To the request from a couple of my blog followers, I am actually going to write some race recaps through the season. Most of them will be multi-event in format but there will be a few running events mixed in.
exactly one week post tryCharleston Half Ironman, I spoke with Sheila Wakeman about her event, the "Jetton Triathlon" and said I was interested. After signing up, I knew I would be in for something eventful especially since my 6 weeks to 70.3 training really hurt me. My hamstring was killing me, my hip flexor was out of whack and my legs were basically "dead" as runners would say, no pop.
I thought it would be a great idea to use this race as a practice round for upcoming triathlons in the season, since it has been 4 years since I had really tried to make any attempt at triathlons. Last year's 2009 World Championship race was horrible and looking back, it should have been with my, excuse the language but half ass training plan. I needed some more time in the water and understanding how my body would feel after transitioning from event to event again. Upon signing up for the race, I noticed that my neighbor Lat Purser had signed up as well as Jim Rhodes. Lat is an elite triathlete in the area, who lays down some sicks times, especially in cycling. Jim just ripped off a 4:27 half ironman, followed by a 2nd overall finish in the sprint at white lake.
Competition was tough and I knew that on my best day considering the circumstances, I would only hope to be close to these guys. I was more confident going into the water, BUT it didn't pan out, i caught myself just kind of floating around so to speak. I remember thinking, "if i stay near Lat in the water that would be alright". So once he passed me around 250m in, I just stayed near him without any effort to increase the pace or even pull all the way through my stroke. 1st lesson in racing, my mind basically made a decision prior to the race and it worked just as I thought it may. I need to focus on KILLING the swim!
after leaving the water in just under 14 minutes before we hit the time mat, I grabbed my helmet and sunglasses, then it was off to the bike course. It was funny because 4 of us left transition together and everyone of us had a horrible mount on the bike. I had to laugh at the situation and just think about this being the total reason i was here, to practice. Once on the bike and moving, Lat flew past me and yelled something my way. I tried upping the pace but my hamstring just wasn't prepared to move that quickly. All in all I had a pretty damn good bike portion as I passed a ton of people and this was the 1st race that I had NEVER been passed on the bike.
After duking it out with some guys I caught up and passed about 1/2 way in I made my way to T2. This was not the smoothest dismount to transition but it was alright. I grabbed my shoes and visor then hit the path. I felt no speed in my legs at all, I was just running one steady motion. My breathing QUICKLY began to give me some serious problems. I was struggling to breath and my top just felt too conforming as usual so I stripped it off at the mile marker. My times were slow I knew and I wasn't moving very well because my legs were zapped totally from the 70.3 7 days prior, but i managed to pass several people. I didn't feel DECENT until the last mile when I seemed to pick it up a bit because my breathing was more regulated.
I learned a significant amount from this race and was eager to move forward. Gregory Billington won the race overall and I spoke with him after about his next races. Spain was the destination for the collegiate world championships in 2 weeks, no wonder he laid the wood on everyone. To give an idea of how difficult the 5k course was, he ran 17:40+ and I ran 19:02. Just a couple months back he ran 31:17 for a 10k at the end of a triathlon and well minus the tri part, I just ran 15:54 in the Boston 5k 3 weeks ago!
Looking back I feel like I am over racing but I am racing with purpose, to learn and to get in some great workouts. I believe I ended up 5th overall(1st in my Age division) which is great. I felt a little uneven with my performance afterwards but looking back I am very pleased. Over the past few weeks I have had a lot on my hands in the part of racing indeed!
Boston 5k - 04/19
Boston Marathon - 04/20
TryCharleston - 05/01
Jetton Tri - 05/08
That's a lot especially if anyone was to look back over the past 2 months of my training logs. More race recaps to come! Keep hope Alive
Once on the bike and moving, Lat flew past me ....................this was the 1st race that I had NEVER been passed on the bike.
ReplyDelete??