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| Transition with "Escape Island" in the background |
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
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