Tri for Fun #3

Tri for Fun #3 – August 18, 2012

I have definitely had a great season of racing this year and have met or surpassed my goals.  Last month I had set a PR by over 1 minute getting a 56:38.  Even though the training has been continuing to go well, I knew it would be very tough to try to match that time.

The weather conditions were really ideal.  Cool but not cold.  No real wind.  Got a good spot in the transition area and did my warm up routine.

Jan was going to be showing up but I didn’t see her before the race began.

This race was the 25^th Anniversary of the Tri for Fun.  Mark Aiton, the race director gave a sentimental pre-race speech.  Very touching.  Turns out that on the day of the first race 25 years ago, Mark’s wife, Candy, was pregnant with their daughter.  Very pregnant in fact – like ready to drop.  But there she was helping put on the race.  After the race, she went to the hospital and their daughter was delivered that night.  That’s a trooper.

Swim:

Well, last month’s swim was such a slugfest that instead of lining up on the far left for the most direct route to the first swim buoy, and went over to the right.  Way, way, way over.  Then, I had second thoughts.  Was I already conceding getting another PR by moving way over???  Perhaps.  Well, that settles it then.  Back over to the left I went.  Hope for the best but expect the worst.  Last month I also had a problem at the Olympic distance tri with my goggles completely fogging up so badly I couldn’t see squat.  This time, licked ‘em up pretty good.

The gun goes off and before I know it, I’m rounding the first buoy.  No problems with the goggles fogging either.  On may way to the second buoy, hey – no real contact.  Yeah!  Round the second buoy and head for land.  A couple of bumps was about it. 

Exit the water and there’s Jan cheering. 

Time: 6:49.  Ehh.  Not great, but not terrible.

T1: 

Quick.  No problems with the wetsuit or anything else. 

58 seconds.

Bike:

Really, really, really focused on getting the legs up to speed right off the bat.  Set a PR last month on the bike with a 21.4 mph average.   By the turnaround, I could see I was in 9^th place.  Ehh.  Kept leap-frogging with a few other guys out there.  But I felt I was riding at a quick pace.  Turns out I was.  Ended up averaging 22.4 mph !!!  Another record.  Oh yeah. 

Time:  24:38

T2: Quick.  Just under 30 seconds.

Run:

Headed out on the heels of 2 other runners.  I wasn’t sure what place I was in at this point.  Just got into the groove right away and focused on trying to reel in one runner at a time.  Passed a few and only one passed me.  There’s one spot on the run where you make a left turn and you can see if anyone is close behind who might have a chance to reel you in.  I debated whether or not to sneak a look.  Is anyone gaining?  If so, better dig down even deeper than I already was.  If not, would I fall into complacency and slow down???  Maybe.  To look, or not to look? That is the question.  No more suspense here – I looked.  No one was there.  But I resolved to not slow down. 

So I wind my way through the rest of the rollers on the trails and cross over the parking lot to the path.  I come up to the bend to the right about 100 – 200 yards from the end where I can finally get a glimpse of the race clock.  I’m wondering at this point, “will I be able to crack 58 minutes? 57 minutes?  As the clock comes into view, it says 54 minutes !  Noooooo waaaaayyyyy.  Are you kidding me???  I didn’t really have much gas left for any real kick but just kept the 6:00 pace going to the end.  By then, it had turned over to just over 55.  55:11 to be precise.   -- Chopped 1:27 off last month’s PR.

And another 5th place overall finish. 

Also chopped 6 seconds off my run from last month.  (7:01, 7:01, 7:01, and then 6:06 for the .1 – av pace 6:57)

Really owe a lot to all the pushing on the bike from the Thursday group and all the track workouts with Stu and hill workouts with Pam, Jim, and Bryan, and Jan and Jerry on the bike !!

Well, that was the last of the Tri for Fun series for 2012.   

Definitely ended on a positive note.

California International Tri – Race Report

California International Tri – Race Report

 July 29, 2012

Took a bit to get going on this race report (more on that later), so here goes.

I had been looking forward to this Olympic-distance tri (1 mi. swim, 25 mi. bike, 6.2 mi. run) for several reasons.

First, I was pretty sure there would be a rematch between me and “Old Fart” (whom I badly spanked in a sprint to the finish last year).

Second, I was a bit disappointed with my finish time from last year (2:38) and wanted to chop that time down.

And third, it’s just always fun to do an Oly right in my own back yard.

It had been a bit windy leading up to race day, but I was hoping it would calm down, at least for the morning.  I opted for my most aero front wheel and hoped I wouldn’t get blown all around.  Turns out the heat definitely wasn’t going to be a problem – it was totally overcast in the morning.

Swim:

I was really hoping that this would not be like my swim a week earlier in the Tri for Fun which was a total slugfest – the most violent swim ever.  Got my new goggles just a few days ago.  With all the newfangled “non-fog” coatings, I wouldn’t have to bother licking the insides of the goggles.  Uh – wrong.  Fairly early on they fogged up.  And by that I mean I couldn’t see squat.  I would pick my head up and couldn’t even see if there were swimmers nearby.  Not good when you’re in the middle of a lake!  I’d try to find spots where they were less foggy.  So I think I was doing a fair amount of zig-zagging.  But the good news was that there was no bumping into other swimmers.

Goal time: 28:00 – 29:00.

Actual time:  30:19.  Are you kidding me?  That’s even a minute slower than last year!

T1:  Fast.  14 seconds faster than last year.  Still behind though.

Bike: 

As far as tri bike courses go, this is a hilly course.  Last year, av speed was only 18.7.  Got in the groove and just tried to stay focused.  So I’m on Hwy 84 headed out to the Calaveras (Sunol) exit (Yes, on the highway!) and Old Fart comes up and passes me.  SONOFABITCH.  He’s dancing on the pedals going up the hill.  I’m hating him and everything he stands for.  But – he didn’t really put much of an exclamation point on his pass and I wasn’t all that far behind as we crested the hill.  Ahhhh, a nice long gentle downhill.  Me likey.  Hey, Old Fart – pardon me as I fly by going 30+ mph.  See ya.  And that was the last I saw of him on the bike.  Nuff said.

Worked it on the rest of the rest of the bike and didn’t give much regard to saving the legs for the run since the run has been going very, very well this season.

Goal time:  sub-1:19.

Actual time:  1:16  (AV speed = 19.4).  Ok, so now I’ve made up for my slow swim and put some time in the bank.

T2:  Fast.  57 seconds.  Surprising given how long the transition area is and you have to run all the way through it to get to the bike rack and then get out again.

Run:

As far as tri run courses go, this is a bit tough – mostly trails with lots of rollers and turns.  So I knew I’d be slower than the 44:15 time I got earlier in San Jose.   I just focused on having good leg turnover.

Because several waves had started before mine, I really had no idea who was my actual competition, so I just tried to reel in one runner after another.  I ended up averaging 7:22 per/mi., which I can’t complain about given the terrain. 

The course was spectator friendly: two loops (not to be confused with “two scoops”), so I saw Jan at the halfway point and then at the finish as well.

On the one section which had an out and back, I saw Old Fart.  I knew there was no way he was going to close that gap.  Not today, baby.  With about 1 mi. to go, I do remember passing one guy in my age group, but didn’t know how many others were still ahead.  Anyway, I’ve run on these trails so many times during all the Tri for Funs that I knew every turn by heart and knew exactly how far to go.  I picked up the pace towards the end and just held on. 

Goal run time: sub-46:00.

Actual time: 45:39.

Total Goal time: break 2:38.

Actual time: 2:34 !!!

So – after I finish, I get some of the awesome food USA Productions always has.  Jan and I are just hanging out in the shade and enjoying the feast.  Then, we figure it’s time to go home.  As we’re heading out, we pass a table with several laptops on it.  I remembered that they have it set up where if you enter your race number, it’ll display your time, age group place, etc.  So I enter my number, but I conclude I must be out of sorts from the race.  A lady after me enters her info and I call Jan to come over.  I point out how it shows that lady’s race number, her finish time, and her place (2^nd).  Jan says ok.  I say, “yeah, but look what happens when I enter mine.”  It shows my number, right?  Yes.  It shows my time, right? Yes.  But it says “1^st place”.  We look at each other and say “Noooooo waaaaaayyyy !!!”  I was saying “are you kidding me?”  No joke.

So after doing this sport for literally 30 years, I actually won my age group for the first time.   What a shock.  (Turns out that guy I remembered passing had been in first place).  What a great season it’s been !!!  Sooooooo glad Jan was there to see it.