So I'm a little late posting this blog...for some reason work keeps getting in the way. Regardless, it's time to post my last race report for my triathlon season. The race was a local event...practically in my back yard, the
Parker Fall Frenzy. The race is in its 10th year and for a little town like this, that's pretty good.
Race day started off pretty much as I expected. I got up early, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. The race officially started at 7:00, but since it was a pool swim, they started in waves based on anticipated swim time for the 500 yards, slowest to fastest. I was anticipating a 9 minute 30 second swim, so I was towards the end of the swim start. I figured this would mean I'd start around 9:00. Needless to say, this gave me plenty of time to get my spot in the transition area set up.
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| My little piece of the transition area |
Not wanting to be late for my swim, I headed into the pool area well before 9:00. This meant I did a lot of standing and waiting. I did get to chat with my coaches and wife, son adn mom while I waited so that helped pass the time. Unfortunately, there were some delays with police forces working traffic so I didn't start until 9:45. As I finally got up to my wave, the nerves had set in. Each lane was set up with a group of five sharing the lane. Since everyone was supposed to be swimming about the same time, this shouldn't be an issue. We all talked and decided I should lead our group...this ended up being a good decision. We got in the pool and it was finally time to start. My plan was to swim a consistent speed that I was comfortable with from training. I was successful with this plan for the most part. I noticed after I swam the first length, that it seemed too fast. I trusted my body though and kept up the pace since I felt good. On the fourth lap, I had to make the first pass.
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| I was feeling good in the pool! |
For the remaining laps, I passed people more than I didn't. In the end, I passed one person two times. This was shocking to me! Could I really have swam that fast, or did everyone in my group severely over-estimate their speed? Not likely! As I bailed from the pool and headed out to the transition area, my coach yelled "8:13!" Are you kidding me! I knew I felt strong, but come on. Well, as I found out a few days later, the pool I train at is 25 meters long, not yards. While this isn't a huge difference, it amounts to about swimming about 1 lap less than what I've trained for. I sure wish I would've known this before, but it worked out pretty well in the end.
The run to the transition area was pretty long...nearly a 2 minute run. I ran in and quickly, got my bike and gear and was out of transition in 45 seconds. I struggled getting my feet in my shoes, which bothered me, but once they were in, I felt strong. The first mile was on a bike/running path which concerned me with possible crowds. I lucked out and didn't run into any traffic jams and just had to pass a couple people. I felt great on the bike (how could I not riding my new Blue Triad in its first race) and everything just clicked. The bike portion was on roads that I ride regularly, so I felt I had a little advantage. I didn't get passed at all on the bike which added to my confidence for the race. I finished the 11 mile bike in 31 minutes 15 seconds...just over 21 mph average.
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Wife got this photo right after the gutter and right before the turn to T2.
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I sped into T2, which was a short run to my spot. I didn't forget my sunglasses this time and was out of T2 in 1 minute 3 seconds. My coach was there on my way out cheering advice and tips. It was nice to have all the support and it certainly helped my run. I felt great still, but was starting to feel the legs. I paced as best as I could hoping that I wouldn't leave it all on the trail too far before the finish. I made the turnaround and started looking for those that were swimming about the same time I was and in my age group. I didn't notice any of them for nearly a mile, so I was pretty sure I was in a decent position. I did get passed once on the run, right before the last hill to the finish, but he was a young guy...nowhere near my age group. There was a short hill up towards the last 100 yards of the run. I know this hill is short and not impressive at all...unfortunately, it didn't seem that way this day. I was beat and could tell when I was at the top of the hill. My coach was again waiting for me and ran me in, almost all the way to the finish. It was great to have him cheering me on an pushing me until the end.
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| Tired, but ecstatic! |
I crossed the finish in 24:19 for the run, for a total time of 1:07:28. That time put me in 5th place for my age group. I'm pretty happy about that for my second race. I still have a long way to go if I'm going to place top 3, but I will work on that for next year. Once the results were posted, I was surprised to find that my time would've put me in first 20-24 as well as the 30-34 age groups. I guess the 35-39 AG is pretty competitive...as I've been told.
In the end, I had a great personal race and am extremely happy with what I've accomplished this year. So much so, I can't wait for next year!
I'm fortunate that I had my wife and son support me through this year of learning to tri. It's a time-consuming sport, but I love it and I hope Teresa and Seth got some joy out of watching me compete this year. I also am grateful to my mom for coming down to watch me race this last event. Lastly, I'm so pleased with my coaches, Jeff and Diane at
PRS Fit. They're absolutely the best! Not only did they coach me throughout the season and prepare me for these events, they came all the way down to watch my whole race! Not many 'online coaches' will go that extra mile when they don't have to.
Plans are now in the works for 2011. I've discussed my schedule for the year already and have already made some plans. I'll reveal all of that in a later post....it's going to be good stuff! Now to the off-season!
Thanks for reading!
- Brian
