So FIRST race of the year. SECOND race EVERY. FIRST time in the open water all year. FIRST time swimming in my wetsuit. Oh yeah, might as well just go for it huh.
Christine and I drove up on Friday to pick up my packet and drive the course. Saturday I drove up by myself (and forgot a skewer for my rear wheel) and Christine brought the girls up (not an easy task)
Just before I was about to go out, I saw my cheering section and was able to catch a quick picture.
The water was incredibly cold. It literally took my breathe away when I went out for a practice swim. We all line up on the beach and jockeyed for position. It's funny both races so far have had some pretty funny guys talking before we go. You can hear stuff like "I'm not going first" or "I'm slow, you go ahead of me" or even last year it was "How many of you guys are doing this on a dare?". Funny stuff.
I was able find my way to the far left when we took off.
It's always so amazing how far the swim looks when you are standing on shore. Doing longer races will put it into a different perspective...but for now, man it seems like a long way.
The swim was tough. It was pretty windy and there seemed to be a lot of current. I felt pretty crappy getting out of the water. I ran into two major issues. First off, my goal was to hang back and just follow a group out (so I didn't have to spend so much time spotting - looking where I was going). That failed miserably because the group of three guys I was swimming behind were swimming way off course. Lesson learned. The second bummer was that I had to mix in some breaststroke for about 1/2 the time.
The area from the swim exit to the entering of the Transition area (called T-1 when it's getting your bike and T-2 when you are dropping off your bike) was pretty far away. After getting harassed last year for not running, I tried to jog this year...
I was pretty quick in T-1 and felt good going out on the bike. It's always kind of a reality check going into T-1 because you are around people in your wave and you can quickly judge how the swim was by how many bike are there (or gone).
It was a windy day so I knew I had my work cut out for me.
Coming in from the bike into T-2 I felt pretty good still. I think I went out semi hard and left a little left out on the bike. I was tentative on my speed because I didn't want to fry myself before the run.
I felt really strong coming out of T-2 and was ready for the run. There is always time for a quick smile or hello before the run kicks in.
Christine got a great picture at the finish line. Getting at that point is pretty cool. It's a relief that it's over because there isn't much left in the tank, the pride for the accomplishment of a goal and pushing yourself, the joy that training seemed to be worth it and the self criticism that I should have done better. You kind of have a bit of a high for about and hour and then it all kind of hits you and tiredness sets in.
Fun stats.
Swim
- 9/27 in my age group.
- Time 10:10 (1:56/100yds)
- AVG HR = 154 (zone3)
Bike
- 59:02 (17 mph)
- AVG HR = 158 (zone4a)
Run
- 38:14 (10:56/mile) - all neg splits too!
- AVG HR = 162 (zone 4b)
I know it's not that impressive...but compared to last fall: Faster in swim by :40/100 yds, bike 3.28 mph and run 2:00/mile.
It seemed like a great event overall. Tons of stuff for the girls to do and stay busy and for me, there was a ton of support during the run through the nice neighborhood. Garages were open, music was playing and kids were out spraying the athletes.
So all in all a great race, a great start to the 'season'
