Memphis in May Pictures

Here is my race report in pictures:

Always set your watch before starting the swim.

Swimming through the channel
Swim Exit

T1 Biking through a thunderstorm is not fun

T2

The dreaded run

The FINISH!!!!

Memphis in May Triathlon Report

Pre Race:

This race was at a new venue this year. Tunica, MS, the Vegas of the Mississippi River! The venue was great overall and I am glad we made the decision to come in the night before and stay at the hotel. The kids loved staying in a hotel and I loved rolling out of bed and being at the swim site. Since I was able to rack my bike the night before the race, the morning went smooth.

I woke up around 5 AM and got ready. I drank some Gatorade, but didn't really eat anything. I felt pretty good overall that morning and was not that nervous. I was able to take my bag to the transition area and get everything set up. I got my body marking the night before, so setup did not take me long. I went back to the room to use the restroom and grab my wetsuit.

Before the race, I was able to get in the water and swim around. The water was almost warm enough to go without a wetsuit, but the added speed I have with the wetsuit made it a no brainer. This swim was in a man made lake which was no deeper than 4-6ft the entire way!

The swim went great for me. I got into a "zone" after about the first 500 yards and I felt comfortable the rest of the way. After the third buoy, we got to swim through a channel, you could see people standing on the bank cheering us on. I almost lost my sighting and swam into the wall, but was able to correct. The only other thing that happened in the swim was that some guy whacked me in the head pretty hard! Thankfully, I have a hard head and was able to swim on.

I ran up the ramp to T1 and I had a long run to my spot since I was such a low number (#155), which was OK, because it meant I did not have to run with my bike on this transition, It was starting to rain once I was at my spot, but I had no idea about the rains that were coming. My wetsuit got stuck on one of my ankles, but a quick jerk got it off and I was on my way.


It immediately started to rain as I got on my bike, which remained steady until it was a full out thunderstorm. We had a headwind for the first 12-14 miles. I am not a huge fan of riding in the rain, but I was thankful to be out riding. As you know if you read this blog, my bike was stolen on the Tuesday before this race and I was lucky enough to have a friend offer to let me use their bike. So even though there was a lot of rain, thunder and lightning, I was glad to be out there. We finally got a tailwind with the last 12 miles or so. Overall I had a pretty good bike for only riding it for two days and not having a bike computer.

Coming in to T2, I wasn't able to get my right shoe off before the dismount line, so I ran with one shoe clipped to the pedal and the other on my foot to my rack. Some a-hole had racked his bike in my spot which threw everyone off.


So here was my decision to make. My shoes and socks I had placed out were soaking wet, so I decided to go without socks. I took off running and stopped about a half mile in to adjust my laces. At about Mile 2, I could already feel the blisters rubbing, and it got worse as the run went on. I was 1:50 into the race when I started the run, so I knew I was on track to meet my goal time, but the run got me. It seems to be my weak area again. The run turned out to be 1/2 mile longer than it should, but I was doing so much run/walk that it did not matter. My feet were bloody from the blisters all over my feet that I was so glad to see the finish line.

I finished the race in 3:00:37. I was hoping for 2:45-2:50. I am OK with that overall time due to the weather and using a new bike, but I am disappointed in my run, it is something I will really have to work on going forward!

A New Training Toy...

The other day I used some Christmas cash to buy myself a training aide. This was something that I had wanted for awhile but never acted on. it is nothing expensive, but it has already helped me out.

So you want to know what it is and why it helped me right? OK. I bought me a pair of Auvio Wireless headphones.

The way they help me is that I have attached them to my TV and now I can watch all my recorded shows and I do not have to have the volume up so loud that it keeps the house awake. My boys used to wake up and asked me if I could turn the TV down while I was riding on my trainer at night. You see, it was just easier on me and the family if I do trainer rides at night after everyone goes to bed. here are what hey look like.


Now, I may look goofy sitting on my bike in my living room wearing a bigger headset like this on my bike, but it sure makes it easier to talk myself into riding. It has been a few months, so the old butt needs the saddle time. I once read that Andy Potts does 80% of his training on a trainer, so there is no reason I shouldn't be able to supplement my training here when I can't get out.

In other news, I am officially signing up for the Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon tomorrow! The price goes up $30 is I wait past the 15th and I always kick myself for not registering for these races as early as I can to save some cash!

Thanks for reading and happy training!

My 2011 Race Schedule

I have finally decided on what I think will be my 2011 race schedule. I have tried to add some new races and some different races to the list this year, but my main goal is still to get to an Ironman race. I have really put a lot of thought into whether or not I was going to go back to Branson to have another shot at the HIM 70.3 race that went so bad last year, so o see if I am heading back, continue reading!


This is a winter cross country race series. It consists of four total races of different lengths. There is a 3k, 5k, 8k and a 10K in this series. Each race is awarded points and you get ranked based on all four races. This will be my first trail race and should be fun.


In April, I am running the Run the Trails race at Herb Parsons Lake. It is roughly a 7 mile run through the woods. This race will not be totally new to me because one of the triathlons I do is at this same area and it has a 2 mile trail run. I have never really been a huge fan of trail runs, but I am looking for something different this year.


This race is a staple. It is the biggest one around Memphis and this year it has a new venue, so I am excited! I have run this race 2 out of the last 3 years and I have improved every year. I finally hit under the 3 hour mark two years ago when I raced, so I have high hopes for even more improvement. 2:45? Is that doable??


This race is always my nemesis. It seems like I have a great swim, great ride and then it all falls apart on the run. It really frustrates me too. So I am really looking for a good run segment on this race this year and I will be focusing on the run this year, because I know I need that improvement.


This is another favorite race of mine. It is a point to point race, which is unusual for me. I have always raced strong here. It is a time trial race which helps and every year I have improved my times, but my swim time is always slower than the year before. Last year I had a Top 10 finish in my AG, let’s see about 2011!


This is my favorite Super Sprint race. This is the race where you simply redline it the entire way. Another cool part of this race is the swim; you get to dive in off a dock! My goal has always been to finish in under an hour, and I have got close! My best time is 1:02! Lookout Sharpshooter, I’m aiming for you!

I was going to make a video and post it of me mocking “The Decision” ala Lebron James style and proclaim that “I was taking my talents back to Branson in 2011!” Needless to say that I am a little lazy, so no video.


Now as you might remember, this was my big race last yea that I was a DNF. 5 flat tires took me out of the race and it was the most frustrating thing I have ever endured! I almost swore I was done with anything longer than the Olympic distance, but my competitive fire kicked in and I want nothing more than to go back and finish!

So that is my race schedule for 2011. There may be some changes, some races added some subtracted, but this is my plan!