Last Sunday was the
2009 Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon. This was the first triathlon that I did two years ago so it's a special race for me now. It's one of the few times that a person would have the opportunity to race and talk with Olympians and other professional athletes.
The forecast for the day was supposed to be partially cloudy with a temperature in the high 60's by the afternoon. You can understand how surprised we were when we woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning to find it cold, wet and rainy. Not ideal race conditions. As far as the day goes, getting to the race start was the most frustrating and difficult part of the day. We were told that the last bus from transition 2 to the race start was leaving at 6:30am so we got there in plenty of time to set up transition and get on the bus. We lined up at a little after 6:00 in a line that was a couple of hundred people long. Buses were only coming around about every 15-20 minutes and by the time we got on a bus for the 30 minute drive it was already 7:30. Transition 1 was suppose to close at 7:15 and my race wave was supposed to go in the water just after 7:45. This created problems. By the time we got to the race start we had to rush to get our timing chip and then rushed to get transition 1 set up and get our wetsuits on (70 degree water and all). Due to the late bus Kati missed her swim wave all together and had to start with the 30-34 female wave and Jonathan and I barely caught our 30-34 wave.
Swim (1500 meters/ 0.94 miles 29:45)The water wasn't nearly as cold as I was prepared for. We were told on Saturday that it was going to be 68 degrees but rose to 70 by Sunday morning. Probably could have done the swim without the wet suit but it was definitely more comfortable to have it on. The water was super choppy. I don't think that I have ever swam in that choppy of water before. On the way out and back you had to lift your head pretty high out of the water as to avoid getting a wave in your face and swallowing a mouth full of water. I wish I could say that I was successful every time but have to admit that I drank so much water on the swim that I didn't have to drink much on the bike.
One of my goals this year was to get out of the water in under 30 minutes. I had accomplished this task at the Capital of Texas Triathlon in May but that race was in a river so I felt a little like it was cheating to swim with the current even though you were swimming against the current about half the time as well. With the choppiness of the water I was very surprised to see 29:45 on my watch upon exiting.
(Ready to roll)
Transition 1 was abysmally slow. Partially due to having to get a wetsuit off but mostly because you had to have your bag packed with everything that you wanted to keep before you left transition since the local high school basketball team was moving the bags from T1 to the finish line. Stuffing cap, goggles, wet suit and everything else that wasn't coming with you on the bike took far longer than it should have.
(Yeah it's taking me forever to get out of here, what's it to ya?)
I have no explanation for why this ride was so slow. I wish that I could say that I took it easy because the roads were really wet and I wanted to be safe but that wasn't the case at all, I felt as though I was pushing pretty good. The ride was altered from last year and did have a 17% climb at about 8 miles into the race which brought my average down and I have to think that the wet roads did slow me down just due to having to ride through puddle after puddle but that can't account for a 7 minute difference between this year and last year.
For the most part the rain held off during the ride but a light drizzle made and appearance occasionally. Surprisingly the cold was really only a factor during the down hill portions when you really started to feel the wind. The arm warmers were really nice to have on though.
Overall the ride was pretty uneventful although Kati did see a rider run into a car because the car disobeyed the police officer that was directing traffic and pulled out in front of the rider but I'll let her tell that story.
Transition 2 (2:30)Transition 2 was still quite a bit slower than I would have like it to be. I debated about ringing my wet socks out but opted out and just grabbed my race belt with my number on it grabbed my hat was heading on my way.
Run (10K/6.2 miles 47:13)I've gone into the last few races with three goals. Get out of the water in under 30 minutes, finish the race in under 2:40 and run a sub 8 minute mile. I have accomplished the first two already but the third has eluded me. The inclement weather was going to work to my advantage today though, I run better off the bike than I do just going out for a run and I run best in the cold. I knew that I needed a 48:36 run in order to have an 8 minute mile average so that was my main goal this year. The run was mostly an out and back on a concrete trail with a turn around at about 3.7 miles. I started out feeling pretty good. The plan was to keep the first half of the run around an 8:10 min/mi and to pick it up to a 7:45 at the half way point. On the way out the plan was working great, I felt good and had the confidence that I could do it this year. The half way point came and I picked it up a little bit knowing that the actual turn around was still about a half mile further. At the turn around I started pushing and kept my pace below 7:30 for the entire way back. By mile 5 I was really starting to hurt and felt it in my legs but I was just too close to slow it down now. With the end in site I put whatever I had left into it and finished at just over a 7 min/mi. This was the best run that I've had on a triathlon of this distance. This really made for a happy finish despite the ride.
