Faster As A Master - Hell Yeah!!!

"Poor man wanna be rich
  Rich man wanna be king
  And a king ain't satisfied
  Till he rules everything"

Badlands by The Boss

It took 21 years but it finally happened......My first overall victory in a triathlon!

Now I have won races before but only running races or duathlons. I guess it goes to say that if you stick with something long enough something good has to happen. I just find it funny that it finally happened at age 44 in my last race of the season before I bumped up to 45-49 age group next year. Damn I am getting old!!!

Today I competed at the Quakerman Olympic Plus Triathlon. The distances in the race were .6 mile swim/ 39.6 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. They are kind of odd distance given the short swim but it made for a fun race. The weather was ideal in that it was cooler and sunny but at times on the bike there was a good wind in the open farms.

Swim - .6 mile in 17:05
Water temperature was announced at 71 degrees so like everyone else I decided to go with a wetsuit. I will admit it probably was not needed as the water felt warmer than the 71 degrees that was announced. I figured with the longer bike and run compared to the swim I would go with the wetsuit. I would have plenty of time to catch the fish out of water even if I wrestled a little with the wetsuit in transition. The swim was uneventful and a little slower than I wanted but overall I was pleased with it. For me it is always just survive the swim with a decent time.

T1 - 1:32 - not bad even with wetsuit!

Bike - 39.6 Miles - 2119 ft of climbing - 1:49:23 (21.8mph) - Fastest bike split of day
Bike course
I knew the bike was going to be challenging looking at previous results. Looking at a profile on line I knew there would a good amount of up and down throughout the ride. Going in I figured I would get out on the first loop and see how long I could stay in the big chain ring. I was pleasantly surprised that given the climbs and some wind I was out of my big ring for maybe 2 miles of the entire bike. As I got ready to enter back in to the park for transition, I was not sure how much I had moved up but I knew it was a good ride. I entered into transition with another competitor and they announced that the first two competitors of the Olympic Plus Race just entered transition. Initially I thought... "Where did everyone go?"

T2 - :31 - getting the hang of it again

Run - 6.2 Miles - 40:54 - 6:36 per mile - Fastest run split of day
I left transition about 5-6 seconds behind the other guy I entered the transition area after the bike. I would say with the first 200-300 meters I ran by him and he said this is all yours. I have to say it was a weird feeling for me to be in the front and know it in a triathlon. I had know idea if any one had entered transition yet. I just focused on running a steady pace over the hilly course. As the day warmed up, it was nice that there was a good amount of shade on the run course. I pretty much stayed between 6:30-40 per mile for the entire run and finished as strong as I felt in the first mile.

It was a great feeling to cross the finish line first but in mind today all it did was set the tone for what will be a huge 2014. That is the reason for the music choice this week. The highlighted lyrics say it. As satisfying as it was to win, I will be most happy and satisfied when I get back Kona in 2014! Trust me though I have been enjoying the victory with my Samuel Adams Octoberfest!

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 5 rides/ 160 miles/ 7.55 hours/ 21.2 mph
Run - 4 runs/ 28.5 miles/ 3.27 hours/ 6:53 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 2.25 miles/ 1.07 hours
Total - 12 workouts/ 190.75 miles/ 11.89 hours

2013
Bike - 182 rides/ 5898 miles/ 273.21 hours/ 21.6 mph
Run - 126 runs/ 803.5 miles/ 98.65 hours/ 7:22 per mile
Swim - 108 swims/ 103.25 miles/ 51.06 hours
Total - 416 workouts/ 6804.75 miles/ 422.82 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 4-5 rides/ 150-170 miles
Run - 3-4 runs/ 25-30 miles
Swim - 3 swims/ 2.5-3 miles

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I am on?

I am on my bike 7-8 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-2 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery!

That's what I am on!

Kona 2014! (The work begins)