Triple T Race #3

Time for the third installment of the Triple T. I had spent the previous 3-4 hours just chilling at the park. In retrospect I should have stayed out of the sun a bit (can anyone say Marc Street, lol). But the shade was cold and I swear the sun was chasing me every time I moved my chair. I did my best to stay hydrated between the races and eat just enough to fuel the system. I think we had some fun with me running around looking like a hick.

About a 90 minutes before the race, I started moving. There wasn't any need to set up transition because it looked like how I left it. I did swap out shoes and socks. The key to this race was mentally trying to prepare for a bike-swim-run triathlon. Generally I was feeling pretty good. I felt the fatigue in the legs and took a few minutes to spin them out prior to the start.

Bike:
Time trial again made things a bit interesting. I quickly caught the first 4-5 people when we got out of the park. This was also a team race. If you raced as a team, then you could draft off each other. This proved to be a HUGE advantage. As we made our way out of the park we hit a climb at about mile 5. We had descending this hill in the morning so we knew what to expect. It was a sturdy climb and you felt the tenderness in your quads. I was overly cautious on the downhills as I didn't feel comfortable on the tri bike zooming through switchbacks. I really need to work on this but after crashing at 30 mph...you are a bit more cautious.

The next climb was another good one. Short and steep then long and gradual. At the top you had another screaming descent. I so wanted my road bike. I would have easily thrown down 50+ mph. Instead I relished to the fact that upper 30s was my limit. And it really sucks to be passed on a downhill. At the base of the hill was a nice flat section for a few miles to the turnaround. It was here that you saw the benefits of teams. They just zoomed by. I caught a wheel for a little while and though I felt a slight benefit, I still felt like I was overworking to stay tucked in to the draft zone.

Then we hit THE climb. OMFG. That just hurt. It was long and steep. I kept pushing it, wondering if I was going to roll backwards. I knew this was going to hurt in the morning. I have long thought of myself as a climb. I am a masher at the core. I like the pain and I like to inflict the pain on others. Usually this works. Not in this race. There weren't many athletes stupid enough to go with me on the climb. I was more than relieved to reach the summit and back off for a few moment. I threw back as much hydration and nutrition as I could and enjoyed the coast down.

When I hit the final hill for the second time that day, I realized exactly how tired I was. The second part hurt...a lot. I did my best to get to the top and enjoy the final few miles. This race didn't have a dismount line so we were able to ride to the transition start. Feet out and I was off and running.

T1:
I would have loved to watch 300 tired athletes try to put on wetsuits quickly. And I wonder how many people forgot their goggles. I got to my rack and had plenty of space to suit up. I actually feel like I got it on relatively quickly. I met Jess on the beach and she zipped me up.

Swim:
Ker-plash. I hit the water and it felt good given that my body was quite warm. I was very concerned for this swim as I have ready too many stories about athletes cramping during the swim. Apparently this was common as Jess indicated a number of people were pulled from the water. I had a very numbing odd sensation. I did my best to rely on my upper body to pull myself though the water.

Due to the bike being first, there wasn't a major draft. I did manage to find feet a number of times and did what I could. It was also beneficial to have the morning's swim on the mind because I was able to think through what worked as it pertained to drafting. Of course, it didn't help to have the morning's fatigue in the arm or the feeling of a some sunburn.

The first lap was ok. The second lap was a bit tougher. But I felt like I was making good time. I was actually a bit surprised that this swim wasn't a bit better. But I am more than happy with it. I took my time getting out of the water. I needed to re-engage the legs and I wanted to take my time to do that.

T2:
Out of the wetsuit. Helmet. Check. Cleats. Check. Shit. Already did that. I did pause before putting on my running shoes. I also had elected to swim without a top so I tried to put the dry shirt on my wet body. Not easy. Grabbed my gels and I was off to run....again

Run:
It really isn't easy to prepare to run 6.5 miles at 9:30 am and 5 pm. I didn't do too much of that in training. In fact, I didn't do any. Oh well. My plan was to just go with the flow. Run what I could. Walk if I needed. In fact,

I walked the steepest parts of the hills. I wanted to save the legs. This seemed to work. Numb was the only way to describe the feeling. I knew I was climbing but it didn't seem like the same course as the mornings.

I also began taking in as much fluid as I could. I could tell my nutrition was off because I was hungry. I switched to Heed at some point and I HATE Heed. The downhills were a nice welcome. It is funny how the downhills picked up my spirits all weekend. It was just nice to feel fast for a few moments. I hit turnaround and knew I had to make the best of the final 2.5 miles. I had a horrible side stitch which kept dropping and irriating the heck out of me. I actually had to stop in the final mile to keep myself under control.

		Bike	T1	Swim	T2	Run	Total
Average Time		1:22:45	3:30:11	0:32:34	2:42:48	0:58:06	2:54:31
Best Time		1:02:53	0:31:00	0:17:15	0:50:00	0:38:49	2:08:35
My Time		1:22:27	2:45	0:27:28	2:39	1:02:36	2:57:54
Rank		147	98	144	144	201	165