2nd Annual Ironclad Race Report

Race Report
First off....every race is like a joust. You put on a wetsuit/get on a bike/put on some shoes and hope that your equipment doesn't let you down and you beat the other guy(s). As with my last race, my equipment let me down just a little bit....but that's okay. Becuase I was in a triathlon, and I just had to get a new bike, as opposed to being knocked off a horse by a big wooden stick and then beaten over the head with a sword. Read on, dear reader!

The swim went very well. I warmed up just out and back to the first buoy and let that "take your breath away" feeling from the cold water come and go, so I would be acclimated. Made sure to pee in wetsuit too. I wasn't feeling terribly confident about the swim after the fiasco of a swim at the race in galveston, but I surprised myself. I was in the first wave and started with the lead guys. By the first buoy I could see just 3 guys in front of me. I maintained a pretty good stroke the whole time. I mades sure to take frequent breaths, once per stroke almost the whole time, and kept repeating to myself "be greedy with the air" and took big gulps. That seemed to help. The water was cold but not paralyzingly cold. I think I like it cold because it bothers so many people and makes them more nervous, it plays to one of my strengths. Then after the 3rd buoy some guy just went flying past me, don't know where he came from. So came out of the water 5th, not too bad at all, I think.

Transition was good, just over 90 seconds. Started out on the bike, feeling good, 2 dudes passed me as I fiddled with my shoes--need to do that better next time. Then after the first turn, my chain broke! stink! I swore very loudly. Then I started rolling back to webb. Luckily it was almost all downhill. Gary Jensen, a member of Team Sunrise Tri, just happened to be standing at one of the turns, with his bike, which just happened to be the same as mine, albeit a bit (lot) smaller. He asked me if I wanted to use it, I said yes and commented on how fortuitous it was that he was there with his bike. I actually used that word, fortuitous. So I started out again. I think all told this transition took about 6-7 minutes. The bike was a bit too small so I really couldn't extend my legs much, and his pedals kind of worked with my cleats, but it worked, and was able to pass a few people on the bike. I tried not to think about how much further ahead I would've been if it wasn't for that chain....really, it was my fault, as I just finished putting the bike together the night before and hadn't had time for anything more than a quick spin on the trainer to test it out. But finished the bike just fine.

Started the run, I felt very good. I was worried because with the smaller bike, my quads were just killing me on during the ride, but didn't bother me too much on the run. Passed quite a few people on the run, which was good. Knowing the course beforehand, with its many hills and obstacles, was a nice advantage. I ran pretty hard, my 5k time was 22:23, over a minute faster than last year. Probably could've gone even a bit harder. But I crossed with a time of 1:25:something. Last year's time was 1:16:35, so definitely can attribute the difference to the delay/small bike. Looking at the times, if I had the same time as last year, I would've gotten 2nd!!!!! And since I had a faster run and probably would've had a faster bike, maybe even 1st, which was a time 1:13:something. Oh well. Now it's bugging me and is providing a wonderful reason to come back next year...and have no bike issues and win!! I hadn't been thinking of returning next year but now....it's on!

I'm pretty happy with how it all went down...there still are some issues of safety to work out, as evidenced by the fact that one athlete had to be taken to the hospital for a CAT scan after a pretty bad crash. But with any luck next year will not only happen, but will be better than ever.

Going into the race, I was pretty hesitant about making any goals, as I really hadn't had what I felt to be enough consistent training or nutrition. But I surprised myself....I think in nearly all the races, running or tris, that I have done, I've surprised myself by doing better than expected. This is a pleasant trend and one that I hope will continue....in 2 weeks I've got the Mighty Montauk, an Olympic distance tri. I'm pretty pumped for that, especially as we will get to stay at a friend's house very close the race, and later that day is Webbstock!!!! the best party of the year. 12 hours of fun (and for some, AMAZING amounts of alcohol.) Me, I'm just looking forward to the joust.