Sunday, May 31, 2009
Salem Spring Tri
Last week I decided to start my taper for Boise last weekend by switching a really long brick out for the Salem Spring Tri. I didn't do anything to get ready for this race other than pack my things and head down there - I did my hardest run this year on Wednesday, swam hard with the masters team Thursday, and went mountain biking on Friday morning with B, DR, and Alika. So, I wasn't exactly fresh to start the race. But, that wasn't the point.
The swim was a mixed bag. I hadn't done any recon on the swim course. Without knowing where I was going, the swim felt really long. Plus, for some reason, even though there were only 75 or so people in my wave, I spent more time running into people than I have at almost any other swim - I simply couldn't get clear. After what felt like an eternity, I came out of the water in 13:51. I'm not sure how to interpret those results since there is a slight current in pond. But, I did finish 186/645 in the swim. I guess we'll see how it goes at Boise.
As I started the bike, I felt the effects of fatigue. It felt like the swim had soggied all my matches, and the fuel for the matter, so I couldn't get moving on the first lap. Even that guy with the mountain bike helmet that was going shirtless passed me. Finally, after fifteen minutes or so, my matches dried out and I was able to light something to get moving. The bike was a two lapper, with my second lap coming in four minutes faster.
As I started the run, I was sluggish and I felt that heavy dread that I may have to push through the entire run while I felt like crap. I hate that feeling. It soon faded and as I started the second half of the run I actually started enjoying it. My overall time was definitely slower because of the built up fatigue, but I had fun and either my wife or I will be doing this race whenever we can.
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4 comments:
It was good to see you at the tri. You seemed to have a good time judging by the smile on your face, but then your always an upbeat and happy guy.
Last minute entry, no prep, coming off of a big week of training, and you finish 5th in your category, 6 minutes off of the category win. Nice work, dude. Your only mistake was to underestimate the mountain bike helmet guy. That was just inexcusable.
(5th out of 45, I might add...)
I caught that guy later in the same lap and left him for dead. He caught me halfway through the run, but I still beat him since he started 10 minutes ahead of me.
And it wasn't the MTB helmet - it was the fact that he was going shirtless.
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