Rockets Landing OLY Race Report w/ Pics

Race night I stayed in a hotel on Broad Street in downtown Richmond.
I drank a ton of water/Gatorade the day before the race knowing the temps were to be in the 100s for the race. I had a pasta dinner and some watermelon for dinner. Race morning I ate a bowl of oatmeal with a bottle of Gatorade then drove to the race site.

I prepped my transition area then proceeded to wait in the longest/slowest line ever for the bathroom.
So, I was actually in the bathroom when the starting gun went off. Not good right?. I hit the water about 30 seconds late. The swim was an in-water start. So not only was I 30 seconds late, but I had to swim farther too. The water was HOT. Had to be at least 86-88 degrees. My swim time was around 26 minutes. Not great, not terrible. The river was dirty and smelly.

The bike coarse was nice. The roads were clear of traffic for the most part. There were a few hills that had me out of the saddle. I finished the 40K coarse in 1:01. I really need to get faster at slipping my feet into my shoes while riding, its costing me valuable seconds. The major thing during the bike was making sure I stayed hydrated and took in calories. I think I played my nutrition perfectly.

By the time I started the run I was in 4th place. I forgot my Garmin so I didn't know how fast I was running. There were some mean flights of stairs we had to go up and down a few times, which I walked up. The coarse took us winding around buildings and whatnot. Not a coarse to set a PR. During the middle of the 10K I felt like I was running too slow. The heat was really intense on the long open city streets. I'm not built for the heat like some of these smaller fast guys. I was passed around the 8K mark. I tried to keep up and battle for 4th, but was too tired. I crossed the finished line pretty well exhausted. My run time was about 40 minutes. Considering the heat, hills, and stairs I am okay with that time.

I wasn't too badly effected by the 100 degree temps during the race. I actually took a water bottle with me for the first half of the run. Brilliant idea, really. I've trained in this 90 degree heat for a while now so I'm getting used to it. Although there is a big difference between run times in 90 degree weather and 70 degree weather.

I finished in 5th place overall. There were some talented athletes there. I really need to improve my swim times if I want any chance of beating the best in the country. It took me a good 10 minutes to recover from the race.

I took 2 days off of training just for a break and to get house things done.

In other news I had a few new cuts and scraps (one big one that happened right before I jumped in the water while I was running to the swim start) that were open to the bacteria in the river. One on my elbow got infected. So I have to take pills for a week to get rid of the infection. The bacteria levels in the river had to of been super high. Although, they would cancel the swim if the bacteria concentration was at a certain level.

This race season is just flying by. I have a 12 day training block ahead of me before I fit in a few days taper for the Luray race. I am still very much gearing all my training for the half Ironmans at the end of my season. I start back up today (Wed.) with a 10 mile easy trail run and a 90 minute bike, perhaps an ocean swim if its still light out.