Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon at the UVAS Reservoir
Sunday, May 19, 2013
(3/4 mi. swim, 16 mi. bike, 5 mi. run)
I was looking forward to my first tri of the season. Even though I've only been back in the pool for a little over a month, the swimming has been coming back into form. For swimmers (Audrey) - I've been doing my 10 x 100's on a 2:00 sendoff pretty steadily.
And thanks to Stu, I've been getting the speed back on the run with weekly track workouts.
The weather scheduled for Sunday was just perfect, not getting too warm until after the race would be over.
I did this race a few times. My PR was in 2008 with a 1:45. But I really didn't know what to expect this time. I was hoping for a top 10 in my age group.
Got to the race start early, as usual, and got a great spot on the Forward Motion Race Club (FoMo) rack. Then just a lot of waiting. It was quite cold, colder than it's been lately, and I could actually see my breath. Wish I would've worn the sweat pants I laid out for myself. Oh well. Once the sun was taking hold, it was fine.
Milling around pre-race I look over and see none other than "Old Fart". Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun. I kicked his wrinkly-old ass a few times last year and couldn't wait to pick up where I left off. Most notably, I beat him by 2 seconds at an Oly distance tri in 2011 after a back and forth battle.
Made my way out to the swim start. They did it a little different this time by having the start buoys about 200 yards from the shore. Smart. This gives the athletes a little warm up. Also, the start was very wide so the athletes had plenty of room to spread out. Less bumping. The horn sounds and we're off.
I settled into my cruising (slow) pace and am plugging along. The water was very smooth. Round the first buoy and head towards the second -- right into the sun. Round the second and into the long stretch to the final buoy. The woman started their wave 4 minutes after my wave, but along come a few woman blowing by me like I was standing still. Well, at less than 2 mph I guess I technically was. Anyway, I was looking to finish in around 21 minutes or so based on what I did back in 2008. Got out of the water and looked at the watch -- 24:43. Oh sonofabitch. Are you kidding me?? Ouch. Alright, I wasn't going to let this ruin my day, but I'd sure have some making up to do.
T1. Quick. 1:07 and out to the bike.
The bike: this course is just beautiful. Rollers throughout and one nasty climb. Was a bit chilled at the start but warmed up and just enjoyed the ride. I passed lots of people, no doubt aided by my slow swim. Based on last year's races, I was hoping to average 20 mph. That hope went away quickly when I realized how steep the rollers were. Not to mention the hill. Ugh. So I figured, hey - it is great to be out here on such a beautiful ride, surrounded by nice folks, in great weather.
Time: 50:42. Av speed = 19. Ok, not too shabby.
T2. Quick. Out to the run.
The run: the run course is an out and back with rollers. Slight incline on the first half. Got into my run rhythm after about a minute or two. Just focused on picking off one person at a time. Before the turnaround, I see Old Fart coming back. Oh nooooooooo. I quickly calculate that there is no way I'm going to be able to reel him in. Crap. That swim time took me out of contention. As he galloped towards the finish, knowing he had bested me, did I correctly hear him say "Luke, I am your father"??? Nooooooo.
Despite my acceptance of this reality, I just stayed focused, and kept a nice leg turnover the entire time.
Splits: 7:13, 7:05, 7:16, 7:00, 6:56.
Time: 35:47. Av pace = 7:06 .
Total Time: 1:53. Place: 9th.
They posted the results really fast -- while we were there. So I was pretty happy with cracking the top 10. That took away some of the sting about Old Fart handing my ass to me. Chatted with Old Fart afterwards and he was very gracious.
So overall, felt good about the race and was glad I knew about the top 10 in spite of the other stuff. Everyone else I talked to enjoyed the day as well. Packed up the stuff and headed back home.
I later found that the swim was a bit long. So I averaged 1:47 per 100, which is actually in line with my times from last year.
So if my swim wasn't so bad, how did Old Fart spank me so badly? Well, he got me on the swim by 3 minutes. But when we faced off last year, his swim times were not so spectacular. So he's obviously been spending lots of time in the water.
So what's the deal with Old Fart (aka Bobby McKee) ? I looked him up. Well, you have to know who you're dealing with, right? And knowledge is power, right? Turns out he's 63 and races a lot and, not surprisingly, usually wins his age group. He's running half marathons anywhere from 1:28 to 1:30. Are you kidding me??? I can't even do that. That's a 6:48 per/mi pace !!! Well, good for him. And, honestly, if he can continually improve like he's doing, it gives me hope that I can do the same. I'll still be gunning for him at the Calif International Tri in Pleasanton over the summer. He's a marked man. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Or is that Gu and Gatorade? I forget.
T2. Quick. Out to the run.
The run: the run course is an out and back with rollers. Slight incline on the first half. Got into my run rhythm after about a minute or two. Just focused on picking off one person at a time. Before the turnaround, I see Old Fart coming back. Oh nooooooooo. I quickly calculate that there is no way I'm going to be able to reel him in. Crap. That swim time took me out of contention. As he galloped towards the finish, knowing he had bested me, did I correctly hear him say "Luke, I am your father"??? Nooooooo.
Despite my acceptance of this reality, I just stayed focused, and kept a nice leg turnover the entire time.
Splits: 7:13, 7:05, 7:16, 7:00, 6:56.
Time: 35:47. Av pace = 7:06 .
Total Time: 1:53. Place: 9th.
They posted the results really fast -- while we were there. So I was pretty happy with cracking the top 10. That took away some of the sting about Old Fart handing my ass to me. Chatted with Old Fart afterwards and he was very gracious.
So overall, felt good about the race and was glad I knew about the top 10 in spite of the other stuff. Everyone else I talked to enjoyed the day as well. Packed up the stuff and headed back home.
I later found that the swim was a bit long. So I averaged 1:47 per 100, which is actually in line with my times from last year.
So if my swim wasn't so bad, how did Old Fart spank me so badly? Well, he got me on the swim by 3 minutes. But when we faced off last year, his swim times were not so spectacular. So he's obviously been spending lots of time in the water.
So what's the deal with Old Fart (aka Bobby McKee) ? I looked him up. Well, you have to know who you're dealing with, right? And knowledge is power, right? Turns out he's 63 and races a lot and, not surprisingly, usually wins his age group. He's running half marathons anywhere from 1:28 to 1:30. Are you kidding me??? I can't even do that. That's a 6:48 per/mi pace !!! Well, good for him. And, honestly, if he can continually improve like he's doing, it gives me hope that I can do the same. I'll still be gunning for him at the Calif International Tri in Pleasanton over the summer. He's a marked man. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Or is that Gu and Gatorade? I forget.
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