Kemah, TX - April 29, 2012
29:00 Swim (1:56 / 100 M)
3:45 T1
1:12:48 (20.6 MPH)
2:00 T2
54:56 (8:50 min/Mi)
Total 2:42:30
2nd in AG (although unofficial due to lost chip)
As always, a great race. It is lots of fun being dropped a mile off shore into the ocean to start a race !
The swim went well, except for the fact that my timing chip fell of the second i hit the water. The sea was very choppy and wavy, but I felt good and was able to maintain a good pace throughout. I used my sleeves vest for only the second time, and it worked well, with no chaffing).
It was interesting having to get to the edge of the boat, and jump out and start swimming right away (different from last time i did this race 2 years ago, where each wave started after a few minutes at sea).
The bike was interesting. It was the first time on the road with my new, borrowed Cervello P2 (thanks Wendy, Dave, and Jon English). Even though Tad got me fit the day before, it turned out the cockpit was very narrow, making it impossible to stay on aero position for more than 3-5 minutes at a time.
It was a head wind for the first part of the bike, and with the narrow cockpit, and getting used to the bike for the first time altogether, made for a slow first half. The second half however, with the wind behind us, and getting a bit more comfortable with the bike, was a lot better. I averaged 30 MPH for most of the second half.
I felt pretty good going into the run. I maintained a below 9 min/Mi for the first 3 miles, but i felt i could go faster. However, i chose to save some energy for the bridge. We had to go over the bridge, turn around, and go back over it again. Going up was tough, but not as bad as i thought. Of course, i slowed down some, but i did not walk at all.
Once done with the bridge, there was about 1.5 miles left. I still felt good, so i sped up some, going around 8:30 min/Mi the rest of the way. When it came to the last quarter mile, i sped even more, getting to a full sprint at the end.
After crossing the finish line, i felt more fresh than i have in a real long time. I was quite surprised, and very happy with my overall performance (remember i have had only 4 weeks of training since i returned from my trips, 20 lbs overweight and 3 month hiatus from training). Overall, i finished second in the Clydesdale over 40 Division, although not officially due to having lost my timing chip.