Coeur D'Alene Olympic Triathlon Race Report

This will be a quick one....but i wanted to get it in before i head up to Boulder this weekend.

Flew up to Coeur D'Alene for a family thing on Thursday night. Did a short swim in the lake on Friday and did a bunch of wakeboarding/skurfing probably not the best decision because my back, hammies, and calves were hurting on race day.

The CDA triathlon goes off in 2 waves with about 250 in each. We headed right out into the wind and made a right turn that paralleled the beach then came back in along the length of the beach which was tough because the wind and waves were pushing us into shore. I felt OK on the swim, have only really been swimming 1 day a week lately as i have been taking July very easy and mainly due to the TDF I was doing a lot of leisurely bike riding. My goal for the swim was to do sub-30 and come out some where in the top 10 of my AG.

I came out of the water in 9th with 27:04.

I made a speedy transition and was out onto the bike course. As i did my flying mount and started riding i noticed that there was a rubbing sound coming from my back wheel. I thought it was my rear brake so i opened the quick release but the sound continued. I pulled over and realized that my back wheel was not in correctly, even though i checked it the night before after the rebuild. I was quickly on my way again and was red-lining it to make up for lost time. On the first down hill I slowed up and settled back into my pace. This course is really fun because you ride flat along the lake for a few miles then head into the hills for about 10 miles of climbing which is always fun. Just before the first climb a guy in my AG (who went 3rd in my AG and 11th overall) blew by me and I did my best to catch up and stay with him but it was no use. I then traded blows with the two female leaders on the course at the time. We worked well together continually pushing it up each climb and hammering on the downhills. On the way back into town another guy in my AG came along side me but i quickly put the hammer down and tried to get a little gap on him before heading into T2.

My bike was 1:10:52 which was good enough for the 9th fastest in my AG. Im starting to see a pattern here!

Out of T2 I was running hard. I had been having a lot of back pain from wakeboarding the day before and my right glute was giving me some issues so i was a little apprehensive heading out on the run. I think i did the first mile in 6:45. Just as i started to settle into my usual 6:50-7min 10k pace Julie Vieselmeyer (4th female overall) and 1st on the course at the time, came up on my shoulder. I managed to get out a "go get um!" to cheer her on because i could tell she was pushing hard. I came even with her 50ft later and we pushed each other along the course trying to hold that 6:50 pace. I actually felt GREAT and was really surprised with the lack of training and the glute and back issues i had been having. Unfortunately i had forgotten to take down a gel just before the run and stared to fade at the end of the run. But managed to get one last surge when a guy in my AG came up from behind me in the final 1/2 mile.

I ended the run in 44:47 which was good enough for 11th fastest in my AG. Leaving me at 10th place in my AG.

At the end of the day i was very pleased with my results from this years race. I had exceeded my predicted goals shooting to finish at 2:30 i went 2:25 so i was pretty stoked especially given the level of talent in my AG with 1/2 overall being taken by my AG. Its always fun to push myself and get another race in with my dad who i got to cheer on as he crossed the finish line. In the next week or so ill draft up a formal training program for the NYC Marathon and start seriously running again. I'll continue to do a base level of Tri training as i have the San Diego Classic in September, but nothing heavy. Aquathlon tonight, if i get time before i go up to Boulder Co for the Muddy Buddy ill post a quick race report.

2010:

S: 27:04 B: 1:10:52 R: 44:47 = 2:25:28 (10th AG / 54 OA of 544)

2009:

S: 22:10 (very short swim course) B: 1:09:59 R: 48:57 = 2:24:03 (10th AG / 80 OA of 606)

Although i was about a minute slower i would say this is a big improvement given the mechanical i had on the bike and the fact that the swim course was very short in 2009.

Happy Training/Racing...