Yes, I Do Race & Not Just Train

"Every paper that you read
  Says tomorrow is your lucky day
  Well, here's your lucky day"
The Universal by Blur

Nothing funny (in regards to commentary) this week but I do get to bore you with a race report! Believe it or not, I do that racing thing once in a while and not just train for the sake of training! 

At least for you, a race report has the potential (maybe, just maybe) to be a little more entertaining than me going on about the countless miles of training I put in during a week, a mileage total that most people don't even drive in a week......

Today started long before the ass crack of dawn.....My alarm went off at 4am! You read the right.....4am! And before you even ask, YES, I often wonder why I do this to myself when in entails getting up at such an ungodly hour.......I guess deep down I like punishing myself.

After loading the car with my bike and essential gear, I headed off to Lehighton, PA (about 90 minute drive) for my 1st triathlon of the 2015 race season. I was on my way to compete in the Black Bear Sprint Triathlon which consisted of a 750 meter swim, 18 mile bike and 5K run. It was one of three races (Olympic and Half also) but I was so glad I chose the Sprint Tri given the warm and muggy conditions this morning. 

Swim - 750 Meters - 72 degree water
By my standards, the swim went very well. Over the past few months, I have been working harder on my technique and workouts in the pool and today felt like it paid off a little. Of course that could have been the wet suit and the extra buoyancy! Prior to the start, I actually debated whether or not to use the wetsuit as 72 degrees is really not that cold.

Swim time - 12:51 (22nd of 223 triathletes)
T1 - 2:15 (not bad for wrestling out of wetsuit and running close to 100 yards to timing mats)

Bike - 18 miles of HILLS!!
I kid you not about the hills! Over this 18 mile course, there was a total of 1532 feet of climbing including two Cat 4 climbs by Strava standards......WTF!!!!! I had been told it was a hilly course by several people but there is no way I expected this. I was also stupid in that I never even looked at the profile of the course to kind of know where I might run into some of these hills. While it may have been one of the toughest bike course I have encountered during a sprint triathlon, I have to admit, I did enjoy it in some sick way, I guess. I quickly passed a bunch of people in the first 8-10 miles moving myself into the top ten but I was more frustrated I could not draw closer to some of the leaders.....Climbing legs not quite where I thought they were. (Work to be done still)

Bike time - 18 miles/ 1532 feet - 54:09/19.9 MPH (8th of 223 triathletes)
T 2 - 1:28 (a little slow)

Run - 3.1 Miles (Mostly trail running)
Surprisingly, my legs felt great coming off the hilly bike! Like the bike, the 1st mile of the bike was hilly as we climbed away from transition along the trail. It was easily my slowest mile on the run. Once the ground leveled off, my legs felt incredibly strong and as I left the woods, I could finally see some runners ahead of me. I was finally starting to see some targets but  I had just under half of the race to reel them in!  In the 3rd mile, I started to really believe I might be able to catch one or two of them and slowly they kept coming back to me. At the same time, unfortunately, the finish line was getting closer to them and not leaving me much time. Needless to say......I ran out of ground & time to run them down abut still moved within 6 seconds of moving up one spot.....

Run Time - 20:27/6:36 per mile (5th of 223 triathletes)
Overall - 1:31:12 -8th Overall/ 2nd Age Group (45-49)

Training continues to go well and with today's result, I am excited for the remainder of the season. Not much of my schedule is set beyond this weekend but I am thinking of racing next weekend (another sprint tri) and then start focusing on a half-ironman distance race in August and potentially an Ironman distance race in the fall to late fall. My training numbers will increase drastically when this plan starts! (More boring post for you ahead!!!)

30 Week Training Totals

Bike - 4147 miles/ 196.74 hours/ 21.07 mph

Run - 694 miles/ 92.22 hours/ 7:58 per mile

Swim - 60 miles/ 28.98 hours

Total - 4901 miles/ 317.94 hours

Per Week - 163.37 miles/ 10.60 hours

So the journey continues...........

"But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
  We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights."
"The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" - Frank Turner

That close to 7th overall