Sunday, May 13, 2012

Race report; The photo is from Tri-Zou. I'm told it's the largest pool swim triathlon in the country. There were around 550 finishers this year. Some years there are near one thousand. This is a very nicely done event. Awards went four deep and I was hopeful of getting one, but when I saw I was 11th in my AG, all hope was gone. I had a good race with good paces in everything but the swim leg, which was a little disappointing. The 50m pool gave me a little trouble, but not like you might think. There was something about the construction of the walls that made it difficult to get an efficient push. I had an especially difficult time making turns to the left. Weird. Transitions are really long on this course and my T1 and T2 were not like I would have liked. I tried a flying start and totally butchered it. More practice on this element of my game. It seems like the whole town was there. Many folks from Springfield have made this race a perennial event. I'll probably do the same and drop Claremore in the future. Zach and I stayed at HoJo and had a big supper at Chili's. I think I was asleep by 8:30. I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to it again. Training Log; Time is a premium. I wish I could be more scientific with my efforts, but trying to fit training around life can be a pain. I usually make out a schedule for the next week or two sitting in church on Sunday. If I'm going to do a 70.3, I'm going to have to get on the stick. I can slowly ramp up to 70.3 training until July, then it'll be time to get to work. I'll have to make myself do more bricks to hit my goals. I'd really like to go <6.5 hours for my first one, and try to pare that back for subsequent races. I'm not ready for the hot days to come. I know it will make training harder, but I'll adjust. The extra long spring we've had this year has been great for outdoor training. Next Up; Xterra Eureka Springs. This is an off-road tri, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. That means adding another element to my busy schedule- mountain biking. I intend to get my bike fitness on the road bike and my handling skills in abbreviated trips to the trails. Building my skills in 7-8 mile increments isn't ideal, but I think it'll work.