SGTRI 2011

Traveled down to the SGTRI for the weekend with my brother and one of his friends. Most of the winter I focused my attention on my bike. I purchased a T bike from a friend last September and from what I can tell most of the great racers and cyclists in Utah spend a great deal of time sitting on their bikes during the winter. So, I bought a trainer in November and the rest is history. The biggest hang up I have is understanding how to get better at triathlons. I bust myself up 6 days a week and figured the harder I worked the more results I would see. So, when the race went down on Saturday and I raced 3:00 minutes slower then in 2010 I started to wonder if I know what I am doing in the gym.

The day was beautiful. Sand Hollow was clear and smooth and although it was chilly the day could not have gone better. Work up around 6:00 and put ate a Perfect Foods Bar, water and a banana. We planned on being to the course around 7:30 to set up for the 8:30 start. Graham and his buddy were excited because this was their second triathlon and their first race in almost 2 years. I was calm and not to worried about performing. Jameson wasn’t racing with me, and he is always a great competitor who pushes me a little harder then I would “normally” go. But, I was jacked up to see the fruits of my winter labors. I

Race seemed fast. Took the first lap at an easy pace in hopes of calming my heart rate down a little and getting into a faster groove for the second lap. When I turned to corner for the second lap I started to push my stroke a little harder and move through the crowd. It was then that I realized I had taken the first lap too slow and found myself in the middle of some really bad swimmers. I pushed the last 600m hard and finished the mile swim in 31:33. I was fresh coming out of the water, dizzy, but ready to crush the bike. I am not trying to win this thing, but I had hoped to place in my age group.

T1 was slow. I was so dizzy, more then normal, and it took me forever to get all my shiz together and get out. BHarris was right behind me out of the water. B Harris is one of my good friends from AZ who traveled from Vegas on Friday night – raced – the got in his card and drove back to Vegas. He rocked his first Oly Tri. I moved quick on the bike, pushing my legs and heart. I averaged a HR of 170 on the bike and 175 on the run. So, I was working my body hard which makes me somewhat disappointed in the results. I don’t know if I could have pushed things harder with out a major blow-up. Bike felt strong. Passed guys the whole way and ended up finishing the bike in 1:01;13 (5 seconds slower then 2010).

My hamstrings were tight coming off the bike and my injured right calf gave me grief all day. It started getting tight on the second lap of the swim and once I got running it was in full blown pain. Suffered through it, and after about a mile of the run I found a pace that I felt would carry me to the finish line, but then dudes started passing me and I got worked up. I’m not going to win this race, but having guys in full body compression suits passed me was not going to happen. So, at the turn around I picked up my pace to around 7:30 miles and finished the last mile or so at a 7:15 pace. Finished the run in 50:37 (8:10 pace) :34 seconds slower then last years 10k run.

Overall, I was hoping for a better time, and thought I had worked for that time, but hope and work won’t carry me. I have to be doing the right things to get better. It was a “fun” race that I enjoyed doing. I saw a buddy running the sprint a couple time and yelled at him – enjoyable. I also saw Nate Stevens on the bike a couple times and yelled “Ranger Pride” at him a few times. I enjoy competing and testing my heart and body against other racers. I am in awe at the dudes that compete and win these races. I was great to be with Graham and watch the fire of competition in his eyes. I think I am going to have to come back in September for the Kokopelli.