Race Report: Harryman Olympic Triathlon - May 17, 2014
This
was the first tri of the season. The objective here was to get back into it,
mentally prepare for it, and evaluate my fitness level. Eagleman is the main
focus for now, with Zurich in the back of my mind as well.
My Stats:
Overall time: 2:17:19 – 3rd
OA
Swim:
18:36 | T1: 0:57 | Bike: 1:20:12 | T2: 0:33 | Run: 0:37:02
Course specs:
Swim: Lake Welch - Water Temperature: 58F at the beach / 49F at the first buoy - Very windy
Bike:
58.57 miles - Hilly course with technical downhills and long steady climbs - few flat sections
Vertical ascent: 2,456 feet (Garmin knows 2,295 feet)
Run
6.06 miles - rolling hills with a slight steady downhill in the last mile
Vertical ascent: 386 feet
Swim
The
water looked really cold. The official temperature was 58F by the beach but
dropped to 49F by the first buoy (at least according to the lifeguard who put
the buoys in place). I warmed up for 4-5 min and felt good. The water did not
feel too cold, but I could definitely feel the chill of the water seeping into
the wetsuit. It was very windy, and buoys could not stay in place. The 0.6-mile
swim looked and felt a lot longer.
I had
a great start, quickly breaking away from the pack and sticking with the lead
pack. Amazing sensations, though I somewhat forgot how chaotic the start can
be. I had to wear a nose plug (go figure, I have nasal issues when swimming in
fresh water only), and unfortunately, that thing kept falling off. I had to
stop 3 times to put it back on. Despite that, I was still chasing the pack, not
too far behind.
I
felt really well, and almost felt like I was not pushing hard enough. I still
had the lead pack in sight, which gave me confidence that I was swimming well.
T-1
The key
takeaways I took from this race came from swimming and T1. Very sloppy
transition! I couldn’t remove my wetsuit, and took extra time to organize my
swim gear…WHY? Lesson learned! This race displayed some gaps I need to work on.
I knew I was rusty coming into this event, and I’m glad it showed today and not
at Eagleman.
Bike
The
ride was a succession of climbs and descents, with little to no flat sections. My
Garmin showed 2,546 feet of ascent. I felt really good on the bike, and as the
weather started to warm up, I started to feel more and more at ease. My heart
rate was fairly high, but it was expected. With the rolling hills and some
steeper sections, keeping a low HR was tough.
I held
back a bit on the technical downhill, as I was more concerned about not
crashing than my overall time. I could have taken a more aggressive line on the
turns, releasing the breaks a little more, but I did not want to risk it. At
the end of the descent was a 180-degree turn. I remember crashing on that same
turn on my very first sprint triathlon back in 2011. I approached it with
caution.
A long 2-mile climb awaited us after that turn. I paced myself well,
getting up on the pedals, as I feel more comfortable that way.
I
kept a strong pace on the second loop, though I could feel the burn in my legs.
I did not know how far
Love my new wheels!
My
new Hawk-Racing V55/80 Veyron Tubulars are amazing. They are incredibly light,
yet very sturdy on the climbs. I never felt any restrictions on my riding, neither on the updhills nor on the downhills. The wheels are incredibly easy to maneuver, and ride very smooth, even on beaten roads,
which gave me more confidence and control on the downhill. The fear of getting
a flat dissipated quickly, only to come back when I saw people on the side
changing their tires.
Well, it wasn’t all perfect…
300
yards before getting back into Transition, the spare tube I had attached onto
my bottle cage fell on my cassette, quickly getting entangled in the rear
derailleur and breaks. I immediately stopped and tried pulling it out, but I
would have had to take the wheel off for that. I looked where I was and decided
to run to T. I ran barefoot for 35-40 seconds. I was not happy at all, but that
was another thing I am glad happened during this race and not during Eagleman.
T2
It
went well. I spent 33 seconds putting the bike back on its rack, grabbing my
race belt, visor, and sunglasses.
Run
Distance:
6.06 miles | Vertical ascent: 386 feet
Big
unknown! I remember last year where I would push hard on the bike and run on an
empty tank, often leaving a sour taste in my mouth. And knowing that I pushed
harder than I should have on the bike, I expected a tough 10K.
The 1st
mile had a nice steady climb for about .6 miles. I started having a breathing
cramp but tried not to focus on it. The 2nd mile was flat and with a
slight descent for the most part. My breathing started to improve and my legs
were surprisingly feeling good. I averaged 5:45 on the 2nd mile, and
paced myself well on the next 2 miles to average 6:14. I felt really good, with
a good form. Thinking back, all my brick runs are at a much higher intensity
than last year’s. Most of my runs now are done at a higher HR, pace, which
prepared me well for this run. Though I pushed hard on the bike, I never felt
like I was running out of gas. I was worried about it because I did not do a
good job with my nutrition, taking only 20Oz of fluids, and probably 150
calories on the bike.
I could feel like I
was being chased, and despite having a good minute on my chaser at T2, I did
not want him to close the gap on the first half. I knew that keeping a good
distance with him on the first 3 miles would give me a boost of confidence and
would certainly not help him. I did just that and kept him at a good distance.
I saw him being 45” behind when we turned around.
I
finished on a very strong note, with a run that I controlled from the very
beginning, handling certain situations well. Above all, I proved to myself that
I could be mentally strong to push hard and stay focused.
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