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 25th 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 9th 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.
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.
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.
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