May 20, 2012, was the day I had been working for since Jan1, 2012. The goal was to Bring it, the goal was to PR...
Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon Race Report
Pre-Event- we actually got to the venue in Tunica, MS on Sat afternoon, we usually spend the night at the host hotel because it is so nice to jump out of bed and be at the swim start. I was able to get checked in the hotel and everything was going fine until I went to packet pickup. My registration was good, but I had not received my new USAT membership card showing that I was a current member. Luckily, the guy there let me use his iPad and log on to the USAT website to show I was a current. I did not want to drop $12 for a single day membership. After that, the wife and kids went to the pool while I got my bike to the transition area. We had dinner and played a game in the hotel room before turning out the lights and going to bed.
Event Warm-up- I had my alarm set for 5AM, and I woke up feeling ready. I got dressed, gathered my things and snuck out of the room to the transition area and got set up. After going through each transition five or six times in my head, I headed back up to my room for a bathroom break. I was able to get in the water beforehand, and the water felt awesome. The swim had already been determined to be a non wetsuit legal race, so I was happy with the way the water felt. I usually like to swim from the point of the start of the swim, and then I like to swim the exit of the swim, kinda like an entry and exit strategy, it helps ease my mind. There were a ton of people in the water at the exit. I felt good still, I was calm and I was not feeling nervous about the swim, I was just ready to get in the water and get this race started. I next spent the few minutes talking to friends and before I knew it they had started the swim. So I got in line based on my number and inched my way to the start.
Swim: The swim was a time trial start, going off at every three seconds. My AG was one of the last ones in the water, so I expected alot of traffic at some point. As I dove on the water, I felt like I found my stroke really fast. I felt very comfortable in the water. I had some problem sighting due to the sun position, but other than that, I was good for the first 300 yards or so. I saw a lot of people already doing the backstroke before the first buoy. A portion of this swim goes through a very narrow channel and this is where I found a lot of traffic. There was more pushing and shoving in this area of the swim than I have ever experienced. People were swimming over each other. I felt like alot could have been avoided, but it was one of those times you just had to power through it and hold your ground. I had a strong finish to the exit. My goal time was 30 minutes, but that was when I was in a wetsuit.
1640 yards 31:28 1:55/100yds
T1: 2:07
Only thing about T1 was that I decided to go ahead and put on socks rather than waiting for the run, other than that, there was not much I would change. I would like to learn to run with my bike and jump on with shoes in the clips, but there is time for me to learn that.
Bike: This course is a very flat course, pancake flat is the way the race organizers describe it! I wanted to make sure I had a strong bike, but I was concerned about going out to fast, crushing it and then having nothing left to run. So I tried to make sure I stayed in control and raced my race. The first 13 or so miles, we had a headwind which kept me in the 18-19 mph range, which I was happy with. Then we made a turn to head back and suddenly we had a tailwind that boosted my average up to 24-25 mph! I felt like I was flying and since my AG started so far back, I really had the chance to pass a lot of people, which was a nice change for me! I was able to stay in aero position for about 90% of the time which another win for me on the bike. My goal was to average 20 mph, which I hit.
24.85 miles 1:12:41 20.51 mph aver
T2: 1:35
Nothing to talk about here.
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| Heading out on the run, my boys are there cheering me on! |
The Run: This is usually where I talk about how I wanted to do better, but this time I did exactly as I planned. My goal was to finish the run in under an hour. I did not count on it being as hot as it was, and that made it one of the toughest runs I have ever done. This course had zero shade on it and the sun beat down on us hard. I had also a goal of not walking any of it, but I did have to walk through the aid stations. I cup of water equaled two sips for me, then dumped the rest on my head and then grabbed a cup of Gatorade to drink. It really came down to running one mile at a time for me, my Garmin somehow got turned off at 2.5 miles, so I have no idea what my mile splits were, but I knew I was on my path to a new PR, I was really wanting to be in the 2:40s. Before I knew it, I saw the 6 mile sign and I knew I had made it, I just kept running to the finish. I missed my 1 hour goal by 7 seconds!
6.2 miles 1:00:07 9:41 pace
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| I am way far ahead of this lady, I am under the N in FINISH! |
Memphis in May Triathlon
Total Time = 2h 47m 58s
Overall Rank = 439/818
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 61/103
So there it is, a new PR for an Olympic distance triathlon. This was a great race and I really felt like I raced my race and I hit my goals. One area I did not do great on, and I felt it later that day was with hydration. I knew it was hot and I emptied a bottle on the bike and hit every water station on the run, but it was still not enough because I just felt hot all day and had a massive headache up until that evening. Other than that, it was a good race for me. I Brought it!!
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Who is that masked man? A man with a new PR!
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Thanks for reading!
