RACE REPORT: Escape to Miami

Transition with "Escape Island" in the background

    This past Sunday I competed in the Olympic Distance of the Escape to Miami Triathlon.  The race was only about a month after my Ironman "A" race.  Additionally, I decided to ride my brand new TT bike in the race having only been outside on the bike twice since I purchased it (I got in a few short trainer rides though).  Thus, I didn't really know what to expect out of myself.  Nevertheless, I really enjoy this course and wanted to put my best foot forward. And, I wound up having a pretty great race.

RACE BREAKDOWN:

The Swim (.9mi):

Swim Split: 22:40

    I've been feeling pretty great in the water recently since I have been attending Masters swim practices 3x a week for the past 2 weeks. I was already in good swim shape from the summer, but I really felt like those few organized swim practices had gotten me a better sense of how to pace a distance swim.  

   In this race, all the Olympic athletes have to line up to board a ferry at 5am to be taken out to a tiny island off the coast of downtown Miami.  The swim can be a bit daunting for many athletes as there can be a strong current and buoys can be hard to spot.  As a good swimmer, however, I can really use my only advantage in this race to good use. 

   Since the swim is more challenging for some and because I've been feeling very smooth in the water, I decided to take the swim out pretty hard.  And, I did.  Even with a stronger current than I remember and with a lot more seaweed getting wrapped around my arms and neck, I wound up taking about 3 minutes off my best time for the course and came out of the water first in my age group.  I was off to a great start.

The Bike (24.8mi):

Bike Split: 1:12.06

    I always have a hard time in Olympic races because I normally come out of the water in front, only to have others catch me a few minutes into the bike course.  I was riding my brand new BMC TM02 for the first time in a race (a big step up from my old Cervelo P1).  In the two outdoor rides I had on the bike, I felt extremely fast and comfortable.  So, I really wanted to try and push myself to see whether or not I had made a good purchase.  I did.

    Averaging a little over 21.4mph (a bit higher than if you convert the time because of the added run to/from the bike mount line), I was able to maintain my lead for the entire bike course.  There was one girl, who wound up taking second overall that passed me about 20 minutes into the course.  But, all the other girls (who normally race in the elite category, I might add) never caught me.

   It was a great feeling, being able to maintain about 2-3mph faster than I ever have before.  I also had a bit of a problem as a bolt on my seat-mounted water bottle cages came loose and I wound up losing both my bottles.  It was also pretty annoying listening to the cages rattling around for an hour.  But, even without any water, I felt pretty strong (and thank you to the random man who offered me a few sips from his bottle). 

    The next girl caught me in the bike/run transition (yes, I KNOW I need better transitions).  She told me "great job" as she put on her shoes.  She was pretty surprised to see that I had been in front of her the entire time. Yes, I got passed in transition. But, I still managed to best my best bike course time by about 10 minutes.  No complaints there.

The Run (10K):

Run Split: 56:32

   My run split wasn't the best.  I admit that.  But, I've pulled back a bit on running since my Ironman and, after really attacking the swim and bike courses, I didn't expect it to be too incredible anyways. 

I wound up getting passed again.  And, although I technically fell down in the rankings, I'm still very pleased with my overall performance.  I wound up taking 3rd in my age group and besting my overall time by 20 minutes from last year's race and by 12 minutes from the year before.  Yes, I PR'd by over 10 minutes in the race and getting an award...can't be too upset about that!

Overall Time: 2:35.13

Place: 3rd in AG

Back on the Team

Pool where I've been training and will continue to train with a team

    This law week was pretty exhausting as it was my first week back on a swim team.

    I've been looking around for quite a while for a team that I would like to join. And, I FINALLY found one. I first decided that I would like to start training with a swim team a few months ago. As a lifelong swimmer, the swim portion of a triathlon is my only real advantage. So, I have to do as well with that advantage as possible. And, although I've done very well training on my own, it's just too difficult to work on proper pacing when training alone.

    I also did a few Masters Swimming Meets this past summer just for fun. And, I really did fall back in love with the sport again. Of course, the surprisingly quick times I posted at those meets was pretty exciting as well. So, I looked around and eventually found a very competitive swim team at the long course pool where I've been training (a long course pool about 45min away). And, I'm very excited to now be a member of it.

    Hopefully, by training under a new coach and alongside some pretty quick swimmers, I'll be able to pull back down my 100 pace times with the goal of excelling in both triathlon, pool, and open water swimming. Granted it will be pretty nice to have that extra team motivation to get out of bed in the morning to train...even if the drive to the pool is, kind of a trek. Although, the Dunkin Donuts I pass while traveling from the pool to my office is a pretty big perk as well!

Baffled by Brakes

Joseph Gordon Levitt in the movie Premium Rush

    I saw the movie Premium Rush a few weeks ago. In the movie they made a pretty big deal about how Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character, a bike messenger, doesn’t have brakes on his bike. All the other characters think he’s crazy. So what’s his reasoning? Because the worst accidents happen when you use your brakes.

    On Monday I was out riding outdoors for the first time since Ironman NYC. I already resented my brakes a bit for malfunctioning during my race and causing my brake pads to get stuck on my back wheel (something in the brake disconnected and my brake doesn’t release without a little manual help). Anyways, I was out riding and all of a sudden I hit a rock-covered road adjacent to a construction area. I panicked. I hit my braked and, fortunately, slowed down enough to allow myself to unclip from my pedals and get my feet on the ground before toppling over. For the most part I escaped unscathed. But, the incident got me thinking…nothing good has ever happened to me from braking. So, why the hell do I even have them?

    I’ve had a couple other minor accidents before. But, each time I’ve toppled over from skidding on some dirt of rocks, I went over because I braked. It wasn’t really ever the sand beneath my wheel that caused me to fall. It was the fact that I clenched my brake, lost all momentum, and stopped dead in my tracks causing my own body weight to drag me over. I should also probably note that one time when I was little, I flipped over the handle bars of my little kid bike while braking to avoid hitting a rock. Clearly losing consciousness then did not make me reach this anti-brake mentality any sooner.

    In a way, you can compare the scenario to driving in the snow. Drivers Ed teachers always tell you that if you hit a patch of ice, the worst thing you could do is to slam on your brakes. Instead, you want to turn your wheel into the skid so that you don’t wind up flipping your car. We really need to apply the same principles while biking. You’re probably better off biking through the skid than stopping cold.

    So, maybe Joseph Gordon Levitt wasn’t as crazy as everyone in this movie thought. Now, even if just for the sole purpose of making my mother feel more at ease, I’ll let you know that I’m not about to go rip off my brakes and head out into the world like a crazy person. But, I’m definitely starting to think about using those brakes only as a very last resort. What do you think?