Uster Triathlon 2010
God damn it that was hard! I am utterly beasted. I went out there and gave everything I had today. Feel like I've been beaten all over with a very big stick - hips, quads, glutes, feet, lower back, upper back, neck, head, triceps.
2008 times:
Swim: 34.28.
T1: 1.25
Bike: 1.17:10
T2: 1.22
Run: 46.13
TOTAL: 2:40.39
(97th out of 148 finishers in my age category, 313th out of 576 overall)
2009 times:
Swim: 34.00
T1: 1.41
Bike: 1:15.12
T2: 1.25
Run: 43.46
TOTAL: 2:36.05
(106th out of 275 finishers in my age category, 234th out of 602 men overall)
2010 times:
Swim: 29.50
T1: 2.14
Bike: 1:18.55
T2: 1.20
Run: 46.07
TOTAL: 2:38.28,4
(128th out of 235 finishers in my age category, 279th out of 516 men overall)
Interesting day. Swim was weird - it was a wetsuit swim this time (last 2 years weren't), hence why my swim is nearly 4 minutes faster, but T1 is 30-50 seconds down. But, we went off in 3 waves, and I was very near the back of my wave finishing, so it felt like a terrible swim as I came out (it wasn't that bad - 122nd out of 279). I still feel like my wetsuit constricts my arms and much prefer the feel of swimming without one, but it's undeniably faster. The swim start was nuts - the announcer kept asking people to stay behind the line of floats on a rope that marked the start (standing depth), but there were two rows of people in front of it, ignoring him. As the gun went, they tried to drop the rope to the lake bed, as people were going under it, me included. Not pleasant being forced down by that!
Came out of the swim breathing hard, and it was straight into a stiff breeze. The course has some lovely aero sections, but today, I was really struggling into the wind. I was pushing hard, but my speed monitor wasn't working, so I've no idea how fast I was on those sections. RPE was high though. I felt like I blitzed the bike course - was storming (well, for me) some of the climbs without dropping to the lower chain ring, and felt smooth and controlled. Result say otherwise though - nearly 4 minutes down on last year, 170th from 279, and I felt more tired finishing it. Bike is still my weak point! Had the usual run ins with traffic on the narrow roads, although some of the drivers seemed particularly aggrieved this year with lots of honking of horns and what seemed like deliberate blocking tactics (one tried to go up the closed section coming into transition as I arrived, and blocked it whilst the marshalls got him out of the way!).
As I came off the bike, I had a motivation crisis. I knew I was slower than 2009 already (and nowhere near my ultimate goal of sub 2:30), and found it really hard to give it the umph I needed out of T1. It's a two lap run, and somewhere towards the end of lap 1, I gave myself a stern talking to, swigged a coke, and moved up a gear. My second lap was much better, and saw me sticking closer to some of the pro's paces. Still couldn't get a real sprint going though, my quads were twitching with cramp at about 7km, so it was dicey till the end.
Finished, and practically fell over. I was freezing cold, shivering, my fingers went white and I turned a deathly shade of pale apparently. Which to me is a good finish - shows I wasn't holding anything back. I lay in a deck chair for a bit trying to bring a cup to my mouth to get some fluid in, and finally staggered off to recuperate.
Despite the time not being faster, I have to say it was a bloomin brilliant day. I love racing, I love the atmosphere at the events, and I love the feel of lycra against my skin (actually, that last one isn't totally true. It does chafe sometimes). Can't think of a better way to spend Sunday.
2008 times:
Swim: 34.28.
T1: 1.25
Bike: 1.17:10
T2: 1.22
Run: 46.13
TOTAL: 2:40.39
(97th out of 148 finishers in my age category, 313th out of 576 overall)
2009 times:
Swim: 34.00
T1: 1.41
Bike: 1:15.12
T2: 1.25
Run: 43.46
TOTAL: 2:36.05
(106th out of 275 finishers in my age category, 234th out of 602 men overall)
2010 times:
Swim: 29.50
T1: 2.14
Bike: 1:18.55
T2: 1.20
Run: 46.07
TOTAL: 2:38.28,4
(128th out of 235 finishers in my age category, 279th out of 516 men overall)
Interesting day. Swim was weird - it was a wetsuit swim this time (last 2 years weren't), hence why my swim is nearly 4 minutes faster, but T1 is 30-50 seconds down. But, we went off in 3 waves, and I was very near the back of my wave finishing, so it felt like a terrible swim as I came out (it wasn't that bad - 122nd out of 279). I still feel like my wetsuit constricts my arms and much prefer the feel of swimming without one, but it's undeniably faster. The swim start was nuts - the announcer kept asking people to stay behind the line of floats on a rope that marked the start (standing depth), but there were two rows of people in front of it, ignoring him. As the gun went, they tried to drop the rope to the lake bed, as people were going under it, me included. Not pleasant being forced down by that!
Came out of the swim breathing hard, and it was straight into a stiff breeze. The course has some lovely aero sections, but today, I was really struggling into the wind. I was pushing hard, but my speed monitor wasn't working, so I've no idea how fast I was on those sections. RPE was high though. I felt like I blitzed the bike course - was storming (well, for me) some of the climbs without dropping to the lower chain ring, and felt smooth and controlled. Result say otherwise though - nearly 4 minutes down on last year, 170th from 279, and I felt more tired finishing it. Bike is still my weak point! Had the usual run ins with traffic on the narrow roads, although some of the drivers seemed particularly aggrieved this year with lots of honking of horns and what seemed like deliberate blocking tactics (one tried to go up the closed section coming into transition as I arrived, and blocked it whilst the marshalls got him out of the way!).
As I came off the bike, I had a motivation crisis. I knew I was slower than 2009 already (and nowhere near my ultimate goal of sub 2:30), and found it really hard to give it the umph I needed out of T1. It's a two lap run, and somewhere towards the end of lap 1, I gave myself a stern talking to, swigged a coke, and moved up a gear. My second lap was much better, and saw me sticking closer to some of the pro's paces. Still couldn't get a real sprint going though, my quads were twitching with cramp at about 7km, so it was dicey till the end.
Finished, and practically fell over. I was freezing cold, shivering, my fingers went white and I turned a deathly shade of pale apparently. Which to me is a good finish - shows I wasn't holding anything back. I lay in a deck chair for a bit trying to bring a cup to my mouth to get some fluid in, and finally staggered off to recuperate.
Despite the time not being faster, I have to say it was a bloomin brilliant day. I love racing, I love the atmosphere at the events, and I love the feel of lycra against my skin (actually, that last one isn't totally true. It does chafe sometimes). Can't think of a better way to spend Sunday.