Total Time = 1h 58m 10s
Overall Rank = 115/322
Age Group Rank = 24/43
Age Group = 35-39

Pre-race routine:
I read previous race reports from me and other racers on BT.com. I packed my bag the night before and double and triple checked it that morning. Got up early around 4 AM and took a hot shower, ate a half of a PB&J sandwich and went to the restroom while waiting for my ride. I rode to the race with Greg and we just talked about different topics while driving.

Greg and I pre race, making our race plans!

Event warmup:
We got to the race in plenty of time to setup our transition area, get body marked and go to the restroom again. I picked a pretty decent spot I felt and had time to get in the water early. My wife and kids came to the race later, and once they got there I was ready to race.

Swim (800 yds in 15:34 8th in AG)
I really felt like I had one of the better swims I have ever had. At the start, the majority of the wave got to the left of the beach area, so I went further right than normal. The wave group was a lot larger than I expected (all males AG over 35). There was some bumping the first 200 yds or so, but it did not throw me off any. I was able to sight fairly well, although the first buoy was very hard to see. My plan was to cut the swims into segments and just focus on getting to the buoys. I had good lines to swim 90% of the time. By the time I hit the last buoy, I was already going through my transition in my head. I felt great at this point.

I was thrilled to be 8th out of the water in my AG!

T1 :55
T1 went smoothly, no complaints. Last time I did this race T1 was 2:31, so major improvements!

Bike (18 miles 56:35 Average 19.3 mph)
I was on bike and rolling fairly quickly. I felt good on the bike, I wanted to stay around 20 mph for the ride and I got close. I felt like I was in the right gearing the entire ride. I was able to stay in aero for a lot of the ride, which helped remind me to drink regularly. My lower back ached about 15 miles into the ride, but other than that, I really felt good coming off the bike! My top speed was 35 mph coming down the one hill of the course. I felt like I went fairly hard on the bike, but I think there is still a lot of room for improvement and more speed.

T2 :46
I was able to get my shoes off with about a half mile left on the bike. I made a good dismount and ran the bike back to my transition area, grabbed shoes and race number, then threw my helmet off and headed out. I was feeling really good coming out of T2

Feeling Strong out of T2!

Run (4 miles 44:22)
This is where it all fell apart. As you can see, I was really feeling good as I started it the run. I had realistic expectations and was on pace to meet my goals. The run started out with a one mile road segment, followed by a two mile trail run, which lead you back down the original first mile.

The sun was out in full force and it was very hot on the road section. The heat was draining. The heat got to me quickly and it was draining. It really zapped me hard. Once in the trail, it got worse due to no air circulation and it was humid. I did alot of walking, which disappointed me. I hit every water station to try and get back into it, but I was out of it, mentally. As I told my wife, it wasn't that I was hurting or even tired, I was just mentally checked out about 2 miles into the run. I just didn't want to do it anymore. I really wanted a better run, but mentally I was drained. I was able to walk/run the rest of the way, but I was really disappointed in my run. I know the heat effected a lot of people and I still made improvements over the last time I did this race, but my goal time was within reach, I just missed it!




Post race
As I crossed the finish line, the volunteers jumped in front of me to get my timing chip, which cause me to stumble a bit, so a separate volunteer grabbed me, gave me an ice cold wet and shuffled me over to the sprinkler tent. I admit, I was burning up hot and the cold water felt so good on me. The towels were a God-send also! I guess I needed a few minutes after finishing to restore myself, but I was so glad that race was over. The heat was that brutal.

After I was able to pull myself together, they had fajitas and watermelon for us to eat. I ate some watermelon, and hung out with the family for awhile. I got some of my friends together and we all took some group pictures, before loading up and driving home. It was still hot while loading up the van, took me forever to stop sweating!


Greg, Dave, JF, Tim, Eric,Freddie, Phillip, Chris, and not sure who she is!

Greg and Me (Greg finished in the Top 20!)

Event comments:
This is one of my favorite races of the summer. The family likes coming to this race and playing at the beach after all the swimmers are gone. Great race, great course. My wife really got some good pictures for me to share! Thanks Baby! While I was disappointed in one segment of this race, overall I was very happy, and I can see improvements with my racing.

MightyMite Triathlon 2009

Mighty Mite Sprint Triathlon
07-18-2009
Forrest City, Arkansas
Overall Rank = 116/368
Age Group Rank = 24/32

Pre-race routine:
Woke up around 4:30, got ready with a short shower, went to the bathroom and ate a little something, then packed up the van and headed out to Forest City.

Event warm up:
Got transitions setup and then went to the water to get in a little swim. The water was very nice.

Swim (528 yds-10:17):
The swim was fine, they changed the race to a time trial race instead of a wave start, which wold have been nice but they did not seen anyone by their swim time, just their numbers. So that meant the start was nice but it got bottled up at the finish. It was nice to be able to find a line to swim right off the bat, but the sun was shining right in front plus the reflection off the water made sighting difficult on the first buoy. I really thought I was swimming faster than my time reflected, was actually slower than last year!

What would you do differently?:
work on sighting, maybe try and speed it up some more.


T1 (1:50):
I realized just how much of a tenderfoot I really am! Running up from the swim on the concrete killed my feet! Oh Well!. T1 went a hell of a lot better than last year, as I have really simplified what is in T1. The actual transition would have been faster if I had not had to run so far to get to my bike.


Bike (13 miles- 41:50):
The bike went fairly well as I was prepared for it this year, still got passed by too many people, but then I am passing people this year. The hills on this race were tougher than I imagined. Again, I was able to get shoes off and pedal to the dismount line, which helps. I had a gel on the bike cause I could feel a twinge in the calf, so I did try to drink, but I know it was not enough.

T2 (1:02):
Felt good, was able to get shoes off and running shoes on easily.

Run (3.1 miles-25:47):
The first mile was a bitch! Not sure why but it literally defeated me so much that I had to start picking little goals ( make it to the corner, just to the ridge, etc...) After the first mile though I finally got my running leggs and it started getting easier to run, just had to break through that first 8 minutes. The locals sat out on their yards and would spray the Whitehorse over the road, which helped jar you back into race mentality!

What would you do differently?:
Still need to work on running after biking, get those running legs back quicker and I want to speed up! I would like to get under 8 minutes miles on a triathlon sometime! But, I am still happy with my time.

Overall, I feel really good about his race. I cut 15 minutes off my time from last year and I met my goal I set pre race.

Same Race- 2nd verse

Every Feb, the gym puts on a mini triathlon or indoor triathlon. It is a 500 yd swim, 8 mile bike (stationary) and 2 mile run (treadmill). It is a fun race to do and always gets the race blood going. I did the race last year and had decent times, but this year I had a full year of training under my belt and I can say that all those winter training rides on the trainer actually paid off. I am posting my times form last year and this year:



500 yd swim 2008- 10:10-----------2009-8:46

8 mile bike 2008-30:46-----------2009-20:34

2 mile run 2008-16:42------------2009-15:35

Total Time 2008-57:41------------2009-44:55

Almost a 13 minute improvement! I am really excited to race this season and see what other improvements I can make!

I found out today that I in fact won the whole thing! I am now thinking about retiring on top!

MightyMite Triathlon Report

Better late than never right? About 2 weeks ago I finished the MightyMite Triathlon in Forest City, AR. It was a point to point race, which means nothing is down and back. You drop off your running shoes, then drive on to the swim and bike transition.

600 yard Swim:
The swim was fun! FUN FUN FUN! I was in the second wave. I got in the middle of the pack (not on purpose) and there was a lot of bumping, pushing, grabbing and slapping. Now none of this is intentional, it is just part of the game. But I had a great swim, and I powered through a lot of people. I got in my pace and was able to really move. I was 11th out of the water in my age group and finished it in 9:32.



T1:
This transition area went horrible. I could not get my shirt on right, I could not get all my stuff bagged up, my bike gloves were inside out...it just went bad. The total time here was 3:44. H O R R I B L E

13 mile bike:The bike seemed to go pretty good. It was a little hilly, with the exception of the one big hill at the beginning. When I hit the big hill, I got caught in the wrong gear and instead of risking popping my chain shifting, I had to bail off the bike and walk it up until I could get it in the right gear. The rest of the bike went well, I am still not averaging as much speed as I want (16.7 mph), but I am working on it. Total bike time for 13 miles: 46:20

T2:Went fine, racked my bike, changed shoes, grabbed my hat and race number and left.

3.1 mile Run:
Man was it hot! The run started weaving through the college there in Forest City and then headed to downtown. I really was determine to keep running to the turnaround point (mile 1.5) but it never came. I did not know this until that moment when I saw the Mile 2 marker. So I did walk some, but I also ran a lot of it. I got to a point where I could see the finish line so I was relieved...until I saw that you had to make a right hand turn, go two more blocks and then come through the finish line from the other side. But I did finish!~ Run time:32:10

Total time of the Triathlon- 1 hour 35 minutes and 6 seconds

I was very happy with my time. I still ended up 29 out of 32 in my age group, but I did better than my time goal, so I was thrilled. What did you do last Sat?