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Jozsef Major, Kevin Taddonio, Lauren Goss, Me, Kristi Johnson |
The gun went off and the frenzy started. It all happened so fast and before I knew it I was in the chase pack of about 6. Then the guy in front of me got dropped and I was relegated to swimming behind his feet for the rest of the swim. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't shake me and I would get a free tow all the way to T1.
Overall I was never really in any difficulty in this slightly long swim, but I was concerned when a few age-groupers in wetsuits came flying by. In addition, I had a cramping left calve muscle and I was worried that the push-up and hop-out type of exit this race had would cause a full lock-up. Fortunately upon exit the calf was fine and I made quick work of transition.
Bike (2:15:15): That bike course is 3-loop course on mostly flat roads that are in good shape but has over 50 turns to slow things down a bit. The stagger rule was in effect, but apparently the international athletes didn't get the memo.
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Lap 2 - A little bit better lean |
Overall to stay apart of the race I had to knock up my power a bit from the typical age-group race. I rode right at 270-280 watts which is a pretty good number for someone 5'8 and 153 on race day. I was slightly concerned that the power would come back to haunt me in the blast furance of the run but I knew I had to stay in the race and that is what it took.
The bike was chaotic in loops 2 and 3 as we merged with the age-groupers. The stagger rule was a real downer as I am accustom to sling-shooting around age-groupers using their slip-stream. Overall, the bike was pretty smooth but I got rocked on the turns and would lose 2-3 seconds on each one. This is definitely a place that I need to work on improving, but regardless I was happy to roll back into transition in 6th place.

I came thru loop one and was feeling pretty good and decided to try to surge and catch 5th but it wasn't meant to be. At the turnaround on a lap two I was still about 1:10 down with only about 2.5 miles to go. I still tried to close the gap but couldn't do it and I came across the finish in 6th place.
Overall (4:10:22): I wasn't sure what to expect, but I couldn't be happier with the result. I am all about slow-and-steady progress and the race helped to validate my training methods.
Despite the long season, mentally my mind is fresh and I don't want the season to end. Physically my body keeps get stronger and faster and I know I still have a lot of potential for good racing in 2011. As of right now I am trying to get in Ironman Arizona but look for me at Amica 19.7 Phoenix in less than 2 weeks for sure. I will also be racing a local Tucson triathlon this weekend as a fast training day in preparation for Amica.

I also want to thank Dana, Bill, Austin, and Logan Jones for homestaying me for the event.
If you haven't got a chance don't forget to pre-order your Garmin Forerunner 910XT GPS watch - would make a great Christmas gift for someone special.
Congrats Thomas! Sounds like a hell of a first race with the card!
ReplyDeleteGood report Thomas, and good race for a first try with pro card.
ReplyDeleteCongrats from Spain.