Parris Island Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

6:44 out of the water (official time includes run to transion). OK swim...my swim fitness just isn't there to really push it like I should, but still passable.

Also: I was the 9th age grouper starting, but still passed 4 people who started ahead of me.

Get to the pool more.

Awesome transition. Ran like hell from the pool, helmet on, grab the bike and out. Good flying mount, into the shoes easily after I got up to speed and I was flying.

Nuthin'.

Pretty damn good bike. I don't have much bike fitness, but this was the smartest bike I've probably ever had. I settled in pretty well the first few minutes, getting my HR under control and ramping up my speed. About 5 minutes in, racer #26 passed me (one of the dudes I passed in the pool). He was going a good bit faster than me, but instead of letting him go, I marked him and legally drafted him. We worked together the rest of the bike (he may have been a bit closer on my wheel when I was pulling, but whatever), but even at 3+ bike lengths, the drafting advantage was real. So...go me.

Go with #30, who passed both of us. Guy in front of my didn't go with him, but I should have.

Had a bit of trouble getting my bike racked. Other than that, OK T2. No cramping issues this time (thank you, enduralytes!).

Do a better job racking my bike and save myself a few seconds.

Pretty darn good. About 200 yards out of transition my left calf threatened to cramp. But I've found that if I concentrate on really heal striking (not my natural tendency at all), I can fend it off. After a few minutes, it loosened up and I was able to run normally). Looking at my watch, I knew I had a shot at breaking an hour (which would be a nearly 6 minute PR at this race), and I knew if I was under an hour, I'd have a good shot at the podium. I slowly ramped it up in the first half, but hit the turn around in 11:17...which gave me just about 10:15 to get in under an hour. By this time, I was feeling really good...powerful and smooth. So I aired it out and just pretty much ran flat out. I knew the second half was a bit shorter because of the little loop we ran at the top of the course, but I wasn't sure I could get back a minute faster than I went out. But...I was running well.

With two turns to go, I had 2 minutes to break an hour, and at that point I knew I was cool. Cranked it up for the finish and hit the mat in 59:43.

Not much. Maybe go harder earlier. I have a hard time running hard enough in sprints, I guess.

Walked around for a few minutes, jogged abot a half mile.


Fitness.


After a few DQs, I was 23rd OA out of 496 and 3rd in my age group. So I moved up about 40 spots over all and 9 AG spots in a much bigger field. Coolio.

I love PI...and it's pretty cool to be getting older but to still be getting significantly faster.