Race objective: leave it all out there! No holds barred. But…smart on the run – don’t burn too hard out of T2. Negative split the 10k.
Weather considerations: warm and pleasant! UPDATE: 59/77. Wind + rain. Bring arm warmers, toe covers.
Some logistical snafu's coming into the weekend that left a bit of uncertainty and potential for calamity. Handled it well and mostly rolled with the punches, so hooray for still hammering out a fine time!
Swim [28:10]: water is a bit choppy and I remember now that it is a saltwater swim – remind myself to be careful to limit saltwater intake (lest belly problems ensue). Swim course is more confusing when you see it in person vs on paper as Olympic follows inner track and half follows outer track and they use different buoys in one section and the same buoys in another. Gotta know the right buoys at the respective turns! Thankfully, I double-check my understanding w/ the course marshal. Typically would have done this yesterday. Small wave but FAST. Concentrating on not getting sucked in but also keeping an eye out for someone to draft. Notice many aiming for the half turn buoy and cut the field to aim toward the correct buoy. Joke’s on them! Lots of chop in the section parallel to the marina – have to time breathing well to avoid getting a faceful of water. First lap goes well, though some trouble sighting the turn to start the second lap. Expecting to pass some folks in my wave (typical at this point in the swim), but no, indeed this is a fast field. Chick motors by with her feet churning up a geyser. Try to tuck in behind for back half of course to let her take the chop; then let her go on her way past the last turn. Turn on big pull and kick. Feeling powerful coming into the dock then as I rise onto the ledge to crawl out I slam my right quad into a stair just under the water surface. Smarts like hell, tries to cramp and I need a minute to regroup. Pull myself together and hobble into T1. Hoping the cooler air will numb the leg for the bike.
T1 [1:45]: Wetsuit comes off easily today. Helmet and shoes on, pull arm warmers onto wrists as I start to tear away to bike out. Left warmer is really tight over the watch and I’m struggling to get it on but don’t want to waste time.
Bike [1:18:13]: still can’t get arm warmer far enough up to wrist to get it out of the way and weaving about in the first 0.5 mi to pull it up with my teeth. Ugh. Old arm warmers were so stretchy – these are made for twiggies. Note to self to either stretch these out, practice in them, and/or find a pair for racing that are easier on/off. Frackin’ windy on the first section of course + cobbly roads. HR is high but power and speed are quite low. Only a handful of men are passing me, so not worrying too much and assume wind is the issue along with rough surface and perhaps power meter set-up was a bit on the low-side. Keep monitoring as legs warm-up. Head down and grind through; being mindful to keep cadence up but sticking with plan to tick power up to get through windy sections faster. Power still isn’t coming up much so feeling more certain that set-up is off. Ditch that as a metric and try to bring HR down while cadence is up and go by feel in the legs. Right Achilles is sore again and calves are feeling a little tight. Finally turn with wind to back and am absolutely flying. Positive that power is off when I’m screaming at 25 mph on a false flat with power to the pedals and only reading 105W. Only 2 or 3 women pass me the whole ride. With these assurances I finish the ride strong. Didn’t need gel since due to Perpetuem mix-up. Finished about 28 of the 32oz mixture, mostly in the first 2/3 of the bike. Didn’t need the other water bottle.
T2 [1:16]: Calves are still tight and Achilles is very sore. Pull on wool socks (anticipating rain == aggravate the blister more) and regular running shoes. Grab belt, glasses and visor. Probably could have ditched visor but didn’t cost much so whateva!
Run [57:31]: Lower legs feel crappy. Should have probably added a SaltStick on the bike. Left footbone and forefoot in pain. Ugh. Why. Push through; know that after 2 or 3 miles it’ll probably fade. Stop at mi 1 to tighten laces at ankle and give calves a second to recover. Upside of cranky legs is lessened risk for over-running out of transition! Keep pushing through; it’s only a 10k. Focusing on keeping balanced form and even strike to minimize foot pain and cramping. This helps to pull me thru the turnaround. Watch says 2.3 mi in while course marker says 3 mi. Jubilant that there might only be a 5k to go. Start to pull down pace. Feeling strong. Feet still hurt, but now I’ll be done in 30 min. Keep pulling; maintaining around 9:10. Take gel coming into 2nd aid station at course mi ~3.3 and take in some water. Having hard time breathing and getting a stich in my side around mi 4.5. Really want some water. Fading coming into next aid station around course mi 5.4. Walk through this aid station, then get back at it. Chick in my AG passes me; I can’t answer her surge right now. See 6 mi course sign, though watch shows only 5.6 mi. F-word, but at least I’ll be done in less than 10 min. Happy to be done; disappointed in myself, though.
Overall [2:47:08]: 5th AG of 16. 0:24 off 4th place and 1:30 from 3rd. Initially: frustrated!! I know I partly did this to myself (though I don’t honestly regret taking time off from training this week), and there were a lot of weird things that happened that probably played a role in throwing off my pacing game. After some reflection: this was almost 10k PR (0:05 better than Chicago and 0:10 off my best) and with the weird shit I handled it really well and still put up a perfectly fine time. Shouldn’t really complain too much. Mostly frustrated that my Oly times seem kind of stuck around this 2:45 mark even though I’ve had a great year and all three of the disciplines are easier, more consistent and polished than in years’ past.
The next day Kelly and I had an epic walkabout the national mall -- it was wonderful! She was a great hostess and it was so nice to spend time with my awesomely-nerdy-but oh-so-talented-long-lost-friend.
Weather considerations: warm and pleasant! UPDATE: 59/77. Wind + rain. Bring arm warmers, toe covers.
Some logistical snafu's coming into the weekend that left a bit of uncertainty and potential for calamity. Handled it well and mostly rolled with the punches, so hooray for still hammering out a fine time!
Swim [28:10]: water is a bit choppy and I remember now that it is a saltwater swim – remind myself to be careful to limit saltwater intake (lest belly problems ensue). Swim course is more confusing when you see it in person vs on paper as Olympic follows inner track and half follows outer track and they use different buoys in one section and the same buoys in another. Gotta know the right buoys at the respective turns! Thankfully, I double-check my understanding w/ the course marshal. Typically would have done this yesterday. Small wave but FAST. Concentrating on not getting sucked in but also keeping an eye out for someone to draft. Notice many aiming for the half turn buoy and cut the field to aim toward the correct buoy. Joke’s on them! Lots of chop in the section parallel to the marina – have to time breathing well to avoid getting a faceful of water. First lap goes well, though some trouble sighting the turn to start the second lap. Expecting to pass some folks in my wave (typical at this point in the swim), but no, indeed this is a fast field. Chick motors by with her feet churning up a geyser. Try to tuck in behind for back half of course to let her take the chop; then let her go on her way past the last turn. Turn on big pull and kick. Feeling powerful coming into the dock then as I rise onto the ledge to crawl out I slam my right quad into a stair just under the water surface. Smarts like hell, tries to cramp and I need a minute to regroup. Pull myself together and hobble into T1. Hoping the cooler air will numb the leg for the bike.
T1 [1:45]: Wetsuit comes off easily today. Helmet and shoes on, pull arm warmers onto wrists as I start to tear away to bike out. Left warmer is really tight over the watch and I’m struggling to get it on but don’t want to waste time.
Bike [1:18:13]: still can’t get arm warmer far enough up to wrist to get it out of the way and weaving about in the first 0.5 mi to pull it up with my teeth. Ugh. Old arm warmers were so stretchy – these are made for twiggies. Note to self to either stretch these out, practice in them, and/or find a pair for racing that are easier on/off. Frackin’ windy on the first section of course + cobbly roads. HR is high but power and speed are quite low. Only a handful of men are passing me, so not worrying too much and assume wind is the issue along with rough surface and perhaps power meter set-up was a bit on the low-side. Keep monitoring as legs warm-up. Head down and grind through; being mindful to keep cadence up but sticking with plan to tick power up to get through windy sections faster. Power still isn’t coming up much so feeling more certain that set-up is off. Ditch that as a metric and try to bring HR down while cadence is up and go by feel in the legs. Right Achilles is sore again and calves are feeling a little tight. Finally turn with wind to back and am absolutely flying. Positive that power is off when I’m screaming at 25 mph on a false flat with power to the pedals and only reading 105W. Only 2 or 3 women pass me the whole ride. With these assurances I finish the ride strong. Didn’t need gel since due to Perpetuem mix-up. Finished about 28 of the 32oz mixture, mostly in the first 2/3 of the bike. Didn’t need the other water bottle.
T2 [1:16]: Calves are still tight and Achilles is very sore. Pull on wool socks (anticipating rain == aggravate the blister more) and regular running shoes. Grab belt, glasses and visor. Probably could have ditched visor but didn’t cost much so whateva!
Run [57:31]: Lower legs feel crappy. Should have probably added a SaltStick on the bike. Left footbone and forefoot in pain. Ugh. Why. Push through; know that after 2 or 3 miles it’ll probably fade. Stop at mi 1 to tighten laces at ankle and give calves a second to recover. Upside of cranky legs is lessened risk for over-running out of transition! Keep pushing through; it’s only a 10k. Focusing on keeping balanced form and even strike to minimize foot pain and cramping. This helps to pull me thru the turnaround. Watch says 2.3 mi in while course marker says 3 mi. Jubilant that there might only be a 5k to go. Start to pull down pace. Feeling strong. Feet still hurt, but now I’ll be done in 30 min. Keep pulling; maintaining around 9:10. Take gel coming into 2nd aid station at course mi ~3.3 and take in some water. Having hard time breathing and getting a stich in my side around mi 4.5. Really want some water. Fading coming into next aid station around course mi 5.4. Walk through this aid station, then get back at it. Chick in my AG passes me; I can’t answer her surge right now. See 6 mi course sign, though watch shows only 5.6 mi. F-word, but at least I’ll be done in less than 10 min. Happy to be done; disappointed in myself, though.
Overall [2:47:08]: 5th AG of 16. 0:24 off 4th place and 1:30 from 3rd. Initially: frustrated!! I know I partly did this to myself (though I don’t honestly regret taking time off from training this week), and there were a lot of weird things that happened that probably played a role in throwing off my pacing game. After some reflection: this was almost 10k PR (0:05 better than Chicago and 0:10 off my best) and with the weird shit I handled it really well and still put up a perfectly fine time. Shouldn’t really complain too much. Mostly frustrated that my Oly times seem kind of stuck around this 2:45 mark even though I’ve had a great year and all three of the disciplines are easier, more consistent and polished than in years’ past.
The next day Kelly and I had an epic walkabout the national mall -- it was wonderful! She was a great hostess and it was so nice to spend time with my awesomely-nerdy-but oh-so-talented-long-lost-friend.
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