So, the Pumpkinman....
A Sprint Tri...
My 4th Sprint this year...
actually my 4th sprint this lifetime.
750 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike. 5k run.
Nothing to it...except in the last two weeks my training has been..well..less than great.
My new mantra is,
I prefer to think of it as well rested as opposed to under trained.
Friday night I stood in line for 90 minutes to pick up my race packet.
The top 18 finishers in my race had times better than my packet pickup time!
Having dropped off my running shoes at T2 friday night, and hoping they didn’t wander off by themselves, I arrived at the start line Saturday morning in time to watch a glorious sunrise. The water temp was low enough to allow wetsuits and while almost all competitors chose to wear one. I did not.
I know, they say wetsuits help your time etc..but ..
Mine makes me feel like a beached whale.
The swim went great, I felt strong and fast.
T1 was long and narrow,
seriously, 1/4 mile long.
In fact, I think it took me over a minute to get to the timing mat between the swim and T1.
Even without a wetsuit the swim/bike transition took over 5 minutes. Ughhhh!
The bike started with rolling hills. In the first 6 miles I think I actually passed more riders than riders passed me.
The second half found me playing cat and mouse with a couple of different riders. I felt confident the whole ride.
Even the last mile and a half that featured a 6% uphill grade. Even when my speed dropped to 5mph.
T2 took 3 minutes. The actual amount of time it took to get from one end the transition area to the other including switching to my running shoes,
which were still where I had left them.
My run pace was a full minute/mile better than 2 weeks ago. That alone was a highlight for the day.
By 10:30am I had finished a 2+hour event and picked up my age group award. At this point I went to pickup my bag that had been transported from T1 to T2.
It was NOT there.
2 hours later my bag arrived. Now here’s the thing. It took 5 hours for them to get the bags from T1 to T2.
I swam a half mile, biked 12.4 miles, and ran another 3.1, then sat for another 2.5 hours and my bag still couldn’t get the 8 miles from Boulder Beach.
Every single sprint athlete finished the race before the bags! Actually, I’m not complaining, it’s really kind of funny.
Sadly enough, when the bags did arrive, close to 200 sprint and olympic distance athletes stood in line at bag pick-up while 2 volunteers ran bags from the truck to the drop off.
At about the same time, myself and a couple or other athletes went to help. As we ran bags back and forth, the comment was made if everyone just pitched in and grabbed 3 or 4 bags we’d be done in no time.
Once the bags were unloaded, I gathered up my belongings and realized I needed to get back to the jeep at T1.
I strapped on my helmet and bike shoes, and loaded my small backpack..
At this time I realized how happy I was that I didn’t wear a wetsuit. With my sweatshirt from the AM wrapped around my neck, I’m not sure where my wetsuit would have fit.
Not sure I was ready for another 8 mile bike, I set out to Boulder Beach.
An 8 mile ride that took an hour on the up, took a mere 25 minutes on the way back, and I didn’t even pedal. In fact I rode my brakes for quite a bit. It was a great way to stretch out and relax.
Most of my triathlete friends around the country are viewing this time of year as the end of their season, the beginning of off season. My greatest learning this year is that winter is to be “training season” summer is off season.
The 2012 “A” goal. Vineman 70.3 July 15th
