Well,
I was able to fit in three more tri's into the season. I did the Graniteman triathlon in Wolfeborough, NH. This race is on the same day as the one on the other side of the lake (now owned by Ironman...) It is a budget race, but is an awesome venue, and has great support. It starts out with a non-wetsuit swim, with a hilly bike, and a run with a big hill to start. There were two big names which i wanted to see how I would stack up against. In the swim, I had one fellow who ended up winning the race pass me like he was a torpedo. Turns out he took over two minutes out of me on the swim. The bike went well, and the eventual second place finisher passed me much later than I was expecting; and I was able to keep him mostly in sight, which I was very happy with. The run was slow, and mostly uneventful. I pulled out an OK run for third overall; which I was very pleased with given the competition.
This was more of a warm-up for the Best of the US race qualifier in Maine. I thought that I had a good chance,
as I thought that all people faster than me in the state who were at the race were pro's and therefore ineligible for the BOUS spot. The swim went OK (I really have to do some swim training...doing less than a dozen swims per year is just not enough...) and then I got on the bike. It was going really well I thought until I made a wrong turn to follow the old course (my own fault). I lost a couple hundred yards, and untold momentum. I finished the bike and tried to cruise the run. In the end I came out with a personal best for an olympic triathlon of 1:59. I was for the very first time able to break 2 hours! My bike speed was very good for me looking back at the results, and the run was a little lackluster, but still not terrible. Probably the most memorable part was the intersection where I was headed back into the transition area, and coming in pretty hot. I saw that the off icier had things stopped for me, but then a SUV decided to just 'go for it'. I locked up my brakes and was able to steer around the front of the SUV in a 's-turn' while skidding at full speed until the driver finally saw me when I was in front of the car and stopped. Despite what seemed like a no-win situation; I was able to visualize what I had to do, and was able to precisely shift the weight around to make it happen. In the end I did not get the BOUS spot. It went to a fellow Mainer who was a little bit faster (mostly in the swim). I heard later that he was formerly a pro, and had taken the summer off to train (he is a science teacher), but saying that would kinda sound like excuses...so I digress ;^)
as I thought that all people faster than me in the state who were at the race were pro's and therefore ineligible for the BOUS spot. The swim went OK (I really have to do some swim training...doing less than a dozen swims per year is just not enough...) and then I got on the bike. It was going really well I thought until I made a wrong turn to follow the old course (my own fault). I lost a couple hundred yards, and untold momentum. I finished the bike and tried to cruise the run. In the end I came out with a personal best for an olympic triathlon of 1:59. I was for the very first time able to break 2 hours! My bike speed was very good for me looking back at the results, and the run was a little lackluster, but still not terrible. Probably the most memorable part was the intersection where I was headed back into the transition area, and coming in pretty hot. I saw that the off icier had things stopped for me, but then a SUV decided to just 'go for it'. I locked up my brakes and was able to steer around the front of the SUV in a 's-turn' while skidding at full speed until the driver finally saw me when I was in front of the car and stopped. Despite what seemed like a no-win situation; I was able to visualize what I had to do, and was able to precisely shift the weight around to make it happen. In the end I did not get the BOUS spot. It went to a fellow Mainer who was a little bit faster (mostly in the swim). I heard later that he was formerly a pro, and had taken the summer off to train (he is a science teacher), but saying that would kinda sound like excuses...so I digress ;^)So my last race of the season provided a chance to end on a high note. I won the race last year, and if I had been a NH resident, I would have had the BOUS spot (as it is the NH qualifier). It is another very nice triathlon which is a little cheaper, and is put on by the Nashua YMCA. It is very well run, and a blast, as they also have a kids race which my kids have done the past couple of years (and always with big smiles!). When I got there I found out that the winner from the Graniteman Tri (who beat me about a month earlier) was going to be there...so I did not have much hope of a repeat win; but I still tried to pull out what I could. I started in the second wave, swam like a drunken sailor. I kept on pulling too far to the right, and put on much more distance than I should have...again I just need to do some more swimming. Once out of the water I had a good transition (it is a very long transition from the water). I immediately took off on the bike and tried to hammer, but I just could not get a rhythm going...it could be due to the hard effort in the triathlon the previous weekend (the Maine BOUS qualifier). I did what I could, and then tried to cruise on the run; again not able to get a really fast feeling run under me. Well, I guess it was fast enough, as I was able to pull out the win by 20 seconds! I was really pleased with this, as the second place finisher had beaten me by over 2 minutes the previous month!
So that is how the season went. There were a couple of trends which I hope to build on for next year. The first is that I LOVE my new Titanflex. It is an awesome bike. Second, and I have some theories on why this is...is that I am not going to do a lot of miles on Powercranks. I should note that I have an old pair that the clutch slips to some degree, and therefore I have trouble trusting it at stops and standing, and ...well you get the point. Overall, I think Ill still start the season with them, but swap them out after a month or so. I also think that I need to do some more swimming; well, at least if I want to keep with the faster folks. The race can not be won in the swim, but you can loose it on the swim. Finally, I need to work on my run speed over the winter with some more snowshoeing. I think that I have gotten a little soft on my run, as a handful of track workouts showed me. Next year I would like to go sub 34 for a 10k and sub 17 for a 5k. That should get me pointed in the right direction.
Well, that is all for now. I might be squeezing in a race or two before the winter triathlon season starts, but Ill have to see...Im still recovering from our trip to Disney where I got a cold, sinus infection, double ear infections, and pneumonia to top it off....I guess it must have been a killer trip!
TTFN
