Short Race - Long Report....

Indianapolis Sprint Triathlon - Eagle Creek Park
500M Sw, 10mi Bike, 3mi Run
High 70's, sunny, no wind, muggy

Overall A/G Sex Swim (rank) Trans1 (rank) Bike Time (avg mph/rank)
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166/577 5/28 25/174 09:14.9 ( 56/1/10) 01:10.0 ( 52) 28:54.7 (20.8 mph/136/1/14)

Trans2 (rank) Run time (pace/rank) FINAL TIME
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02:01.2 (435) 0:24:59.5 (08:19.8/355/13/80) 1:06:20.3
(bike - 20.35mph on 9.8mi course) (run – 8:38.7min/mi on 2.89mi course)

I was due a good race at Eagle Creek. Being one built more for “the long haul” than the sprints, I usually don’t even feel human during the run until about halfway through. This leads to a fairly ugly sprint race. With all the other mental struggles I’ve had this year, I decided to take any and all pressure off and wanted to focus on the swim and the run and cheering on the rest of the CCMSC folks. Friday’s storm and the debris and wet roads only reinforced my “just for show” opinion. I’m still skittery from the bike wreck a month ago and wasn’t about to push hard on the new bike with sketch roads AND dealing with the usual EC Sprint traffic. I was stoked about the time-trial swim starts though….spread out that chaos and let the swimmers weave through the madness.

Swim was decent – although I like the time trial aspect, I thought it was really unorganized. I spent a lot of time weaving around people. While it was nice to not be all bunched up elbowing and kicking, it makes it a bit tougher as you’re CONSTANTLY dealing with traffic, instead of reaching the potential lull between waves. My swim was uneventful (aside from getting a handful of some guy’s crotch – sorry dude, you just appeared out of nowhere – I WAS swimming straight) and stretched out. Temperature was perfect, was able to stay relaxed. Did get bunched into a group of blue caps at the second buoy – but swam through it.

T1 felt faster than usual - Feet in shoes, sunglasses on and helmet and away I went. Those of us that do a flying mount at a full run (the one time I’ll be glad there’s a bit of “stuff” on the ground…traction for bike shoes) have a REALLY hard time navigating the stopped folks and picking a line that allows us to jump on AND have enough space (without taking out a bystander as I almost did – sorry pink shirt) to get clipped in while rolling. Was able to clear the bottle with my leg (good sign) and didn’t slip, had a bit of trouble clipping in, but could be attributed to the panic of finding a line and jumping without falling!

Bike was also uneventful – THANK GOD. I was a total pansy – if there was ANY doubt in my mind or I felt sketch at ALL I was sitting up and on my brakes. Again – new bike, sketch roads, hybrids and mountain bikes abound….AND a new course. So…better safe than sorry. Launched a bottle halfway through after one drink (bummer). New course has some chaos of having to ride on left - I would feel much safer trying to pass someone with another 6 – 8 feet of road on my right than me getting pushed toward the swamp as the faster rider. That was my only concern though. Traffic flowed well, the course felt really fast and not quite so bumpy. More turns than the old one and….well, I just liked it better. Felt I had some good power on the bike – maybe my lower back has loosened up a bit – and was able to just spin and pound on certain parts of the course. I Love, love, love passing guys that are all tricked out. Love even more passing them like they’re standing still…CHICKED. Got to do that a couple of times. Just kind of felt like things were going…legs were loose. Might need a bit more work still on the position – just for some additional power on ascents. Didn’t slide at all – but was definitely riding like a pansy. Finished fairly strong. Would feel much better with a little knowledge of the course AND dry roads. It was short of the 10mi though, have mostly heard 9.8. I’ll still take it.

T2 – always feels somewhat slow. Shouldn’t be…put bike down, take off shoes, put on shoes, put on hat, grab number, go. But I find reason to dawdle apparently somewhere in there. Usually in grabbing a gel, or taking an extra few seconds with the shoes, or taking extra drinks of water. Still haven’t mastered leaving shoes on bike- not sure if I will for this race ever given the amount of crud on ground. But whatever. Could stand to get a few seconds faster but not sure how.

Run – Trying to embrace the pain of a sprint. Worried about a side stitch (the ever-present agony I encounter). Running without socks (note: give this idea up, forever). This course, outside of that initial hill out of Transition – is pretty flat. I was a bit waylaid by the lack of air moving, got a bit warm, but was able to keep pushing. I was able to engage in what Tanya calls a “hard push off” and really could tell the difference when my knees were high, my hands low and my head up. Had a few moments of tough breathing – was just pushing harder than my body is used to. Still had the golden moment around 1.25 where my body just finally starts running right – but was able to push through it early too. Key for me might be easing into the run a bit but staying VERY steady in pushing that pace up a bit immediately. Had a couple of minutes where I lollygagged back into my comfort zone, but was able to push through most of it. Sub-9 pace….Hell, sub 8:45 pace. I’m stoked about that and pleased with the effort. Grabbed water at every chance during the run (out of transition and at both aid stations – figuring that I was pretty low since the one-gulp bike leg. I had the gel with me but didn’t take it. Could I have had a little more pep through the last 1.5 if I had inhaled that gel? Maybe.

Overall – Racing on perception (without gizmos) seems to be going well for me. I’ve been able to keep a fairly close eye on my body and while I could feel myself losing steam over the last ½ of the run, I was still able to pick it up and finish strong. I MUST RUN WITH SOCKS – EVEN IF IT”S SHORT. Make up the time somewhere else. I was able to be “comfortable” within the pain of this sprint race – pushing hard and steady – but not beyond my limits. I think there’s potential for a bit more speed there…still have some ways to go with the run footspeed though…and need to feel a bit more spent at the end of it…..dig deeper and hurt more in a sprint race.