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Deuces Wild Olympic Triathlon - Triathlon


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Show Low, Arizona
United States
TriSports
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 00m 5s
Overall Rank = 78/136
Age Group = M 45-49
Age Group Rank = 8/10
Pre-race routine:

I drove to Show Low on Friday, arriving for check in mid-afternoon. Got checked in and settled into the hotel. The evening took a strange turn when an SUV ran into the hotel and knocked the power out at around 5:30. It wasn’t restored until 11 or 12 at night. Weird night in an unfamiliar place with no light, air conditioning, TV, or refrigeration.
My goal for the event was simple, but not ambitious. I had last raced this course in 2010, and had one of my worst events ever. I was in a post-Ironman funk and had a tough time that season getting back on track. It was a low point. The final leg of it was a six mile death march and I barely straggled in under four hours. I just wanted to have a solid, respectable race and obliterate the bad memory. With some rough circumstances over the last month or two, my training and fitness weren’t really in a place where I felt I could expect much more. I thought the goal was reasonable under the circumstances.

Event warmup:

Since I was only about three miles away from the race site, I rode my bike. This was very convenient, since I didn’t have to bother with loading or unloading the car, driving there, parking, and walking to transition. I rode right to transition, found my rack, and got set up. The ride from the hotel also warmed me up a bit.
I did have a nice déjà vu moment while waiting for the race to begin. Near transition, there is a ramada with a bench. I sat on the bench and knew I had been there before. It was the same bench where I had waited for the start back in 2010, and I remember sitting there with Barkley and Jenna. Barkley had a good time that day, but it was when she was getting older and the day wore her out so badly that we practically had to carry her back to the car. It also may have been the last time she really swam, as Jenna let her get in the lake while I was on the course. I enjoyed looking back on a fond memory.

Swim
  • 38m 59s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 36s / 100 meters
Comments:

The water felt extremely cold to me, even though the temperature was announced in the low 60s. Thankfully, we were able to get in fifteen minutes before the start to get used to it a little. I didn’t feel great on the swim, and was moving pretty slow, but I wasn’t panicking or anything severe. I kept reminding myself that I was at 6300 feet, and I historically don’t respond very well to higher altitudes. As a result, I was prone to elevated heart rate and breathing trouble. In the water, that can result in a panic spiral, so I slowed down and made sure to keep things under control. My time suffered a little, but I made it out of the water okay and only lost a few minutes.
Transition 1
  • 04m 24s
Comments:

Not great (needed sunscreen) but not as bad as 2010
Bike
  • 1h 09m 57s
  • 40 kms
  • 34.31 km/hr
Comments:

After a sub-par swim and an average transition, when I started the bike, I was only a couple of minutes ahead of my 2010 pace. The ride is where the wheels started to come off that year, so I was hoping to make up some time and continue the momentum into the run. My biggest criticism of my riding in 2010 was that I had settled into a pace and locked in rather than pushing and pursuing. I tried to keep that in mind during the ride, but it was challenging for a few reasons.
First, since most of my training is now indoors, it takes me a little time to get a good feel for riding outside. This adjustment period seems to take a few miles at the start of each event. Unfortunately, the first few miles of this course include a few steep descents. I can get a little skittish at high speeds, and creeping toward 40 mph with a crosswind while I was in my adjustment period was a little too much, so I backed off. As I passed an accident (everyone looked to be okay), I thanked myself for taking a conservative approach. Second, the lack of density of riders made pushing the pace a mental game. In a lot of events, there are always plenty of riders pretty close to reel in. You push, catch someone, pass them, and repeat. Since this course spreads out pretty thin, the next person you are chasing can be a long way away. That requires some focus. I did okay with it, but felt my concentration lagging on occasion. Third, the altitude was playing with me a little bit. Breathing was tougher and my heart rate was higher at the same effort level I am used to maintaining. Despite the challenges, I had a decent ride.
I pulled into transition in 1:09 feeling pretty good about the effort. In 2010, I had taken 1:27 on the bike course, so I knew I would be hitting the run course with 20 minutes in the bank over the 2010 time.

Transition 2
  • 03m
Comments:

A little slow, but again, sunscreen
Run
  • 1h 04m 16s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m 26s  min/km
Comments:

The run is where I completely fell apart in 2010. By the time I got off the bike, the course had already taken everything out of me. The only redeeming quality of the run was spending it with my friend Tom, who was injured and was walking back to transition. As much walking as I did, the run course took me 1:34 to complete. I was determined not to embarrass myself again.
Barring a spectacular collapse, I knew that I would be able to achieve my goal – the only question was what the numbers would be. The first mile passed without incident, but I always plod along when running on gravel. I am not exactly light on my feet, and I sink into soft surfaces. I was looking forward to hitting concrete when getting to the campground.
At this point in the morning, the sun was out and it was starting to heat up. The course, while not mountainous, is hilly enough to make you feel it. These two factors combined to make things tough. I was starting to overheat, my legs were getting tired, and the elevation wasn’t helping either. I knew at that point it wouldn’t be a great run, but it didn’t have to be a disaster either. At the aid stations, I walked through and got some fluids in while I collected myself. I still reached the midway point in a little over 30 minutes, so things were not going that badly. If I could push the second half, I might be able to get in under an hour, and under three overall. I tried to hold these mini-goals out as motivation.
In the last mile, the course finally won out. I needed to pick up the pace to hit the mini goals, and there was nothing but a long uphill in sight. I got on the hill and my legs just quit. I slowed to a crawl and started again. I repeated this sequence a few times until I finally reached the top and could see that the finish was just ahead. A run time below an hour was now out the window, but I was really close to three hours for the whole event. I seemed to recall that I started my watch about 15 seconds before the official gun went off at the beginning. My timing was just a little off and I tried to cut it too close. I thought I was under three hours with a couple of seconds to spare, but officially, my final time was 3:00:05. Missed it by five seconds. No big deal.

Post race
Warm down:

I talked to a couple of people on the way to transition that I had seen on the course and compared notes with another as I packed up. I rode the bike back to the hotel; I wasn’t in the best shape, and hadn’t had the best day, but I was still 55 minutes better than I was on my worst day back in 2010.

Event comments:

This is tough course – not as tough as Patagonia or Bartlett, which have much bigger hills, but the elevation definitely makes it more challenging than a course profile would indicate. It is well run, with some nice bonuses. The trip to Show Low was a long drive, but it’s a solid race.




Last updated: 2015-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:59 | 1500 meters | 02m 36s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/136
Performance:
Suit:
Course: Triangular course in Fool Hollow Lake
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 04:24
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:09:57 | 40 kms | 34.31 km/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/136
Performance:
Wind:
Course: One large loop out of Show Low and back in
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:04:16 | 10 kms | 06m 26s  min/km
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/136
Performance:
Course: Partial gravel path, partial pavement; around the lake, through the campground, and back
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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