So, for the 3rd year in a row I participated in St. Anthony's Triathlon, and visited my mom and stepdad. This year, something new, Jackie came with, which made the trip even better.
We got there Wed night, Thursday we hungout around my mom's retirement community, and Friday I went for a short bike ride (Shipped bike through UPS from Gear West, shipping UPS was a great idea. More expensive to ship from UPS store in FL to MN, but still great idea) in the morning and then we went to St. Augustine and hungout for the day. We checked out the fort and the shops in St. Augustine. It was a good day.
On Saturday we all drove down to St. Petersburg and I got my registration stuff and put the bike in transition. Getting registration done at St. Anthony's is fast and easy. They have a great system and putting the bike in the night before works awesome. After putting the bike in, we went to the hotel and relaxed, out for dinner, and then back to the hotel to shave and go to sleep.
I was up on Sunday before 4AM. I had a banana, water, some Gatorade, a Clif Bar (the blueberry crunch), and a granola bar. Got packed up and headed to the race site.
Went to the bike and setup my transition area, pictured. By the time I was setup and out of transition I still had over an hour until race time. Which is fine by me.
I hung out with my Jackie, my mom, and stepdad for a bit. I got nervous about my transition area so I went back in and checked my gear to make sure everything was ok, which it was. I came out and got some sunblock put on and made the long walk to the start line. It takes about 20 minutes or so to walk from the transition area to the start line. Too much time to think.
On the way there, David Thompson ran by me and as he did tapped me on the shoulder and wished me luck. I was kind of "in my head" as he did it. I gave him one back after I woke up, and he had quickly jogged past me.
At the beach/starting area, I got my wetsuit on and went in the water for a little swim. Came out, wandered around, and went for a little swim. I watched the pros start and then headed to the entrance of the start. My plan was to stick towards the back of the swim start and then work my way up during the swim. I wanted to be on the outside and I thought I was near the outside at the start, until the gun went off and I started swimming. I looked up to find myself headed straight for the first buoy. Going along the pier the water was calm, except for all the traffic I stuck myself in. I basically swam right along the buoys the whole race, this was unintentional and I am still not sure if it was good or not. After the first turn, past the end of the pier, the water was choppy and coming from behind. I swallowed some water, but nothing I could not deal with. After the first turn, going parallel to shore, the traffic also died out and made swimming in the chop easier. Coming around the last turn to shore, the water got even worse, and the traffic did also. Now the chop was coming from the back and left and people from previous waves were in the mix. The chop was heavy coming back into the swim finish. I felt like I was boxing rather than swimming. At no time did I stop swimming or go to a different stroke. In the end, I was faster than two years ago when the water was much, much calmer. I guess I am getting my swimming down.
Transition was kind of slow. To be expected for the first transition of the year. My biggest issue is socks and that I am still not confident enough to get on the bike with shoes on pedals already. So, I put on socks and shoes and run out, stop, get on bike, and go.
The bike course is fairly flat and the traffic was not too bad. The wind was terrible. It seemed to be switching directions and battering. I went out the first 5 miles kind of easy and then picked it up. The last 5-6 miles were primarily a tailwind, but I felt almost cashed by the end. Also, about 5 miles in my right arm pad fell off my aerobars, this made for an uncomfortable race. I had switch arm position to keep my right forearm from getting to sore or cramped.
My only goal for the run was to finish. I was so worried about the left leg, I felt like I was running on a piece of china. I started off at an easy jog and picked up to a light run. I felt no pain in the leg during the run. What a huge relief! I had pain elsewhere during the run, calves, quads, and some cramps in my right abdoment. At each water stop I took a little and poured a lot over my head and back. Not that hot outside, but pretty humid. First hard bike and then run had a definite affect on me. I made it through the run in less than an hour with no walking, this was much better than expected.
I think I got through the hardest race of the year ok. I was very happy with the day. The only real disappoint was the bike, I really wanted to go over 21MPH. I think I needed to attack more and I did not. Oh well, there will be plenty more races this year. Below are my times for this year and previous years at this race. I am really pumped for the rest of the races this year.
2010 St. Anthony's Times
Swim (1.5K) = 29:36 (1:49 /100yds)
T1 = 3:12
Bike (40K) = 75:10 (19.8MPH)
T2 = 2:27
Run (10K) = 58:33 (9:27 /mi)
Total = 2:48:56
Overall = 1264/3192
Age Group = 156/287
2009 St. Anthony's Times
Swim = NA, cancelled due to roughness
T1 = NA
Bike = 70:43 (21.1MPH)
T2 = NA
Run = DNF
Total = DNF due to stress fracture
2008 St. Anthony's Times
Swim = 30:58 (1:53 /100yds)
T1 = 3:38
Bike = 71:48 (20.8MPH)
T2 = 3:42, crashed bike coming into T2
Run = 52:54 (8:31 /mi)
Total = 2:42:57
Overall = 1258/3350
Age Group = 121/231
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