowed me some swimming space, but suddenly I was out of breath. I did breast stroke to recover, and started free again, but was out of breath soon after. The race turned out about half free and half breast.
Time - 17:07 (including the 150m uphill to transition).
T-1A quick straight run to my bike. I am all alone at the rack because I started in an earlier wave, as I mentioned earlier. The wetsuit came off surprisingly quick (I'm still new to it). Socks and shoes, sunglasses, and my new Giro Pneumo helmet I got for Fathers Day. Grab the bike and head for the exit; another straight run.
Time - 1:37.
BikeVery hilly right from the start. I went 1K before I could tighten my pedal straps (yes, I still use straps). Move along OK, but got passed a lot. One big up hill that's a heart breaker, but I survived. The way back had some quick down hills. My max speed was 72 Km/Hr. Had a Gu about half way and actually felt a bit more energetic. Next time I'll just have water. Gatorade and gels are too much.
Time - 45:05
T-2Pretty straight forward. Rack the bike, helmet off, and head out on the run (no changing shoes, since I use straps).
Time - 0:30
RunFelt good for the first 2K, then the wheels fell off. I still don't know what happened. I train faster than I raced that day. Maybe the double loop route messed with my head, since I knew what was coming the second time around. I told myself during the run, "When you're thinking back to this race, and saying I could have pushed harder in the run, forget it. You can't." I just didn't have anything left. I thought I got passed a lot on the bike. Sheesh!
Time - 30:10.
A grand total of 1:34:27. My slowest race yet. What can I say. Get ready for the next one, I suppose.
Disaster.
That's it in a nutshell.
I should have known. When I arrived they had me listed as 23 years old, when I'm really 38. "Don't worry," they said,"You're a Clydesdale, so as long as you're listed under 39, its fine." What they didn't take into consideration my having to explain my cap colour to 100 different people. This must have been an omen.
So the race starts. I feel out of breath in the swim, and never recover. Breast stroke for half the 750m. Out of 436, I'm 180th overall.
Wonderful. The swim is my best event.
On to the bike. Felt good, felt fast. Not so. 313th on the bike. The hits just keep on coming.
The run. Oh, the run. Out of gas. Monumental struggle just to finish. Worst 5K time of my life. 329th.
That's a final placing of 265th overall. I need to re-evaluate my training. It's obviously not enough. The race just made me feel very over weight and very slow. I probably won't post much here anymore. Obviously blog posting does nothing to improve my fitness.
OK. It's been forever since I last posted.
I'm entered in the Muskoka Triathlon on Saturday. I've been nervous because it's a 16:00 start and the forcasted temperature is 31C (88F) which is hot for a dude from Northern Ontario. But my training is paying off. I've been doing my bikes and runs at the hottest points of the day, and I can now run in the heat with the best of them.
This will be the first race I've entered as a Clydesdale. My wife feels it will improve my confidence. I'll try it, but at the rate I'm losing weight, it may be my last as a Clyde.
