Mill City Triathlon - Recap (7/12/09)

So beginning with the end in mind (and I'd hate to have to make you wait), here are my official times:

Swim - 14:40 (wave issue resolved)
Bike/T1 - 47:13
Run/T2 - 43:08

TOTAL TIME: 1:45:00

Note: the race directors didn't break out transitions separately and I didn't wear a watch so I have no idea of my exact bike and run times.
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Now for the recap. I woke up early (4-ish) and forced myself to lie in bed until 5. Call it nerves or just a natural propensity for waking up early, but I had a difficult time sleeping past 4.

5:30 am - I downed my normal breakfast - Odwalla bar and coffee - watched the news and got dressed.

6:00 am - Jumped in the car and headed over to the race site. It only took 15 minutes to get there, but since I knew parking was going to be a problem (i.e., two little lots and more than 150 athletes), I decided to arrive early. Thankfully I did; I got an ideal parking spot and an even better transition set-up (read: end cap).

I had picked up my race packet the day before and with a lot of time on my hands (1 1/2 hrs) and little to do other than pump up my tires and lay out my transition, my nerves got the better of me. I ended up setting/resetting my transition area at least three times and going to the bathroom four times. Did I mention, I pee when I'm nervous?

7:45 am - I donned my wetsuit and headed across the street to watch the OLY group and acclimate to the water. Temp was about 68-degrees - not bad at all - but the river current was visibly strong. And although I've yet to turn 40, USAT rules required me to race in the 40-45 age group...and (best of all) wear a silver cap. As in Centrum Silver.

8:05 am - I watched the OLY waves head out and was surprised how many people swam close to the buoys (middle of the river). I swam the Merrimack on Friday and was given some great guidance (thanks, Joe!) about swimming close to shore to minimize the impact of the current. Apparently, quite a few folks didn't think it necessary because only a few swam close to the wall.

8:20-ish - And the Centrum Silvers hit the water. The water was fairly murky but fortunately I was able to see well enough to avoid several near kicks to the head. The Wave was rather small (20?), but everyone must've been in the mood for a group hug because we couldn't seem to get out of each other's way. I swam with two men and easily bumped into them four or five times. I managed to catch a few of the folks in the Wave ahead of me, which was encouraging and all seemed well....UNTIL I had to make the turn. See, I had been swimming quite close to shore and realized at some point (when I saw the lifeguard, perhaps?) that I needed to cross over towards the middle of the river to round the buoy and head back. Had I been thinking, I would've swam well past the buoy and then swam diagonally down, which would've made for a much easier ride. Instead, I tried to make forward progress AND swim diagonally so I could hit the buoy and turn. Big mistake #1. I expended a lot of energy and ended up grabbing that damn buoy and flinging myself around it. While the downstream wasn't difficult and took me 1/3 of the time as the trip up, I was tired from that last bit of work.

I finally made it to shallow water and while running towards the shore, I pulled off my swim cap and goggles. Big mistake #2. I dropped my goggles in the water and when I couldn't find them easily, I abandoned them. Note to self: take off swim cap and goggles AFTER exiting the water.

8:35-ish: I ran across the street into the Heritage Ice Cream parking lot for T1. Stripping the suit was easy, but I did get a bit dizzy putting on my bike shoes. I grabbed a Gu and started the bike ride with little effort. But here's where I figured out I must've done well on the swim - throughout the bike portion of the race, I was passed by just about everybody. And I thought I was riding fast in the 17-18 mph range. I mean, even a 20-something on a HYBRID passed me (in my defense, he was young and strong and had handily passed me in the Spring Fling two months back, so it wasn't much of a surprise).

The course was familiar enough - half of it was the Try the Tri course - and there were only a couple of challenging hills. I managed to get the bike up to 29.9 mph on one downhill and (overall) wasn't disappointed with the bike...I mean, yes I got passed by quite a few folks, but still, it was *my* best showing.

And still later in the race...no clue on time: T2 wasn't any more difficult than T1, but I was dreading the run. Oy, the run. I had really pushed myself on the swim and bike and knew the run (all four miles of it) would be challenging. I grabbed a Gu and water and managed to get out of T2 in good time. What can I say about the run? It was hot. Not a cloud in the sky and no shade protection at all. I could've sworn I was at mile 2 when I passed the one-mile marker. And what's worse? You could see all of the people ahead of you heading back on the other side of the road. I kept searching for the 2-mile marker and the turnaround and it seemed so far off. I finally made it and managed to pass two people along the way. At mile 3.5, my chest started to tighten and I got a bit panicky...I could tell I was done physically. I walked for a moment and then started back up again. Breathing at that point was rather tough and labored (as it has been in the past, especially towards the end of a race) and I decided at that moment to have it checked later in the week. And then I saw the finish line. And managed to cross before sitting down to catch my breath.

All in all, it was a good first race. There is so much upon which I need to improve - most notably, the bike. While the run was tough, I managed to keep my pace and expect I'll improve as time goes on. I believe, though, that more time on the bike could yield greater improvements.

So that's it. My first Sprint tri is now in the books. Looking forward to the rest of the season, which includes the Sharon's Back, the Timberman and the Pumpkinman.

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Oh, and I did see a doctor today and was diagnosed with a mild case of asthma. Nothing a little Flovent won't help. But I was relieved to learn it wasn't all in my head. The NP gave me an Albuterol inhaler as a precaution but believes it can be well-controlled with the Flovent. Oh, and talk about lung capacity...apparently mine is well over that of the average person my age. So there is something positive in all of this. ;-)