5430 Long Course Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Lined up in front and waited for the starter to give us the count down. My goal was to swim easy and keep good form. I haven't swam that much this year, so I knew if I pushed it too hard, I would pay for it later on the bike.
I stayed somewhat on course except for the occasional zigzagging. I also drafted a little on the way out, but was alone for most of the way back to the beach.



I wonder if I might be a little faster if I had a thinner suit. I can't seem to get any propulsion from my two beat kick due to the fact that my legs float so much. It's like swimming with a pull buoy.

Overall I really happy with my swim considering I haven't done much swimming. I know there are not a lot of TI fans out there. But one thing my TI coach has done for me (2 years prior) was teach me how to swim efficiently and effortlessly. It made me a little faster, but more importantly, I spend a lot less energy doing it.

PR'd the swim by 1:00

Had some issue removing my bike from the rack. I had my bike racked by the seat rather than the aero bars. The bike was a bit too tall to slip under the rack.

This was a two loop course, with somewhat of a climb coming out of transition. I tried to stay aerobic on the first loop, but felt like I had to push some of the hills where there were crowds...this was to avoid drafting. Passed a lot of folks on the first loop heading out to St Vrain. Once I got to St Vrain, I just coasted until my HR settled down.
On the second loop, my back started to complain along with my left piriformis. I haven't been riding my tri bike much. Most of my riding has been on my MTB, training for Laadville. So I took the opportunity to stand and climb some of the hills.
I was fairly confident I could ride 22mph and still have some left for the run.

need more flexibility in my back

PR'd the bike by over 8 minutes

My main goal today was to break 2:00:00 on the run. I figured with the heat and lack of shade, the only way to accomplish this was to stay salty, cool and hydrated. I took in over 1000mg of sodium every hour, and drank over 30 oz of fluids each hour. I also stayed cool by consistently dowsing myself with my water bottle. And when That ran dry, I used water from the 50oz camelbak I carried on the first loop.
I walked for at least 20-30 seconds at every aid station. This allowed me to get in enough fluids. I trained this way all year and found this to help reset my HR. I also noticed I would actually pick it up a little faster after each walk.

Good sprint at the end, I passed two guys from my age group.

Nothing. I met my goal.

PR'd my run by about 17 minutes.

Cooled down in the endless pool that was on display


weight


I'm very happy with my performance today. I PR'd this course by 26 minutes over last year's time