Folsom Olympic Distance Triathlon Race Report

 August 15, 2010 - I did the Folsom Olympic distance tri yesterday (near Sacramento).  (1 mi. swim, 25 mi. bike, 10k run).  I did this race in 2007 and had a great performance, breaking 2:30.  (2:25).  As with all the races I do, I was looking to break my prior time. 

Jan and I got up early (3:45 a.m. !! ) to drive from Pleasanton, and, what a surprise, hit no traffic. 

Getting wetsuit on to test out the water.

The sun was out and the weather was great. Not too hot.

Lots of other races from the Forward Motion Race Club, and we had 3 reserved racks. Set up my transition area.  Got my wetsuit on and made my way to the water.  No prob.  Get in the water for my warmup and WHOA ! ! !  Man, that water was COLD.  What's up with that?  I guess the water continually enters the lake from the Sierra.  Oh.  Well, I certainly did not recall the water being so cold last time.  And I'd remember that. . .

Anyway, the horn blows and we're off.  No prob.  Hardly any bumping.  Tough to see squat as we're heading right into the sun. According to my Garmin 310xt (under my swim cap to maintain the GPS signal), I swam pretty straight. (http://connect.garmin.com/player/44686065) .  Unfortunately, my swim was really, really slow.  Minutes slower not only compared to my time from 2007, but also from other Oly distance tris I've done this year.  Swim time: 32:19.  27th out of 40.

Fairly fast T1.  5th out of 40.  (I always say I can change clothes fast!).

Chilly water. Ugh. Legs crampy as I stand.

Starting the ride; heading out of the park.

The bike course is quite nice.  Basically an out and back with lots of rollers through nice countryside.  This year -- very windy.  Strong headwinds during the 1st half of the ride.  Ugh.  I don't think I was even avering 16 mph on the first 1/2.  After the turn-around, I was flying, at times going 30 or 31 mph.  That helped pick up the Av but I still ended up sub-20 mph for the first time in a long time. 

Bike time:  1:15.  (Av = 19.85) (27th in AG)

The run is mostly rollers on an out and back along a paved path through the park.  Nice shade so no real overheating problem.  The good news is that I was more consistent than my last couple of races where I faded or melted down during the last 2-3 miles.  Here, my splits were 7:20, 7:27, 7:31, 7:19, 7:40, and 7:38.

Holding form heading uphill.

Run time: 47:47.  (21st in AG)

Total time: 2:37 (23rd in AG)

Upon review, I think the very cold water affected my swim and delayed my legs from getting in the groove on the bike for a bit.  And the wind would slowed me up no matter what.  Still bummed that my run was 3:00 slower than last time.  Hmmm.  Could it be a getting older issue??? 

Flying over the rollers!

Running steady.