Rage in the Sage - TriathlonOlympic

The swim was about the only thing I felt ok at today... I could have drafted a bit better, but all and all, I turned in a good swim. I felt really relaxed the entire time. It was my goal to go out smooth and easy to save energy for the bike and run.

Draft a bit better.

Once again, a few wetsuit problems. It keeps getting caught on one heel or the other.

Wetsuit removal! I need to spend an afternoon practicing getting out of it one day. It CONTINUES to be a problem

I think I did pretty well on the bike all things considered. I attacked it like my sprint and was feeling pretty good about it. However, I still had that feeling I wanted to puke for most of the ride. I'm not sure if it was my stomach or just a dry throat, but I was kind of dry heaving once in a while on the bike.

It was really hard to take in any liquids and ended up only taking a couple sips from my aero bottle the entire time. I also carried an extra bottle of fluids the entire time that remained untouched.

The only thing I can say, is that I did not FEEL thirsty, so maybe it was ok.

THEN it happened. A FLAT TIRE!!!!! With only about 2 miles to go... It was SO frustrating. I got off the bike and changed tubes (I found that I had run over a staple or something and pulled it out of the tire). That took about 6 minutes. I got going, but realized I had not set the wheel back in right, so I had to stop again to reset it. Meanwhile, I bet about 30 riders passed me during that time (and a lot of them looked like GOOD bikers!). FRUSTRATING!!! I was checking my watch, and I think I lost about 8 minutes off my time.

I think I 'should' have been about 1:26 on the bike. That would have put me in 6th for my division instead of 7th and 98th +/- overall for the bike split instead of 147th.

Maybe practice tire changes and drink more.

Typical transition.

I could probably work to cut a few seconds off, but I can live with it.

I had a lot of going on during the run. I have to be honest, I had sort of mentally 'checked out' of this race after the flat tire. But I really tried to not let it affect me.

I still ran pretty hard (as my Ave. HR and pace will attest). But I will be truthful, I wonder if I couldn't go just a bit harder if everything was going well.

My quads were cramping just a bit as well from the hard pace on the bike (OR the fact I still hadn't taken in any fluids).

I STILL had a hard time taking any fluids in. I was dry heaving and stopped to puke a bit once but STILL didn't feel like any thing to drink during the entire run. I think I splashed one sip of water in my mouth once.

But again, I never really felt that thirsty, so maybe it was ok.

I tried to get in fluids but didn't feel like eating anything. I also got a post race massage at the event. That was a first. It left me a little "wanting" so I ended up going to my actual massage therapist to get a real one a couple hours later.


Poor pre race activity (see below). Mindset?


Here is how I REALLY feel about the race:

This was the early season race I was trying to 'peak' for (other than Alcatraz). I was really looking good based on my recent sprint results. This is the FIRST race I ever did, and I wanted to see my improvements. Then it happened - the motorcycle crash.

I ended up injuring my leg a bit in the wreck which kept me from working out to my full potential the last several weeks. I also took a mini vacation, which side lined me for a bit as well.

I have to admit, the leg was causing NO problems during the race. The pain is just about gone and the bruising has vanished (I'm about 90%). So I can't use that as an excuse. But the missed training probably hurt a bit.

The whole accident sort of took it out of me mentally. Before that, I had the confidence that I was going to do great. But after? I was just going to see how well I could do - just 'see'... I almost considered making it an enjoyable training day. But I came to race, and pushed hard as I could.

BUT, based on that attitude, I probably participated in activities not normal to a good triathlete. I went out drinking and partying the night before my race! 4 20oz bears and some pretty heavy/fatty food, and very little sleep. That had a big impact on me.

When the flat tire came with only 2 miles to go, I sort of phoned it in the rest of the way - at least mentally. I was running and pushing hard, but my mind just kept wondering about 'what could have been". I ended up losing a spot in my division because of that (I could have been 5th instead of 6th). I lost of BUNCH of overall spots too (I would have been 88th +/- instead of 118).

Mind you, had this been a longer race, I would not have let it affect me so much. But 8 minutes on a short course is like an eternity.

That being said, My average bike speed jumped from 15.6mph to 17.3 mph (not including the flat tire time) and I went from a 10/mi to a 8:52/mi.

I'm actually happy with that improvement considering this was a 'bad' race.

But you know what? It was a BEAUTIFUL day, great race, lots of fun and a GREAT way to get a 3 hour workout in! I really shouldn't be disappointed.

As a side note. How come people get FASTER when they get older!!! I looked at the Clydesdale under 40 division, and I would have taken 4th out of 15 even WITH the flat tire!!! This is one sport it SUCKS to be old in!!!