1k swim/ 25k bike/ 5k run
Clermont, FL
9 March, 2008
5th Overall
Race Recap,
First race of the season! It felt great to get some serious speed with some serious competitors under my belt before the bulk of the season is upon us. The race attracted quite the early season star-studded field with an international and professional turnout. There were a few Canadian Olympic ITU hopefuls, professional Iron distance folks, and a few “in-betweeners” such as yours truly. More to come about the aforementioned in later updates…for now I will try to stick to race details.
The race. I competed in the elite wave, which was first to depart at the crack of dawn following daylight savings time. (USA Triathlon regulations mandate no swimmers may begin the race until the sun has appeared on the horizon.) The state of Florida had the red phone in hand about to dial FEMA as we began our morning in the low 40’s. The water was quite shallow, so the first 150+ meters of the 1k swim was an interesting mix of running/diving/swimming/David Hasselhoff efforts. I quickly learned that I am global positioning-ly challenged, as I started swimming in what can best be described as “not-a-straight-line.” Additionally, I need to learn how to swim in a wetsuit. I had, for me, a sub par effort in the water, as I was gapped by some stud swimmers. I came out of the water roughly 90secs down on the lead guys, and after having tea and strumpets, as my coach affectionately called it, in T1 (swim to bike transition), I began laying the hammer down on the bike. I rode like a man possessed for the first lap of a two lap bike. The bike was 40 minutes of solid cycling for me, as I made my way up to third overall in a quick amount of time. My coach and I have been putting serious effort into my growth as an overall cyclist, so it is nice to see his efforts and my work paying off. After a not-so-bad T2 (bike to run transition), I ran an opening mile of 5:10, and proceeded to run two back-to-back 5:25min/mile to finish in 5th overall. I had two gazelles chasing me, and I fell prey to them.
To add insult to injury, my coach wanted to put a tightly fitting cap on the previous four weeks worth of training, so following the race, a couple of buddies and I went for a leisurely 9 mile run, followed by a quick two hour bike ride in the evening. I slept soundly that evening.
I am extremely pleased with my early season performance, and excited about where my fitness is this Spring. My coach and I had been working hard and long for the previous four weeks leading up to this race, and I am looking forward to letting my muscles heal a wee bit. My next race is the Miami International Triathlon on Sunday, March 16, 2008, and I am almost as eager to begin my preparations for the rest of the season following this race.
Stay tuned!
Zach
Clermont, FL
9 March, 2008
5th Overall
Race Recap,
First race of the season! It felt great to get some serious speed with some serious competitors under my belt before the bulk of the season is upon us. The race attracted quite the early season star-studded field with an international and professional turnout. There were a few Canadian Olympic ITU hopefuls, professional Iron distance folks, and a few “in-betweeners” such as yours truly. More to come about the aforementioned in later updates…for now I will try to stick to race details.
The race. I competed in the elite wave, which was first to depart at the crack of dawn following daylight savings time. (USA Triathlon regulations mandate no swimmers may begin the race until the sun has appeared on the horizon.) The state of Florida had the red phone in hand about to dial FEMA as we began our morning in the low 40’s. The water was quite shallow, so the first 150+ meters of the 1k swim was an interesting mix of running/diving/swimming/David Hasselhoff efforts. I quickly learned that I am global positioning-ly challenged, as I started swimming in what can best be described as “not-a-straight-line.” Additionally, I need to learn how to swim in a wetsuit. I had, for me, a sub par effort in the water, as I was gapped by some stud swimmers. I came out of the water roughly 90secs down on the lead guys, and after having tea and strumpets, as my coach affectionately called it, in T1 (swim to bike transition), I began laying the hammer down on the bike. I rode like a man possessed for the first lap of a two lap bike. The bike was 40 minutes of solid cycling for me, as I made my way up to third overall in a quick amount of time. My coach and I have been putting serious effort into my growth as an overall cyclist, so it is nice to see his efforts and my work paying off. After a not-so-bad T2 (bike to run transition), I ran an opening mile of 5:10, and proceeded to run two back-to-back 5:25min/mile to finish in 5th overall. I had two gazelles chasing me, and I fell prey to them.
To add insult to injury, my coach wanted to put a tightly fitting cap on the previous four weeks worth of training, so following the race, a couple of buddies and I went for a leisurely 9 mile run, followed by a quick two hour bike ride in the evening. I slept soundly that evening.
I am extremely pleased with my early season performance, and excited about where my fitness is this Spring. My coach and I had been working hard and long for the previous four weeks leading up to this race, and I am looking forward to letting my muscles heal a wee bit. My next race is the Miami International Triathlon on Sunday, March 16, 2008, and I am almost as eager to begin my preparations for the rest of the season following this race.
Stay tuned!
Zach
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