Bridgetown Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

With the lack of swimming since June I just don't have the swim speed at the start. I tried to go with the fast group but just didn't have it to hang with them. Instead I built into my effort and did about the first half of the swim pulling a big group. At the far buoy, I focused on staying strong and working a little harder and started to drop those who were chasing. By the final turn back to the exit, I had gapped those I was with by about 20 seconds. I was surprised when I exited that the clock said 24:16 so the low current this year must have led to a faster swim.

More swimming!

Great.

Nothing.

I knew I was behind athletes I wanted to be with so my focus on the bike was to settle into race effort and hold it there; I dropped into the aerobars as soon as my feet were in my shoes and then just focused on keeping my effort right on the edge of what I could maintain. At the first turn I saw where the leaders were and knew that although most would put some time into me, with a focused effort I could limit those losses. Coming back to Bridgetown the speed was significantly higher (not sure if it is a slight grade or wind) and I had to maintain focus to stay on top of the pace. At the beginning of the second lap I could see where Eric and Harry were and I tried to put some time into them before we began the run; I felt that I could catch both with a good run but couldn't give up too much speed. Tom had passed me at about the 15km mark and I was also trying to limit how much time he could put into me; he is a faster biker but I can usually hold my own with him on the run so I hoped to be close heading out. Also, Rob passed me just before the beginning of the second lap and while I can normally out run him, after having him beat me here last year, I wanted to ensure he wasn't in position to do that. On the second lap there were lots of athletes (long course, sprint, tri-a-tri) and I slingshoted past many of them. The only concern was at the turnaround and then coming back into the park where things got a little crowded. I felt strong throughout the bike and only lost just over a minute to Harry and Eric (about two minutes back).

Still need more time in the saddle; just not quite where I want to be. Overall this is my fastest Oly bike split in a non-drafting race so overall I'm happy.

Just a little crowded (had to dodge some athletes) but overall still quick and efficient.

Nothing.

My goal was to run myself back into the race; there were a few athletes that I passed in transition and also some who had passed me on the bike who I knew I could reel back in. Ultimately, I wanted to run down Tom, Harry and Eric so I set out trying to put some time into the field. I felt pretty good by the 1km mark and had already passed a couple of athletes and had Rob in my sights; by the 2.5km mark I was on Rob's shoulder and could see I was catching Harry. I got by Rob at the 3km and then just focused on staying strong through the 5km mark as I saw where everyone was. I was putting time into Harry but Eric and Tom were running really strong and I figured that I wasn't going to be able to catch them so my focus changed to getting Harry before the line. I had him in sight for almost the entire last 5km but I wasn't able to put quite enough time into him. As we hit the town and turned towards the park, I knew I wasn't going to catch him so just focused on a strong finish. Despite not reeling in the athletes I was chasing, I put up the 9th best run and ran myself back into the top 10 so a great race, especially after last week.

Not much, I ran hard and pulled some time back on most of the field.

Quick swim


Training consistency with the move.


Great race as usual.