I love this sport!
It was a hard ride on Saturday. Not because it was long (it wasn't) and not because I was going fast (I wasn't) and not because the weather was bad (it was pretty nice out.) I guess I was just tired and didn't have the patience for the careless drivers who were trying to kill me.
Whatever the case, I sure didn't feel like racing on Sunday.
My alarm went off at 7:30am and I dutifully got up and had some boost and a banana. I'd read the night before that your pre-race meal needs to be 3 hours before your race so that you don't have an excess of insulin in your blood stream. Since the race wasn't until 10:30am, that sounded about right. The in-house tri is a great place to try out new race day strategies. If it blows up in your face... who cares? They don't even time this race (though you can bet that I did!)
As usual, I thought I'd take it easy on the swim and just use it as a warm up. I was a little tired from not having swam for weeks but after a couple hundred meters, I found my rhythm. I was pretty impressed to see James jump out of the pool a full 50m ahead of me. Man, that guy's getting quick.
I had an ok transition and figured I'd forgo the shorts this time. As I was putting my gear on, I observed a guy in a full tri suit run in (and out) of the transition area in much less time then it was taking me. Note to self:
1) get tri suit
2) use a race belt (those freaking pins always up undone)
I hadn't thought too much about race strategy ahead of time but I got onto the bike and put the hammer down. In the past, I've always saved something for the run but not today. The only thing that mattered was kicking some serious ass on the ride. And I kicked hard. My stomach was in knots when I tried to take some eload but I forced it down. I didn't want to drink too much because that's when I got passed in sooke. It's a short race and I figured I'd tough it out. Note to self: use aero bottle so I don't have to slow down to drink!
For the most part, my aggressive riding paid off. Only two riders were able to pass me (on King George) and I played cat and mouse with them for the rest of the ride. One of those riders was just ahead of me as we entered the transition but I had already taken my feet out of my shoes before we dismounted our bikes. It was quite a rush to be starting my run and hearing the other guy undoing his shoes.
It was short lived.
I started running and I was sure I was going to bonk. My fine friend from the transition passed me as I struggled just to move my feet. Running has never been my strong event but I'm working on changing that. Right now, I just had to find some way to keep moving. Left, right, left, right, lengthen the stride and BREATHE. It's amazing what having friends on the course with cameras will do for your posture. Just when I'd be sucking some major wind, I'd see someone else I'd know and I'd straiten up and power past them. And every time I did, I gained speed and momentum. Before I knew it, I was throwing water on my face at the halfway point and was ready to pick it up for the last push.
Even though it was mainly downhill on the way out, I took 3 minutes off my split on the way back. By the time I hit that big hill on Quadra, I was singing Fatboy slim's Ya Mama to myself: push the tempo, push the tempo, push the tempo, push the tempo...
Around the corner, into the parking lot and through the IMC finish line! Nice touch.
God, that was fun!
You're only given a little spark of madness
You musn't lose it
~Robin Williams
Whatever the case, I sure didn't feel like racing on Sunday.
My alarm went off at 7:30am and I dutifully got up and had some boost and a banana. I'd read the night before that your pre-race meal needs to be 3 hours before your race so that you don't have an excess of insulin in your blood stream. Since the race wasn't until 10:30am, that sounded about right. The in-house tri is a great place to try out new race day strategies. If it blows up in your face... who cares? They don't even time this race (though you can bet that I did!)
As usual, I thought I'd take it easy on the swim and just use it as a warm up. I was a little tired from not having swam for weeks but after a couple hundred meters, I found my rhythm. I was pretty impressed to see James jump out of the pool a full 50m ahead of me. Man, that guy's getting quick.
I had an ok transition and figured I'd forgo the shorts this time. As I was putting my gear on, I observed a guy in a full tri suit run in (and out) of the transition area in much less time then it was taking me. Note to self:
1) get tri suit
2) use a race belt (those freaking pins always up undone)
I hadn't thought too much about race strategy ahead of time but I got onto the bike and put the hammer down. In the past, I've always saved something for the run but not today. The only thing that mattered was kicking some serious ass on the ride. And I kicked hard. My stomach was in knots when I tried to take some eload but I forced it down. I didn't want to drink too much because that's when I got passed in sooke. It's a short race and I figured I'd tough it out. Note to self: use aero bottle so I don't have to slow down to drink!
For the most part, my aggressive riding paid off. Only two riders were able to pass me (on King George) and I played cat and mouse with them for the rest of the ride. One of those riders was just ahead of me as we entered the transition but I had already taken my feet out of my shoes before we dismounted our bikes. It was quite a rush to be starting my run and hearing the other guy undoing his shoes.
It was short lived.
I started running and I was sure I was going to bonk. My fine friend from the transition passed me as I struggled just to move my feet. Running has never been my strong event but I'm working on changing that. Right now, I just had to find some way to keep moving. Left, right, left, right, lengthen the stride and BREATHE. It's amazing what having friends on the course with cameras will do for your posture. Just when I'd be sucking some major wind, I'd see someone else I'd know and I'd straiten up and power past them. And every time I did, I gained speed and momentum. Before I knew it, I was throwing water on my face at the halfway point and was ready to pick it up for the last push.
Even though it was mainly downhill on the way out, I took 3 minutes off my split on the way back. By the time I hit that big hill on Quadra, I was singing Fatboy slim's Ya Mama to myself: push the tempo, push the tempo, push the tempo, push the tempo...
Around the corner, into the parking lot and through the IMC finish line! Nice touch.
God, that was fun!
You're only given a little spark of madness
You musn't lose it
~Robin Williams
posted by Jonathan at 8:36 PM
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