Redemption at the 2011 Spring Fling triathlon- a race report

Today I raced at the 2011 Spring Fling triathlon. It was a seated 400 meter pool swim, 25K bike on a really hilly course, & the 2nd hardest 5k run I've ever done on a sprint distance triathlon.

The RD of the this race is Mark Mico of Tri Sport coaching so I knew it was going to be a well put on race. It had plenty of volunteers, well marked courses, it was micro chipped timed, had a quick and painless packet pick up, great performance T-shirt, the race results were posted at the race with in minutes & online with in 2 hours of the the last person crossing the finish line, & the race even had an awesome finish line chute with banners & lots of spectators yelling & cheering! I'd say Mico & the Greer's (who put on the BSLT) put on the best races I've ever competed in.

Since I haven't done any swim training at all in over a year I was happy with my 400 meter swim time of 6 minutes 39 seconds. I felt fast & buoyant! I glided along well, keeping a long pull, glide, & recovery.

I had a ridiculous 1st transition time of 55 seconds! It was by far the slowest transition time I've had in a couple years. There's no reason to be that slow in a transition, especially considering I raced without socks & have a pair of triathlon specific cycling shoes. I should have had a T-1 time half that long. The transition is free & effortless race time lost.

This was the first triathlon with a swim/bike/run format I'd done since July of last year. 10 months! I was afraid I'd be rusty, but I came out of the water feeling great & ready to bike!

I usually struggle with any races that has significant climbing, & for a sprint triathlon this race has a TON of big long climbs. I still had a surprisingly strong bike. Last weekend at the Holloman duathlon I averaged 20.8 MPH on a perfectly flat course. Today I was able to redeem myself by keeping a 20 mph average on a MUCH more difficult course. I'd say my effort on the bike and the run today ranked in my top 5 all time. The time may not show that because I'm not in as good of cycling shape as I was the last couple years, but my effort level was top notch.

At one of the turn arounds a police officer let a motorcycle drive through at the same time as me. The lady driving the motorcycle collided into me & sent me swerving & skidding into the curb of the turn around. Thankfully it was a gradual slanting curb so I was able to stay upright & skid/ride up it and continue racing once I hopped back onto the road on the other side of the turn around. Close call! Apparently I was envious of the war wounds Rob Lovit had sustained recently at the Mesa Valley triathlon & was wanting to get matching road rash.

I felt like I was a climbing animal today! Usually I struggle, huff & puff up hills. Not today! I killed it!

Today I rode a 404 rear wheel for only the 2nd time. I'm not sure if the light weight aerodynamic rear 404 was the key to climbing so well today, but I it may have been. The last race I rode the 404 was the Atomic Man duathlon last year & I had a phenomenal bike that day also. I can't wait until I save up enough $ to buy a 404 front wheel to match!

I wasn't sure how my legs were going to hold up on the run because of the serious climbing, the swim/bike/run format, & because I really hammered myself silly on the bike.

I did a perfect flying bike dismount, but had another slow transition time. Ugh. What the heck? Transitions are usually my specialty!

Once I got into my Zoot triathlon running shoes, my FCA running cap on, along with my race belt I was on my way! Right off the bat I felt really good. From the start there's a REALLY long gradual incline. After a mile or so the pavement ends & the course continues on a sandy uphill trail run that is absolutely brutal! Straight uphill with tons of speed & energy sapping ankle deep sand. I ran much better up the hills than I usually do, especially considering I'm not accustomed to running in sand. I finished the brutal 5k in 25 minutes 2 seconds.

I finished in a total time of 1 hour 20 minutes 12 seconds. I thought for sure I'd be in the top 5 of the 35-39 age group. Turns out I only took 8th place!!! 8th is my worst age group finish since 2009! The difference between my 8th place finish & 5th today was less than a minute, which was the time I had lost in my 2 turtle like transitions.

All in all it was a good day. I have to say I enjoy the races in Southern NM & West Texas more because of my fellow triathletes of that region. They've really embraced me & accepted me as one of their own. It seemed like something was missing today, and it wasn't until I was driving home I realized what was missing was the fellowship I'd had the last half dozen races with Rob, Brooks, John, Jason, & Val. I hope to race with you guys soon, cause multisport without you guys just isn't as much fun!