Race Report - TCSD February Club Race

so it's over and done. i successfully completed the club race and here's how my day went:

I got to the park at Glorietta Bay around 7:15am and the race was supposed to start at 8. it had rained the night before, but now the sun was coming up and there was practically no wind. perfect. since i was kind intimidated by the swim the first thing i looked for when i was walking my bike up the transition area was the buoys in the water. holy crap!! there was no way the swim was only 500m it was more like 700-750, which really isn't too much further, but considering the fact that i was freaking out about 500m it was. i heard quite a few people talking about how long the swim was when i walked around (good thing it wasn't just me).

i finished setting up my transition area and then ran into Marc (GuernseyMan) and talking to him about the swim calmed me down. he did it wearing only a speedo. the water was on 58 degress. he's nuts, but extremely fast. he finished 3rd overall.

as i was putting on my wetsuit i was looking around checking out all the other competitors (i think there was about 60???) and their bikes. i saw some super fit people with tree trunks for legs and a lot of them had their bikes outfitted with the best carbon race wheels around. i thought "great, not only is everybody going to ditch me in the swim, but they are also going to punish me on the bike."

swim:
I made sure to start wide and deep as to make sure not to getting in the way of too many people. and we're off. i started swimming right behind a wave of 30 people. the water was really chopped up but i just started cruising trying to stay on peoples feet. i got kicked, hit, elbowed, but i wanted that. i really wanted that to happen so i could start learning to deal with it. i would just swim 5 or 6 strokes and then come up and sight the buoy. as i got to the first bouy (also the furthest) i noticed i was starting to pass a lot people and i wasnt pushing myself at all. i was in perfect position for the firt buoy cut it tigt and picked it up a little. i found more feet, passed them, then another, more feet, then another pass. i kept this up all the way in. as i was getting close to the end of the swim i thought i was in the middle of the pack, but as soon i stood up i could the leaders just getting on their bikes. i was in the top 15. no way! i was blown away, stoked, and then the andrenaline hit.

T1:
it was flawless. just like i went over it my head a million times. i can get out my wetsuit as fast as anybody, which i attribute to growing up surfing the east coast. i surfed all winter long in water as cold as 39 degress with air temp below freezing. if it took you to long to get out of your suit after a session you would be risking hypothermia. back to the race. i got out of my suit no problem, put on my helmet, grabbed my bike, and started running. i had my shoes already clipped to the pedal and secured with rubberbands. i have had many mounting/dismouting practice sessions in the YMCA parking lot near my apartment, and it paid off. i hopped on my bike started pedaling and got into my shoes with no problems.

bike:
i started hammering from begining. i could see people ahead of me and i wanted to track them down, and i did. i started passing people and i was shocked. these guys had way more experience riding than me, i have only been on a road/tri bike since the end of November, this can't be happening. i was averaging 22-24mph and 95rpms. i had no idea if i could keep this up, but i did. so i hammerd then entire bike course and still felt great. with about a 100 meters to go i slipped out my shoes and then dismounted, flawlessly.

T2:
this was easy. set my bike down, took off my helmet and slipped on my running shoes.

the run:
wow i pushed myself on the bike! my legs felt like jello. i hadnt done any brick workouts since the begining of January before the Carlsbad half marathon. i passed someone right out of transition and set my sights on the next person. i started feeling better and passed a couple more people. i kept thinking "is this really happening, i can't be doing this good". as i neared the turn around i saw Jim Vance in the lead. as we passed each other he said, "good running". that got me stoked and there was no catching him. he was flying. then i saw another guy, then Marc in 3rd. i think at the turn around i was in 9th and ended up passing 4 more people in the last 1.5 miles to finish 5th.

the aftermath:
i was in shock. how the hell did i do this good first time out. i learned a lot, and now i KNOW i can compete. i also know i can push harder in the swim than i did. the swim was unexpectedly easy. I was stoked to meet Marc and his wife, they are good people.

weekend workouts:
saturday afternoon after the race i did an easy 6 mile run.

sunday:
i was supposed to have a mountain bike/trail brick but because all the rain it was a no go.

instead i did the 25 mile road ride followed by a 3 mile run. i felt good on both the ride and run.

this was really, really long.

I can't wait to race again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!