What a tough day that was!!! I did this race last year and it was equally as brutal. I'm not sure of specifics, but the swim is just about the only thing flat about this course. Brutal, brutal bike and run.
I have to say that I was satisfied with yesterday's effort, but motivated to do much better nonetheless. No one ever got better by being satisfied. In all fairness though, even if I did plan on racing about 20 mins faster than I did, I didn't take into account what this course is like. This is that race where you have to throw fast time expectations out the window and just conquer the course. The one that does that is the one that has a good race.
The swim was generally just like every swim I've done. I came out of the water 18th in my division, which was pretty good considering where I was this time last year. With a little more time in the pool and some good swim tactics, I think I'll continue to grow. I'll never be Andy Potts, but I do believe I have it in me to become a pretty decent swimmer. Just gotta keep working.
The bike wasn't bad-pacing wise. It was a hard course and it was crucial not to "punch the clown" on it. For some reason or another my Powertap wasn't working so I rode the course 'blind' so to speak. I'm reasonably sure I did a good job. Just kept it consistent and smooth. Discipline was the most important factor for me on the bike. In past races I'd had the tendancy to crush the bike. Also, working with my coach on nutrition planning paid off bigtime. It would have been nice to have a faster bike time, but I don't think I could have gone any faster without seriously compromising my run.
The run hurt...BAD! It's not that the run is unreasonably hilly, it's just that the bike AND the run are so hilly!!! I have to say though, that I felt reasonably good and pace it well. I don't think its the ideal run course for a guy as big as me, but nonetheless I did what I could and left it all on the course.
I'm not dissapointed with my performance yesterday, but I know there's a lot of room for improvement. It's motivating to see improvement (which there was yesterday), and I'm excited to get back into training for my next race in Rhode Island. I just have to wait for my legs to get back to normal:)
This is our new blog detailing our daily adventures, mountain bike racing, endurance sports, and maybe even some cooking (that's Anne's domain!). We will share our experiences with life, training, and most importantly, being a team-both in marriage and in our sport.
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