Over The Mountain Triathlon - Triathlon

Decided to not go all out at the gun but just settle into a nice pace. Swam about a 200 and saw a guy about 20yds in front of me. Hit the gas to get on his feet and enjoyed the ride. I felt the swim was going well because I was working pretty hard to stay on this guys feet. I knew he was helping me out. About 300 yds from the finish I thought we were right of the finish so I broke away from my guy and shot what I felt was a more direct line. However, when I got close to the finish, my drafter was coming out of the water. I should have stayed on his feet! Anyways got passed right as I crossed the timing mat for 4th in my AG.

Stay on that guys feet for the whole swim

Tough hill out of the water skews the time on T1 but I had one of the faster ones so I was pleased. Helmet on and had my shoes on the pedals so was fairly seamless.

I really don't know why everyone doesn't put their shoes on their bike. You don't have to do a flying mount, but is much easier then trying to get clipped in when you start.

It rained the whole ride. I was worried about it being slick, but it did not play a factor. However, when I put my race wheels on the night before I did not check my gearing. This is a hilly course and I ended up not having any of my little ring! I dropped down on the Kings Mountain climb and it sounded like someone was taking a hammer to my drivetrain. I ended up having to mash my big ring for the whole course. I definitely lost some time here and could not spin up the climbs. Instead I had to stand on the pedals and mash as hard as I could. Especially up Pinnacle!

Check gearing before race

One of the fastest on the day.

Nothing

As soon as I started the run, my quads felt like I had been doing dead lifts all morning. Not having my little ring was going to do the most damage to me on the run. All the standing on the pedals was wreaking havoc on my quads. Settled in on what I thought. Was a decent pace but felt slow. I could tell I was right in the thick of things for my AG but could not hold it together this day. I felt good for the most part except my quads. By the time I hit the turn around the wheels were starting to come off. I couldn't tell my pace because my Garmin decided not to work today so I was going by feel. The up hills felt like a death march but I held it together for the finish. This was the most painful 10k I've ever run. I am actually pleased I kept it under 8s considering how bad my legs felt.

Check my bike gears.

Grab some water and realized I had the toughest AG on the day. I was four minutes faster than two years ago but finished 3 spots lower in my AG.


This is one of the best Regional races. Challenging course with great support.