Monday, June 28, 2010

Ian’s 1st Race this season

Last Saturday I kicked off my 2010 season with the Wycoff/ Franklin Lakes Triathlon. Where I live in New Jersey we refer to this race as the Bergen County World Championship. There is plenty of top end talent and given the race date in early june, it is the first opportunity for most to show off the fruits of their off season labor.

I came into this race on the mend from IT band inflammation, but with a much stronger cycling and swimming base than I’ve ever had entering a season. This race was longer than a sprint but shorter than an olympic so it presented a slight challenge. You couldn’t quite hammer all out because the 17.5 mile bike course had a few 9mph climbs, and the 5 mile run course seemed like it was more uphill than downhill.

The swim was straight forward. The water was much warmer than anticipated and looking back I definitely shouldn’t have worn my wet suit. There was about a quarter mile run from the lake to the transition area which gave me an opportunity to pass a couple of guys who exited the water before me.

The only real snag of my race was exiting transition to start the bike. I couldn’t get my right foot into my cycling shoe. I kept trying to flip my shoe up but it just wasn’t working so a quarter mile into the bike I pulled over to the side of the road and amid an impressive array of cursing, unclipped my shoe with my hand, put it on the ground, got my foot in and re clipped. The whole process probably cost me about two minutes. Once safely strapped in I got into a great rhythm and started to make up some ground. Around 2 miles into the bike however some of the dirty lake water I inadvertently swallowed started to haunt me. My stomach started to feel a little queasy which prevented me from taking my gel. It didn’t hurt enough that I had to stop or slow down, but not taking in a couple hundred calories was a little detrimental.

Even with some minor stomach issues I still cruised back into transition with a solid bike averaging 22mph and feeling like my legs were strong heading out on the run. Right out of the gate I started passing guys on the run. The temperature was in the mid 70’s but the humidity hadn’t really kicked in yet. The weather was perfectly clear and there wasn’t a hint of wind. I really enjoyed the run, but was a little frustrated that I just couldn’t push any more out of my body than a 6:05 pace. I think given how hilly the course was and the absence of speed work during my rehab that I ran about as well as expected.

I crossed the line in 1:36, good enough for 16th place overall, and 2nd in my age group. Overall, the first race of the year was a tremendous success. I learned a few things that I can take with me into my training as the season progresses that will undoubtedly help me come November.

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 06/28/10 at 10:56 AM
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