2010 Carlsbad Triathlon Race Report

last week was a solid in terms of training and ended the week with some fun.

before heading to the expo on saturday i hit the road with denner and we logged 70 miles out in east county… and finally got to see some sun!  perfect weather and we kept it mellow.  he’s fresh of another epic RAAM performance and i was stoked he didn’t feel the need to crush me!

after the ride i headed to packet pick up and then for a quick run.  Then i got everything ready for the race.  triathlon takes as much time to pack for as it does to race.  i forgot how much crap (gear) you need.  I got the race wheelson the loaner bike (thanks ian!).

and then it was dinner time!

sunday it was game time.  here’s the race report… from my log.

swim 1000m: 16:19 (including long run to transition)

bike 25k:  38:06, 24.6 avg mph (garmin data, just bike), 40:39 (official, including t1& T2)

even with a pretty good swim i was still about 3 minutes back of the fast guys.  long run up the beach to t1 and when i got to my rack it was a total shitshow.  i was racked with a of the elite guys and fast AG’ers and most beat me out of the water. when i got the rack my bike was on the ground and helmet, glasses, shoes were all over the place… perfect… but i was just laughing… good practice.

then i jumped on the bike to do work. i was nailing if from the gun and my HR was through the roof and wasn’t settling as quick as i expected, but i kept on it. finally at first turnaround and i got it together and stayed on it. passed quite a few guys, nobody passed me, and i was definitely making up time on the others.

I finally got to where the Killer green Skinfit speedsuit!

i hammered the whole way and really didn’t start “feeling” it until 10+ miles in the… then i was ready to go!  i came off the bike ready to see if i still had my running off the bike skillz!

run 5k (3.17 miles): 17:24, 5:29 min/mile pace (garmin) & official

came off the bike with a younger “elite” guy and we left transition side by side. he looked fast as was trying to hang… so i went for it and got away from him in the first half mile and then caught my friend garrett (mega fast swimer/cyclist) at about .75 mile mark.

that put me in 2nd in AG and 6th overall. i felt really good the first mile and kind of suffered the 2nd mile. i was able to track down another elite guy and then my homeboy maurico who was leading our AG & AMs to take the lead just after the 2 mile mark. then i just kept the pace strong but not all out to the finish.

solid effort and happy with run…. i want to get to the point where i can run 13.1 miles off the bike at this pace… a lot of work to do!

mile splits:

1 – 5:28

2 – 5:22

3 – 5:34

.17 – 1:00

total time: 1:14:22

I am really happy with the effort the first race back at it.  the race was fun in itself  but what made the day was hanging with all my friends before, during, and after the race.  no attitudes, just hard racing, and a lot of joking around (talking $h!t)… what racing should be!

this was my first triathlon since Xterra worlds in 2008 and my first road triathlon in about 2.5 years!  i am really stoked with how the swim felt and how I was able to bring guys back on the bike that was from from the case when i did road tris before.  I am really looking forward to a couple more solid weeks of training and then heading out for our summer vacation and racing the Steelhead 70.3.

recovery time!  Thanks Ryan.

beth and I are planning a BIG weekend of riding!

saturday: palomar double!  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3868735

sunday: 6hrs. mostly flat.  Rolling Encinitas up Revo and back.

anybody want in?