5150 DC Olympic Tri

I'll save everyone my sob story of being in traffic for hours and hours and just say I got the the packet pick up Saturday evening at the new convention center in DC then racked my bike at the transition near the Lincoln Memorial.  They even body marked us the day before the race to save everyone time race morning.  A great idea considering the race started at 6am.   I then drove to my Aunt and Uncles house to stay for the night in Bristow, VA.  I got a good nights sleep and I was ready to go at 4am.

Race morning was pretty hectic, even more than usual.  Trying to find a good place to park, long bathroom lines and finding out 15 minutes before the start of the swim that the water is 77 degrees and wetsuit legal.  Thinking there was no way it could be a wetsuit legal swim I left the wetsuit in my car a half mile from the transition.  There was no way I would swim sans wetsuit so I sprinted to my car grabbed the suit and sprinted back.  At least I got a warm up run in.  We started the swim by jumping in the water 8 at a time every 10 seconds.  The swim was in the Potomac River so there was a current in our faces for about 700 meters and at our back for the rest of the swim.  I completed the 1500 meter swim 23 minutes, a personal record for me. But alas I was still 3+ minutes behind the leaders.

Transition from Swim to Bike was a long run.  I really don't know what took me so long, but I lost valuable time here.  I am not a fan of this bike course.  There were so many 180 degree turns and 90 degree turns that just took me out of my normal cycling groove.  Not to mention all the jarring bumps that almost sent me flying a couple times.  I swear I was averaging between 25-28 mph or so the entire ride, but my overall bike split time was still 1 hour flat.  So I am not too pleased with that, nevertheless it kept me in the hunt.

The run course was a mix of gradual inclines and twists and turns through the city.  I was pretty much just going through the motions the entire 10k.  I was still fatigued from Eagleman.  I wish I would of strapped on my garmin to help me force a run pace.  I was passed by a couple guys, but managed to pass them back just sticking my pace.  The course was not great for fast times and I finished in 39 minutes.  I guess that's what I get for not doing much speedwork the passed month.

I finished 12th in the elite category.  I'm quickly reminded I can't make any mistakes or slack off during the Olympic distance racing because every second counts.  It wasn't the greatest race for me, but I did PR my swim and hung in there on the run on tired legs.  I may possibly have a chance of being qualified for the HY-VEE 5150 Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

My next race is not until July 9th, which is another Olympic Distance race.  I will be doing mostly speedwork for the next couple weeks for a nice (painful) change of pace.