The Germans put on a good party, and MAN that was some good beer!
On to the race start. Mandatory pre-race meeting at 7:30(swim buoys STILL not in place). 30 minute lecture on how we will not yell at the volunteers for NOT doing their job. 8:00 scheduled start time pushed back because pre-race director likes to hear herself talk. Its now 8:15 and the first wave is FINALLY in the water-for the head count. Oh, those chip thingies on your ankles? No, those things are computerized, who knows if they would work to count you and keep track of you? Better to do a manual head count instead.
Swim course looks long, but don't they ALWAYS look long? Assistant race director counts down out loud, 5-4-3-2-1 GO!(No bullhorn, speaker system, ANYTHING) The swim goes well, water was a little rougher than I anticipated but felt strong throughout. As I exited the water and started stripping off the wetsuit, I look at my watch and see 30:14! WTF! I'm a slow swimmer, but with a wetsuit I expected to be at least a LITTLE faster :-/ Little J tells me that I'm about the 20th male out of the water, and the first male came out at 25:30. That time means nothing to me(I'm ignorant) but J was trying to tell me that the course was long.
On to the bike. Two words: I suck. I felt pretty strong from the get go all the way back into T2. However, I did not pass ONE SINGLE MALE during the entire 26.5 miles. And I did get passed by several. GRRR... The first 15 miles were rolling hills with a gradual overall uphill trend, and the last 10 covered a long straight stretch with a slight descent. I FLEW through those last 10 miles, my speed was never under 27mph, and I still couldn't catch anyone. Time: 1:24. Double GRRR...
The run consisted of a 6 mile out and back. Mile 1 and 6 were on dirt. Not packed dirt; more like sand.
My legs felt GREAT. But I couldn't breathe. I was SOO frustrated. I really thought I'd have a strong run and be able to make up some time. Not so much: 50:42 on the run.
Final time: 2:49. 7th out of 18 in my age group, 41st out of 143 men.
Not a great race, but overall I am happy with my results. Just one more short sprint race next weekend, then it's marathon time :)
P.S. My board exam is 2 weeks from tomorrow, hopefully after that I can devote more time to consistently blogging ;-)
you do not suck! just an off day on the bike because I know you are strong. it is so hard to pull it together I think when you are not seeing people on the race course. one more sprint left? nice. glad you blogged your report. you better keep it up!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes! I love that there is a place called Truth and Consequences.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing more about your adventures in NM after the boards are over!