2.1 mile run + 15 mile bike + 2.1 mile run
Biff mentioned this race on Facebook. My reaction was to skip it—I disliked what the name implied. I was also nagged by the not-ready feeling. In last 15 months I had fewer bike than run miles.
I thought about the 2004 pre surgery promise—I wouldn’t waste the chance to enjoy physical activities. It could be a fun experience. It would be an informative data point for my fitness.
_Preparation
I took the bike out twice for combined 15 miles within 20 days of racing. I sucked. I thought about skating the bike portion.
I lubed the chain.
I ran a few times in the lace-less shoes.
I unboxed the aero helmet that I was too lazy to sell on ebay.
_Goal for a “D” event
1. No injury
2. < 30 min run => sub 7:30 pace
3. 20+ mph bike, assuming dry road and mild wind
4. No preparation mistakes (e.g., forgetting shoes or helmet).
5. Transitions within 1 minute of fastest racer. 10+ min transition was no longer funny after Ironman.
6. No digging—I’m training for a half marathon.
_Gear
QR Lucero with Xentis front and Zipp ZedTech 8 rear. Tubular tires.
Single strap tri bike shoes.
Zoot Ultra Speed laceless shoes.
No socks.
Tri top.
Nike combat pro shorts + knee-length running shorts.
Zoot calf sleeves.
Garmin 305. No HR.
_Race
The day started out cold and miserable. The course was mostly wet from Saturday rain. Forecast said 0% chance of rain.
I paced by perceived effort and was surprised when first 400 meters was done in 6:30 pace. I was worthless without external pacers. I was no longer cold. I finished the 2 laps on motor race track and felt great—either the course was short or I was in better shape than I thought.
Having decent run and T1 implied I get passed left and right by real triathletes. I had fond recollection of complete the swim with 70-year-olds and seeing mostly empty T1.
I biked scared on the wet pavement. I had problem putting my feet into the shoes. Simple task like consuming gel felt out of control. Water bottle cage wasn’t where I expected. I changed the bike goal—stay upright.
I didn’t get in rhythm ‘til final lap. I held back so I wouldn’t spend first mile out of T2 walking.
I willed legs to run out of T2. It worked!
I used a bright green shirt girl as pacer and passed multiple disc-wheel guys.
I was in great mood celebrating surviving the bike ride. Looking back at my 3 triathlons, I focused on surviving the swim and didn’t respect the bike. Maybe I deserved to have 67% crash rate.
The left Zipp calf sleeves slipped. I stopped to fix. This pissed me to no end.
I took little effort to accelerate toward the finish to stop the clock before 80 minutes. What’s with this whole-number obsession!?
Biff didn’t have the ideal preparation but managed a good result of 1:22:30. Our transitions didn’t suck!
Seth continued to impress with 1:07:46. He finished 24th overall and got to bring hardware home.
_Mistakes piled up
I didn’t learn about the wave start; I had to ask the announcer at last minutes => I started at the line. Having the same gun and chip time didn’t hurt me, but several fast guys and 1 girl had to run around me. Sorry.
I didn’t practice fitting bike into the car. It no longer went into the trunk the same way after Biff shortened the front derailleur cable last July. Fortunately I found an angle to wiggle it in. I could overkill this problem by buying a new car with bigger hole between trunk and back seat.
I forgot to stop GPS timer entering T1 => I had no electronic pacer for run 2.
I forgot to turn on iBike exiting T1 => no accurate knowledge of distance and speed. Maybe I should forget about power meter and just get a simple computer.
I forgot to un-strap bike shoes in transition area. I chose not to stop while fixing the issue. A few racers let me know how they felt about by my wobbling form on the narrow course. In retrospect, that was really stupid not to stop given this was “D” race.
I didn’t preview the road entering T2 => moving too conservatively + prematurely taking feet out of shoes.
I misjudged the tank and ran too conservatively without electronic pacer out of T2.
_time’s
Total: 1:19:58
Run 1: 13:49 (6:55/M)
T1: 0:50
Bike: 49:57 (19.2 mph)
T2: 1:00
Run 2: 14:20 (7:10/M)
• 269 Men - 01:23:00 average time
• 116 Women - 01:33:00 average time
• 385 Total
_ranking
Run 1: 151
Bike: 166
Run 2: 127
Total: 149 / 385
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