1.5k swim/ 40k bike/ 10k run
Miami, FL
16 March, 2008
2nd Overall amateur
Race Recap,
First “Olympic” distance race of the season! I’ve never raced consecutive weekends, and this was certainly an eye opener for me. Following last week’s performance, I felt capable and fit to red line my internal V8 and compete against the world’s best triathletes. I had never been to Miami before, so culturally I was in a different world. That’s another story altogether. But I was there for business, and that is exactly what I got down to.
The race. Good thing I moved to Florida, because now I am somewhat used to warm mornings, and race morning in Miami was no exception. I broke a sweat pulling on my new race uniform and I knew I was in for a warm day. After a quick 15min jog warm-up, I was officially drenched in sweat and ready to jump in the old Marine Race Stadium Bay and swim a bit before the gun went off. The race was wetsuit legal for us amateurs, but following last week’s “incident,” I opted to compete in my amazing new uniform thanks to Zoot Sports as opposed to a wetsuit. From the start, a competitor took off and set a quick pace in the water. I caught him roughly 900m into the swim and proceeded to jockey position with him until he decided to sprint the last 200m. I simply sat on his hip and quasi-body surfed his wake letting him do all the work. I was surprised to look down at my watch and see 13:30, meaning the swim ended up being a couple hundred meters short unfortunately, because I am a self-proclaimed amphibian. We crossed the timing mat side by side into T1, where I proceeded to have a lightening fast transition and immediately gained a couple minutes on my closest competitor.
Onto the bike, I set a fairly quick pace. I have yet to lay the hammer down for 40k, so it was good to see my training efforts pay off as I was able to distance myself even further from the second place athlete. I’ve never led a race before, so I must say it was cool/intimidating being the race rabbit. I practiced my nutrition perfectly, as I had a sustained energy level throughout the bike, and was getting quite excited to lay down a fast 10k run. I dismounted the bike with an even faster T2, and was excited for a fast 10k run. I looked down at my watch and saw that it took me over an hour to complete the bike, which was unusual considering I’m capable of cycling in the mid to upper 50’s. I later find out from someone who had a computer on his bike that the course was almost 45k as opposed to 40k. Relief. So I was ready to track my miles on the run, only to find out there are no mile markers. No big deal. A race is a race. I simply wanted to see my run splits as I am learning to become a land animal, and numbers on the run course help me do so. The run consisted of two 5.3k loops, so it was actually a little longer than 10k run. Good. It helps me learn to run. However, I had another one of those gazelles chasing me, and he caught me with about a half mile to go. I had the throttle fully opened, plus I had my afterburners engaged, but was unable to catch this native African creature as he sped away and beat me by 9 seconds. Ouch.
To sum up, I am more than happy with my effort. I raced as hard as I could have on that day, I think, and I am excited to get back to the drawing boards with my coach and get ready for the next double header, which takes place on April 20th and 27th, respectively. My training is going exceptionally well and I am eager to keep the ball rolling. Thanks to everyone for reading horrible grammar, syntax and an overall poor English recap of my race.
Until next time, wear Zoot Sports, drink and eat Powerbar products, sport Smith Optics shades and use Pedro's bike products in an effort to be more environmentally friendly (shameless plug, sorry…but not really)
Zach
Miami, FL
16 March, 2008
2nd Overall amateur
Race Recap,
First “Olympic” distance race of the season! I’ve never raced consecutive weekends, and this was certainly an eye opener for me. Following last week’s performance, I felt capable and fit to red line my internal V8 and compete against the world’s best triathletes. I had never been to Miami before, so culturally I was in a different world. That’s another story altogether. But I was there for business, and that is exactly what I got down to.
The race. Good thing I moved to Florida, because now I am somewhat used to warm mornings, and race morning in Miami was no exception. I broke a sweat pulling on my new race uniform and I knew I was in for a warm day. After a quick 15min jog warm-up, I was officially drenched in sweat and ready to jump in the old Marine Race Stadium Bay and swim a bit before the gun went off. The race was wetsuit legal for us amateurs, but following last week’s “incident,” I opted to compete in my amazing new uniform thanks to Zoot Sports as opposed to a wetsuit. From the start, a competitor took off and set a quick pace in the water. I caught him roughly 900m into the swim and proceeded to jockey position with him until he decided to sprint the last 200m. I simply sat on his hip and quasi-body surfed his wake letting him do all the work. I was surprised to look down at my watch and see 13:30, meaning the swim ended up being a couple hundred meters short unfortunately, because I am a self-proclaimed amphibian. We crossed the timing mat side by side into T1, where I proceeded to have a lightening fast transition and immediately gained a couple minutes on my closest competitor.
Onto the bike, I set a fairly quick pace. I have yet to lay the hammer down for 40k, so it was good to see my training efforts pay off as I was able to distance myself even further from the second place athlete. I’ve never led a race before, so I must say it was cool/intimidating being the race rabbit. I practiced my nutrition perfectly, as I had a sustained energy level throughout the bike, and was getting quite excited to lay down a fast 10k run. I dismounted the bike with an even faster T2, and was excited for a fast 10k run. I looked down at my watch and saw that it took me over an hour to complete the bike, which was unusual considering I’m capable of cycling in the mid to upper 50’s. I later find out from someone who had a computer on his bike that the course was almost 45k as opposed to 40k. Relief. So I was ready to track my miles on the run, only to find out there are no mile markers. No big deal. A race is a race. I simply wanted to see my run splits as I am learning to become a land animal, and numbers on the run course help me do so. The run consisted of two 5.3k loops, so it was actually a little longer than 10k run. Good. It helps me learn to run. However, I had another one of those gazelles chasing me, and he caught me with about a half mile to go. I had the throttle fully opened, plus I had my afterburners engaged, but was unable to catch this native African creature as he sped away and beat me by 9 seconds. Ouch.
To sum up, I am more than happy with my effort. I raced as hard as I could have on that day, I think, and I am excited to get back to the drawing boards with my coach and get ready for the next double header, which takes place on April 20th and 27th, respectively. My training is going exceptionally well and I am eager to keep the ball rolling. Thanks to everyone for reading horrible grammar, syntax and an overall poor English recap of my race.
Until next time, wear Zoot Sports, drink and eat Powerbar products, sport Smith Optics shades and use Pedro's bike products in an effort to be more environmentally friendly (shameless plug, sorry…but not really)
Zach
1 comment:
1.5k swim/ 40k bike/ 10k run
I dont think i can finish it even if if i eat all the healthy protein bar i see at home.
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