Lake Chaparral Olympic Tri Report

As per usual lately, I had a hard time sleeping before this race. This time, I had no trouble getting to sleep but could not stay there. I should have just got up but I stayed in bed until the alarm went off. A quick "wake up" shower and then I packed the car up and left. Later I realized I forgot breakfast....F#%K! Luckily the traffic was light so the drive was quick.

I went straight to get my chip and body marked to avoid the line up. I started to set up my transition and realized I forgot the strap to hold my aero bottle in place....F&#k! It's not essential but I find it encourages me to drink when its right there. I had an extra timing chip strap so I used my raw boy scout talent to fashion it into a makeshift solution. Then I looked at my garmin...32% battery??? WTF.....I charged it last night!! Again not essential but a convience.....oh well. Finished setting up and then it was time to wait.

I met up with one of the Doc's at work that was doing the Men's Oly as well. It was nice to have someone to talk to wait for the Women's wave to go by. We get the 15min warning and then we hop in the water for a short warm up. And then its showtime.....

THE SWIM

I stayed off to the side and back-ish for the beginning. I felt pretty good in the water and again more comfortable than previous races. My sighting has improved as well...I was swimming more straight then back and forth this time, lol. My 2 laps went quick and then it was a straight shot to the finish. Other than for balance I barely used my legs so I started kicking a bit after the last buoy to get some blood flowing to them. But as I took my first step on the boat ramp I felt instant cramps in my quads......F#$K!! I took a quick look back and realized that my swim time wasn't quite what I felt I was doing. I was one of the last coming out of the water. I ran to my bike, cramps and all.

Swim time 40:31 Pace 2:43 (177th/192)

THE BIKE

Running up to the mount like I was cursing the cramps in my quads. I was able to hop on my bike and start the legs moving. The bike course was five laps of a 8km "ish" loop. The first lap was rough with the cramps but I was not going to stop. I was just finishing my first lap and passing transition when one of the race officials yelled out "WAIT...STOP". WTF....why am I stopping? You're helmet is on backwards"......F&$k! I think I just came out of the water stupid....I must have placed it on the aerobars facing the wrong way setting up. Strange thing was that it didn't feel weird.

So back to the race...thankfully the cramps went away on the second lap. I was actually starting to feel pretty good even! The course was mostly flat except one hill located close to mid loop. For comparison I would say it was close to that of the "Tuscany Home Depot" hill. It wasn't too bad but I can't say that I was loving it by the 4th time (definitely not the fifth). I have found that I tend to pass a fair number of people on hills....not the case today. Not my best ride but not my worst either.

Bike time- 1:24:26 Avg Speed 28.4km/hr (85th/192)

THE RUN

I had a fairly quick transition from the bike and headed out on the course. But within a very short time the cramps in my quads were back with a vengeance. This time they were not alone....GI cramps as well. I was feeling a bit tired and it was starting to get hot out. My plan was to drink the Ultima at the aid stations and hopefully replace some lytes but I found out there was none! I am not sure if they had it prior and ran out or didn't have it at all but either way I was not happy. I would have brought my fuel belt and carried my own Gatorade had I known this was the case. In hind sight I train with Gatorade I should carry Gatorade.

The quad cramping was getting worse but thankfully the stomach cramps went away. I took a couple of walk breaks to see if I could massage them out a bit. It didn't help and at that point I figured I might as well run and deal with the pain. I will admit it seemed like the longest 9.6km of my life. I should have smoked this essentially flat course but I didn't. Very frustrating run for me.

Run Time- 1:05;40 Pace 6:34 (152nd/192)

Nutrition

One power bar before the swim (make up for the missed breakfast), 2L Gatorade on the bike, 3 GU chomps and 500ml Water (approx.) on the run.

Overall Time 3:10:36 145th/192

I am a bit disappointed with the day and my place. I am pretty sure that as the distance gets farther the competition gets better. I think if I had not had the cramping issues I would have done a bit better. I am not obsessed with place but I feel like its a general indicator of how you do on that day. I have become competitive and I want to see my name higher up on the list ;). I did have fun overall...don't get me wrong. The was no way I wasn't going to finish so I am happy with that even. I just wish a few things had been a bit different. Now it's time to find another race!