Race 25: 2012 Wildflower Mountain Bike

Date: May 5th, 2012
Distance: .25 Mile Swim, 9.7 Mile Bike, 2 Mile Run 

In 2012, I really wanted to take another shot at the long course triathlon at Wildflower, but with the stress fracture still bothering me a little, I was advised by my doctor to lay off the long runs for a while. However, he did clear me for the shorter mountain bike race that was held on the same day. With the medical blessing to compete, I would go into this race knowing that I was going to be going 100% for the entire race, with an attempt to place in the top 5 of my age group.

The swim was hectic. I placed myself near the front of my start wave, only behind the handful of national junior competitors (directly behind the Canadian junior, assuming he was better than all the Americans.) I have never swam next to, or in between highly competitive swimmers before, and for that I would be punished. The strength and unwillingness to give even an inch of space to anyone else would be overwhelming, but I would try my best to hold my ground and keep pace with those around me. Unfortunately, I would only be able to keep pace for about 150 yards before falling back and joining a group of swimmers who were more at my level. I would exit the water a little slower than I would have wanted, but still within my ideal time window for a PR, and possibly a podium finish.

I tackled the hills and off road portion of the bike course with determination to keep progressing faster than any racers around me. The downhill portions would be at speeds that would bring up past memories of crashing on my bike, but I would still press on, taking the risk (but remembering the lessons learned over the years) to try to beat 40 minutes on the bike. With out a fast bike, there would be no chance for a top 5 finish. I hit T2 in 39 minutes and 22 seconds. A good time, but not fast enough to make up for the swim. I would have to press hard on the run to have a chance.

Being in the first wave of racers, I was also one of the first few runners on the course. I would be sure to run at a strong pace, sprinting up each hill and allowing gravity and a long stride to carry me down. I was tired for sure, but I fought the urge to slow down, knowing that I only had 15 minutes to run, and I could get all the oxygen I wanted after the finish line. I wouldn't see a single competitor in my age group the whole run, which meant that if I was to get in the top 5, I had better have been in the top 5 coming off the bike. My final time would be 1 hour, 6 minutes and 38 seconds, putting me in 6th place. I missed out by less than 2 minutes. After learning of the result, I would immediately piece together things that I could have done to catch 5th place, but would quickly replace those thoughts with ones reminding that I had a great race, with a great finishing time, and that 6th place would be more than acceptable for someone who is still getting over racing with a stress fracture.

Links:

Website: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2013-main.htm
Official Results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20120505_AVIA_Wildflower_Triathlons.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Class=Mountain+Bike+Individual~M25-29

Race 24: 2011 Sandman Triathlon

Date: July 31, 2011
Distance: .75 Mile Swim, 13 Mile Bike, 4 Mile Run

With only a month out to my scheduled Ironman, I headed into the sandman triathlon with no goals or expectations, but just to have fun at a local event. I really just wanted to enjoy the race before the last few weeks of training. I think I should have this thought more going into future races, as this kept me very calm and collected before the race, which was a first.

The blood in my body must have been thickening over the years of doing this race, because the water did not feel that cold. Sure, it was the North Pacific Ocean after all, but I never really had that "omg, I'm gonna die" thought when first entering the water. In fact, I was able to settle right in and swim with the pack the whole way.

The bike portion was similar. I kept a pretty high pace, but still relaxed enough that I didn't feel overwhelmed at any point during the race. I had really felt like my training was paying off. Even though this was a very short race compared to what I had planned to do in less than a month, I felt like it was easy, and I was at the head of the pack of racers.

The run was an enjoyable 4 miles out and back along the beach. It was fun to pass by someone I met in the transition area, chat with them a little bit before making a hard effort back to the finish line. My final time would be 1 hour and 35 minutes and 53 seconds. Good enough for 36th place out of almost 180 racers, and I felt great afterwards, ready to do the whole race over again.

Unfortunately, that would also be the day where my 2nd workout later in the evening would reveal a pain in my right ankle. That would later turn out to be the stress fracture that would delay my Ironman race another 12 months. 

Links:

Official Website and Results: http://www.sandman-triathlon.com/

Race 23: Catfish Crawl

Date: July 23, 2011
Distance: 2.4 Mile Swim

With the longest ever open water swim ahead, I wanted to make the distance in something other than a pool before the big day. Although this was not a triathlon, it was still a necessary race and experience for me going forward into longer distance races.

I chose to wear my sleeveless wetsuit again, but this time with the lake swim it was much warmer, and getting adjusted to the water took almost no time at all. There was a small shock when the water reached my bare arms, but I settled in and did some warm up strokes before starting my two lap swim in open water.

I attempted to stay in the middle of my age group, and pushed though the kicks and the swinging arms to try to replicate what an Ironman swim would feel like to start as much as possible. It was fairly hectic, but would calm down pretty quickly with only 30 or 40 swimmers starting with me. I was able to keep a slow and steady pace though out the swim, and didn't really ever feel to tired. When I exited the water I felt a little dizzy from being horizontal for an hour and 24 minutes, but would quickly regain my balance and feel fairly ready to tackle a long bike ride later in the day.

Links:

Website: http://www.usaproductions.org/events/swim-series/catfish-crawl-southbay2
Official Results:  http://usa-productions.racemine.com/USA-Productions/events/2011/Catfish-Crawl-Open-Water-Swim/results

Race 22: San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island

Date: July 9, 2011
Distance: 1.5k Swim, 40k Bike, 10k Run

I returned once again to the place where I challenged myself with my first Olympic distance triathlon. Treasure Island. The cold salt water swim would greet me with an even more chilling experience than normal, because this time I decided to do the swim in a sleeveless wetsuit. I was given a quick reminder on how silly this would be, as I would be one of only two racers in my age group to attempt the San Francisco Bay swim with out any neoprene protecting our arms.

When I first jumped into the water, I thought maybe this sleeveless idea wasn't such a good one. Immediately my heart rate would spike, and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. I kept my calm though, and let my body adjust to its new climate that it was going to have to deal with for about 30 minutes. When the starting horn finally sounded, I would be slightly more calm then when I first jumped into the water and the fear of hypothermia was slowly fading from my mind. 

The cold water swim was a risk that I think paid off. I was able to get used to the water temperature by about a third of the way into the swim, and although my swim time didn't really improve any, I felt much more relaxed when I came out of the water. 

On the bike, I really wanted to push it again and try to match my time at Lake Almaden a month earlier, but the winding, technical course and high winds would get the best of me, and I would finish just shy of my goal with an average MPH of 19.8. 

The run would again be a little difficult with spending as much energy on the bike as I did, but I would still keep a solid pace under 8 minute miles, for a finishing time of 2:42:05. A little over 2 minutes of my goal time, but I still think I impressed my girlfriend who came to watch my first race.

Links:

Website: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/SF2012-main.htm
Official Results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20110709_San_Francisco_Triathlon_Treasure_Island.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Class=Olympic+Distance+Individual~M25-29

Race 21: Silicon Valley International Triathlon

Date: June 12, 2011
Distance: 1.5k Swim, 40k Bike, 10k Run

If you have been reading the last 20 blogs about my races to Ironman, you may have noticed a pattern. I like to do the same races year after year. Some people may get bored by this, but not me. I like the calendar I have chosen. It spaces my races apart well, and also with the different challenges each race gives me, it allows me to properly see if, and by how much, I am improving. This particular race is important for me, as it holds my personal best for the olympic distance, and I intended to improve upon that in 2011.

Me and Gary trying to look "Gangster" before the race

My swim this year was definitely not where I wanted it to be. At  almost 33 minutes, I really wish I could have shaved it down to below 30 minutes with all of my off season training. But then again, more of my training at this point was going into distance, not speed. Still, not a terrible time.

My bike on the other hand was the opposite story. I pedaled hard and constant though the entire thing. I was really working on getting a really fast 40k time on this course for a few months now, and it defiantly paid off. Even the one small climb that usually brought me down to my easiest gear in previous races seemed easy, and I posted my first 20+ MPH bike split ever with a 1:12:04. I felt great, and wanted to keep it going into the run. I could feel last years time shattering already.

The run could have been better. My legs were defiantly feeling it from such a hard effort on the bike. I wasn't pulling 7:15 splits like I did the year before, but was still able to keep it around 8 minute miles. I wish I could have gone faster, but that is the learning process. Don't leave it all out on the bike when you know your strength is the run! Either way, the 50 minute run would leave me with a time of 2:35:08, and a penalty for dropping my GU packet on the beginning of the bike would add another 2 minutes to my official time. Looking back, I know I pushed to hard on the bike, but I was still happy to have a great race, and a new PR!

Links:

Website: http://www.usaproductions.org/events/triathlon-series/tri-svot
Official Results: http://usa-productions.racemine.com/USA-Productions/events/2011/20th-Annual-Silicon-Valley-International-Triathlon/results