Spring Festival Triathlon

The Spring Festival was an awesome trip!  Kevin, Anne, Corrie, Mackenzie, and I all met up at the lake for a gorgeous day of racing, cheering, and picture taking.  My friend Diana also raced so there were a lot of friendly faces to cheer us on, take pictures, and celebrate in style!

The swim started with the typical roughness as I repeatedly bumped into the guy to my right.  He paid me back as his elbow hit my goggles a few seconds later.  On our way to the first buoy, I eased ahead of the pack as they started to fade after the initial sprint start.  It is usually about 2 or 3 minutes into the swim when the lead pack starts to take over.  Just before the first buoy I thought I was at the front.  That was until a guy came torpedoing into my peripheral vision.  He was obviously a super swimmer and heading straight to the lead.  I was not disappointed that he was swimming faster than I was, I was disappointed that I had started too far away from him to catch his feet.

I swam hard the backstretch of the course as the super swimmer put a few more seconds into me, and I put crucial seconds into the chasers.  After rounding the final buoy I set course to land and held strong. Despite feeling a little sluggish near the end of the swim, my time was faster than last year.  I am also very pleased that super swimmer was only able to put 20 seconds into me during the swim.

I tried to stay relaxed through T1 as I stripped my wetsuit, put on my helmet, and pulled my new, awesome Rudy Project sleeves on.  I had a fairly good T1 to squash the gap to super swimmer as we left T1 together.  Near the mount line there is an immediate hill.  I lost a little time here as my flying mount ran out of speed before I could get my feet onto my shoes.  As I uncharacteristically struggled to get my feet into my shoes, super swimmer went by me.  After a brief struggle with my shoes, I was in 2^nd place and ready to ride down 1^st.

*The leader's motorcycle graciously waiting to escort us

After the first hilly section of the bike I was riding strong and quickly closing the gap to the lead.  Shortly after, two super-athletes rode past me.  I know these two gentlemen well, it will take me a couple years of consistent training to reach their level. They are incredible.

Anyway, I followed the two super riders as we rode past the lead swimmer.  I think he started too fast because he seemed to be fading.  As we continued on the bike, I rode comfortably hard while Picicci left me, and McGill left, well, everyone. On the way back I continued to have a great ride, I spotted Kevin and Mackenzie riding hard, and engrossed in their own battles for position.  Near the finish of the bike course I took assessment of the leaders and the chasers.  I was sitting comfortably in 3^rd but I had company. A guy riding a P3 had closed to about 20 seconds of me and threatened to nudge me off the podium.

I hit T2, stalled the Murder Machine, and put on my tenny-runners.  I flew out of transition while 4^th place finished his transition.  Once on the run I had great turnover and foot strike.  I held a very fast pace for the first mile and started putting time into my chasers.  The run continued as my training legs told me they were tired, but somehow still begged for more.  I was having a great run and was putting time into the racers near me. 

I knew the hill at mile 2 would be my chance to shut the door and secure the podium.   I crested the hill feeling tired, but still moving fast.  I negotiated the last mile through the neighborhood, the quad-busting downhill, and shifted to my 400-meter speed for the finish kick.  I crossed the finish line averaging low 6 minute pace for the 5k, and roughly 1:45 faster overall than last year.

I was able to put about a minute into 4^th place to secure my podium spot. Picicci and McGill were well out of reach as they hammered everyone.  I was pretty happy that I only gave up 2.5 minutes to Drew; I think he beat me by 4 minutes last year, like I said, another couple years at least.  I took time to enjoy my Hammer Nutrition Recovery drink at the finish.

Kevin and Mackenzie both had great races, resulting in both securing medals for their efforts.  We all owe Corrie and Anne a big thank you for their cheers, and picture taking.  I could hear the cheers while I was on the course.  If it were not for Corrie, this post would not have awesome pictures.

What an awesome trip, we are all so lucky to be healthy, together, and successful. The race was an excellent day for a training race, training that is right on track.

*The suit is half off...that means the race and race report are over.

Rowdy Gaines: Still a genius.