Disco Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

This was my first beach start ever, so I figured I'd avoid the washing machine and hang back at the back of the group. I let them throw elbows and beat each other up, I'll just swim on the outside. It worked pretty well, buoys notwithstanding. I tried to draft but neither I nor the people I was behind could swim a straight line to save ourselves so success was limited at best. Those were also the largest waves I've had to deal with on a swim, though I think I did alright against them, all things considered. I came out of the water and not 5 seconds behind me was Karen(who started 3 minutes behind me). That was the last time I was in front of her all day.

There's no way this was 1500 yards. I'm not cracking the 30 minute mark on 1500 yards when dealing with the waves & current like we were. Plus, the other two disciplines were short so I'd believe this one was short as well.

Nothing.

Strap, shirt, Garmin, Glide, shoes, helmet, glasses, & gone.

Nothing, it went well given the distance from the swim to the transition area.

I went out on the ride with the goal of pushing, but only after I got my HR down some. I know with CapTex I pushed too hard and paid for it on the run, so I was trying to keep myself at ~75% instead of hammering. I didn't do that good of a job at that the first few miles, I found myself pushing more often than not. Finally I got myself at a HR that was reasonable(considering I was in a race) and stayed in that groove most of the rest of the way. I got passed by a few BTers - including one with a bell that would ring as he passed us...I made sure to give him a friendly one-finger salute when he came by after the turnaround :) - but focused on my race more than what anyone else was doing. I could tell I was sitting around 18-19mph most of the way, which was good given my HR and the intermittent sprinkles/rain. I think it being overcast and 85 instead of sunny & in the 90s did worlds for how I was able to push that speed.

I had the usual cat & mouse games on the ride, though this time it was with a girl around my age. She would pass me on the flats, but I'd catch her and pass her on the hills. That girl needs to work on hills; those hills really weren't that bad and she was struggling. Eventually I passed her on one hill and never saw her again. I guess she got tired of the back & forth, or maybe she never got her mojo back. Either way, screw her. I pwnd that girl! (Let me have this victory. When you're as slow as me, you don't get many.)

I spent the last ~8 minutes dropping down gears and trying to reduce my HR for the run and it helped some, though not a lot. Still, the fact that I didn't spend the last 10 minutes hammering is a victory for patience in and of itself.

Lap 1: 5.0 Miles Ave. : 18.0mph AHR: 166bpm
Lap 2: 5.0 Miles Ave. : 19.4mph AHR: 164bpm
Lap 3: 5.0 Miles Ave. : 18.2mph AHR: 163bpm
Lap 4: 5.0 Miles Ave. : 17.7mph AHR: 163bpm
Lap 5: 3.3 Miles Ave. : 17.8mph AHR: 161bpm

Nothing. Oh, steal Gary's wheels. I wouldn't put them on my bike, I just need to finish ahead of one person I know and I think I could take him if he had no wheels. Probably.

I came into T2 with my feet already out of my shoes & jumped off the bike. Unfortunately, my right shoe came flying off when I got off the bike so I had to back up and pick it up. So much for the flying dismount. Other than that, the transition was solid if unspectacular.

Shouldn't have sat down, but otherwise it was fine.

I got out on the run with the goal of not cramping up. Actually, I focused my bike nutrition with that goal in mind, and I overdid it so by the time I was 5 minutes into the run I felt water-logged. If it had been as hot as I was predicting I would have been right on target, I think. Or maybe not. Hell this whole nutrition thing is me just making guesses. I might even have a pizza delivered at an aid station during a race just to give it a shot. Anyway, I brought a Gu and an Endurolyte with me on the run and was going to pop the pill at 15 minutes and the Gu at around 30 minutes in. I get to the 15 minute mark, reach back for the pill, and I learned a handy lesson. Did you know Endurolytes dissolve in water? And by water, I mean any liquid...like, say, tri shorts that are soaked in water & sweat. I came out with a pill that looked like jello, so I did what any reasonable person does when confronted with an unfamiliar substance. I ate it, and not only did I eat it but also supplied an aid station worker with an amusing piece of advice about salt pills. What can I say, I'm a multi-tasker.

It was about this point where I saw Karen for the first time in awhile. She was 90 seconds ahead of me and told me I'd be catching her because she'd "slow down soon enough", as if I needed any more motivation to keep running. About half a mile further Aaron told me that she was "SO. CLOSE." and if I hauled ass down the next hill I'd catch her. Good idea, love the concept, but this body isn't going to blow it out with 5 miles left to go. I figured if I kept up my pace and she did her normal pace, I'd make up the 90 seconds eventually. Plus, if I hauled ass down the hill I'd have nothing left in the tank for the rest of the race. So I kept to my pace of sub-11, which was better than I expected. I did this for the first 3 miles and I could see Karen in the distance once we were on open road, but I couldn't tell if I was making much ground on her. We get to the turnaround and the time difference was....100 seconds. She had gained 10 seconds on me. *insert swearing here*

OK let's be fair here. I wasn't mad at her _at all_, it was more surprise than anything. She's always slower than me on the run and I was doing better than expected, so it would make sense that I'd be gaining on her. As soon as I saw she had gained time, I knew it was over. If I was going to make up ground it would have been early. She obviously wasn't slowing down and I sure as hell wasn't speeding up. So congrats to her, she was tearing it up. If anyone deserves it, it's her. She trains a lot harder than I ever could. I'm proud of her.

It's also worth mentioning that moving the aid station from the turnaround to the park entrance was a major improvement. DSU deserves recognition for making that adjustment, because last year's aid station locations(or lack thereof) were brutal.

Anyway, I got about 4.5 miles in before the first time I walked. Well, I walked at the park entrance aid station while I was drinking, but this is the first non-aid-station walk. I let myself walk for about a minute, and still tried to keep my pace above "ohgodthisistoohardigiveup" pace. In other words, I think I was doing about a 14 min pace on the walk. Besides that one spot, I ran the whole way and I got my second wind with about a mile left. I knocked out the last mile at a sub-9 pace if memory serves, and I looked strong at the finish line. Of course looking strong at the finish line isn't really my problem. I'm great at the start and the end of a run, it's the vast middle portion where I'm not so hot.

Mile 1: 10:18 AHR: 171
Mile 2: 10:24 AHR: 176
Mile 3: 10:19 AHR: 178
Mile 4: 11:13 AHR: 179
Mile 5: 11:46 AHR: 181
Mile 6: 08:54 AHR: 188

Train more I guess, but I kept a good pace considering the distance.

I drank a lot of fluids. Since I changed up my nutrition plan I noticed I never want to eat at the end of a race, I just want to drink fluids. I don't know if that's a good or bad sign, but the last thing I want to see is food. I eventually ate a couple watermelon pieces, but other than that it was all water/gatorade.


I don't have bionic legs.


I'm happy with my race time, but it sticks in my craw that all the distances were short. I was trying to make a good comparison to CapTex to see how I've progressed, but I can't if all the distances are off. It's a little OCD of me I know, but I'd like as close to the exact race specs as I can. I changed the distances on the RR to reflect what I actually got on my Garmin.

The race is decent and the aid stations were more well-placed than last year(trust me, I appreciate this improvement), but this is a long drive for an event. I'm not so sure I'm willing to make this trek again next year. Getting up at 3:45am sucks balls.