Keystone TRI Sprint

How do, all. Decided to finally post something, I've gotten lazy about this and just been enjoying others's posts.

Participated in the Keystone State Triathlon this past Sunday. Choices for distance were Olympic, Sprint, mini-Sprint, and Duathlon. Took on the Sprint at a .5 mile swim, 18.5 mile bike, and 3.2 mile run. Must have been a qualifier for something cause there were some serious athletes there competing in the Olympic. I had ate some ripe deviled eggs the Friday before and emptied out my colon (not a training technique of mine) but felt better enough by Saturday night to do the TRI. My nerves were totally focused on the swim anyway. A half mile in a lake is a long way. Like swimming across and back Lac Carmel in Terre Du Lac--something that was a fun challenge as a kid but is daunting these days. Anyway, I stayed in the back of the pack at the swim start and continually lost ground the whole way (course was a big loop around orange buoys). A couple guys freaked out midway and started yelling for the safety kayaks--this crossed my mind too but I ended up just back-stroking when I had trouble breathing. I had trained in the pool but not enough and there was no way I could have freestyled the whole way and the waves and arms and legs smacking me in the face kept me out of any kind of rhythm. It sort of turned into a mind game with myself and there was some primal fear involved until I passed the second to last buoy. Transition to bike was slow but Lera was there telling me how great I was doing--I was one of the last out of the lake. Once on the bike it started pouring, but this was the fun part of the race. I could breathe without ingesting water and felt like a kid on a huffy in the rain. Passed 10-15 folks on the two 9-mile lap course and was passed by a few guys on tri bikes in singlets sucking on straws while in the tuck position--a couple of these guys were manimals, just awesome. My transition to the run was a bit faster than the swim to bike but still slow by traithletes standards. It didn't really hit me till the end of the race that most of the pump I put into passing people on the bike and the run was lost to slow transitions (and floundering on the swim). Anyway, pounded an espresso while leaving the transition area for the run but didn't feel decent till a mile in and passed a few other guys. The course was a bit rocky but weaved through a wooded area. I sped up a bit at the end but didn't have much left. Lera was there and super smiley for me (she also got a lot of pics--below). I was glad to finish--mostly the swim--but am already thinking I need to try another and drop some time. Was gunning to be under 2:20 and finished in just over two hours. Came in 74th out of 115 or so overall. The swim was major slow but think I can decrease bike and run times with a little more prep. Lera wants to do a relay (kayak, bike, run) with me in late September. Fun stuff, thanks for sticking with the long read.

 Coming out of the water (background).


Notice the lack of swim caps behind me still in the water--I was damn near last out.


 Starting to have some fun...


 In the rain.


 Transition to run.


 Espresso in hand.


 50 meters from the finish.


 Still catching my breath.



Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series - #2

Last night I rode in part two of the Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series. Overall much better than last week, no chain slippage, no wrecks and I felt better while racing.

For the first two laps, I was stuck behind some guy who would not let anyone by. It was infuriating, I've never seen anything like it. He was a decent rider, except when it came to technicals. He would come up to a log or feature and slow down almost to a stop, then go over it and speed off. I had a really hard time getting into a rhythm and tried to pass so many times. He also spun out a couple of times, but would take up the entirety of the trail, I couldn't get by. Two other guys came barreling up on us and I let them by, he didn't. Eventually one guy got by, but he still wouldn't let the other guy pass and we both started yelling at him. He reluctantly let the other guy pass by stating "I guess if you want to try." Unreal.

Towards the end of the second lap, I was getting so fed up, I was doing everything I could to push past and keep going. These trails are extremely tight and twisty, so it was hard to figure out a way around. We started climbing the last hill before a clearing at the end of the lap, and then "pop" his chain goes flying - links and metal shattering all over the place. I was so ecstatic, stood up, cranked out hard past him and didn't look back - karma.

Finished the last lap, near the end of the pack. Trimmed almost five minutes off my time from last week - came in at 1:34, for 15 miles, average 9.5 mph.

Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series - #1

Still not sure if this will get read, but I'll provide a little race update.

Last Tuesday, I rode in the Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series - 1 of 4. Since the last race, there hasn't been much going on with the local race scene. In addition, I've been a little preoccupied and racing hasn't been on my radar. But, I've always looked forward to this series and wanted to see how my recent training would affect my racing.

I showed up and they bumped me up to Pro/Expert, on account of the last race results. We start and I'm in the mix of guys, then bam - chain drops off my crankset (I took my big ring off a while ago). I guess I must have set my limit screws up a little off, that's the only thing I can think of. I lose the pack, get the chain on and start pumping hard to catch up, which I eventually do. But, burned myself out, so I try to take it easy and then I lose the pack again. Eventually, I'm riding evenly and pass a few guys, a few guys pass me - yo-yoing back and forth like this for a while.

Amazingly, my chain drops three more times, I lost a ton of time as a result. Weird, it hasn't given me any problems all season. Plus, my lower back starts absolutely killing me towards the end (anyone know what this could be from?).

In the end, I brought up the rear - second from last in my class - with a final time of 1:38 for 15.5 miles. Results here, no pics yet. I have to admit, I haven't been riding as much (especially longer distances) so I'm ok with that time (especially in light of the mechanical issue). Would like if it was a little better, but, I'm just happy to be out riding. No matter how well or bad I do, at least I'm not stuck on the couch with Lyme disease.