Race Recap March 2018
Triathlon season has ended so I’m going to recap my last race — It’s as simple as that. A few cool things have happened over the last 30 weeks of this like losing 7kgs (18 lbs) and then gaining 3kg (7 lbs) of muscle without actually trying (more on that in a later post) to nailing personal records in swimming, cycling, and running. During the Wollongong Olympic Distance Triathlon Race, I was able to get a new perspective on what I enjoy doing vs. what I feel I have to do. Below are some retrospective thoughts about racing/time trials which led me to the conclusion that I just like a scheduled routine of training more than I do racing.
THE SWIM
That shit was weird — full stop. They changed the course to be some counter clockwise “W” shaped thingy with a lot of turns. This resulted in almost a few head on collisions in open water. NOT GOOD. As per usual the fast guys swam OVER me, Yes over me — like I was a piece of seaweed in the water. THEM BASTARDS.
TRANSITION 1
Another cramp halfway through the run. This is getting old. I’m pretty sure I just don’t swim that hard and run immediately after (during training) so my body isn’t used to it. I should practice that but…yeah ain’t nobody got time for that. I’ll figure it out next triathlon season… maybe.
THE BIKE
From my results I did well. Actually, extremely well. 8th in my age group and 20th overall well. Output (speed) was great for a hilly and windy bike course. Input (power) was 260 watts which is what I trained for. I was able to produce 39km (24.2mph ish) per hour average over the 40km (25mi) bike course — which is relatively fast. Still felt like I had more to give but always have to save a bit for the run.
TRANSITION 2
Much faster and more efficient with no cramps this time but damn did my hip flexors feel like SHEEEEEEEEEEIT! Def a new sensation and as usual you only find this shit out when you race. As a wise person once said — “The only way to get better at racing is to race” couldn’t ring any more true.
THE RUN
The first few minutes didn’t feel great but I was able to ease closer to my target pace of 4:15 min/km (6:55 min/mi). I was not ready for the run course to be as hot, have as many turns and be as hilly as it was since they changed it from the previous years. All of this means I did what most people do which is mentally give up on the original expectation and I said to myself “Yeah, naw Daren… sub 40 min 10k run ain’t happening today”. I then did something new (but difficult) and went to an appreciative/gracious frame of mind. Excuses were almost made but I rarely am in that much discomfort while training so I accepted it and just “ran with it”. [Pun intended]
FINAL + FUTURE THOUGHTS
I enjoy triathlon for many reasons. One of the top reasons the multi discipline nature of training. It’s hard to over do one event mentally or physically which means I don’t get bored. After 5 years of racing triathlon I can be honest with myself and admit it’s just a pain in my ass to do the actual races. I’ve now had over a solid week to think about it and to follow with my rhetoric of “incremental gains over a long period of time” I’m just gonna keep doing what I’ve been doing. Keep my expectations low, stay focused on consistent training, and enjoy the daily mild grind. Life is too short to get caught up in the bullshit (so cliche). I’m going into a few weeks of “maintenance” before running and duathlon season over the next 4–5 months. I might try to do something different like a 30 day straight swim challenge. That could be fun — See if I get any faster in the swim. To state it again — I love training and I love the schedules and routines I’ve made. So if it’s Tuesday morning you can catch me running and then directly to the weight room. Some people train to race… but I race to train. Weird? Oh well — onto the 1% gains for 2018.
Follow me on STRAVA and check out the “real” results.
Final official results here
