Best of US Citizen's Sprint Triathlon

9/16/06

Swim 1/2 Mile, Bike 15 Miles, Run 3 Miles

Pre Race
The weather was an issue of concern. After I had been in Madison this previous weekend for the Ironman, I was really not in the mood for a windy, wet and cold triathlon. The forecast was not consistent but that scenario looked to be a real possibility. All was pretty normal in days leading up to the race, training was fine and I was feeling pretty good. I was both excited to race again and kind of dreading the cooler weather.

Race day
I awoke to a strong wind, clouds and a strong likelihood of rain. When I got to the race site, it was cool and raining a little. I tried to make the best of this situation, but I was really not in the mood. The race venue was great, but the swim was a little frightening as it was one direction going around a little peninsula.

Swim
The official water temperature was 70 degrees, but there was no way that water was 70 degrees. It was not super cold, but it was significantly cooler than 70, I was glad to be wearing the wetsuit. I had a little trouble getting my face down when I started my warm up but I got over it. I was glad to have spent some time in the water before starting the race because I think that it would be been a bit of a shock otherwise.

I was in the second wave and did not have to wait long as the first wave left three minutes before us. I started okay and felt pretty good swimming for the first part of the race. The course went straight out into the lake past two buoys. At the second one we turned to the right to head around the peninsula. It was here that the swim became a far different experience than I was expecting. The wind was still blowing quite hard and the lake was really choppy. I was not expecting it to be pristine but this was downright scary. The waves were not real high but the swells were at least 18 inches high. I had trouble getting used to the swells. At the same time I hit the swells, I developed an issue that is a frequent problem of mine. Often in races I develop a strong need to burp when swimming. This can be hard to do when swimming, especially at a reasonable tempo. The sensation of having to burp but being unable is quite troubling for me and I had this going at the same time I started to fight the swells. It was hard and I honestly thought I might have to quit the race for a couple of minutes as I was having trouble breathing and getting into any sort of a rhythm. I managed to hold it together enough to keep moving, mostly by swimming the side stroke. The conditions were bad and I really felt sorry for those who were in their first race as I would have been really discouraged to encounter such conditions. After a slight turn towards shore, the swells were a bit better as they were on my side and I at least got swimming again.

T1
I was really glad that I didn't have a watch as I exited the swim. I had no idea how long the swim had taken, and that was probably a good thing because it was likely quite a long time. Transition went pretty quickly and I felt like I did a good job getting ready for the ride in a timely manner.

One interesting note on transition: I was right next to a real nice guy who I had chatted with before the start of the race. I had briefly noticed that I thought his helmet sticker was on the back and I wondered if he was going to wear his helmet backwards. Sure enough, I run into transition and there he is with his helmet jacked all the way over his forehead and on backwards. I decided that for the guy's safety, I had to tell him.

Bike (15 Miles)
The weather was still less than ideal and after the swim I was still pretty down on myself. The wind was really blowing and I was not handling the race situation that well. I kept trying to get myself psyched up, but the wind was really getting me down. The course was also rolling and I just could not get in a grove. I looked at my power meter a few times and I was disappointed with the amount of power I was putting out. I really couldn't get it up much either, or I was unwilling, I'm not really sure which. Anyway, I moved along okay and although I was slow by normal standards for me, I was passing people and not getting passed much, if at all. While I was not super thrilled with the whole bike experience, I did keep it going reasonably well. Things got better in the last few miles as we got a tail wind and I got the speed up a tad. As I neared transition, I was looking forward to the run, even though I was a little apprehensive of my run form.

T2
Nothing to report here, which is good. It was pretty decent time wise.

Run (3 Miles)
I started the run and felt pretty decent. I tried to keep my feet turning over and to enjoy the whole experience. While I hadn't felt that great or fast on the bike, like I often do, I felt pretty comfortable on the run. I was rolling along and I soon was passed by a guy wearing another coaching company's jersey. I quickly looked at his calf, older than me, and immediately determined that there was no way this guy was going to beat me. It is kind of juvenile looking back, but I find that creating rivalries on the fly can be quite motivating. As this guy got near, I eased my pace a bit. That way, he didn't have to go as fast to get around me, making it easier to stay with him and pass back quicker. My plan worked and he didn't really go that much faster than I was when he passed. From there I worked to stay close and waited for his pace to slow a little as I knew it would. I hung tough and close. Part of me likes to try and push people's buttons by staying really close behind them. And that was exactly what I did. I waited around for awhile behind the guy and then decided it was time to pass back. I went by and kept going, even accelerating a bit more as I went by. As I sped up, I realized that I really felt pretty good and was going pretty fast for me. I knew I could talk myself back to the slower pace or I could push on and see what I had left. I did a good job of pushing myself forward and I was pretty pleased with my position as I neared the run turn around. The second half of the run was much like the first. I was moving well and enjoying the speed. I had caught most of those that I could with the exception of one guy from my tri club who was a decent bit ahead of me at the turn. I thought I might have a chance to get him if I kept going. I worked hard and saw him in front of me with about half a mile to go. Just as I was going by him, someone passed the both of us. I marked this guy well and stayed on his shoulder. As we got close to the finish, I accelerated in an attempt to get clear of him. I did just that and I got a decent gap as we neared the finish line. I saw my finish time and the first thought was that it seemed pretty good.

Lesson's Learned
I knew my swim was not going to be stellar but I really did not handle the swells that well. I need to spend more time in the water, pool and open water. It was a tough swim for sure, but I could have done better and I need to have done better. I've got to figure out the pressure I get in my chest during swims. I think it may be tied to the Gatorade I often drink before races. I really thought I had it timed out okay but I've got to not have this whole have to burp situation occur again. I need to be able to swim with all I've got, I simply don't have the technique or speed to waste in the water.

My run was really encouraging. I looked at the pace later and I had run 6:30s, a good pace for me, even if it was only a 3 mile course. This is encouraging given my relative lack of run training.

Power Data
The power file, which can be downloaded at www.digititri.com/bikePower.shtml shows that I paced the effort well. If you look at the stats from the race, below this paragraph, you can see that I did not even produce threshold wattage during this race. I am not sure why this occurred, but at least I was consistent across the whole of the event. My average watts for the first half were the same for the second half. That means I was consistent, I would say that I was consistently a bit below where I should have been, but that sure did set up a better run than I expected. It is possible my threshold number if off, but I did intervals during the preceding week and held a wattage that suggested the threshold value was accurate. Maybe I just didn't have it on this day. No matter, the power meter shows clearly that I was not working that hard for the whole ride. I will remember that as I don't think I've run that well in a triathlon is quite a while, a point that really bears remembering as I prepare for my Ironman in 2007.

Statistics

Entire workout (253 watts):
Duration: 39:36
Work: 601 kJ
TSS: 63.6 (intensity factor 0.982)
Norm Power: 265
VI: 1.05
Distance: 14.448 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 472 253 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 33 111 93 rpm
Speed: 0 33.9 21.9 mph

Until next time, see you out there!