Clear Lake, TX - August 25, 2012
1.5k Swim, 46k Bike, 10k Run.
31:29 Swim (2:06 / 100 M)
0:40 T1
1:15:07 Bike (22.8 MPH)
1:37 T2
56:14 (9:04 min/Mi)
Total 2:45:07
2nd in Clydesdale Masters
My first time racing Clear Lake. The weather cooperated, as we barely saw any sun during the race.
I wish i had brought something with me to drink in the morning. At least water or Gatorade. I was really thirsty even before the race started.
The swim was not nice. The water was awful. We swim in the marina. The water is full of diesel, gas, and waste. As soon as we entered the water, you could smell sewer!
The course was a very narrow long rectangle, and the waves had way to many people. Thus, it took me about 500-600 mtrs to find some open water.
Since i have not been swimming regularly since IMTX, and not at all in almost 2 months, the swim took a lot out of me. By the end, i was pretty tired.
T1 went fine. I went through it pretty quickly. Very thirsty still. Got on the bike and noticed i was still very tired. It took me a while just to get my shoes on. It took me about 3-4 miles before i could get myself together, and get above 20 MPH. Slowly i began to feel better and better, and got on a groove. The bridge wasnt easy.
The second loop went a lot better. I averaged over 2 MPH faster than the first. I felt great and was flying. However, another mistake: I didnt pay attention to the 28 Mi course, and only had 1 bottle of Infinit. It was definitely not enough. I ran out of liquid with about 9 Mi to go. At the end of the bike, i was extremely thirsty.
Got to T2 by doing the moving dismount. Put my socks and shoes, and went on looking for an aid station. Unfortunately, there wasnt one just outside T2, so i struggled till mile 1. For the next 4 aid stations, i had to walk through them while drinking 3-4 glasses of water/gatorade, to try to get my liquids back on track. First time i ever did that on a short race.
My run felt somewhat the same as all other of this distance. I was tired, but kept somewhat steady at a pace i am not so excited about. I guess it could be worse, given all the troubles i had during the race. At the end, i finished second by 12 seconds !!! I did learn a great lesson today. The guy who beat me, made a point to remember me from the beginning, as we were setting up. He kept looking for me during the run (since it was 3 loops). Once he found me, he had a target and was able to pass me right at the end of the race. I, on the other hand, had no idea. Of course, had i known who he was, had i known he was in my division, and had i seen him on the course, especially as he was closing in on me at the end, i would have not let him pass me. Next time, make sure to look around at your competition !!!