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 Swim
Comments: We had about 250 in our wave of M40 -49. The gun went off and we ran across the rocky beach (ouch!) into the lake. The lake was a great temperature and the first leg of the swim was a 1,500m straight shot. There seemed to be some strong swimmers in the group and I managed to draft a few. Before I got to the first buoy I started running into swimmers from the M30-39 age group who left 5 min before us. Once we made the first left turn the course was less protected so we had some wind chop and I also now started running into the M20-29 group which left 10 min before. At the mid point of the swim the water was pretty crowded with swimmers from the prior waves. Despite all these people, I somehow drifted off course. I popped my head-up and saw noone. Uh-oh. Finally saw other swimmers to my right and headed back to civilization. Made the final turn and headed to T1. Could see the crowds on the shore and the big inflatable arch that marked the swim exit. Got into a good grove and exited the water in under an hour (just). Awesome swim :) What would you do differently?: Sight every 5 or 7 strokes when breathing to the right as I tend drift left.  Transition 1
Comments: Took my sweet time in T1, as always. Put on some socks and headed up to the road (see picture). AHR153 What would you do differently?: Not much.  Bike
Comments: This was a beautiful course rolling through the countryside and passing through small medievel villages with a few patches of cobble stones. I biked a great race - pace, cadence and nutrition were perfect. I stuck with the time tested 70 gr. of carbs per hour = 3 bottles of drink (2 liters of Accelerade) and 6 gels. I did get swallowed up by a pack of racers at the 60K mark as the course went up hill back to T1. I stuck with my race and let the pack draft-fest move on ahead of me. I figure 'Instant Karma' will get the Drafter! That being said, all in all it seemed to be a clean race as most racers made an effort to avoid drafting. At the end of the bike portion the course wound into the center of Vitoria. The race organizers had a total road closure with police at every intersection. Excellent orgainzation! What would you do differently?: Not much. Great ride. Transition 2
Comments: With the run looming as a big question mark I took my time to put on compression socks (and blow dried my hair). AHR123  Run
Comments: With my calf tear and no run training for 2 months, the RUN was going to be a mystery. I figured I could go 10 or 15K without much of an issue; however the pace in the early part of the race would determine if I would finish, finish walking or finish running. So, the plan was to run a 5:30/km (nice and easy) pace. I exited T2 and there were tens of thousands of people in the streets cheering on the racers. It was an incredible atmosphere. I saw the family just before I made the turn into the central plaza where they had set-up a Grand Stand and finish area. As I entered the central plaza I happened to be the only runner which gave the race MC an opportunity to call out my name. I slowed down and gave the crowd a big 'Ola' which got a huge reaction from the spectators in the Grand Stand :) The run was truly unique with great crowd support as you ran through the narrow old town streets and shaded parks. The family was stationed at a mid-way point so I passed them 8 times during the race, very nice. I was running with my own gels, so I was pretty much self-sufficient (as I was on the bike). I took a gel every twenty minutes along with some sport drink, so my carb intake probably stayed around 70 to 75gr/hour. Towards the second half of the run the legs were getting tired, but I managed to stick with the race plan and the calf did not re-tear. The crowds and course made for an awsome experience not to mention that the sun came out :) An awesome experience. I completed the run in 2:39. I must admit there is a tinge of 'what if'. If I had not been injured I would have gone sub-6:50 with a possible top 15 finish, but then again that is the challenge of triathlon . . . getting to the line in one piece. What would you do differently?: Not much, ran a perfect race with the cards I was dealt. Post race
Warm down: Finished and re-fueled at the finish line. Found the family and then went back to T2 to collect my stuff. What limited your ability to perform faster: Torn calf in the run-up to the race. Event comments: This was a very well organized race with the best atmosphere, ever! Also, a huge plus bumping into fellow BT'ers. It was great to meet ya' Trish. Profile Album Last updated: 2011-11-02 12:00 AM
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Spain
International Triathlon Union
20C / 68F
Overcast
Overall Rank = 221/850
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 30/94
The family and I arrived in Madrid about 5 days before the race. We picked up our small Opel rental car and somehow managed to fit all our luggage and bike into the car before we headed north to Vitoria. We arrived in Vitoria mid-day to find the whole town out celebrating the Garlic Festival. Everyone, apart from the odd triathlete here and there, was dressed up in traditional Basque attire. Very cool. The town of Vitoria was beautiful with a picturesque old town / town square (see picture). The celebrations, bands, parades and street parties continued until sunrise. Quite a scene.
The next day we made a trip to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim Museum and then returned to Vitoria to catch-up with the folks from Team USA and see what was scheduled for the balance of the week. On Friday we did a re-con trip up to the start / T1 (see picture). I swam in the lake and then participated in the official race course ride back to town (60K) with a very official police escort. That evening the town of Vitoria threw a huge opening celebration party with the mayor, live bands and a pasta dinner. The atmosphere was stellar with all the respective national teams from 33 countries, including a guy from Norfolk Island (?!). Spain had the largest team followed by GB and then the US (100+).
Saturday was spent driving up to the swim start / T1 and racking the bike. It was great to have the family in tow as they were a great help in getting me to and from places, holding kit and all in all being great supporters. Made friends with a Japanese racer and we ended up swapping his Team Japan shirt for my Team USA shirt, a nice souvenir (see picture).
One note worthy point, 8 weeks before the race I tore (level 2) my left calf, so my training in the run-up to the race consisted of riding and swimming - no running. I was not sure how the run was going to shape up - my first DNF was a real prospect. I tried to remain somewhat Zen-like and figured I would enjoy as much of the race as possible.
Another very cool thing about this race was a chance to meet and race with fellow BT'ers. Way to go Trish, nice bike!
Race morning - I woke up at 5am, got ready and headed over to the Team USA hotel for the 6am bus ride to the start. The streets were packed with folks returning home from the various bars and clubs. It was quite amusing to have triathletes making their way to the start of a race with the Saturday night crowd still going strong.
Got to the start area which was 30 minutes away and set-up my bike. After several days of 35C, race morning was a little cooler (12C) and rainy. Eventually I resigned myself that my bike was fine and I could leave her in T1. About that time the family arrived at the start. There was a sizable crowd many of which were carrying flags which created a great vibe. Found the family. They wished me luck and then we were off getting corralled in the transition to wait for our wave to go. Had 2 gels about 15 min before the start.