Alpha Delta Pi-athlon

A few weekends ago, a group of our FTP athletes decided it was time to test their training in a small local sprint. I wasn't 100% recovered from Powerman Alabama but decided I could stomach the distances enough. And quite honestly, I was itching to race a tri too. So we headed to Murfreesboro for the 3rd Annual AD Pi-athlon. This event is finally making the big times. Last year, there were only 67 athletes. This year close to 200.

This also was my first foray into the depths of coaching and racing at the same time. Not the easiest thing when athletes are full of questions prior to the race. I am so accustomed to going through the motions on my own and then secluding myself to find that inner peace prior to the gun going off.

Swim: 300m

It was a time trial, pool start seeded by our estimated times. This put me as the 26th person getting in the water. I wasn't exactly thrilled by my position as I knew there would be the possibility of a log jam with 25 people in front of me. At least 10 who probably had no clue to their actual time. And as expected, it happened.

About half way through the swim, I encountered the first hazard. A little maneuvering and I was able to beat them to the wall. Sorry. I was a little rude. The next jam was a little more difficult. It was about 5 people and they were not giving up position. Fortunately in the water, it is easy to move people. So I did. I literally split right through them, using my hands to push them out of the way. Sorry. I finally exited the water in 4:33. Good enough for 14th overall.

T1

Not sure what happened here but I was a fumbling idiot. My goal for the race was to get through transitions as fast as possible. That didn't quite happen. 1:32

Bike: 10.3 miles

To make matters worse, I couldn't get on my bike for some reason. It took me 4 different attempts to actually clip in and get moving. Once I did, I was off and running. There were only a handful of people in front of me and I set out to blister the course. I think my legs had a different idea. I was strong but I was definitely feeling the fatigue from Powerman Alabama the weekend before.

I pushed hard but with no real competition pushing me, it became a race against myself. I was able to pick off the low hanging fruit. But wasn't closing too much of a gap on the good cyclists. I could see the leaders ahead on the long straights. I flew back into transition with only a handful of people already there (and some still exiting to start the bike)

Bike: 26:38 (23.1 mph) 5th OA

T2:

More rookie mistakes. Because I made the last minute decision to race, I never really packed my bag. I just left all my stuff in there from the previous weekend. After several attempts to put on my shoe, I realized my dirty socks were in there. Rolls eyes. 0:50

Run: 3.14

Pancake flat. In good position. Several out and backs. Could see the leaders. I ran out of transition along side a younger athlete. Within 60s I was toast. We were running 5:30s for the first minute and I knew that I couldn't sustain that. So I backed off. At each turn around we were all eyeing each other. The lead pack had about a quarter mile on me. I had maybe a quarter mile on the next pack.

I didn't know what my legs would give me. So I just went for it and they actually responded quite well. I held a sub 6:30 pace through the first 2 miles and I really began to hurt around 2.5. I could also see the group gaining on me. Unfortunately, there was no additional gear that day. My third mile slipped about 10 seconds and I was finally caught. It was only one person but I really didn't want to be caught in that race.

Run: 20:32 (6:31 pace) 10th OA

Overall my time was 54:03. I ended up 8th overall and won my age group. I am pleased with my performance with the exception of transition. Not sure what happened there.