"Bad day at the office, honey."
It's Sunday evening and I'm really very tired but I thought I'd get a few thoughts down before I retire.It was quite a weekend. I really didn't put too much emphasis on this race for myself as it was short and a training race on the way to the Milkman Half next weekend. I'm surprised at how much it took out of me but that's probably because of all the other stuff I did, not the race itself.
I offered and was happy to accommodate Christina Putnam in her request for a ride to the race. She accepted my offer to spend the night on Saturday at my place and ride in on race morning with me. We had a really fun time talking and getting to know one another. Joy rode out to Naperville on Saturday with us to get our race packets. That day was very hot and humid and probably I got somewhat dehydrated from that and did not replace my fluids as well as I should have.
I did get my race wheels on my bike and my gear packed and ready on Saturday night. I made dinner for me and Christina using the crock pot and the rice steamer so it was an easy meal to make.
I did every thing I could to get my bike set up right but when I picked Ruthless up from Element, but her tune up was not spot on. She clicks in nearly every gear indicating a maladjusted derailleur. Not good. Anyway, she was as ready as I could get her last night so I went to bed feeling pretty confident.
Race morning we executed out plan nearly spot on, arriving for transition about 6:10. By 6:30 I was set up and ready. I thought.
I used my lava pants instead of a wet suit and had a pretty good swim. My form and speed were good when I wasn't dodging people sort of standing and just doing nothing along the way. The swim course is a snake swim with five turns. It's in a pool with a shallow end where you can walk around the two end buoys. It's not bad for first timers except there are lane lines and it's a bit cramped. I checked all this out and decided to start at the front of the pack for this race. I normally hang back but I figured the best least "washing machine" location would actually be at the front. It worked well. I passed quite a few from the three waves in front of us as well. 13:24 swim time.
T1 had a long run to the transition area and I didn't push myself real hard so I have a long T1. 5:46 mins
I took my bike on a jog and hopped on feeling pretty good. I was having a lot of trouble keeping my speed up and at mile 3 I took a right turn at a good speed and nearly wiped out twice on that one turn. A lady called out that "You're lucky!" and I responded "Nope, I'm very skilled, no luck about it!" However, I was just really feeling like I was pedaling through mud and the mental analysis started: " The fact that I had just done a threshold test on Thursday may have had an effect. Friday I was just exhausted after that day. Sat I did a 1.5 mi run in the heat before we left for Naperville too. " By mile five I knew something was off. I have having a lot of trouble steering and the rear wheel felt loose. I stopped to check the wheel and found it was flat. I got out my CO2 which I promptly opened and discharged completely. Luckily a volunteer guy came by and pumped it up. He remarked on my IMLOU sticker still on the bike. Feeling awesome and raring to go I headed out on really fast wheels. I was doing 22-23 mph with a full tire but this slowed over time. I knew I probably had a slow leak because the night before at 9 PM the tire was at 110psi. I decided not to take the time to change the tire and instead drive the rest of the course as hard as I could as fast as I could before the tire flattened again. By mile 11 I was pretty much pushing mud again but held onto about 15-16 mph. I had to use my Garmin for the ride though because my bike computer battery was dead. I had just replaced this battery before Leon's last week so I guess it was a bad battery. Argh.Not sure what my bike time was. 50 mins I think. 52:58 by official timing.
T2 was shorter but it's a long run to the bike in so it was still long; 3:40 I think. Actual 3:10.
I got Ruthless racked, changed shoes (Pierce Footwear ) and headed out on an easy run. My legs felt like tree trunks but I managed to run all but about 5 mins of the run. I felt pretty good and knew my form was good and my knee was not bothering me. I had injured it in Krakow and it's been aching on the outside of my right knee since then. Running was slow; 13:30 min miles but steady...until I tripped over a small ledge on the sidewalk and went flying. I managed to land and roll and the injuries were just a bit of skin from my hands and one knee. I sat for 30 seconds and got up and got going again. Run time was 40:19, not what I had wanted but given the problems I faced I felt I had done a pretty damn good job. I crossed the finish line in 1:55. The best full sprint time I've had is 1:52. I believe I would have had a PR without the problems so I'm happy that my "training day" really gave me problems to solve which I handled without getting rattled. I felt good at the end and although not my best time it does indicate again to me that my fitness has improved yet again. I'm really excited about the OH 70.3 in August to see where I can drive my fitness level. Pretty sure Milkman will not be my most outstanding race given that my knee is now bothering me a lot and the fatigue after Naperville was pretty extreme. I'm hydrating and keeping up with my 100 day Burpee challenge (we are on 11 days and 11 burpees today) and my training so I'm hopeful that Milkman won't be a total disaster. I guess expecting that could shield me from disappointment from a longer day. My summer goal is to finish a 70.3 in under 7:30 and if possible just over 7 hours. We shall see.
Even a bad day at the triathlon "office" is better than a good day in a real office. I'm happy that I get to do these. It's a great sport.
Race results are below.
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