Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Lined up to the far right as the course goes that way anyway and stayed well out of the melee. Had no problems getting started, barely had anyone near me at all until the turn buoy which allowed me to get into a nice rhythm. After the turn I went wide again until the next turn and then wide after that one until the finish. Really uneventful and could focus on being smooth and relaxed. Didn't get passed by the wave behind me until only about 200 meters from the finish. At that point I could see the timing clock and subtracting the 1/2 hour from when the pros started I knew that I was probably going to break 30 minutes, which was my optimum goal for the swim with the very limited pool time I've had this year.

Not have a shoulder injury and get more swimming in. My yardage for this year is beyond pathetic. But in the race, nothing. This was by far my best shorter distance open water swim. Only Lake Placid and Florida were better overall swims I think.

My space was all the way at the end of the rack and in the middle of the transition as far as fore/aft went. So I was one of the furthest from all the in/out locations. Oh well. They screwed up the timing and T1 was included in the bike split, so this is a total guess for time based on what others do. I think it went well and there were no hiccups at all.

Good transition overall, can't complain.

Not a great ride because of fitness levels and the weather/roads. I did the relay leg on the bike last year and put up a fantastic time and was hoping to come close to that this year. But my legs weren't all there and riding the disc downhill at 40mph then getting hit with a huge gust of wind from the side and being literally pushed almost into oncoming traffic is a really sobering experience. As a result I didn't ride in the aero bars on most of the longer/steeper downhills and rode conservatively to stay upright. I also pussyfooted around some of the corners as there was some standing water and it rained for part of the race.

Redeeming thing is I caught the majority of my AG that finished the swim faster on the bike, set the 4th fastest AG split with a mediocre ride and was only passed by one person from the wave after me about 3 miles into the course and no one else.

I had a 6-pack of beer riding on this split, but after the first few miles I knew that I was buying. It wasn't going to be my day (not too mention that Dan put up some great numbers and won his AG!! Well deserved beverages there!).

Ride a little less conservatively. I was almost 4 minutes slower than last year. Train more on the bike. Other than my 2 races, in the last few weeks I've been on the bike only twice. Because it is my strength and is the easiest part for me (not too mention it takes the most time in training), I really put cycling on the back burner when it comes to training and it gets sacrificed for other facets of life that are more important. Oh well.

Good fast transition (as I mentioned before I had a long run to get to my spot and to get out to the run). Racked bike, helmet off, shoes on, grabbed my visor and number belt and off I went. There were 3 other guys coming out at the same time - all came in before me on the bike from either my wave or the one before so I made up some time there.

nothing, good solid transition. Since I go very simple in the race I don't have anything to worry about other than taking my helmet off and putting my shoes on! 17/168 for AG for T2 time.

Coming out transition I had two guys behind me and one in front who was moving out. I decided to try and hang with him as he was in my AG and see how the legs felt. After about a 1/4 mile you take a hard left and climb for another 1/8th or so up a pretty steep hill. I passed the guy ahead of me and never saw him again. Passed a few others up the hill in both my and the older AG and just settled into a rhythm. A 41 year old guy (wave behind me) passed me about a 1/2 mile into the run wearing the old Team Gu uniform (I was in my one from last year - the one he had was the year before) and I cheered him on as a former fellow teammate.

After that it was pretty uneventful! Other than the constant hills of course. Downhills were pounding my quads and they were both twinging by about 3 miles into the run with the left one hurting more. I caught a few more people in various age groups and was passed by 2 from mine and 2 more from the 40-44 group. Didn't feel like I was going that fast, but I was catching most people ahead of me. At the exit from and re-entry back into the park I saw Miguel from my office who graciously had taken time out of his Sunday morning and was volunteering for the race!! Big huge thanks to him and got some well received "Go Rick!"s out of him!! ;-)

At the back end of the loop around the lake it was quiet as there was no one around me until one from my AG passed me (he ran a 38 minute split, so I certainly had no reason to think he wouldn't!) From there it was a cruise on in and my double fisted metal salute at the finish where Fred had finished just 34 seconds ahead of me (damn fish!! ;-) ).

Not sure. Maybe not be complacent and let the few from my AG pass me? I put out the best effort that I could until near the end so I guess it was a decent run. Not my best, but the time on this course is pretty solid as it is one of the tougher ones out there. Certainly didn't feel like a 42!!

Talked with Fred who is still recovering from a hip issue and was lucky to be able to race - and he did fantastic to boot! I had no idea of how I did but based on the clock I figured I was close to my realistic goal of 2:25. Walked over to transition and got dressed in warmer clothes.


Training, lack of swimming ability, conservative approach on the bike.


Another great race by the CTA and a decent result considering how little I've been training and no real race-specific focused training at all for any of my races. My aim this year is to just enjoy racing a lot and not put any pressures on myself as I tend to do better that way. Plus with the way life is (kids, work, family time, house) I just can't seem to make a training schedule that works for all occurrances in my life - so I'm not constraining myself to any schedule and just winging it and racing.

But top 10% both AG and overall?? I certainly have nothing to really complain about!