A Very Good Weekend

For the Fall Tri team I had also signed up to do the Treasure Island International distance tri. TI was one week after I did the 1/2 IM in Phoenix. I was feeling pretty full of myself when I signed up for TI.

As I woke up at 5 am on Saturday morning I was thinking to myself - I could be at home warm and snuggly next to Karen in my own bed. When I set up my transition area I was thinking I could at home having a latte trying to decide which football game to watch. I started wishing I hadn't signed up for TI.

The water temp was about as good as it gets at Treasure Island - about 60 degrees. Actually pretty comfortable with a wetsuit. None of that painful numbness in the feet or hands. I thought I would swim about a 30-35 and ended up at 33. Out of the water and into T1 feeling pretty good after wishing I hadn't signed up at all.

The bike route at TI is just downright pathetic. Lots of 90 degree turns and the most uneven pavement of any triathlon anywhere - small potholes, large bumps that extend all the way across the lane and uneven areas where someone tried to patch the holes. I decided I would just take it easy, push it when I could and try to stay upright. Some of the turns got congested but overall most folks were looking out for each other. I was hoping to ride about a 1:15 and ended up at 1:18 averaging 18.9 mph. Best of all - no flats, no falls.

Off to the run. As I got into T2 I looked at my watch and saw that with an hour run I'd be right at about 3 hours which was my goal time. After my run in Phoenix at a 9:41 pace, I was thinking I could do this if my quads behaved. I went out at an easy pace trying to run a negative split. The quads were feeling fine so I tried to pick up my pace a bit. I was about at 14 minutes to the turn around and was pleased with that time. It meant if I could keep it up I'd run about a 52 minute 10k.

There were lots of TNT folks at TI since this was their main race. I heard my name called out and gots lots of support from my team mates and coaches. When I reached the turn around on my second loop I looked at my watch and saw I'd be well under an hour so I picked it up a bit more. I was feeling very strong and the quads weren't bothering me. Finished the run at 49:46 for an 8:01 pace. I was really happy with that pace after doing a 9:41 pace last week.

My overall goal was to be under 3 hours - I ended up at 2:47:54 good for 10th in my age group out of 25.

I felt great about my finish and realized that I'm a pretty average triathlete. I tend to never be in the top finishers but the I'm not in the bottom either.

Today's Ironteam workout was a recovery day and everyone is looking better and better. I felt so good I went out to Rancho to get some more miles and mountain points for the Rancho 500. Did 13 miles with lots of hills and no quads acting up.

All in all - a very good weekend.