Evergreen Olympic Triathlon -2:33:59.4 (2:51:08.4)

I went into this race with the intent to specifically fix the things I did wrong last year, especially related to hydration and nutrition.  I think I did that.  I probably left just a little on the table, but I’ll take that over last year’s experience any day.   All in all, I think like I executed a pretty good race.


Age Group Place:  13/31 (14/26)
Overall: 138/390 (198/426)


Swim
I feel like I swam pretty well (for me) during this race.  It’s frustrating to know your swimming 1:30 100s in the pool and come out of the water at 2:07/100, but I’m building endurance on to those fast 100s now, and I know that’s a limiter.  Open water is tricky, sighting, contact with other swimmers, and running out of the water all make it a little harder.  That said, I’m about as fast as last year. 

Distance: 1500m
Time: 34:45.6 (34:22.3)
100s: 2:07 (2:06)


T1

Socks…the bane of my existence.  No socks last year.  I run with socks though.  I’m training for a big race and can’t screw up my feet, so I was going to race with socks too…  I sat down to put them on.   Nuff Said…

Time: 2:17.4 (1:34.9)

Bike

Bike conditions were about perfect.  I ramped up to about 90% FTP and intended to hold that for the 40k.  I knew at that level of effort I’d have a real solid chance of doing pretty well on the bike and still being able to run. 

My strategy worked well for the first 13 miles.  Turning north I picked up a tail wind.  I tried keeping my cadence high and my power up, but I couldn’t hold it together.  I was hitting heart rates in z4 if I were running, and my cadence was over 110 at 30+ mph on the flats.  I was spun out.  I bled off about 7 Watts from target.  My bike split was great, but had I a) pushed harder into the wind b) ran an 11-25 instead of a 12-25 c) been brave enough to run closer to 95%, or d) all of the above I’d have easily broken 24 mph.  Oh well, still a great ride. 

Oh yeah, and even though it was cooler I drank a bottle of EFS and 12 oz of water on the bike, and I was happy I did.  I’m an athlete that needs lots of fluid, that’s just how it is.

Distance: 40K (42K)

Time: 1:03:07.3 (1:12:08.9)

Mph: 23.63 (21.6)

T2

My transitions stink.  No excuses…  If I ever did short course for serious, it would be a big focus. 

Time : 1:58.1 (1:45.5)


Run

I came off the bike feeling much better than last year, and I took things pretty easy for the first .5 miles.  The run felt smooth, and I performed pretty well.  I was trying to get my heart up to z3, but I was really struggling to push out of z2.  It seemed like I was muscle limited rather than a heart limited.  Maybe it was mental.  I’m not sure.  Regardless, I ran what I had, and what I had was way better than last year!

Distance: 10K
Time:  51:51 (1:01:16.8)

Pace 8:20 (9:52)

Overall, things went pretty well.  I used the fitness I had pretty well.  I’m still a MOP swimmer, a FOP biker, and BOP runner.  This year I’m slightly more FOP on the bike this year, and very slightly less BOP on the run.  My fitness is improving, but more importantly my race execution skills are getting better.