Xterra Tri for Real Race Report

This is my detailed race report. Final splits are now posted.

I finished 122 out of 194 starters, and 18 out of 25 in my age group.

14:00 swim (52nd fastest) (0.5 mile) (1:35min/100 yd)
1:19:13 bike (118th fastest) (13 mile) (9.8 mph)
42:22 run (168th fastest) (4 mile) (10.59 min per mile)

2:15:35 total

Not spectacular numbers, but good enough for where I am at with my recovery and training.

Usually the swim is the easiest part for me. I typically can find my pace and settle into a groove fairly quickly. Not this time. I battled the entire time. I swallowed a lot of water from people kicking right next to me, and the water was very choppy. The wind must have been playing havoc with our sense of direction, because I got slammed into multiple times during the entire swim. I would just settle in to a pace and BAM, out of nowhere someone would body slam right into me. Unbelievable. I got so frustrated, that I ended up breaststroking a few times to calm myself down.

I entered T-1 with my toes and hands completely numb. 55 degree water tends to do that. My brother was leaving T-1 as I was getting my feet out of my wetsuit. I yelled some encouraging words, and continued getting ready for the bike.

My heart rate was spiked from my battles and frustration on the swim, so my first lap on the bike was less than stellar. My heart rate was pegged for the first lap. I finally settled down and a had a decent second lap.

T-2 went by quick and I was off on the run. I just cruised the run at my own pace. I knew there were a couple of hills near the halfway point, so I started off conservatively and held a constant pace the whole time. I cramped a little with 1.5 miles to go, but they were gone quickly. I was passed by 2 guys in may age group with a mile to go, but I could not keep up with them. They finished about a minute in front of me.

A very enjoyable race.

One Tri Down

Sunday was my first tri of 2009, but more importantly, the first one since my knee surgery in December of 2007.

Overall it went well. I finished a 0.5 mile swim, 13 mile mountain bike, and 4 mile run in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and some change.

No problems with the knee, and overall I am happy with my performance. I'll report more later. Essentially the swim was rough due to very choppy conditions, the bike was fine, and I felt very good on the run. I wasn't very fast, but I felt okay.

My brother crushed it and finished 19th overall (including 2 relays), and 5th in his age group. He got a nice plaque. I think it was his first hardware from a triathlon.

My charts are below, with Sundays approximate race times included.

Two Weeks

My first tri since my knee surgery is two weeks from today.

I am excited, but I cannot expect too much from myself. My knee is still not 100%, and my training is not where I would like it to be.

A lighter week again this week. No more lunch swims for a while. I'll have to start swimming in the morning.

Here are the graphs:

Semi-Rural Living

Living in a rural area makes for some picturesque road bike rides. Here are some pictures from this week's longish ride (22 miles, 2.25 hours):







And the updated training summary:

Tour of California Part Deux

Here is a small piece of video that I took on Saturday. The riders are Hincapie, Hamilton, Zabriskie, and Armstrong.



Also, I found this map online. It's from a website called www.mapmyride.com. They have GPS downloadable maps for every stage in the Tour. Very cool.

Tour of California

Watched the Tour of California Prologue on Saturday in downtown Sacramento. My first time on light rail in Sacramento. We had a lot of fun. At least one-half of the people were there just to see Lance. I have some video that I'll post once I learn the best way.

Here's the current data. The knee is holding up, so I've started to increase my running.

The Drought is Real

Folsom Lake is scary low. Here are a couple pics from this weekend. Water rationing can't be very far away.

With water levels this low, the triathlon in March will be interesting.




Here is this week's data.