Dilloman Triathlon Report

First off, I learned an important lesson about pre-race nutrition. The Salt Lick is non-optimal. 

But back to the race itself. We got out there with plenty of time, and Carrie and I racked our bikes and got our transition areas set up. It was a small race, only about 170 participants, so it was a very small transition area and one could rack wherever they wanted.

The race started in just two waves. The men went first and then the women about 3 minutes afterwards. My goal on the swim was just to be consistent, not try to go to fast, and keep the breathing under control so that I could freestyle the entire way. Mission accomplished, so that was exciting. I had never actually completed an entire swim in a triathlon without having to breast stroke or back stroke or something. The problem is that I’m just really slow.

But, honestly, I knew that going in.

I got out of the water and saw that most of the other men had made it out. I ran up to T1 (which I’m sure I could have done a little faster, but I have to wear socks, sorry) and jumped on my bike. This is where I knew that I could shine. I started passing people from the very beginning. My legs felt a little dead the first lap, but on the second lap they really started to feel good. Unfortunately, I had a side stitch the entire bike portion. This is where not eating barbecue (or at least taking a very different approach at the salt lick) would have probably come in handy. The sensations in my mid-section were not matching up with the heart rate I was seeing on my computer. 

I was also trying to catch my friend, Dan. I knew he was going to tear up the swim (he is a former competitive swimmer) but I was hoping to catch him on the bike and then basically run a similar time as him. When I finished the second lap and went into T2, I saw his bike, and I knew that I was not going to catch him. He swims really fast.

I caught a lot of people on the bike though, so I was feeling good. I got into my running shoes (I forgot to untie them before the race, whoops!), put my race belt and my visor on, and headed out. I downed a clif shot once I got going and pretty quickly fell into a good groove. Running has never been a strength of mine, but I was feeling pretty good. I kept reeling people in one by one, slowly but surely. It seemed like I was making a good pace as the two rest stops went by. I actually saw Dan ahead in the distance at one point and knew there was no way I could catch him. Oh well, but I kept my pace up. I felt like I was running right below LT, so it felt very sustainable, but I knew that I couldn’t go much faster for very long.

We turned on to the final part and I kicked it up a little to finish things off. It felt good to finish a triathlon so consistently. I’ve never done one before where I felt like I actually did all three things as best as I could. I definitely think I could have squeezed a little more out on the bike with more sane nutrition, but all-in-all I was very happy with my race. 

I was 8/17 in my 30-34 age group and 32/~170 overall. It was a definite PR at 1:23:13 and I it was also my 5k PR at 24:18. All the details can be found on my results page. The annoying thing about those results is they didn’t time the transitions. So I think T1 and T2 got sucked into the bike time. 

Most of all it was fun! (Carrie PR’ed as well, woohoo!) 

Time for New Cleats

You know it is time to get new cleats when you unclip twice in a 30 minute race. Yikes.

The first time my right foot hit my front wheel. The second time there was no wheel contact. Unfortunately, both times I dropped back significantly and had to chase back on. That seemed like one of the fastest 4/5 races of the year last night. I unfortunately did not make it back into the top 20, though I feel like I worked harder for longer in that race than any one yet.

I need to get better at moving up. I’m not sure what I’m missing at this point. Last night, even though I felt the effort in my stomach, I could tell that my legs had plenty in them. So I think I could have moved up, but I just never seemed to get a “good” opportunity. Whatever that actually means… I am starting to believe there is never really a good opportunity, you just have to make one.

I would occasionally move up some, and then next thing I know I had slipped back. There is just something that I’m not thinking of or looking for or something. I don’t know. If I get anything out of the remaining few Driveway crits this year, I hope that I figure out how to move up to the front and defend that position.

But it was a good night, all-in-all. It was nice to actually ride out there and ride back, getting a little extra mileage is always good. 

Hopefully I can get a short spin with the aero-bars on this afternoon to keep the legs loose and make sure the bar position isn’t terrible. Packet pickup closes at 6 (weak) so I don’t have too much time to work with.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Getting Ready for a Triathlon

It has been a little over a year since the last time I did a triathlon. I was out of shape, and it was one of the most pitiful athletic outings of my life.

Well, I decided to sign up for a triathlon this coming Saturday out at Pace Bend park: the Dilloman. It’s a sprint distance, and I am thinking it should be a much better experience. We have gone swim a few times in the lake at the gym, and I must say, I have never felt so good swimming. I think my increases aerobic fitness is helping me to keep my breathing much more under control.

I mean, I am not a fast swimmer. But I can get through the 750 meters smoothly and without having to stop, and that is miles of improvement over previous attempts.

The 20 km bike ride doesn’t concern me at all. I am going to try to put down a fast time. I am thinking I should be able to do pretty well at this.

Lastly the run. It’s just 5 km, so nothing to worry about. Right? Well, except for that today I noticed the weird sensation in my back and legs that indicates nerve irritation. Also, I wore some new shoes today and my goofy foot position while walking has given me a possible blister on my right heel.

Fantastic. The one time I’m actually in shape to do a tri, weird stuff happens. I am hoping that stretching and rolling over the next few days will help the back issue. For the possible blister I will be wearing comfortable and soft shoes here on out. Carrie and I went running on Sunday before our swim, and I think spending the last two days at home in the office chair after running did me no favors. 

From going to the PT last year, it’s all an irritation issue. So if I can let that nerve relax, I should be able to get through the 5 km. I’m not really sure what happened, though, as my core is a lot stronger this year. I have not been doing any running, and I haven’t been doing any strength training for the last month and a half (hence no core work) so I guess that’s part of it. I don’t know.

Here’s hoping it all goes fine. I am really hoping to go after this race pretty hard. I know I have the fitness to do okay. Just making it through the swim smoothly will help my placing a lot. If I can get through the run without my back hurting, things will be good. If every step is an electric schock down my butt and hamstrings, we have a problem.

Fingers crossed.