TBF - Tri (Olympic Distance) at Rancho Seco

Sunday I participated in an Olympic-distance tri (1 mi. swim, 25 mi. bike, 6.2 mi. run) in the Sacramento area at Rancho Seco Park, next to the nuclear power plant.  (No joke; it’s next to the power plant which I think always helps keep the water temp warm).

I decided late to enter this race because I wanted to break 2:30 for an oly-tri and I only had one other on the race calendar.  So this would be a “B” race, but I still thought I’d have a chance to crack the 2:30 barrier since the training’s been coming along nicely.

Jan had ridden 67 miles with Audrey the day before, so I figured it was unlikely she’d be accompanying me, especially since I’d need to leave the house at 4:45 a.m.  I figured right.  No movement at all when the alarm went off.

Uneventful 1 ½ hour drive there, but always nice when you get to see the sun rise.

Got there early and set up my stuff.  It was already in the 60’s.  Most tris start at 7:00 a.m.  Not this series, however, as TBF starts their races at 8:00.   An hour later – in July – in Sacramento ???  Hmmmm.

The water temp was already feeling warm and comfy and I definitely did not need my wetsuit for that – just for floatation.  Oh well.

Swim:

You know, a 1-mi. swim sure seems far when you actually look at the buoys way, way, way out there.  I was in the 4^th or 5^th wave.  Away we go.  I got in the swim groove right away.  It was funny to me how many others were way off to the right since I was pretty sure I was swimming straight towards the first buoy.  (My Garmin later confirmed this.)  Anyway, after the last buoy I felt another swimmer drafting me since he kept touching my toes.  Not really a problem but occasionally annoying.  As we finish, we’re standing up to run out of the water and he thanks me for the pull.

To have a shot at sub-2:30, I really have to get somewhere in 26-28 for the swim.

Swim:  27:29.

Quick T1, and headed out on the bike.

Bike:

This is a pretty flat and fast course.  Just an out and back.   My best bike split on this course was back in 2008 when I was training for IM AZ.  Averaged 21.2 mph that day.  Anyway, I just focused on picking off one rider at a time.  Not too windy.  By the half way point, I was averaging right at 21 mph.  For some reason the pavement for several miles on the way back sucked.  Good thing I didn’t have any loose fillings in my teeth.  The ride back was just a bit tougher, but I kept trying to “work it” and not worry about how my legs would handle the run.

My prior bike splits on this course have ranged from 1:09 to 1:14.

Actual time: 1:12.  (Av speed = 20.6 mph)

Quick T2 and headed out on the run.

Run:

This run course is tough.  Dirt trails the whole way, and about 2+ miles of single track.  Constant twists and turns and rollers – and no shade at all!!!  Plus, this is Sacramento in July.  Someone turned on the light switch the moment I got on that trail.  And it was HOT – I think already in the low 80’s.  I had a nice pace going on the first couple of miles but then it was really sucky.  I thought I might have a shot at a top 5, and my legs actually felt ok, so I just kept going.  But I honestly thought I was going to crack at any moment.  People around me were running just fine and then all of a sudden were reduced to a walk.  Bamm.   After the mid-way point we get on the single track trails.  On the one hand, I liked that because it reminded me of the ridge and also helped give me something to think about – not tripping.  But that just slowed up the pace and I soooo wanted to be done.   There were moments that I was feeling light headed and really thought I was ready to crack.  But I dug down deep mentally and just kept going.  Strangely, my leg turnover was fine the whole time.

By my calculations at the start of the run, if I could break 50:00, then I would be able to go sub-2:30.   On the run, my math was getting more and more fuzzy.  After getting off the single track, I thought I still had a shot but wasn’t sure.  After the last of the rollers, I thought I might be out of range.  But I picked up the pace with a few hundred yards just in case.  Once the finish came into view, I saw that if I put the pedal to the medal, I might still get it.

Run time: 49:34  (Av pace  7:59 per/mi.)

Total time:  2:29:43  

Usually, within a minute of finishing a race, I feel fine.  Not this time.  I went looking for some shade.  There was a tent with some large ice chests, and this lady said I could sit on them.  She could tell I looked pretty bad and she got me some extra recovery drink cups.  She also filled up a plastic bag with some ice and put it on the back of my neck.  Ahhhhh  !!!!  That did the trick.  After about a minute, I was back amongst the living. 

Went to look at the result which were already posted.  I came in 6^th.  Ugh.  Boy those top 5 were speedy.  Number 5 was at least 3 minutes ahead of me.  Jeez.

Oh well.  Little post-race dip in the lake to wash off, packed everything up and just kept pounding the fluids as I drove back to P-town. 

Glad I met my summer goal of sub-2:30, but I don’t know that I’ll be signing up for any more races in July in Sacramento in the future.