It is a new PR…by about 1 minute! .3 mi / 20 K / 5k
It would appear that I beat my best sprint time by about one minute with a little over two weeks of continuous training. Here are the details:
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Pre-race dinner: Sashimi and shrimp salad
Pre-race morning: Oatmeal and stomach cramps
Pre-race setting: While a beautiful morning unfolded in St Paul, I found myself a buzz trying to get my bike set-up, race packet collected and spending a good majority of any remaining time in line for a port-a-potty.
All the time, announcements were going regarding the course, heats, etc. All useful information for someone like me who has not taken time to get familiar with the course. The only comment that stuck out was not to miss the first loop exit for sprint distance participants…back to this later.
Having taken my final adieu to the facilities, I headed back to transition to get my wetsuit. While the temps were to hit the mid 80’s, I decided to wear neoprene so to float easier and kick a little less so as to stave off stomach cramps in the water. I headed to the water as the second wave went off….
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THE SWIM
With the call for wave 5, I took my position at the back of the pack. My body was largely numb and the stomach cramping had subsided temporarily. The bell sounded and we were off. The pack was slow heading into the water and I ended up mottling my way through the group over the course of the 500 yards and even catching up with some of the pack from the previous wave by the time I hit the beach. With the pace as slow as it was, I was able to sight all lines and keep the heart rate low and cramping to a bare minimum.
Time 15:15 or 3:03/100 – My slowest swim time on record. I even double checked comparable times to others on the race results. Even the leader times were in excess of 10-11 minutes and the ranges were going from 13-20 minutes with an average of maybe 15+ minutes. Perhaps the buoys were not exactly at 500 yards?!
T1 - Quick and efficient with only time for a sip of water – 1:39 (fasted T1 on record)
THE BIKE
I clipped in and was off without incident. Glad I checked my bike out ahead of time in the transition area as I was in the biggest gear and my tire was rubbing as I mounted the race wheel poorly! All seemed to go well as I was out at a good pace and returning with a faster split! Not too many passed me on this leg (10ish?) of the race. Now I digress to the comment at the beginning of the race from the announcer that said not to pass the exit and do two laps when doing the sprint distance. Well, lo and behold I came flying down the hill looked to my left and saw the lake, looked back and spied the transition area I just passed. Oh great, had I somehow missed the turnoff? I slowed and looked around uncertain of what to do….no one was near me on the course so I did a u-turn and headed back. At this point I heard from 3 people who had been behind me at some distance say, what the he%$ are you doing? Guessing, I had not shorted the loop and feeling silly about my u-turn, I slowed again and did another u-turn to get back on track. Now I was determined to pass the trio who had so politely informed me I was shorting the course! I did so within about two minutes and sprinted to the end for a disheartening dismount.
Time of 33:47 or 22.07 mph (fasted on record by 2 mph)!
T2 – A quick change of shoes and a bite of gel and I was off in 1:04 (fasted on record).
RUN
I had been training at 11:20’s to keep my heart rate in an aerobic zone. I went out huffing and puffing and immediately slowed for a drink and slowed my pace a bit to get my breathing check. I was immediately passed by someone not going much faster. I found a pacer. I followed this person for about the first mile of the run thinking I must be pacing at 10’s or 10:15’s when he slowed to stretch his calves. Again, I was on the course with no one around. I kept going on an even keel for about a quarter of a mile. Typically, I am being passed by the entire field by this time. However, this was not the case this time as only a few were intermittently passing me by. I decided to pick up the tempo thinking I was about ½ way. I wanted a faster second ½ split. I got it and more as I picked up the pace before the ½ way mark. I was passed by quite a few people in the last quarter mile and picked up the pace once more and with a sprint finished tied with about 4 people to keep my overall position from falling more dramatically.
Time of 26:34 or 8:33 min/mile (a personal best)
Overall time – 1:18:17 setting a new sprint PR by just over a minute.
117/565 overall; 89/303 men
Next challenge TBD - See definition of LAZY below.
