It's not always easy for Gennifer and the boys to come watch me race, so it is always a special treat when they do. They made it out to my International Triathlon today, which as a race was also a very good outing for me.
A short race report - Intro
The Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy, our local summer race series, will have a special place in my heart as the "place it all began" for me in 2011. I have now raced 19 total triathlons, but my first was Father's Day 2011, the Sprint version of Triathlon Trilogy, Part I. That year, they were all held next to Miami Marine Stadium. Last year, they were held on Crandon Park. Because everything is all messed up on Key Biscayne (long story), it has moved yet again to Virginia Key Beach, so it has been basically a new series each year.
Pre-Race. Packet Pickup on Saturday was smooth. I got in early right after my morning run and it was not crowded at all. I did my typical pre-race checklist (written), and packed. Got up pre dawn and was over there just after 5 am, early enough to park, set up and warm up before my 6:45 start. Of note: as soon as I opened the door of my car, I was a breakfast buffet to every mosquito on the Key. If you are reading this and doing Part III or the Bonus Round - apply bug spray!. Oddly when the sun came up, I didn't notice them any more. I'm no entomologist, so I don't know what that is - vampire mosquitos? Otherwise, getting marked, getting my chip and setting up transition went fine. I rode 10 minutes, ran 10 minutes, then went down to the water and swam 10 minutes.
Swim: the swim went fine. it was in the bay parallel to the shore of the Key, around 3 buoys. Typical mosh pit for about 2 minutes, then I found my clear water and just knocked it out.
Bike: the bike course is four five mile loops with about four hairpin U turns. I quickly learned that if you want overall speed there is one very long straightaway and that's where you have to do it - put the bike in a big gear and a high cadence and go nuts, because in U turn land, you are always slowing down just as you get up to speed. The Marine Stadium and Crandon courses included several bridge repeats that would slow you down, this year it was U turns. Anyway, very happy with my bike, under an hour split with 21mph and change!
Run: All through the old historical park, 10K in two 5K loops. My Team Hammerhead buddies were there at the turnaround to douse me with water each time I went around and egg me on to run faster! I was glad after a hard 20 mile bike at a good hard clip to run 9:30s in the 10K.
Overall. PR by eleven minutes at this distance! 7 of 16 in my age group! In the early days of this amateur racing craze I'm on, I'd PR every other time. As I get fitter, and my goals and priorities have changed (less races, more long distance getting ready for Ironman Florida), they don't come as often. Today was sweet for that reason. My last PR at any distance was my fourth Half Iron- Ironman 70.3 Miami on October 28, 2012 (my 6:34 finish beat my PR by just one minute). It's been a while, and I love how it feels.
#IronManTraining I did not really need to do this race; it is a father's day thing, a nod to my first triathlon, a chance to go fast, but my priority is and has been for a while Ironman Training. Thus, I did not taper for this, it is not an A race, and I am not going to take much if any time to recover - just train right through it. In fact, the day before the race I ran 15 miles in searing heat and humidity, normally not advised. But this race was going to just be a "timed workout" let the chips fall where they may. I had no expectations of PRing or even doing that well. I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find that not only did I have bike legs and run legs, but I stayed within myself the whole time too, didn't really redline it or risk injury. It is said that "quantity has a quality all its own" - applied here it means that though my training has been mostly aerobic (slower) speed training in large volumes - guess what? That makes you faster. In running, the same thing happened, the week after my first marathon in 2011, I destroyed my 5K PR and continued to better it all year, with very little speedwork. Long slow distance above 5K made me faster at that distance.
Post Race Recovery - backyard BBQ with family friends made for great post race recovery. Playing in the pool with the kids cooled off the legs, lots of protein carbs and hydration, then I napped for hours in a cool airconditioned bedroom like a madman while my wife caught up on all the gossip with high school friends she had not seen in years.
In closing - I've dropped well over 10 pounds since this started, three this week alone, and I am not dieting! Which led me to the following thought - apologies to Jeff Foxworthy: "If you eat everything that isn't nailed down, and you're still dropping weight more than you ever have, you might be #ironmantraining!"
Thanks for your attention! Adelante!
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