Giant Acorn International - TriathlonOlympic

I've been slow recently during practice and I don't really know why. But generally felt okay in the water today. The first 200 or so and the last 200 were the best. The middle of the swim I was having trouble keeping a straight line, especially on middle 1/3rd of the triangle. When I practice I should try closing my eyes some and see if I go straight. Also ran into more people than usual. Pretty crowded out there today. But, may be time to find a masters swim club too. Then again, maybe I'm just getting old.

Sighting. Better practice.

I thought I did okay on this transition. Counted the racks (18) which really allows me to not hesitate inside the transition area. About same rank as my overall rank. Can't run very fast with the bike shoes and it was a long way to the bike start. I still don't do anything fancy on the starts.

Can't think of anything. T1s are always a bit slow for me.

I've never had a better bike ride. I was passing people and felt good the entire time even though I haven't really been riding enough. The clipless pedals were great and I didn't stand much. No shirt. Worked on staying in more aero position. Also had several other riders at a similar pace and we traded places a bunch. Felt like a race for a change (for me). Definitely motivating.

Most telling fact is that it was the first time my ranking on the bike was better than the swim. Technique is improving... now just have to get in the miles.

Blew the first tight corner just before the end of the 1st lap. Caught me by surprise and lost some time there. Otherwise, a really good bike ride for me.

Not good. Forgot to untie running shoes. Hesitated getting out of bike shoes. Just wasn't very focused. Started out the wrong way for the run. Nothing disastrous, but overall, my mistakes probably added 30 secs.

Need to practice getting out of bike shoes faster.

Well, there are two ways to look at this. One way is that it was a vast improvement over last year. The other way is that I am still a very slow runner. Generally I felt good through mile 4 and then struggled. I was at about a 9:15-9:20 pace for the first 4 miles and then I was over 10. Just ran out of gas the last two miles. Back hurt the whole way, but not to the point of not being able to run like last year. I do think the back exercises have helped. Need to keep that up.

However, within my category (Master Clydes), my placing across disciplines was very even (5/5/6). So, will have to lose some more weight which should help both my run and my back issues. On to HM now.

Went by two water stops mid-course without getting water just b/c of bad timing (no one had a cup of water ready). That might have been a mistake. However, it really felt more like I ran out of nutrition, not hydration. Was really hungry on the 2nd half. Maybe I should have grabbed some Heed in there somewhere (yuck).

Just went over and got in line for some food. Started to feel really fuzzy while standing in the sun. Grabbed some G and after the food and a couple of drinks felt much better.


Although I was really happy with my bike portion, I could have biked more the last 2 months. And I think I need to have my long run at 8mi before my next OLY. Swim more 200 sprints in practice and work on swimming straighter.


Perfect weather, perfect water temp, great bike course... really enjoyed the race. Wonderful way to end the season... thanks to all the organizers and volunteers!