The race was extremely well ran. The only knock against it was they were a little unprepared for as many triathletes as they had. They should of had more bike racks. Everything else went off without a hitch. As a matter of a fact the results were posted online by 11 am!
The race was a 5 K Run/ 12.8 mile Bike/ 400 meter pool swim. The race start was packed! There were probably 350-400. I wasn't expecting that many to show. There were even more at this race than there was at the Milkman triathlon which was the Rocky Mountain championships.
Up until this year the run had been my forte. But this year I've been running like dog pooh. I started out this run feeling decent for a change. I really liked the way the run course was set up. It was %100 closed to traffic, the majority of it was on a bike/run trail, & it had a 90 degree turn around at the 2.5 mile mark. I like U turns on the run portion of a triathlon so I can see how much of a lead or deficit I have on my competition. I finished the run in 24:58. Unfortunately I was a good 10-15 seconds slower in T-1 today which is usually where I dominate.
I got on the bike & felt great immediately! From the very start of the bike I was hammering & passed a ton of people, but more importantly not a single person passed me. My combined finishing time of the bike & T-1 was a blazing fast 40 minutes 1 second . My great performance on the bike came as a complete & total surprise. This was a pretty hilly course, & saying I don't climb well is an understatement. & the last 2.5 weeks I've been training very very hard & entered this race with no taper or rest at all.
I had a great swim. Perhaps the reason I did so well was this is the pool I swim in daily. Home territory for me. I grabbed a lady's slip stream & drafted off her the entire 400 meter swim. I've tried drafting in the water before & had never been able to keep on their feet. Today I drafted perfectly! Finished the swim & T-2 in a combined time of 8 minutes flat.
Total race time was 1 hr 12 minutes 59 seconds. Unfortunately there was no Clydesdale division today, so I raced in the 30-34 AG & placed 9th. Like I'd said in earlier blog posts my ultimate goal is to race all of next year weighing under 200 pounds. As of this morning I'm 214. Today's race made me realize the ONLY way I'll be competitive as an age grouper is to race at between 180-190 pounds. I completed 2 races last year at 192 pounds, & boy was I fast! At the Jay Benson which was the same distance as today's race I finished in 1:04. I completed the Buffman & Squeaky Olympic distance triathlon in 2:40:57. I was definitely competitive in my AG at 192. At 180 I might even start placing top 3. Ah, the dreams of triathlon & the aspirations of SPEED!
Thanks for tuning in!
1 comment:
Man, I can tell you the difference racing at 179 as an age grouper compared to racing at 215 as a Clydesdale and it is HUGE. I am usually within the top 12 in my Age group, which is the 35-39AG.
You'll get there my friend. If I can do it, you can.
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