Two weeks out and feeling okay
So I did the Redman Half-Ironman Triathlon in Oklahoma City at Lake Hefner on September 23rd. Aside from the 20mph wind out of the northwest, it was a beautiful day. The tempurature was in the mid-80's - not too bad considering the race I did in July was in the Raleigh/Durham area and the temp was in the 90's.
The wind caused the lake to be really choppy and it took me quite a bit longer (by about 20 minutes) than I expected to swim the 1.2 miles. The first 26 miles of the bike were north and then west which put the wind directly in my face which is what Tom (the crazy man who convinced me to start doing this insanity called triathlon) calls "The Hill That Doesn't End." It gets in your head. "Man, I'm never going to get there. Screw this, I should just turn around and go home." But then the timing pad comes into view at the turnaround point and you cross that and all of the sudden it's like someon threw up the spinnaker and you're rolling almost effortlessly back for home. For the first 26 miles I averaged 14.3 mph. The last 30 miles I averaged roughly 18.2 miles per hour.
By the time I got off the bike, it just became a matter of finishing. 13.1 miles took me 2 hours and 40 minutes. There were water/aid stations every mile of the run. They all had water, gatorade and bananas and each one was sponsored by a different group and they would throw in their own personal touches. One had skittles (lately a popular energy intake for endurance athletes as it's just a burst of sugar). One had peanut butte sandwiches. I had half of one as by the time I got there I'd been racing for 7 hours and had nothing other than sports drink, water and GU. My favorite, though, was the tailgaters. They were a group of OU and OSU fans who were decked out in their team colors and were just celebrating the game day by cheering us and as well as handing us the normal accoutrement AND hotdogs and beer if we wanted any. I took a pass, but they were definitely the most enthusiastic bunch on the entire run.
My target time going into the race was 8 hours 30 minutes. I finished in 8 hours 59 minutes and change. Considering the wind, it was a good race for my first time out at this distance.
Tonight it the last weeknight ride of the season with the Reston Bike Club. I started riding with them back in May on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Sunday mornings. They have rides set up that are dependent on your ability (A+ being the guys who want to challenge Lance, A, B+, B, C and R for recreational) I started out the season as a C rider (no one puts you in a group, you are expected to evaluate your own performance and move yourself). C riders usually ride at an average pace of about 16-17 mph and the rides during the week are between 20 & 30 miles while weekend rides are between 40 & 60 miles. By the time the Redman rolled around I was riding pretty well with the B's. B's are supposed to average 17-18 mph - though when I was riding with them, they were riding 18.5-20 depending on what route we were taking. I will be continuing to work on my bike and my run during the off season.
The wind caused the lake to be really choppy and it took me quite a bit longer (by about 20 minutes) than I expected to swim the 1.2 miles. The first 26 miles of the bike were north and then west which put the wind directly in my face which is what Tom (the crazy man who convinced me to start doing this insanity called triathlon) calls "The Hill That Doesn't End." It gets in your head. "Man, I'm never going to get there. Screw this, I should just turn around and go home." But then the timing pad comes into view at the turnaround point and you cross that and all of the sudden it's like someon threw up the spinnaker and you're rolling almost effortlessly back for home. For the first 26 miles I averaged 14.3 mph. The last 30 miles I averaged roughly 18.2 miles per hour.
By the time I got off the bike, it just became a matter of finishing. 13.1 miles took me 2 hours and 40 minutes. There were water/aid stations every mile of the run. They all had water, gatorade and bananas and each one was sponsored by a different group and they would throw in their own personal touches. One had skittles (lately a popular energy intake for endurance athletes as it's just a burst of sugar). One had peanut butte sandwiches. I had half of one as by the time I got there I'd been racing for 7 hours and had nothing other than sports drink, water and GU. My favorite, though, was the tailgaters. They were a group of OU and OSU fans who were decked out in their team colors and were just celebrating the game day by cheering us and as well as handing us the normal accoutrement AND hotdogs and beer if we wanted any. I took a pass, but they were definitely the most enthusiastic bunch on the entire run.
My target time going into the race was 8 hours 30 minutes. I finished in 8 hours 59 minutes and change. Considering the wind, it was a good race for my first time out at this distance.
Tonight it the last weeknight ride of the season with the Reston Bike Club. I started riding with them back in May on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Sunday mornings. They have rides set up that are dependent on your ability (A+ being the guys who want to challenge Lance, A, B+, B, C and R for recreational) I started out the season as a C rider (no one puts you in a group, you are expected to evaluate your own performance and move yourself). C riders usually ride at an average pace of about 16-17 mph and the rides during the week are between 20 & 30 miles while weekend rides are between 40 & 60 miles. By the time the Redman rolled around I was riding pretty well with the B's. B's are supposed to average 17-18 mph - though when I was riding with them, they were riding 18.5-20 depending on what route we were taking. I will be continuing to work on my bike and my run during the off season.