Triathlon - Triathlon Racing- Lets get it going!

They have a racing sticky on the MTB and road forums, lets see if we can get one going here. Have you had your first race of the year? How was it? Want to talk about the pros and what's going on in their world? Lets prove we are as up to speed as our counterparts on the other forums! What do you guys think?

i have to put a shout out to a colleague of mine (Chris Waugh) you know who you are. He headed down south to do IMNZ this year, his first IM ever, came in 216th with a sub 11 - 10'54"56. There was i still thinking 'how does he do it?' when it turns out that he was at the boston marathon yesterday to cheer on his girlfriend, met one of our clients from Gatorade who challenged him and got him a start number, he ran a 4'23" on 12 hours notice....

damn

Okay - not sure how this is supposed to go, but I gather you need replies to keep it going, so...

My friend Julie Swail just came in 21st, and was the 4th U.S. woman in the Honolulu Triathlon World Cup on Saturday. We played water polo together in college, and she won a silver medal in that sport in Sydney before deciding to give triathlon a try. Turns out she's pretty good at it! :)

Go Julie!

(is this what you were looking for for this thread?)

3rd place (AG 25-29): Stanford Super Sprint Triathlon
3rd place (Clydesdale): Ice Breaker Triathlon

My first race of the year was two weeks ago. It was a sprint race in an absolute downpour. I finished 7th in my AG, in 1:00:21. I think I could have done better but it's hard to run fast in mud. Ran the 5k in 21 minutes. I was not dissatisfied as I have only been training for longer distances. Next up; my first half ironman. Set to go on May 07.

My first race (ever) was last weekend. I'm on a D1 swim team and I have some natural running ability, so I bought a bike and along with 2 swim team friends we decided to try out for our school's tri team on about 2 weeks of training (although we did train for swimming all year). We made the team, and competed at Collegiate Triathlon Nationals in Lake Havasu. Overall, we did pretty well considering I have never done an olympic distance and I have pretty much no running and biking background. I was one of the first few out of the water, but dropped after that. I think I will be able to do better next year since I will be placed in a faster wave. My final time was 2:18, even though the bike course was about 1 mile too long.

Heart and Sole Tri (sprint), Versailles KY last Saturday (4th 25-29)

Absolutely horrible day. Get out of the pool and run into a 40ish degree cold rain. Never been so happy to get off the bike. At least is was a sprint and didn't last too long.

Oh yeah, and lots of my fellow competitors are either liars or need to be introduced to a clock properly. I'm looking forward to the open water events and avoid some of that nonsense.

Heart and Sole Tri (sprint), Versailles KY last Saturday (4th 25-29)

Absolutely horrible day. Get out of the pool and run into a 40ish degree cold rain. Never been so happy to get off the bike. At least is was a sprint and didn't last too long.

Oh yeah, and lots of my fellow competitors are either liars or need to be introduced to a clock properly. I'm looking forward to the open water events and avoid some of that nonsense.

Good race. I know how you feel about the bad swim times. In my first race of the year, people were all over the place in the pool. I have never understood why people want to submit times they can't swim.

Okay - can't submit my own results until my first race in July, so I'll resort to telling you about my friend again. She got 5th overall last weekend in the ITU race in Mazatlan. First American woman this time! A big improvement over the last weekend. Hooray Julie!

I run my first ever this sunday. Stay tuned!

Strawberry Fields Tri - March 12, 2005 - Oxnard, CA
Goal: 1:29:59; Actual: 1:29:23
Age Group (35-39): 44 of 52
Overall: 351 of 511
Men: 270 of 333

Desert International Tri - April 17th, 2005 - La Quinta, CA
Goal: 2:59:59; Actual: 3:03:44 (and I'm still pissed about it)
Age Group: 36 of 38
Overal: 288 of 329
Men: 201 of 220

I'm not all that impressed with the winners of trialthons. They're in great shape and they get done quickly. They should try hauling my fat a$$ around the course in twice the time. Then we would see how brave they really are :)

I run my first ever this sunday. Stay tuned!

Be carefull - it's may be a "slippery slope".
Four months after i did my first tri, i did my ninth. Not trying to blow my own horn or anything; they were mostly sprint distance.
Point is that you may feel really compelled to do as many races as you possibly can, even if you are not a competitive person who normally enjoys competition. If you don't allow yourself to become frustrated by some of the subtle nuances of the sport (elbows flying in swim, people passing on bike just to slow down, etc.) you can have a really, really good time!
Good luck, and have fun!!

Note: am currently recovering from hip surgery, will make real contribution to forum soon - i hope.

[B]I'm not all that impressed with the winners of trialthons. They're in great shape and they get done quickly. They should try hauling my fat a$$ around the course in twice the time. Then we would see how brave they really are :)

They should try having a real freaking job like most of us. If all I had to do every day is get up, ride, nap, swim, and still be done in time to cook a good meal I would win races too.

Be carefull - it's may be a "slippery slope".
Four months after i did my first tri, i did my ninth. Not trying to blow my own horn or anything; they were mostly sprint distance.
Point is that you may feel really compelled to do as many races as you possibly can, even if you are not a competitive person who normally enjoys competition. If you don't allow yourself to become frustrated by some of the subtle nuances of the sport (elbows flying in swim, people passing on bike just to slow down, etc.) you can have a really, really good time!
Good luck, and have fun!!

Note: am currently recovering from hip surgery, will make real contribution to forum soon - i hope.


Yeah, the triathalon is my "reward" for losing the last 25 pounds and getting to 17% bodyfat :) I ahve a weird way of rewarding myself. I'm spening my life currently in pursuit of the athlete I should have been when I was younger. I'm going to be a turtle all my life, but g-dammit, I'm going to be the fastest turtle out there! :)

I'm bug bitten anyway. Did my first 5k last November. Broke my leg (!) but I still kept on. Now it's bike centuries and triathalons on top of the wrestling an bodybuilding and martial arts. Somebody stop me!

No frustrations possible. As long as I finish, I'll be happy. Even if I have to walk the whole darn 5k

They should try having a real freaking job like most of us. If all I had to do every day is get up, ride, nap, swim, and still be done in time to cook a good meal I would win races too.

Maybe, but those guys and gals make some extreme sacrifices. The top money for the World Championship is only $100,000. The other races are even less. Even if Norman Stadler or Peter Reid won every race they entered, they would not be sitting pretty. And sponsors don't pay a lot of money either. Faris Al-Sultan (just won IM Arizona) is sponsored by Cannondale. I think they give him something like $4,000 per year and two frames (not bikes...frames). I'm not sure if I have that 100% correct but I'm pretty close.

Anyway, I don't want to disrespect them as they are amazing. I just think the real heroes of the sport are the ones dragging themselves down Ali'i Drive at midnight after 17 hours out in the heat and the wind. Those people have some serious grit.

By the way, if you've ever been at the finish line after midnight, it's really cool. Even though the race is officially over, the pros hang around and give there finisher medals to the people who didn't make the time cutoff. Those are some classy people!

Going to do my first tri on May 7th -- the Rookie. Did my first 5K the other week and was 12th out of 238 overall. I'll keep you guys posted on how the Rookie turns out. Props to all of you!

They should try having a real freaking job like most of us. If all I had to do every day is get up, ride, nap, swim, and still be done in time to cook a good meal I would win races too.

I don't know. I was just discussing this with a guy at work. Some people are just made fast. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people. I have to work very very hard for my speed. I don't think that any amount of training would allow me to run sub 6 minute miles after biking and swimming. I also don't think that any amount of training would allow me to swim a mile in less than 24 minutes.

Yeah, the triathalon is my "reward" for losing the last 25 pounds and getting to 17% bodyfat :) I ahve a weird way of rewarding myself. I'm spening my life currently in pursuit of the athlete I should have been when I was younger. I'm going to be a turtle all my life, but g-dammit, I'm going to be the fastest turtle out there! :)

I'm bug bitten anyway. Did my first 5k last November. Broke my leg (!) but I still kept on. Now it's bike centuries and triathalons on top of the wrestling an bodybuilding and martial arts. Somebody stop me!

No frustrations possible. As long as I finish, I'll be happy. Even if I have to walk the whole darn 5k

I am of a very similar mindset. I have been somewhat overweight most of my life. I was up to 212lbs about 2 1/2 years ago. I changed how I ate (became a vegan) and now weigh 165 (5'10"). I have swam for years and did some running but very little biking. I dislocated my ankle, had two surgeries and was in a cast for seven weeks (got it off January 3rd). While incapacitated I realized that I am getting older (35) and that our bodies break down over time. I realized that I was getting bored with swimming and decided to buy a bike and start doing tri's. I am totally obsessed with it. Rest days are the hardest right now - they drive me crazy not to be training (I have to realize that rest is training). I can't believe I didn't begin biking sooner. I don't think I'll ever be fast, but I am steadily improving my times.

I stopped swimming and "re-learned" how to swim using the total immersion method. I love it. I also overhauled how I run with the help of ChiRunning by Danny Dryer (unlike any running book I have read). I would highly recommend both of these resources. You will get faster and use less effort.

Maybe, but those guys and gals make some extreme sacrifices. The top money for the World Championship is only $100,000. The other races are even less. Even if Norman Stadler or Peter Reid won every race they entered, they would not be sitting pretty. And sponsors don't pay a lot of money either. Faris Al-Sultan (just won IM Arizona) is sponsored by Cannondale. I think they give him something like $4,000 per year and two frames (not bikes...frames). I'm not sure if I have that 100% correct but I'm pretty close.
!

I agree 100%. But all of the Pros, even local Pros here in NC, find a way to make a living out of the sport. Maybe not get rich, but make a living. Yes, they coach, work in the LBS, do a variety of things to make ends meet. What they don't do is deal with the pressure of keeping 75 people employed, making a small business profitable, dealing with customers and employees, and working until 7 or 8 o'clock at night and then going home to run or ride the trainer so you can get a workout in for the day. I'm not disrespecting them here, I think those guys are amazing. I just think about all of us who do our assorted jobs and keep the country running and allow them to compete in a sport for a living. I envy the time they have to work out. I guess we all make our choices, and most of us chose the "normal" life of earn money at work, spend it on hobbys. I see Pro triathletes like rock stars in a way- for every one that makes it, there are thousands who are convinced they can, and they're all at home practicing.

Sorry for the rant.

I am of a very similar mindset. I have been somewhat overweight most of my life. I was up to 212lbs about 2 1/2 years ago. I changed how I ate (became a vegan) and now weigh 165 (5'10"). I have swam for years and did some running but very little biking. I dislocated my ankle, had two surgeries and was in a cast for seven weeks (got it off January 3rd). While incapacitated I realized that I am getting older (35) and that our bodies break down over time. I realized that I was getting bored with swimming and decided to buy a bike and start doing tri's. I am totally obsessed with it. Rest days are the hardest right now - they drive me crazy not to be training (I have to realize that rest is training). I can't believe I didn't begin biking sooner. I don't think I'll ever be fast, but I am steadily improving my times.

I stopped swimming and "re-learned" how to swim using the total immersion method. I love it. I also overhauled how I run with the help of ChiRunning by Danny Dryer (unlike any running book I have read). I would highly recommend both of these resources. You will get faster and use less effort.

Inspiring to hear that you are back to your training after your surgeries. I think i had the same realization that you had while i was recovering from hip surgery.
I am still amazed at how much the down-time has affected me both psychologically and physically. I hope you fared better.
Possibly the smartest thing i have done as an athlete is read Chi Running. Highly recommend it. Haven't immersed myself (sorry, couldn't help myself) in the the Total Immersion method yet.
Have a great season!

I've done two races already!

MaxTrax Duathlon - 3 mile run/15.5 mile bike/3 mile run - Columbia, MO - April 17
Place: 21/156 overall, 6/21 M40-44
Goals: 19:00/1:00/44:00/1:00/20:00 for total of 1:25:00
Actual: 19:14/0:58/42:48/1:01/21:12 for a total of 1:25:11

"I'm Ready for Summer" Triathlon - 500 yard pool swim/12 mile bike/5K run - Brookings, SD - April 24
Place: 3/93 overall, 2/19 masters men
Goals: 7:00/1:30/34:00/0:30/21:00 for a total of 1:04:00
Actual: 6:56/1:40/34:01/0:26/19:43 for a total of 1:02:46

Not a triathlete but a duathlete here!
1st race of the year: May 29, 2005 in St.Jerome, QC. I am looking very forward to starting the du season.

1st race ever: Sept 2003.
Never trained for it, maybe ran 10km total all summer. In the cycling portion going up this rather steep hill (for me), I noticed this motorcycle behind me. Oops! Silly me, the road is open to traffic so we shall move to the shoulder & continue struggling up hill. Hmm.... the motorcycle is still behind me & not making the effort to pass. So, I get annoyed & turned my head over to see what the heck he is doing back there & lo & behold! He is part of the the race organizers holding back traffic for me. Me, of all the slow people with a motorcycle escort struggling up this hill.
That was my defining moment & since then, I was hooked on the sport. Now, I need to learn how to swim & take a crack at a triathlon :)

I pulled my hamstring 3 weeks ago and had to cancel a duathlon. Hoping to participate in 1/2 IM on May 15, Devilman in NJ.

Then very short 2 months until IMLP, July 24.

I've done two races already!

MaxTrax Duathlon - 3 mile run/15.5 mile bike/3 mile run - Columbia, MO - April 17
Place: 21/156 overall, 6/21 M40-44
Goals: 19:00/1:00/44:00/1:00/20:00 for total of 1:25:00
Actual: 19:14/0:58/42:48/1:01/21:12 for a total of 1:25:11

"I'm Ready for Summer" Triathlon - 500 yard pool swim/12 mile bike/5K run - Brookings, SD - April 24
Place: 3/93 overall, 2/19 masters men
Goals: 7:00/1:30/34:00/0:30/21:00 for a total of 1:04:00
Actual: 6:56/1:40/34:01/0:26/19:43 for a total of 1:02:46


Very nice times - Well done!

MHR, you were flying on the run! Great job.

Last week at the Claremore (OK) SPrint Tri. First tri in many years. I'm 54.

71st of 200 (117 men)

400 meter (Stupid) snake swim = 7:29 (projected (conservatively) 6:45
12 mi. bike = 38:37 (18.6 mph - my best to date as far as I know)
2 mi. run = 16:20 (8:10 mi. Need to work on "bricks" Should do 7:20's in my sleep!)

My transitions SUCK! I need biking shoes that don't tie and are not so snug. Gave away about 15 places easily there.

Anyway, a great time was had by all.

Am going to get serious about the Tulsa Tri on June 12th. It is an Olympic distance. My run and swim will be much better relative to the competition in those distances. My bike will hopefully remain about the same.

Tyson

400 meter (Stupid) snake swim\

Actually, I prefer the snake swims to heat swims. The triathlon I did recently used heat swims and it took ~2.5 hours to run all of the heats and that was swimming 2 per lane. If they would've done a snake swim with someone leaving every 5 seconds, the time between first and last swimmer start would have been about 10 minutes. The only problem is that it was a 6 lane, 25 yard pool so the swim would have been only 300 yards instead of 500.

I meant "stupid" in so far as it compares to an open water swim. Knuckleheads ahead of you who can't come within a minute and a half of their projected time in a 400 meter swim are just aggravating. It's nearly impossible to pass when three of them get in a row.

Tyson

It's nearly impossible to pass when three of them get in a row.

Go under them...seriously.

Under out of the turn is the best way. still frustrating though when a few are packed together

how do you swim more than 150m in a snake swim? You run back to the beginning?

how do you swim more than 150m in a snake swim? You run back to the beginning?

In a snake swim, you swim 2 lengths in each lane of the pool. For the first length, you stay on the wall half of the lane and on the second length, you swim on the other side of the lane. After you swim two lengths in one lane, you duck under the lane rope and start swimming in the next lane. Continue until you're on the other side of the pool in the last lane. So in a 6-lane, 25-yard pool, a snake swim would be 300 yards. In an 8-lane, 50m-pool, it could be up to 800m.

The key to having a good snake swim as Tyson pointed out, is to have everybody accurately seed themselves. I've had very good luck with this and have had no traffic problems in the 2 snake swims I have done.

I couldn't predict that. I can't imagine what I'd go for an 800m right now. It's a horrid thought. Do all people overpredict and so should I to be fair? Or is it not appreciated? Do all people starting get the same time? Different times? What ever happened to keeping to one lane and swimming in circles?

Swim your best time in the distance at least once before the race and put that as your time. DO NOT guess that the heat of battle will cause you to go faster. It isn't going to happen and you will be in the way.

Tyson

Okay - in an attempt to keep this thread going, I thought I'd post about my little 5K trail run this morning, even though it's not multi-sport. It was beautiful and really fun, but very hilly. It was an out-and-back with the first 3/4 mile being almost entirely downhill which meant the last 3/4 mile was entirely uphill. And I mean UPHILL. Anyway, I got 1st in my age group (30-39) and 3rd for women, 16th overall. I should add there were only 320 participants...) But sadly, I was beaten by a 9 year old girl. Sigh. My time was 26.59. But it was really FUN anyway!

Possiblities Series, 6th place overall in the age group...

It's ok, just a few warm-up races at teh start of the season; I need more interval work...

Possiblities Series, 6th place overall in the age group...

It's ok, just a few warm-up races at teh start of the season; I need more interval work...

Very good for a "warm-up" race!
Good luck with the rest of your season.

Did my first Triathlon ever, The Rookie in San Marcus (300m, 11.1 miles, 2 miles). Links to results are below, here's the lowdown....

I was 37th out of 486 overall, and 5th out of 23 in my age group. My times were, 5:39, 2:08, 34:38, 1:15, 11:35 (Swim, T1, Bike, T2, Run), total was 55:09.

Man, open water swimming is disorienting....I would have done that so much faster if I hadn't gone way off course and kept stopping and looking up for bouys and people. Sad days, guess for next time I should actually practice the open water aspect.

Overall results:
http://www.doitsports.com/newresults3/client/54781_62993_2005.html

Looks like you did really well and that you buried a lot of people on the run! Nice job.

guess for next time I should actually practice the open water aspect.

Dear Native:

Gee! Nice job. BUT, there is NO excuse not to practice the open water swim when you live in Austin: you guys have BARTON SPRINGS! Year round open-water swim paradise!

Tyson
UT Law '90

just got back from Galena, first tri of the season, a longish sprint over near the illinois/iowa border...wow that hurt, can't say i placed well or did close to my estimated times...came in at 1:54:00 mid pack for pretty much the whole day (overall and age group), was hoping for sub 1:50:00

times were 12:14/58:59/38:01, the swim was in sub 60 deg water, ride was 17 miles over some of the toughest hills i've ever ridden in a race and then the first mile of the 4.5 mile run was straight up a 7% grade.

it hurt, but boy I can't wait to get back there next year, and yes today I am smiling

Here's my short report for the Macon Triathlon I completed yesterday. It was 800 yard swim, 20 mile bike, 3 mile run. My goals were 16 minutes for the swim, 90 minutes for the bike and sub 44 minutes for the run so I would finish in under 2 1/2 hours. My swim was a little slow at 17:44, bike a little fast at 1:20 and run/walk right on and I finished in 2:28.54 which was good enough for 131 out of 137 finishers.

The long version can be found here Macon Triathlon Race Report (http://zacksshack.blogspot.com/2005/05/macon-triathlon-race-report.html)

Zach, nice job on meeting your time. I read your detailed report...

Glad to hear that you took an H20 bottle with you on the ride. You should really be consuming a few ounces every 15 minutes. I've found that transitions often include runs of up to 1/4 mile so you should try to factor that in. I recall when I did the Palm Springs tri in April you mentioned that I should speed up my transitions but the time included a 1/8 mile run so I thought I was OK :)

As for your 1/2 IM on June 5th...wow. It seems that you and I are pretty close with respect to fitness levels, I would probably even say that I'm a bit ahead of you at this point...I personally don't think I could complete a 1/2 IM yet. I wouldn't have any problem with the swim and the bike (those are standard workouts for me every week) but I could not complete the run. My feet hurt very badly after the 10K in the Int'l Tri in April to the point that I had trouble walking for the next 24 hours.

I don't want to discourage you but I also don't want you to injure yourself to the point that you will get set back from your goals. I have my sights set on a half IM on June 5, 2006 and I think I will need a good part of that year to get ready for it.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure all of us on the board are pulling for you. Use your best judgement.

I did my second triathlon ever today - the "Tri for Fun" in Pleasanton, CA. This is the same tri I did last year at this time and was pretty excited to see how the last three months of training would pay off - especially on the run. It's an untimed event (the splits at least), but I took my own times on my watch:

400yd swim: 6:07
T1: 2:23
11 mile bike: 33:23
T2: 1:04
5k run: 31:00

Total 1hr 14min - this was almost a 9 minute improvement over last year! I think most of the improvement was on the bike and some on the run, although not as much as I had hoped. Most importantly though, I achieved my goal of running the entire 5k which was awesome since 3 months ago I was doing the 2 min run/1 min walk routine. Woo hoo!

Finally kicked off my race season yesterday at the inaugural 5430 Sprint Tri in Boulder, CO. The bike leg on this one was a little longer than the typical sprint, so I knew my time wouldn’t be directly comparable to prior years’ sprint races. I had loosely estimated a finish around 1:35 or so, especially since I trained through this race and didn’t taper. Anyway. I shocked myself, with 9th place in my age group (out of 97), and 213th overall (out of 934). My run time blows me away…I’ve never even run a straight up 5k that fast…I guess speedwork really does help.

Split times:

.5 mi Swim: 14:05
T1: 1:27
17 mi Bike: 48:34
T2: 1:07
3.1 mi Run: 24:00

This is exactly what I needed to see to stay motivated at this point in the season.

Happy racing fellow tri-geeks!

Just finished my second triathlon ever yesterday, the Charlottesville Sprint Triathlon. My goals were to finish and improve after my previous triathlon, which I thought would be problematic to judge given the difficulty in comparing two completely different courses of varying lengths. This turned out not to be the case as my overall times were almost the same and this second triathlon was both longer and over more difficult terrain. I'm looking forward to finishing another in July (and hopefully improving at the same time).

-hg

Finished my 8th sprint on Saturday

S-750m
B-20km
R-5km

Swim-12:34
T1-00:57
Bike-34:43 (average 34.6kmh)
T2-00:35
Run-25:25

I was 48th/386 overall, and 6/16 in my age group.

I definatley need to work on my run, I didnt spin enough on the last bit of my bike so my calves were cramping on the begining of my run, i figure that caused the extra 5 minutes...

This was a trial for my new bike setup, DuraAce 10speed, and a Renn 575 Disk. Also, I met a guy that is interning with Cervelo for the summer in their R&D department. He helped me make some fine tuning in my fit. Plus we raced together, the guy is insane on a bike.

Going to try and get this thread going again.

Just finished my 2nd tri of this season...too much working not enough playing :p

It was the Cayuga Lake Tri in Trumansburg, NY. Had a great time going up there from Austin, TX. Drove up there! It was a 1/2m swim, 14m bike, 5K run. I finished in about 1:23:15. I was 29th out of around 300ish and 4th in my age group. Just missed getting third by less than 2 minutes.

Hope everyone's having a productive season!

Did the Brewhouse Triathlon this weekend long course. It was a .8 mile swim, 20.9 mile bike and 5 mile run. The swim was in two waves for the long course and I tried starting in front and just got beat up for the first 200 meters. Once I settled in I was all right, until we took the second turn to start coming back and I ended up going about 50 meters off course, and then coming back on course about 6 people back and I just never settled. Came out of the water in about 25th for males with a 23:30 swim. Jumped on bike and due to some guy passing me my testosterone kicked in and I didn't drop under 25 for about 5 miles. The first lap I averaged 24 mph on a somewhat hilly, somewhat windy course. The second I was down around 22.5 cause of my ridiculous start. I ended up around 50 mins and up to 7th place(7th bike split, overall). Came out of T1 and ran myself into t1 in about 1/2 mile and then it was just for time. I ended up hauling on the run with a 26:58 5 mile run.

Definately some things learned for my A race in two weeks. A, I won my age group and could have been top 3 with a decent swim. B, still no problem running off the bike. C, I have to control how I start my legs. All in all a real good time.

I'm having a disappointing summer tri-wise, as I have been injured for the entire summer. But since I am new to the forum, I figured I could post my first two tri's from last summer. A little late, I know, but next summer I am going to be training a lot more, and hopefully improving...

Mystic River Valley Tri: .5mi. swim, 14.4 mi. bike, 5 mile run

1:40:15: 102- 20:30 99- 02:46 47- 0:43:46 114- 02:23 9- 0:30:50

First tri ever, and won my age group, granted I was the only one in it at the age of 19. Transitions...well, I could have had a cup of tea I was there so long. Anyhow, had a blast and now I am hooked.

Pfizer Triathlon .35mi swim, 12.6 mi bike, 3.25 run

1:10:07: 59- 13:00 16- 0:37:08 5- 0:19:59 184

Codl and windy as hell, but still had a good time, was 9th overall out of about 70. Anyhow, looking forward to getting back into the tri's again next year.

well just getting over sunday's accenture

touch and go as to whether i was going to participate as i had been ill with summer cold come stomach flu come general nastiness for most of the week prior, ran 2 miles friday night which opened me up a bit and felt good so decided to race on sunday.

what can i say?

swim

I've done three smaller tri's this year and all of my swims have shown a lot of improvement, but then i came crashing down to reality on sunday. I don't think i'll ever get used to the boiling pot that is the accenture start. I seeded myself down the field, but never got into my rhythm + i just couldn't get any air into my lungs with the remnants of the bug in me.

bike

the fast forward seatpost really helped + the level of wind was pretty low on lake shore drive in Chicago. managed to average about 21mph for the 40K, took on a bottle of water and one of gatorade plus one gel and came in feelgin pretty good.

run

the first 3K felt great, my legs felt fresh (theres that seatpost and new fit working again i thought) and it looked as thought the years speed training was really helping and then it happened. Pain in my stomach like I have never experienced for the next 7K. It stopped me in my tracks about six times to let it subside, so i basically started a run - walk -run routine. As i entered the last 1000m some girl on the outbound leg shouted at me 'what are you doing dig deep, nearly there' i picked up the pace and trotted over the line promptly to (quite ungracefully) get very ill over some of the race staff who were cutting off the timing chips (thats the polite version at least ;)

rule 1: maybe you shouldn't race when ill?

final time 2:50:31 for the international distance 1.4/40/10

swim 37.50 (ouch) T1 2.30 (ish) bike 1:12.30 T2 1.46 run 55.30 (or something around there)

Maybe i'll sign up for lake geneva in two weeks? i really wanted to break 2:40 ;)

have fun guys