It wasn't a tough week, but I wasn't feeling 100% by the time Friday night rolled around. My taper was okay (I don't think I train hard enough to really warrant a full taper, especially a sprint triathlon), but it was messed up a little bit by the previous weekend, which was Labor Day weekend. We had driven to a friend's place for a Labor Day Weekend party, so I was a little limited in my ability to do the workouts I wanted to do. I still managed to get a nice long ride in, but it was definitely not a good weekend for training. Beer and smoked meats in Vermont don't make for good training.
Prior to race day, I decided that I was going to switch up my game plan and focus on cheering people on and thanking volunteers as I raced. I wanted to see what sort of effect it had if I could make myself focus on other people during race, instead of myself.
We arrived in Hyannis on Friday night. It was about a 1.5 hour drive after work, and we checked into the hotel and got situated. No real chance to get a light workout in. It was late, getting dark, and we still hadn't eaten dinner yet. I figured I'd forget about the pre-race workout. It was a bit of a late dinner, and I think I had a beer. I was still very awake, and felt like it would help to calm me down and let me get ready to get some sleep.
We were up and out the door around 5:50am. It was a quick 15 minute drive, and I was feeling pretty awake as we arrived. At first scan, the event seemed a little disorganized. There didn't seem to be any official wave times and the packet pick-up was a little slow. Looking back, it certainly wasn't a big deal. It was a small race, and who cares if things are run a little slowly, right? Though, I think most athletes are running on nerves, so they are probably trying to get through all of the administrative stuff so that they can get ready for the race. Body marking wasn't set up by the time I got to transition; like I said, a little disorganized, but nothing catastrophic.
The race had a 7:30am start time. Turned out getting there 1.5 hours early still wasn't enough time. I felt rushed trying to get the lay of the land, get bodymarked, go the bathroom and set up transition. Seems like plenty of time, but I guess not.
I threw on the wetsuit, and headed to the beach. At this point, I was hoping that the bike route would be pretty straightforward. I hadn't scoped it out at all prior to the race, so I was a little nervous. Typically, I make it a point to look at the bike course just to get a feel for what's in store.
I went for a quick pre-race swim to get some of the nerves out. The water was warm and it felt good to release some energy before the race. Now it was just a waiting game before the race started. I jogged about 100 yards to keep warm. I still had quite a bit of energy, and wanted to burn some of it off before the start.
The start was delayed by about 15 minutes as they finalized everything. Some of the race announcements couldn't be heard because all they had was a megaphone which faded in the wind on the beach. One of the announcements I did hear was a brief moment of silence for the victims of 9/11. Oh, right, the race was on 9/11, so they found it appropriate to pay tribute. It was nice, but unfortunately not everyone could hear the announcer so they continued talking during the moment of silence. It was a shame.
I eyed up the race course. It looked like it'd actually be .25 miles. Some race directors don't always get the swim distances right. They claim .25 miles, or .5 miles, but there's no way that they're always accurate. My swim times are way too varied for what are supposed to be identical distances. This one, however, looked like it'd be accurate. It was going to be a quick swim.
The first two waves started the race, then it was our turn to hop into the corral. I made my way to the front. I'm not sure why I like to be in the front of the race for the swim. I'm not the strongest swimmer, so I should probably hang back, but I just like being in the front, not cramped by other people. We got a 20 second countdown and then the horn sounded. We were off.
It was a land start, so a quick sprint led us to the water, and we dove in. I was moving good and out in front for a few strokes. I was feeling good, and was able to keep my breathing on both sides for a while. I was able to sight pretty well: The course was a short trapezoid and the buoys were close together. My first turn was pretty wide, but I got back on course quickly enough.
It wasn't long before I devolved back to single-side breathing. It's been very tough for me to stay bi-lateral for the entire swim course. I tried to get back into a rhythm, but ended up doing single-sided breathing pretty much for the rest of the swim.
I jumped out of the water, did a few high-kneed strides and I was up on the beach. I was feeling pretty winded, but tried to keep a good pace into transition. Got the wetsuit off, and headed for the common-use kiddie pool. I got tied up with another athlete, but was able to keep heading over to my bike quickly enough.
I was flustered and needed to slow down a bit to get my wetsuit off. I think there's a very unique talent in being able to switch gears from fast and frenzied during the swim, to calm and collected for transition. Transition is certainly an area where moving too fast is detrimental. Controlling rhythm during a race is very important.
I ran at a good speed to bike mount, which was a good 50 yards through transition barefoot on concrete. You can't really feel much at this point since you're so focused on the race, so it's not really much of a problem. I hadn't been practicing my transitions for a while, and even though it's such a minor thing, if you're not comfortable, you can pay the price. I hopped onto the bike and struggled to get my feet into position. In the process, one of my shoes came off, and I had to double back to put the shoe in, clip in and start moving. In all, it probably only added a few seconds, but it definitely throws you out of your rhythm.
I'm always breathing hard, a little disoriented and a little tired after the swim, but I got moving on the bike, hoping that I'd clear up soon enough. The course was pretty nice: quaint back-roads, shaded nicely by the trees lining the streets, and a good mix of very light hills. Just enough to get you working a little bit, but nothing too tough. The whole ride flew by pretty quickly. There were some sharp turns, and a little bit of traffic. I remember having to cross the double-yellow lines into the oncoming traffic lane to get around some people. I ended up passing a bunch of people. I was surprised at how many people were in the waves in front of me.
I need to do some tuning up of my bike, because I was shifting a little too much, mostly because my bike is a bit unreliable when it comes to shifting. Sometimes it takes two clicks to get the chain to jump into the next gear. I'm used to it, and am generally prepared for that to happen, but it's not something that I should be complacent with. Gotta fix that bike.
Near the end of the bike loop, a guy with a pointy helmet and aerobars passed me. He had tried to pass my right at the beginning of the bike loop, but I motored ahead and didn't let him pass. I guess he was just biding his time, because he made a nice move and went right by me.
I got to one turn that was coned off (because it was a big enough intersection that they couldnt close it to traffic). so it was a 3 ft wide lane that might cause you to get stuck behind people. I got stuck.
I thought maybe it was close to the dismount, so I held back. I got stuck for a few seconds behind some people, and realized that there was still some distance to go before the dismount. It killed my momentum, but it gave me time to relax and build up some energy. Try to see the bright side :)
I kept going and made it the dismount. More sloppiness. I un-velcroed my shoes, and in wiggling my foot out. lost an insole. Otherwise, I made a successful dismount, and booked it to my spot. Not wuite. Apparently the entire shoe came off when I jumped off my bike, becuase a volunteer brought it to me at transition and said, "You'll be looking for this later". I think I thanked them. I was very grateful, because I had no idea that the shoe had fallen off.
I grabbed my starburst, had it unwrapped and in my mouth before the exit/water area. I grabbed some water, took a sip, dumped it on my head and headed out for the run. I was moving at a decent pace, or so it felt. I did end up slowing down a bit, but the nice back roads and shaded course made for a somewhat enjoyable run. I got passed by a few people, including a really young kid. Very impressive to see a kid that young kicking so much ass. I really had no idea what athletics and sports really were all about when I was his age.
I hit mile 1 at 7:20. not bad. I kept moving, and felt that I slowed down even more in mile 2. Finally got to Mile 2 around 14:55. Still not too shabby. Mid- to low-7s is decent after a swim and a ride. Somewhere between mile 2 and 3, I unwrapped a 2nd starburst. hit the water station and got a sip and dumped it on my head. I need to make that part of my strategy for every water station. Water on the head is a great thing.
The whole time I was cheering on competitors and thanking volunteers. It was enough to get my mind out of thinking about the pain (pain...did you feel pain during the run? Were you killing yourself?). I thought I was pushing myself a bit, then again, I think I had a little bit extra left in the tank.
I think the cheering worked. It broke up the monotony. And it gives you a boost when you talk to people. I need that on the run. Less so on the bike.
I hit mile 3 and realized that I had held back too much. I didnt look at my watch, but didnt pick it up for some reason. Some people passed me...people I couldve kept up with, but I didnt keep pace. I was very focused on making sure I could keep getting good deep breaths. I was having shortness of breath a little bit, but at this intensity, was able to get some good deep breaths in. Stupid mild asthma.
I got very close to the end, and picked it up a little. The finish was on the sand, which makes the final 20 yards interesting. I hit the sand and bolted 10 yards to the finish, beating a guy who was trying to come up behind me and overtake me in the last few yards. I really got an adrenalin jolt from that, and realized that I had a lot of energy I could've exploded with. I need to focus on picking it up on the run. Maybe pace better for the majority of the run, and then really drive on the last half mile.
Terri and Gavin had made the trip to watch me race. Gavin, of course, couldn't help but make fun of some of the athletes he saw while the race was going on. In particular, one of the guys racing was foaming at the mouth during his run.
I had a light headache in the following hours, but might have been due to lack of caffeine (and maybe some dehydration type effects). Though, to be honest, I am always a little secretly pleased when I feel a little shitty after a race. It means that I did push myself.
Focus is definitely key. I forget most of the bike and run, which means I wasn't focused. I can remember parts of it, but not the whole thing. I should take a more active approach to
the runs and rides. Being conscious of what's happening at all times is surely good practice
Can you remember all the details of your race?
Some notes:
I ran in my less-supportive shoes. I got blisters on left arch.
My knees felt a little more painful after (mightve been the sandals after the race). In general, the run went well, though.
I was tired, half-sick the night before. wasn't totally looking forward to the race. but once I was up and there, it came back. I need to talk to people more before the race; not just stand in silence.
I still get a little intimidated at the races. I know I'm well-prepared, but I can't help but get a little anxious looking around at the other athletes?
Post-race, I hydrated, ate, cleaned up. checked results. felt pretty good. made sure not to have a repeat of the Boston Urban Epic. I think the short swim helped set the pace for the rest of the race.
I tensed up on the bike a little in the chest/lats. Thought it might be a problem on the run. So I tried to stay out of the drops for most of the ride. I think it helped.
I felt my toes numbing up on the bike.
No comments:
Post a Comment