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 Swim
Comments: With the combination of cold water, traveling to a race, beginning of the season, and not having done an open water swim since November, I thought I may have a recipe for disaster on this swim. I was concerned about a Havasu or Show Low type of meltdown with this race. The cold was bothering me during warm up, but I just focused on an inhale/brrr, inhale/brrr pattern as I turned my head into and out of the water (at the time, I found this humorous). At the gun, I started off, but felt slow. It was crowded and I was looking for some clear water. I had to let most of the wave go ahead before I got into a rhythm. I wasn't panicking, though, so that was encouraging. I finally started to feel good and made my way around the first turn buoy. At the second, I checked my time and I was at 18 minutes - pretty good for having gotten off to a slow start. It was at that point that things started locking in. I felt like I had it under control, found a quicker rhythm, and picked up the pace. Even when I got off course, I looked around, saw I was headed in the wrong direction, laughed and said whooops and got back on track. I started getting back into more crowded water, and my navigation was horrible, but when I came out of the water, there were still people around wearing the same color cap I had on - I checked my watch and saw 36 minutes and was happy. I knew it was one of my better swims, I was actually part of the race rather than seeing everyone way in front of me, and the day was off to a good start. What would you do differently?: Try to start better and sight more often.  Transition 1
Comments: Slow transition - went too slow up the ramp, fumbled with my wetsuit, and since transition was very tight, tried to keep my things very organized in a tight space. Putting on the Garmin didn't take any extra time to speak of. What would you do differently?: Move with more purpose. I was a little too satisfied with a good swim and took in the moment rather than keep moving.  Bike
Comments: Having ridden the road during Pumkinman twice and Silverman once, there were no surprises on the course. It is hilly, but nothing too steep or sustained. You are either doing 30mph or 10mph - there isn't much in between. I started off solidly, and kept my HR at around 160. At one point on a downhill, I started getting paranoid about my rear tire, so I actually stopped to check it. It was okay so I got back on and kept going. The miles kept ticking off, and after one last long downhill and one last long uphill I hit the turnaround. The hills were starting to take a toll on the way back, but I still had some focus left and kept the pedals turning on the downhills rather than coasting. For the entire ride, I started to feel a little skittish when approaching 30-35mph, so I sat up and backed off a bit on some of the downhills. There were about three or four people I was with for most of the ride, so there wasn't much picking people off or getting picked off on the back side - just trading positions back and forth. I was drinking my Infinit and Nuun pretty well, but probably could have used a little more. My biggest criticism is letting myself get lazy on some of the uphills and staying upright rather than on the aerobars. Probably wouldn't have made a difference, but I have been working on that all winter and should have been more disciplined. What would you do differently?: Drink more, stay on the aerobars unless absolutely necessary to sit up. Transition 2
Comments: Big transition area and a lot of people so it took a little bit of time to navigate. Not a great time, but I don't remember wasting time, either. I took a few extra seconds to change the Garmin from bike mode to running mode and restart it.  Run
Comments: The course was an out and back, with miles 1 and 6 on a trail. The first half was all uphill and the way back is all downhill. It was also starting to get hot. I started off at a pretty good pace, especially for being on a trail, but as the trail turned uphill appraching the first mile marker, I started to run out of steam. I knew I was going to end up struggling the first few miles, but my goal was to mitigate the damage and not let my overall time suffer too much. If I needed a break, I would allow it, but make it short and get it going again. Don't let it turn into the Show Low run from last year. I finally got to the turnaround and was at 37 minutes. Not great, but not horrible either. I told the volunteer: "Number 451. I want to make sure I get credit for being here!" and started to head back. I told myself that there was NO excuse for not negative splitting this run since it was literally all downhill after the turnaround. I should easily be faster on the way back. I got into a good cadence and tried to maintain it. I stopped and took water and Gatorade in at the aid stations, but the breaks were less freqent and less time consuming on the way back. I must have been pushing, or the Gatorade/water combination didn't agree with me, because at one point I felt some of it about to come back up. Maybe I am finally learning how to push myself a little harder on race day. The finish line was finally in sight and I was able to run it the rest of the way in. What would you do differently?: The run went well. I just need to run more and lose weight to be a better runner. Post race
Warm down: Picked up a water bottle and finisher's medal, found Jenna and loaded up the car. There was food available, but I never feel like eating immediately after running. What limited your ability to perform faster: For the first race of the season, this was a good one - just keep working. Event comments: This is one of the rare occasions where I am pleased with my performance from start to finish. I swam well after a so-so start, the bike was solid, and the run was good. It was a PR for me on an Olympic distance swim, and the run was a PR for a non-Tempe Olympic (that was a race that was not only on a flat course, but also during my build for IMAZ, so the standard is a little different). I consider this race to be a PR day for a 'tough' course. It was a good start to the season. I have to give credit to BBSC for another fantastic race. It was organized, safe, plenty of volunteers, and nice race bags/extras. It was my third time racing with them, and they always do a great job. Last updated: 2011-01-04 12:00 AM
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United States
BBSC Endurance Sports
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 71/108
Age Group = C - 40+
Age Group Rank = 6/10
Having traveled to the Vegas area three times for races already, there was a degree of familiarity with this trip. There was one 'chore' that I needed to do on the way, though. Last November at Silverman, the course included three steep hills known as the Three Sisters. When I did that race, my chain locked up on the first, I admitted defeat and ended up walking the hills. That has haunted me since. I vowed that the next time I was in the area with my bike, I would take another shot. I found the best location on the road to get to them quickly and it was only about 1/2 mile away. I parked the car and told J I would be back in about 20 minutes. I went and rode them - starting fresh and not having ridden 40 hilly miles already made a huge difference, and while I had to stand up out of the saddle, I got up all three with no trouble. Silverman avenged, I headed back to the car and we went to packet pick up. Pickup was smooth and the rest of the evening went by without incident.
I was relaxed going into event day, almost to the point of being too relaxed. I didn't even bring any of my stuff into the hotel to double check it. I was just going to prep everything in the morning. I did have a couple of concerns, though. I had developed an issue with my left eye - it was sore, red, and swollen. Despite seeing a doctor on Thursday and starting medication, it had not improved. I was dreading going through an event with it bothering me. I was also a little concerned about my rear tire. It had a small cut in it. I decideed to risk a 25 mile ride on it rather than changing it out and taking a bigger risk of pinching the tube.
We got to transition in plenty of time and got set up - enough time, in fact, to discover another problem. My sunglasses, which had been stored in my bike shoes, had split in half. I really didn't want to ride 25 miles with nothing protecting an already bad eye, so Jenna went and got my driving glasses out of the car (she was hegely supportive and helpful, as usual). Not the best alternative, but they would have to do.
I got to spend a little time in the water before the race - it was very cold (59 degrees), but I was getting used to it by the start of the race.