This was my last triathlon of the year, it was also my last chance to go under 2.5 hours for an Olympic distance triathlon. Going under 2.5 hours was one of my goals for the year. This day did not go as planned. That being said, the weather was beautiful, Jackie came to watch, and at the finish line her brother's family was there to cheer me on along with a couple friends. That being said, a disappointing finish to the triathlon was a very good day overall.
The weather was great, similar to last weekend at Maple Grove, except it was a sunny day yesterday. Cool to start with low humidity for the whole race. It was a little windy on the bike course and run course, which made it feel cool.
I got there plenty early, picked up my packet easily, got body marked easily, and setup in transition with no issue. Everything went smoothly, pretty much as usual. Jackie napped in the car before the race started. I did a short warm-up on the bike to make sure it was ok, and I was ok. My legs did not feel very fatiged, everything felt ok. That feeling would change.
The race started about 10 minutes late, announcements took a little while longer than expected, I think, and then the National Anthem. The swim is two loops. Calm water The only real issue with the swim is that when coming back towards shore the sun is right in your eyes. Hard to see bouys. I did not have too much trouble. Jackie said she saw a lot of people swimming off course. I did not feel too bad on the swim, no worse than last week. I was 4 out of 12 in my AG, so I came out of the water pretty good. The only thing that is odd is that last year I had a mild panic attack on the swim, ended up treading water for abit, and my time last year was faster! I don't know why it was slower this year by about 30 seconds.
The run up to T1 is up a staircase and a short run to my bike. I had a pretty fast T1. Almost immediately out on the bike I could feel my legs not working well. I would say this course has more, and steeper hills than Maple Grove, and the road surface can be a little crappy at times. The whole course my legs just felt like crap. Just heavy and not wanting to go. My, time/average speed definitely reflects this feeling. It was one of my slowest times of the year, next to Brewhouse. I must not have recovered well from Maple Grove. Last year I did St. Croix after Maple Grove and I had a pretty good race. Not sure what did it to me this year.
Even before I got off the bike I was worried because my legs felt so crappy. I got off and started running, my legs were not doing well. My time through the first two miles was not that bad, but I did not think I could hold it. There is one short steep up hill, some false flats, and some longer uphills on this course and I could tell it would be tough based on the feeling in my legs. I ended up walking 3 times on the course. That is the most I have ever walked on a Olympic distance course. I walked on one hill, and at two water stops. I just could not get my legs to go. I wasn't really winded, my legs were just really tired. It was my slowest run of the year.
I had a nice surprise at the finish line, besides Jackie cheering me on, her brother's family was there, along with a college buddy, who is also Jackie's brother's brother-in-law, along with his wife and daughter. Once I got packed up, we went to the Kozy Korner Bar in North Hudson for some good pizza.
I am not sure what failed me. I have done many back-to-back weekends in my short triathlon career and this is one of the biggest fails I have had. Was it just that I raced a lot this year, not trained enough, and it caught up with me? Hard to say. Maybe I was just tired. I know I should not be concerned with my time, but if I had gone the same time as last year, or similar time to Maple Grove, adjusted for bike distance, I would have placed in my AG at St. Croix Valley this year. Also, it would have been great to go under 2.5 hours of an Oly this year. Oh well, there will be more races. In two weeks I have the Dousman Duathlon, which will be my final multi-sport race of the year. Hopefully, I can get a good combination of rest and workout to get a good performance in the last race.
Again, upon reflection, I am happy that the weather was great, that I could compete, and that I had friends and family to cheer me on.
Soon I will post my triathlon results total for this year and comparison to previous years.
I did the St. Croix sprint in 2009. I am not going to put the results below because I walked the run. I was recovering from my stress fracture.
2012 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:29 (1:48/100 yards)
T1 = 1:48
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:14:56 (19.9 MPH)
T2 = 0:58
Run (6.2 mi) = 58:01 (9:21/mi)
Total = 2:45:09
Overall = 57/108
AG = 6/12 (Normal 35-39 AG)
Pace = 5:11/mi
2011 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:00 (1:46/100 yards)
T1 = 2:22
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:31 (21.1 MPH)
T2 = 0:51
Run (6.2 mi) = 49:36 (7:59/mi)
Total = 2:32:17
Overall = 40/103
AG = 12/19 (AG 30 -39)
Pace = 5:11/mi
2010 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 28:12 (1:43/100 yards)
T1 = 1:41
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:49 (21 MPH)
T2 = 1:31
Run (6.2 mi) = 48:49 (7:51/mi)
Total = 2:31:00
Overall = 26/103
AG = 6/14 (AG 30-39)
Pace = 4:44/mi
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