Race Report: Shelbyville Tri #1 Feb 25 2024

 SHELBYVILLE TRI #1

Out alone on the bike

I knew I'd be pulling up the tail on this one.  Running is first and I'm never at the front in my runs.  This tri is done backward so I'd be trailing everyone for the whole race.  Not a fun place to be but the broken knee requires time to heal so I have to listen to my body.  As expected I came in 2nd to last on the run.  Despite that, I had a PR mile time of 14:27 which is a great improvement on my prior run walks since last September so I was cheered by that notification on my Garmin.  

Note to self, I was overdressed on the run and pretty warm by the time I finished.  I had my onesie, a long-sleeved IM finisher shirt, my windbreaker biker jacket, two pairs of gloves, and thermal-lined pants.  However, I was glad I had these on for the ride.  The wind got pretty wicked after the second turn. I also had my shoe covers on my shoes which kept my feet nice and warm.  The gloves gave me issues though, they were slipping around on the hoods so next time I need to actually find my bike gloves.  (ya think?) 

I took the time to stop and reset my Garmin to the bike in transition and I carefully walked to the bike out because those bike shoes are the ones that caused my knee break in the first place.  They are slippery because they lost the gasket on the heel that keeps you from slipping.  (note to self, replace those gaskets...and likely the clips as well, they are quite old).  But I like those bike shoes because they match the bike.  Oh vanity.  

As I set out on the bike the guy who ran in after me exited before me so I was actually the last biker out.  But my trusty steed "Winning Colors" and I were clicking along between 14-23 MPH for the ride.  The hills did slow be briefly and at one point I think I was doing 5.5MPH up one of the short hills, it was pretty steep, but I felt pretty good as I passed rider after rider and slid into transition ahead of four other folks.  

I got my bike racked and bike shoes off and made my way up the hill to the pool.  I had left a lot of energy on the bike leg so I wasn't moving fast up that hill.  I took my time and tried to get my breathe back.  

I arrived at the pool and realized I had to cross the timing pad to get to my gear so my swim time looked incredibly long.  I got everything off, switched my Garmin to swim and got into the pool.  I kept feeling like I had something I needed to remove but "race brain" said "nah, we good."  After two laps, feeling like I was smothering, I realized I still had my gator on.  I got to the end, grabbed it, slid it off, and left it on the side, hoping I would be able to retrieve it later. (I did.) After that and after some guy rammed into me at one end, I swam pretty well.  I was tired though so I figured I was doing 2 min 100s instead of my expected 1:40s.  I decided to just enjoy the swim, push as much as I felt I could, and accept the time I got.  I passed 3 people on the swim.  

I felt pretty good after the race, ate a banana and a pickle, drank a lot of water and when I got home I made a mix of Base greens and Base aminos and drank that before lunch.  Ate a full-sized panera chicken Chinese salad for lunch.  

Total time 1:06:26

Place 1st AG 65-69

Run time 25:34 pace 14:12  Transition 2:18

Bike time 25:48 pace 14 Transition 1:00

Swim time 12:45 pace 55:29