Race Report - Lake Lanier Islands Sprint Tri
So, i've been injured since my Ride Across Indiana and my last sprint tri in late August (IT Band and lower back issues) and have had a super busy travel schedule lately (4 trips to the UK and 1 to NYC in the last 3 months). Therefore, i was more than nervous about my ability to race with any level of intensity. I've only been able to put together a couple of 3/4 mile runs with no speed work. Because of all that, my expectations were pretty low for yesterday's race.
Chalk this one up for pleasant surprise and it was definitely a motivation/confidence builder going into Goofy training.
The day started early with a 4:15 am wakeup and a 45 min drive to the transition area. I stuck to my normal pre-race breakfast and routine. my head wasn't really in the game and i didn't have any sports drinks ready, so i just went with water when i got there. the race is pretty big for local tri's, they said they had 1,000 people signed up, but 834 actually raced. i set up my transition area and started to get motivated by listening to my iPhone for a half hour or so. It was pretty chilly @ 42 degrees, the first wave went off @ 7:30 and it was closer to 50 degrees then. Water temp was 70 degrees and wetsuit legal, i don't have a wetsuit so no worries there and the swim is so short (400 meters) that it would take longer to get into and out of a wetsuit than it would have to swim it cold :) The beach area of the lake was reaaaaaly cold, and it was a relief to stand in the water. My wave went off 4th and the typical water scrum ensued, i only got kicked in the face once and i'm pretty sure i kicked a couple of guys behind me. short swim, and hit it fairly well, there are two turns in a rectangle configuration that both had some bottlenecks, but overall swim was pretty solid (7:23). T1 was long, mostly due to the fact that you have to run up a massive hill from the swim exit to the transition zone on the top of a hill in the upper parking lot. now i'm really cold, and my hands were a bit numb, so i gave up on putting on my arm warmers because i was fumbling around with numb fingers. got my gear on and ran out to the mount line and started the bike.
bike leg was 13 miles with a lot of rolling hills and 3 or 4 really sharp inclines that you had to get out of the saddle to summit. i don't have aeros on my road bike, but i hit the drop-downs for much of the ride and felt that for the hills, i had a solid ride. i averaged 21.8 mph and was only passed once, but i kept within 50 feet of the guy that passed me. got into transition through a really good and loud crowd the last 1/2 miile (which is nice for a change!). transition went ok, grabbed some water and then headed to the run. bike time (35:46).
i've been the most nervous about the run due to my back/IT band issues so much so it was all i could think about the 2nd half of the bike leg. after i hit the run exit i noticed my feet. no feeling. it felt like i was running on blocks of wood. between the water and cold air, my feet had checked out. i pushed though it, it really wasn't pain, just discomfort, and had a decent run. i've come to the conclusion that weather means EVERYTHING to my run performance. as a big guy, i overheat very easily in the GA summer tri's, the run portion never go any hotter than 60 degrees and i was really cold going in. there were 3 or 4 hills on the run, but somehow i was able to put in a 7:50 average pace, which i was more than happy with given my issues and training. i was able to feel my feet again after 2 miles which was nice. total run time for the 5K was 24:20.
total time was 1:12:34... (http://gamultisports.com/lakelanierislandstriathlon/files/20 11/03/1_Results_Clydesale.htm)
i ended up 3rd out of 75 in the clydesdale division and 54th out of 834 overall. this was, by far, beyond my expectations, and i couldn't be happier. due to a snafu while posting the results (original post had me @ 4th), i took off and missed out on the award bling. oh well, i'd rather have the result than the award. :)
Chalk this one up for pleasant surprise and it was definitely a motivation/confidence builder going into Goofy training.
The day started early with a 4:15 am wakeup and a 45 min drive to the transition area. I stuck to my normal pre-race breakfast and routine. my head wasn't really in the game and i didn't have any sports drinks ready, so i just went with water when i got there. the race is pretty big for local tri's, they said they had 1,000 people signed up, but 834 actually raced. i set up my transition area and started to get motivated by listening to my iPhone for a half hour or so. It was pretty chilly @ 42 degrees, the first wave went off @ 7:30 and it was closer to 50 degrees then. Water temp was 70 degrees and wetsuit legal, i don't have a wetsuit so no worries there and the swim is so short (400 meters) that it would take longer to get into and out of a wetsuit than it would have to swim it cold :) The beach area of the lake was reaaaaaly cold, and it was a relief to stand in the water. My wave went off 4th and the typical water scrum ensued, i only got kicked in the face once and i'm pretty sure i kicked a couple of guys behind me. short swim, and hit it fairly well, there are two turns in a rectangle configuration that both had some bottlenecks, but overall swim was pretty solid (7:23). T1 was long, mostly due to the fact that you have to run up a massive hill from the swim exit to the transition zone on the top of a hill in the upper parking lot. now i'm really cold, and my hands were a bit numb, so i gave up on putting on my arm warmers because i was fumbling around with numb fingers. got my gear on and ran out to the mount line and started the bike.
bike leg was 13 miles with a lot of rolling hills and 3 or 4 really sharp inclines that you had to get out of the saddle to summit. i don't have aeros on my road bike, but i hit the drop-downs for much of the ride and felt that for the hills, i had a solid ride. i averaged 21.8 mph and was only passed once, but i kept within 50 feet of the guy that passed me. got into transition through a really good and loud crowd the last 1/2 miile (which is nice for a change!). transition went ok, grabbed some water and then headed to the run. bike time (35:46).
i've been the most nervous about the run due to my back/IT band issues so much so it was all i could think about the 2nd half of the bike leg. after i hit the run exit i noticed my feet. no feeling. it felt like i was running on blocks of wood. between the water and cold air, my feet had checked out. i pushed though it, it really wasn't pain, just discomfort, and had a decent run. i've come to the conclusion that weather means EVERYTHING to my run performance. as a big guy, i overheat very easily in the GA summer tri's, the run portion never go any hotter than 60 degrees and i was really cold going in. there were 3 or 4 hills on the run, but somehow i was able to put in a 7:50 average pace, which i was more than happy with given my issues and training. i was able to feel my feet again after 2 miles which was nice. total run time for the 5K was 24:20.
total time was 1:12:34... (http://gamultisports.com/lakelanierislandstriathlon/files/20 11/03/1_Results_Clydesale.htm)
i ended up 3rd out of 75 in the clydesdale division and 54th out of 834 overall. this was, by far, beyond my expectations, and i couldn't be happier. due to a snafu while posting the results (original post had me @ 4th), i took off and missed out on the award bling. oh well, i'd rather have the result than the award. :)
Where are we going?? And why am I in this handbasket??
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
If that's what you do with no training, you're a beast!
Nice job! Esp that 21mph bike avg!! *LIKE*
Nice job! Esp that 21mph bike avg!! *LIKE*
:Danni >>>AIDS/LifeCycle 10 & 11 Finisher: 545miles on the bike in 7 days <<<
HW390/SW340/CW 208/GW170
thanks guys... just to be clear, i did train, just not to the level i would have liked for a sprint. i.e., i was still averaging around 4 sessions a week ****il last week where i only got in 2), but couldn't really do any speed work (runs were short tempo runs only). i also only swam maybe three times in September. so not quality workouts but did have some quantity. also, not planned, but had 4 days rest going into the race.... that may have been a really good thing as i was sure rested before the race. however, i never would have planned for 4 days rest because i'm a classic over-trainer.
Where are we going?? And why am I in this handbasket??
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
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