Green Member: Billy Self
Event: Tri-Waco Olympic on July 25th.
Location: Waco, Texas... Sic 'Em, Right Greg & Tim? Disappointed in the lack of Bear propaganda in Waco.
Class (yours): Male 25-29
Results: 11th Overall. 2nd Age Group.
Local Knowledge and Conditions: Hartley told me it was hilly on the run. So I drove the run course. HOLY COW! At mile 1.5, the hills began in Cameron Park. Straight up, straight down, 3 times! The last 2.5 miles into the finish was all flat. I drove half of the bike course and it was all flat. NOOO where to hide on the bike, all effort.. all the time. Conditions for water were 89 degrees! It was literally hotter than air temp. Not sure what the temp was at start, but when I got into my truck after the race it said 89 degrees. Heat was not a factor in this race. It was actually quite pleasant. We had cloud cover as well with light sprinkling on the bike. No rain though. Couldn't be more perfect.
Pre-Race Strategy & Warm Up: I did about 300 swim warm up with fast/slow pacing. Quickly got out and went to warm up my legs. Put my shoes on and did light jogging and pick ups, bounds, and side to sides. Followed by stretches for hips, cows, and hammies. I felt as ready as I could be for the day. My race strategy was to get out in front on the swim, but not as hard as I usually go. I wanted to experiment with finding a rhythm earlier that I could actually hang on to for the entire swim. 2 guys pulled in front of me and the rest of the pack was way back. I lost their feet soon after and spent the entire swim "by myself" weaving through the earlier wave. My swim time was 24:26, much slower than previous 1500m efforts, but I was still 7th fastest swim and only 2 minutes behind the fastest. So I figure the swim was on the long side...
I passed most of the people in the previous wave during the swim because on the bike I only passed 3 people the entire ride. Two guys passed me on the bike (ugh!). And when I got into T2, the water station volunteers said I had 6 guys up the road and I could see 2 of them. Anyway, I don't think I was "feeling it" on the bike that day. I averaged 23.1 mph, but I still didn't feel all that great while on the bike. I did my best. I spent an extra 20 seconds to put socks on in T2 because of some blisters that I knew would not last 6.2 miles. Sooo glad that I did. My run started out great. Very flat for 1.5 miles and I could see the 2 guys I needed to track down. My first mile split was around 6:42 and I caught those 2 guys just before we hit the hills. I shuffled up those hills as best I could, but the leaders were just faster. I held my own coming back with a young kid (looked like a CC high schooler) that blew by me at mile 4. I tried to hang on to him, but ended up just trying to keep him in sight. During the hills my pace was above 8min pace and I cruised at above 7min pace into the finish. 2 guys were tracking me down as we approached the bridge to the finish.... fortunately they did not catch me.
I passed most of the people in the previous wave during the swim because on the bike I only passed 3 people the entire ride. Two guys passed me on the bike (ugh!). And when I got into T2, the water station volunteers said I had 6 guys up the road and I could see 2 of them. Anyway, I don't think I was "feeling it" on the bike that day. I averaged 23.1 mph, but I still didn't feel all that great while on the bike. I did my best. I spent an extra 20 seconds to put socks on in T2 because of some blisters that I knew would not last 6.2 miles. Sooo glad that I did. My run started out great. Very flat for 1.5 miles and I could see the 2 guys I needed to track down. My first mile split was around 6:42 and I caught those 2 guys just before we hit the hills. I shuffled up those hills as best I could, but the leaders were just faster. I held my own coming back with a young kid (looked like a CC high schooler) that blew by me at mile 4. I tried to hang on to him, but ended up just trying to keep him in sight. During the hills my pace was above 8min pace and I cruised at above 7min pace into the finish. 2 guys were tracking me down as we approached the bridge to the finish.... fortunately they did not catch me.
Psychology: I felt weak from all the previous activities during the week. I was helping with a week long fundraiser Dallas Race Week every week night and sailing on a friend's boat. Didn't get much sleep and was tired from everything. I didn't expect a stellar performance... It was just a fun event and excuse to stay with friends of Katie & I down in Waco.
Lessons Learned (Or Re-Learned): Find someone to track down when you can. If in doubt about foot care, go with socks on the run in Olympic distance.
Future Goals (include skills executed well and skills needing improvement): Faster rolling dismount into T2. Carry more speed into it. Drink water without choking.
Fitness (endurance, nutrition, hydration): My hydration was poor going into the weekend. I drank just as much water as I usually do, but did not make for the beer I drank during Dallas Race Week. My nutrition was "okay", but I'm REALLY REALLY excited about Katie and I's anniversary present that is arriving today! Vita Prep 3! Oh yeah!
I liked this race a lot and will probably do it again.
Something funny that happened: Ninfa's has great post-race margaritas.
Glad To Be Here!
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