Patriots Race Report

I came into this triathlon without any expectations to have a great race. I mentioned on my last blog that I would be happy finishing in the top 10.
It was perfect weather conditions for the olympic distance tri in Williamsburg, VA on Sunday.
The swim took place in the James River at Anniversary Park next to the Jamestown Ferry. The swim was tough. Felt like I was swimming forever... and I was. The first 600 meter went by easy without much of a problem. At the first turn buoy is where I ran into problems. I kept swimming off coarse and couldn't see where I was suppose to swim to most of the time. Sighting into the sun really sucks. I swear I probably swam 1700-1800 meters instead of 1500 by zig-zagging all over the place. After viewing peoples swim times, it looks like almost everyone had trouble. Unfortunately for me the guys I try to beat swim FAST! I pulled off a 29 minute swim, while they were done in under 24 minutes, some finished in around 20 minutes. I have no idea how they do that.
After a long transition from the swim exit to the bike rack I was ready to play catch up on the bike coarse. I managed to pass everyone in front of me except for maybe 9 or 10 guys. I took in a bottle of Accelerade and half a bottle of water on the ride. It ended up being too much however, as I was spitting out water a little bit during the ride. I know I didn’t push the bike as hard as I could of. I did race in the top gear most of the time however. Averaged about 26-27 mph minus the uphill portions. As I was riding I was wishing I had another gear to drop into to push faster.. I might need to look into a new chainring or something.
Got off the bike feeling pretty fresh for the run. I ended up leaving T2 running with another guy at a 6 min/mile pace. I drafted behind him for a good 3 - 3.5 miles before he started slowing and I had to pick up the pace myself. Having someone to pace behind is a HUGE help. I only took in maybe a cup of water during the run. My stomach was hurting a little during the last 2 miles. Not to mention my ankle. I guess I averaged around a 6:15 pace and passed 2 or 3 guys. I could have pushed harder, but there was no reason for me to as the next guy in front of me was 4 minutes ahead. The run coarse was flat and fast and I could have probably put in under a 36 minute run if I was 100%. My Achilles Bursitis was a hindrance on both the run and bike.
Overall I was happy with my result as I raced injured. I ended up finishing 9th overall and 1st in my age group. I’m making a habit of getting the 1st place age group award this year. I didn’t run or bike for 5 days before the race because of the ankle. I am starting to get frustrated with always having to play catchup on the bike and run every single race because of my relatively slow swims times. I felt a lot better after seeing peoples slow swim times though. After seeing the bike times I wish I had pushed it harder. Not biking all week had more of a negative affect than not running all week. Nutrition was weird for this race. I think I had too much Accelerade mix in my bottle. My body wouldn’t let me take in much water the entire race. I didn’t eat any gels either.
This was a fun race, probably my favorite in the Setup Event Series. They just need to organize the swim coarse better. Need more tall sighting buoys. Next year I’ll be back for the Half Ironman.
Pics will be posted soon...