This weekend was the first of three triathlons in the Boulder Tri Series. This was the first year that Ironman bought the races and there were quite a few complaints heard. At packet pickup, there were two lines snaking through the expo. Nobody told you which line to get into first and most people waited over an hour to pick up their race number and free goodies. The t-shirt was less than impressive so people weren't happy about the free things they received. It looks like most other race shirts, I could care less. It was pretty nice going to an expo and not working it although it made me realize how much I love the athletic industry.
Race day came around and I was excited to test myself. After my last sprint triathlon where I averaged 6:27 per mile and the Bolder boulder 10k where I ran 6:24 per mile, I was ready to see where my fitness was now.
Mark is a great coach and having him show his support at these races has been great. It must be tough not being able to race, but he is still so enthusiastic about his athletes.
My swim went well and I was top 10 out of the water for my age group. I had the 55th fastest swim time out of 1600. Out on the bike everything was going to plan for the first mile. Then my front tube exploded. Not a slow leak, but a big bang and then it was flat. I pulled over (swearing loudly) and tried to use my pit stop to plug the leak. Foam was spilling out of my tire and I knew I was screwed. I was determined not to quit. I started walking the bike course thinking of CAF athletes and Rutger Beke. About 3 miles into it an official on a motorcycle informed me that the bike course was almost 18 miles long. I turned around and walked back to transition. After 6 miles of walking barefoot on the road I was close to limping as I hit T2. I ran a 20:37 5k making my pace being 6:39.
I was disappointed with the whole day. After resting today however (and not catching any fish) I am eager to get back to training and kick butt at the Olympic distance race next month.
No comments:
Post a Comment