It was hot. I was hoping to beat my the paces that I had set last year on the short course and cut both of my transition times. I didn’t meet all of my goals, so I was pretty bummed out for most of the day after the race. Looking at the other long course races that I did however, tells a more positive story.
Last year, my swim was pretty lame. I finished 500m in 17:15 (55:31min/mile). Yesterday, I finished my 1500m swim in 39:37 according to my Garmin 310 (42:30min/mile). Looking at the KC Triathlon my 1500m swim was 47:33, so I cut off 5 minutes in less than 2 months. Last year in Luray VA, my swim was 41:33, so I know I can do better. Overall, I’m happy with the swim.
My first transition felt great. I didn’t have a very good spot, I was running quite a bit to my bike and then back to the transition exit. Last year my T1 was 2:19, I wanted to cut off 5 seconds. According to my watch I actually added 7 seconds. But, I felt great. I don’t think I had any wasted time. For the first time, I had my shoes clipped into my pedals and ran barefoot to the bike mount. It felt much faster. Getting into my shoes was easier than it was when I had practiced because I was going at race pace. I noticed that I was able to get out and stay out in front of other people that were in transition with me.
I knew the bike was going to be an improvement. On the short course last year, with my mountain bike, my average pace was 14.91MPH. This year, on the long course, my average was 17.9MPH. Luray last year was 14.22MPH (road bike) and KC Triathlon was 18.5MPH. With the crazy heat and the unfamiliar course, I’m very happy with my performance on the bike. I didn’t hydrate like I normally do on the bike. I was trying to have a good transition. So I didn’t drink like normal. In addition, I don’t have water on my bike at this time. I did get dehydrated and was trying not to cramp. Luckily, at about mile 20, I caught up to Todd, a short course athlete that was directed to the long course bike. Todd gave me a couple swigs from his water bottle, I must have looked as dehydrated as I felt. Thanks Todd. I will get some sort of water delivery system before my next 20+ mile ride.
On the run, I was spent. The lack of hydration, plus the lack of training at this effort level really made for a rough run. I was alone for the entire 6 miles. One of my saving graces on previous races was that I always found someone to set my pace for me. Sunday I had no such luck. Anybody that I caught up to was already walking, and anybody that was catching me was flying by. By this time the sun was in full blast. I think the temps were 94 when we got in the truck after the race. I walked up all the hills, and did the shuffle the rest of the race. When I wanted to pick up the pace, I couldn’t. I had no energy. I was hoping to have a 10min/mile pace (I knew that was a long shot) but I ended up with a 13:33min/mile pace.
With that said, my pre race strategy was horrible. I stayed up until 1am the night before, and we woke up at 4:15am. We also ate Mexican food the night before. I didn’t take a look at the route either.
Things to do before my next race:
- Water bottle(s) on the bike
- Good night sleep
- Skip the Mexican food and stick with the spaghetti
- Train at a higher level, its game time.
The results were a little messed up. My bib was timed for the long course, but had Jillian’s name on it for the short course and vice-versa. We notified the race director and the timing company has been informed. So, hopefully, we get our official results soon. My unoffical results put me at 11 of 15 in my division adn 78 of 91 overall. I was positive that there was a clydesdale division for this race, but I see only age group posted.
I know that I was able to finish in front of at least three people that I raced against on the short course last year. Overall, the race wasn’t as bad as I let myself think.
EDIT:
It’s official: 3:30:20
13 of 17 in my age group
77 of 91 overall
