Galveston, TX - April 1, 2012
38:55 Swim (2:01 / 100 M)
3:12 T1
3:14:18 (17.29 MPH)
2:58 T2
2:38:09 (12:04 min/Mi)
Total 6:37:32
What can I say? One of the most interesting races I have ever done, for sure. I had not trained at all since the Houston Marathon, in January. I was traveling pretty much the entire 4 months of 2012, spending a lot of time in Brazil, where I indulged myself in the local cuisine :) All in all, I finally got back to the US in the beginning of April, weighing 20 extra pounds, and having pretty much lost all my base. Not to mention that I havent had my tri bike since January, as LOOK is giving me a brand new 2012 frame in exchange for my 2009 but they dont have any inventory until the middle of May.
With all that in mind, I still decided to sign up for this race, 4 days before. I was very realistic with my situation and what I could and could not do at the race. But my ultimate goal was a long cardio training day, for IMTX (just 7 weeks away).
Things did not start really well, when I attempted to put on my wetsuit and realized it was really tight ! I almost didnt fit into it :(
The swim went ok. I had not been in the water since IMCZ in November, so my arms were really weak. But I maintained a slow, but steady effort throughout. I am not sure why, but I swallowed more water in this race than any race put together... I must say I was surprised at my time. I thought I would have done worse.
The bike is where the pain was. I had to race on my road bike. Not only that, I had just completely changed my fit on this bike on the Monday before the race, and did not have a chance to even ride it outside until the race itself.
The wind was real tough for the first part, and with this new fit, my entire body was sore, from my knees, to my back, and my privates... everything hurt. I also couldnt really stay down on the bars. So it made for a really difficult ride.
The second half was a bit easier as the wind became more of a cross wind, but not a true tail wind. I still suffered with the fit. At the end, it was a much slower time than I imagined.
The run was also though. With the road bike position, it made for more tired legs. Not to mention my extra weight and lack of training. A terrible trifecta.
My approach was simple. Go slow, but keep moving. I wasnt worried about time. I made sure to walk the aid stations but tried to run in between. My pace was very slow, but, again, all I wanted was to keep moving and get a nice cardio workout.
I was glad to finally cross that finish line. My overall time was not very good (it was my slowest 70.3 to date), but all in all, I was really pleased with the effort, especially being able to do it without injury. For the day, I burned over 5,000 calories. Job well done !!!
IMTX training has begun !!!!