LITH 20 Triathlon
This is the first of two Triathlons I signed up to do the summer of 2014. LITH 20 is a 0.5 mile swim, 15.5 mile bike and 4 mile run. A little different from the normal Sprint distance, but the same idea. My buddy from High School and I are signed up for both of these, so it should be a fun journey to take together.1/2 mile Swim: 14:21 (28.42/mile): This is the first time I've tried the swim with a wet suit and I've put in a bit more work in the water including more open water practice, the results were great. I really liked the way they started this race. It was like Noah's arc, two by two we entered the water. It was easier to find some open water quickly and get right into the stroke. I now understand the biggest benefit of the wet suit for me, buoyancy. Swimming was not a weakness for me, but the additional work in the pool and open water coupled with the wet suit let me settle into a very good zone and sail right through the swim. Never had an issue sighting the buoys and did not feel over fatigued coming out of the water. I ended up 53rd overall, 4th in my age group in the swim.
Transition 1 (2:58): I really need to practice the transitions. Getting out of the wet suit was not very smooth, to say the least. My set up was not great for getting into the socks and shoes, and we had to pack our bag at this transition (they transported our stuff from T1 to the finish for us). Most of the top 10 in my age group were under 1:30-1:50.
15.5 Mile Bike (49:26/18.8MPH): I'm a bit disappointed in this time. I was hoping to be closer to a 20MPH average. The course is an out and back. I started out pretty strong, was passing several riders and feeling good. Rolling hills, nothing too terrible for the first few miles. I realized about mile four there was a pretty good wind at our back. I picked up a rider at mile 5 and kept pace with him for a couple miles, but had to let him go just after the turn around. I was right at a 20MPH average at the 7 mile mark, but as soon as I turned back into the wind, I knew that would be difficult to maintain. Very strong wind in our face or cross wind all the way home, ugghhh! At mile 9 there is a small out and back with a good downhill going the bottom of which is the 10 mile mark on the way back. This hill took a bit out of me, and my average pace was steadily dropping. As tempting as it was to push a bit harder, I knew I would need some legs left for the run, and just stayed in a comfortable HR Zone for the reminder of the ride. One good thing on the bike, that I failed to do last summer, was my nutrition. I consumed 24oz of Powerade and a Gu (about 380 calories) which left me pretty strong for the run. My rank in the bike was pretty bad. 132 overall 15th in my Age group. Clearly I need to improve my biking.
Transition 2 (1:40): Again, slower than it should be. Most of the top 10 in my age group where under 1:00 for this transition. I need to practice this as well. Rack the bike quicker, swap the shoes, and get the heck out of the transition area.
4 mile run (29:34/7:23 average pace): As expected (being more of a runner) run was very good. I stuck right by my plan and settled into a 7:30 pace right from the start. HR was in the comfortable zone and I started picking off other runners. The turn around for this out and back was at about 2.5 miles. I was feeling good, so decided it was time and picked up the pace. Finished feeling pretty strong, and even had a little kick at the end. I may have been able to push a bit harder on the run early, but during my Olympic Tri last year I really crashed during the run and did not want to repeat that. Ended up 66th overall 5th in my Age Group.
Overall Finishing Time: 1:38, 92/339 overall 8/35 Age Group. Considering I developed a head cold two days before this race, can not be disappointed with the results one bit! It was great seeing some friends at the finish, and even got to cheer on a friend doing his first Triathlon as he was exiting T2.
Six weeks until the Wauconda Olympic Distance Triathlon. Going to really focus on my Bike training, and work in some Transition practices as part of my brick workouts. The race course is on my way home from work, so my plan is to do as many run and riding workouts as possible on the course so I'm ready for each and every one of the hills this course will throw at me!
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