Wildflower Olympic Triathlon – May 6th 2012
Bradley, CA
Swim: 23:53 ( 1:35 )
Bike: 1:12:50 ( 20.4 mph )
Run: 41:18 ( 6:39 per mile avg)
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Total: 2:21:21
Pre-Race:
Per the usual routine, I try to eat 3 hours before race time. Since we were camping I was a little worried about what I would be eating since I realized I race better off eggs and bacon than I do off of oatmeal. Luckily we had a grill so I was able to fry 2 eggs, and eat them with a slice of toast, almond butter, and 2 Starbucks shots.
Swim ( 1500 km ) - 23:53 ( 229th OA ) - 1:35 pace
Swim felt really good this year. I never expect to do well so as long as there are still a bunch of bikes left on the rack I feel confident going into the bike. Compared to last year I was able to take a little over a minute off my time. Score.
T1 - 2:04
Bike ( 40 km ) - 1:12:50 ( 40th OA ) - 20.4 mph / 225 watts / 94 rpm
My new strategy this year for olympic distance races is to literally bike as hard as I possibly can and not worry about the run. I had previously held back a little on the bike portion to keep my legs fresh, but at SF Tri at Alcatraz I found that I could still run after killing my legs biking as long as I ate ~ 200 calories and got enough water.
I took this strategy to heart, and ended up playing leapfrog with fellow LB Tri Club member Jeff Stevens for the entire bike portion. It was good motivation to keep me aggressive. Every time I slacked for even a minute I would hear an "on your left" coming from behind. I think we finished the bike within 5 seconds of each other, and I took 1 minute off my bike time from last year. Woohoo.
T2 - 1:16
Run ( 10 km ) - 41:18 ( 56th OA ) - 6:39 pace
This was the only part of the race I was disappointed at myself with. I have been running a lot this year and really just wanted to KILL the run course. I have been consistently running 38:30 10kms in training so I was hoping I could bring last years Wildflower run time of 42:04 down by ~ 2 minutes to a flat 40:00. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do this. I ran a great first 3 miles, but I was not feeling good on miles 4 & 5 and I probably took the downhill at the end a little too cautiously. I did take 45 seconds of last years run ... but I wanted more !!! Lesson learned for next year, "Run Faster".
Total 2:21:21 (23rd OA )
I finished 23rd OA out of 1929 athletes, and 9th place in my AG. This was a HUGE improvement from last year where I finished 52nd OA, and 16th in my AG with a 2:24:32. I am excited to start off the season so well, and am looking forward to my next race. Thanks to CrossFit 5150, LB Tri Club, and Mix1 for your support. Also congrats to Mark Tripp ( on the right below ) who was 1st OA and only 3 seconds from setting the course record for Mens 30-34.
