Triple T - Race #3

Back at the campsite we had a little bit to eat. We were both tired and decided to take a nap. About an hour. A little power nap to recharge the batteries.

I laid there and didn't fall asleep. My mind was still too wired from the morning race. Aimee got some sleep....me..no. I finally got up and started working on my bike. During the morning race I was struggling a little on the uphills. I knew my training leading up to the race had not included the hill training I had done in '09.

I did have a backup plan though. I packed Aimee's cassette from her bike which had a 27 on the high end. That would help me spin up the climbs and conserve my legs for the hard stuff.
I also did a quick cleaning job on the chain to make sure the bike would work smooth.

After Aimee woke up we put together my nutrition for the race and made our way to the race site.

In the parking lot I took a moment.

What the hell am I doing? Why do I continue to punish myself like this? Oh yeah...it's fun.

I looked around. No one else was moving that fast either. I finally pulled my bike out of the van and proceeded over to the transition area.

Yoda once again helped me get my area put together and he was ready to ride...and ride we would.


The afternoon Olympic race started with the bike. Then we would swim and run. It's an interesting little twist to the race. The time trial format sent us out two at a time and the two person teams could now ride together and draft. Solos were still not allowed to draft.

The bike was the same route as the morning race and was pretty uneventful. I was disappointed on the way out because of a slower rider ahead of me on the downhill. She was cautious but also had a car following behind her so I couldn't make a pass. It sucked but I couldn't do anything about it. On the way back I was able to bomb the downhills though and that was fun.

Back at transition I had to get my wetsuit on. I had sprayed it down with Suit Juice and also used plastic bags on my feet. both worked well and I was out of transition quickly. Running towards the beach I realized that I was still wearing my sunglasses. I set them down near one of the speaker stands. When I saw Aimee on the beach I told her where to pick them up.

The beach area reappeared for the afternoon race. It was amazing how the water had receded.



So I ran across the muddy beach and dove into the cold water. One thing about swimming after the bike ride is a potential for cramping in the legs. People had warned me about it but I didn't have the problem in '09. Boy was I in for a treat.

The colder water temperature forced all of the blood into my arms and upper body. It's a natural reaction for the body to keep the core warm. I could tell there would be problems during the first loop. I was using my legs are rudders as I curved around slower swimmers or the turn buoy. The inner quads of both legs would twinge on me then release.

As I headed to shore to complete the first loop we had to walk around the marker and start swimming again. When I stood up the quads started cramping on me. I got back in the water as soon as I could and rolled on my back and tried to pump my legs and killed the cramps. It wasn't working too well so I rolled over and just started swimming. The cramps did subside.

During the second loop I tried to kick more often to get some blood back into the legs. I thought I was doing well until I tried to stand up and walk. The cramps were stopping me in my tracks. I kept trying to move forward but the pain was excruciating.

Aimee got a great picture of me trying to massage my quads AND wincing in pain at the same time.



People told me to keep moving. I then heard Aimee yelling at me, "BABY STEPS....JUST TAKE BABY STEPS!!"

I did as she told me and by the time I had crossed the bridge my legs were doing much better. I stripped out of my wetsuit, put on my socks and shoes, grabbed my hat and gels and exited T2.

My afternoon run was similar to the morning run. My splits were good, I was moving well, taking my gels and drinking water. I didn't have my sunglasses with me because of my mistake during T1. Despite the tree cover there are a couple of exposed spots where the late afternoon sun was beating down on us.

This time I hit the 2 mile marker at 16:16....8 min/mile. About the same as the morning race.

3 = 8:15, half uphill and half downhill
4 = 8:30, another half/half with the hills, after mile 4 it's mainly downhill.
5 = 7:10
6 = 6:26
.5 = 3:59
Total run time 50:35 minutes.

Total race time 2:38:46. This was a little more in line with what I had raced last year. I was okay with slowing down a little bit more for the second race. I still had the half IM on Sunday.



Some more post race food, sitting in the cold water of the creek and then I cleaned up my transition area and we went back to the campground. I showered while Aimee prepared dinner for both of us. I prepped my nutrition and gear for Sunday then we hit the sack early.

One..more..race.

Would my game still be on?