New England Trifest - Olympic Course - Triathlon

Pretty happy with this one. Was concerned about L shoulder, as it hurt from Friday's swim, but actually felt BETTER after swimming (?). Got on feet about 200m into the swim and stuck with him through the turn back in. Then we got passed and I grabbed his feet for half the swim in to shore. Then I turned it up and passed. Minimal kicking, nice and controlled pace and breathing. Came out fresh (although I was definitely working).

Happy with it, for sure, as a "non-fish."

Not much. My goal this race was to find some faster feet at the start and try drafting. That worked out. Might have been able to go faster, but not by much and not without a WHOLE lot more work on my part.

Suit stuck for about 3 seconds (one extra good tug) on the chip, but that and 3 shots at buckling my helmet were the only real glitches - maybe 5-10 seconds lost. Overall happy with this one. Did the rubber band shoe thing again and that worked well (no flying mount, but shoes on the bike).

Not much.

Had no idea how to pace this one, as it was my first Oly. Decided to keep the HR about 5 bpm below threshold, and let it drift about 3-5 beats into threshold on the steeper parts. More or less did that, but averaged 151 (so about 8 bpm below start of Z4) with the downhills (at 8% grade, I didn't have gears to push so just tucked and recovered - and ZOOMED. Wicked fun). Took 1.3 bottles of powerdrinkstuff and two GUs (20' and 1 hour). Worked about right.

I went at about the right pace. My run was only a couple minutes off my open 10k, so that felt right. Not sure how much more to dial it back for the HIM, though... Trial and error!

The one guy who was strong, but passing on the right and drafting (maroon) cramped up terribly on the run. Karmic relief... Did trade the lead with one fellow in a USA kit - super nice and good competition to push each other (and he did it all legally, which was a nice contrast to draft-boy). Not sure if the people I passed were ticked that I said g'morning or hello - was truly just being friendly and I always do that, but got some strange looks and wondered if they thought I was being snarky (wasn't, just sayin' hey as usual). :)

Not much. Might try having one easier gear (ran a 25, might try 28 for Tman?) on a really hilly course, as some of the steeps put me a few beats into threshold HR, but not sure.

That and ride more!

Knew exactly where my spot was, but ran past it twice! Duh. Cost maybe 15" but felt like an eternity! Used pre-tied shoes with body glide on the tongue/heel cup as one stuck last time, and that worked very well.

Maybe a big Mylar balloon tied to my transition spot?!?

This was where the RACE happened for me. Not the event, but the real race. Coming out of T2 a fellow in my AG passed me and got about 200m on me. I know (from training - imagine that!) it takes 1-1.5 miles for my legs to come back under me, so I kept him in view. He stayed at 200m from mile 0.5 to 1.5. By the turn, he was ~125m ahead and looking a bit warm. :) I was feeling stronger as I went and decided I was going for it.

I didn't know if I was 5th or 50th, but I was going to finish one spot higher or roast in the trying. Reeled him in to ~25m by mile 4, then ran right behind him for a quarter mile to see if that would pressure him to pick it up (he knew I was there, as he'd passed me and saw me at the turn). He bumped up a little, but not much, so I thought he was redlining. I picked a sunny, hot hill and dropped the hammer.

My absolute best, and most fun, races are when I get challenged by someone over the last mile or so, but I think the heat had unfortunately gotten to him, and he couldn't go with me, so I held a steady pace into the finish. This was different in that he challenged me from the start rather than at the end. A really fun run and GREAT learning experience (knowing when your legs start to work and pacing accordingly).

I wasn't sure I'd be able to make up any time during those first couple miles, but it was good not to try to stay with him at first and run my race. Cheered for, congratulated and thanked him when he came over the line...

Bike more. I noticed tightness in my R quad at mile 5.9, and I think it was from the bike (hills). Didn't cramp, and eased off juuuuust a bit as there was no one close behind me or in front to go after. However, it did get in my head about the upcoming HIM. My run volume feels right, but I want to push the bike mileage up a bit in the next couple months.

Cold water to drink and wear, a short ice bath (OUCH), sit in the shade for 2-3 minutes and eat a banana, then jog around to the finish chute and cheer for people. Saw a few friends and chatted with them whilst cheering and such, too. Awesome day, great race, super-endorphin-dopamine fest!!


As always, training more would help. And so would picking my parents better! I was very happy with my times and the result of those times, but more work on the bike would help, I think (and the run and the swim).


Awesome venue. Great volunteers, and a well run show. Nice folks IN the race. Family had a blast during the long weekend at a lake in VT - what's not to love?