Boulder Peak Triathlon Race Report
2487 days agoExecutive Summary: I finished 9th after a subpar swim
On Saturday I did an easy triple just to shake out. I rode my bike over the Old Stage hill, so I could practice descending a bit, and noted with some satisfaction that I am becoming less of a wimp about riding down hill. It saddens me to work so hard to gain time riding uphill only to lose it again riding back down. So all of the hill riding in the past month or two seems to be helping. I nudged 45 mph coming off of Old Stage, not blazing fast but pretty good for me.
Sunday morning I rode my bike over to the res in time to see my friend from Star Island Andrew Kensley start. Then I puttered around with my transition setup and warmup. I saw Steph and she wished me the good luck that I knew I would desperately need. Had a little bike ride, a little run, a little sunscreen, and a little swim. Just before I hit the beach I ran into Anrew’s wife Tanya, and their daughter Ella, who had arrived to watch him. I commiserated briefly with Eric Schwartz about swim times. Little did I know.
The Swim: Knowing I couldn’t expect to keep up with the leaders, I tried to go out with the second pack. After about 200 meters, it became clear that the second pack was destined to consist of me. I had my own rowboat, and I suffered in my own little private hell for 24 minutes. I was completely alone the whole time. Worst. Swim. Ever.
catching and passing the motorcycle
cruising uphill at 6 mph
The Bike: Since I am now fully geeked-out with a new powermeter, I decided to use it to my best advantage as a pacing tool. I figured I could pretty much sit on 300 watts, and ride a decent bike split. Since anyone who I might want to pace off of was three minutes up the road, I didn’t have too much other choice. So I managed to hold myself in check over the first few miles, and nudged 48 miles an hour on the descent off of old stage road. Thanks to my early restraint, I was even able to pick off a few people toward the end of the bike ride. Sadly, I didn’t have time to have anything to eat. You win some, you lose some. I rode 1:04:27, which included the slowest shoe-putting-on of my life. Seriously.
feeling like crap, early in the run. my left quadricep says hello
The Run: I started the run with a stomach cramp and feeling a little hungry. The pro run course was a triple out-and-back with a hill in the middle. You might not have noticed the hill if you weren’t as tired as I was, but by the third lap it was really a very, very big hill. The long course athlete in me started to assert himself after about five miles, and I managed to pick off a few more people on the run. I ran 35:27, an excellent time for me on any course, and an extra-special bonus on a difficult,technical course like this one.
I ended up in ninth place among pros, a pretty good showing for me. Actually, it was an excellent showing given how horrible my swim was. I’m going to have another go ath the 5430 long course triathlon, coming up on August 7.
PS. Someone out there sent me a really nice pair of Pearl Izumi tri-shorts. I don’t know who it was yet, but whoever you are, thanks!
