Race Report: Getting There

"Big wheels roll through fields
  Where sunlight streams
  Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams"

I know a re-post of the song but it is different live version. Something about the lyrics and the musical arrangements that just keep me motivated to dream big!

Like every morning of a triathlon I am about to race, my initial thought when the alarm goes off is......

Why do I continue to do this at such an f*#king early hour??????

I am sure we have all been there and had to resist that urge to hit the snooze button. This morning it was a 4:45AM wake-up call as I was competing in the Keystone Sprint Triathlon in Lewisberry, PA. The early wake-up was due to the fact, I had to drive just over an hour for a 8:00AM start. This is a race I had competed in last year so it was a great chance to see how much my training has been working the past year. The distances for this race were .5 mile swim, 18.2 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I will never get why anything that long would be considered a sprint???

Well with car loaded and coffee in hand I hit the road at 5:15AM, let the fun begin!

Swim - .5 mile - 12:45 (includes 50 yard run to transition area)
The water temperature this morning was announced at 74 degrees. It was wet suit legal but I decided to opt out of the wetsuit. I figured in a half mile swim any advantage I may have gained from it would be lost as I wrestled my way out of it. My race started shortly after the Olympic Distance race started. Something that has never made any sense to me since the Olympic Distance had to complete two loops. Oh well! I was not sure what to expect today as I felt sluggish during my swim workouts during the week. After the siren, I just focused on getting into a strong steady rhythm and staying out of the crowd. I felt good the entire way except for the brief moment I had to breaststroke a little and get my breath back after swallowing some water when I attempted to breath before my head was clear...Oops! Overall I am very happy with the swim.

T1 - 1:17 - Finally not taking me forever to get one the bike.

Bike - 18.2 miles with 1203 feet of climbing in 51:00/ 21.5mph
Keystone Bike Course
The bike is a challenging 2 loop course that climbs a total of 1203 feet. It is a continuous roller coaster as you seem to be either going up or down a hill. There are not many flat sections of the course. My focus was to bike faster than last year which I accomplished by 40 seconds. I probably could have dropped another 15-20 seconds by hammering a bigger gear but who knows where that would have left my legs for the run. I was pretty steady as my two loops were almost equal in time. My time of 51:00 was the 2nd fastest bike split of the day. Now, I did see something that I will go on my list of triathlon rules. Even though I was flying around the bike course I notice one guy who had his race number from an old Ironman race still on his bike....Are you serious? Just go out and do what most triathletes do...get an M dot tattoo!

T2 - 48 seconds - Not too shabby!

Run - 3.1 mile trail run in 19:48/ 6:23 per mile
Starting the run, my legs felt strong and I instantly thought maybe I could have pushed the bike more. That thought quickly went away as I reminded myself....Self there was only one other bike in transition enjoy the rest of the race. Now I was not sure how far out in front 1st place was but I figured I would try to run a steady pace and see if I find anyone out there. Well I did find the leader but unfortunately I was heading up a hill and he was on his way back with just over a mile to go. I was probably about 3/4 of a mile behind him. At that point I just focused on maintaining this pace and finishing strong. I finished just 20 seconds off my time from last year on the run but I was 4 minutes clear of 3rd place. My run time was the 2nd fastest run of the day. There is also something about a trail run that makes a run at the end of a triathlon not so painful!

Overall I was very pleased with my race. I finished with a time 1:25:38 which was 2 minutes 40 seconds faster than last year, so I accomplished my main goal. I finished 2nd overall and 1st in my age group. Still some work to do! I have to tip my hat to the winner as he hammered that course and kicked my ass! I hope to get one more race before starting to put all my focus on 2014. I have already prepared myself mentally for what will be an intense training phase as I prepare to take attempt(s) at qualifying for Kona.

Beer time!