Pinehurst International Triathlon - Triathlon

Decided to test my skills against the big boys. Lined up in front and made a mad dash into the water as the gun sounded. Sprinted hard to outpace the pack and swam for a mark in the silhouette of the treeline as the sun glare made it impossible to see the buoys. I swam hard the whole first leg as visibility was poor and I wasn't sure how close the pack was to me. Rounding the first buoy I could my strategy worked. I soon was passing people in the first wave. I started to swim wide to get around the pack of slow people from the first wave, then corrected and hit the buoys on mark till I finished. I knew I outpaced most of my age group and was psyched, but also surprised at my time. Thought I would be faster. Maybe the course was long?

Nothing. Great confidence builder for me to execute this strategy. Kind of always knew I had it in my, but never been so bold as to line up in front.

Only part of my race I didn't PR from 2011 and only because T1 was further away than it was in 2011.

Nothing.

As in IM Raleigh, lost a water bottle. This time, however, I also dropped the handoff - thought about going back to gabbed the dropped handoff, but reasoned that since the weather was cool and the course shaded, I would just hydrate immediately on the run. Went the whole course on 1 bottle. Saved my final sip to was down my gel just before end of bike. Not quite a 2 bottle course, but definitely more than 1. Started feeling tired at the end. Likely due to the lack of electrolytes and also that I really only put in enough bike training for a 25 mile bike.

More training and DEFINITELY need to get different bottle cages for next season. Would be nice to ride a course without a serious bump or railroad tracks, but that's just wishful thinking. Losing a bottle has bit me in the butt my last two big races.

I slacked on thinking through my transitions as I had been so good in prior years. Took the time to run through my mental check list before the end of the bike and simply blasted through T2. I knew I'd have a top time here and I did - 2nd in AG and 7th overall.

Run faster. That's all I could do!

My strategy was to go easy for the first few minutes. Typically, I run fast right off the bike and then fade away and struggle to hang on. This year, i decided to go easy at first then run the entire course as I put in a lot of run training for this race. The hydration issue on the bike didn't seem to be a problem the first 5 minutes and I struggled to keep myself from just tearing loose, which was good, because just before I hit mile 1 cramps started making their presence known. I downed my emergency gel, then walked through the first water point to make sure I drank a full cup. I could feel the cramp fading away, but every time I picked up the pace I could feel them coming back. Heat came out in full effect and I just never got to the point where I thought I could run through an aid station. When I got to mile 5 I decided to make a go out of sprint to the finish. Passed an Open Master on a hill, but then cramped up majorly in both hammies on the final hill. Heard someone behind me and hoped it wasn't the OM, which it wasn't. Was a young guy. I bucked up and pushed through to the finish and the cramps actually went away.

I did what I had to do for this run. I could have run this faster I'm certain if I had been able to hydrate properly on the bike. In the end, it was a 1-second PR for whatever that is worth.

Cooled down in lake, which was awesome. Didn't see a massage table nor the Rice and Beans truck that was there in prior years. Maybe that's because Setup was having a post race/season bash later that day and the good vendors were going to be there? Pizza was great, but was looking forward to some good red beans & rice.


Great venue. Beautiful and super clean lake, which makes swimming into the sun a non-issue for me. I'll take sun glare over nasty water any day! There is one rough section of road on the bike course, but otherwise a well-shaded and beautiful course. Run is beautiful as well, but very hilly. I wish the bike was a typical oly distance as the extra 5 miles eliminates my swim advantage.