KCCC Tri report

Distance: 1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike, 2.4 mile run
Goal time: under 1 hour
Previous record: 1:16

Yeah, I was trying to make a big leap forward. I got tired of doing worse in the KCCC than I knew I was capable of. And I thought my new-found fitness from the Ironman in November would help. Only problem, is that Ironman was SIX MONTHS AGO. Crap. And I've spent no time in the water.

So 3 swim practices in the week before KCCC weren't going to get me into swim shape, but at least they'd help me remember my form. I was shooting for a 10 minute swim.

And I got tired of the damn Dam Hill kicking my ass and devastating my cycle times. It's tough to watch all these itty bitty people waltz past me on the climb (though I do kick ass on the downhills and flats). The course has a nice 5% grade for about 3/4 mile as one of the first things you get out of the transition from the swim to bike. It's this hill that kept me from doing the bike leg in under a half-hour in the past. But I've been riding a fair amount since the ironman, and was shooting for 25 minutes.

The run goal was 22:30 - much slower than normal, since it also climbs the steepest part of the damn Dam Hill. And I always have problems on the run.

So how'd I do?

First, I could tell it'd been a while since I swam more than a few laps...my shoulders were burning by the time I got 200 yards. But I got into a groove and just kept at it. My swim split was 10:52, about a minute off my goal, and worse yet, I sliced open the underside of my big toe on a rock getting out of the water. I was bleeding all over on my towel in T1, but I wasn't going to pay attention to that when I had a race to finish.

I hit the bike leg with abandon, and thought I'd be able to make up the lost minute with both laps of the bike course. Yeah - I had to summit the Dam(n) Hill twice. I still got dropped by the lightweights, but on the descents, I didn't coast - I kept right at it. There was one guy who called out that he was passing on the left as we crested the hill; poor sap didn't realize that he had lost his chance to pass. I don't think he ever caught back up to me. On the relatively flat mile-and-half backside of the laps, there ain't nobody gonna catch me. I hit 43.3 mph in the race.

But that Dam(n) Hill bit me on the second lap - I need to drop 30 lbs. I ending up losing a little more time on the bike overall, with a bike split of 28:30.

So the Run leg was a one lap of 2.4 miles. If I hadn't just got done being in anaerobic hell for the last 35 minutes, I'd say it was a decent course. But the combination of my running (lack of) skills and the gouge of flesh that was missing from the underside of my big toe, I managed a measly 24:00. Yyeah, I checked after the race and seems a 1-1/4-inch by 1/4-inch section of my flesh was ...missing. My socks and shoes were filled with blood i.e. Curt Schilling.

So total time was 1:06:43, enough to set a new personal record, but also slow enough to realize what I need to work on.
I finished 32nd in my age group (out of 69). I was 30th out of the water, 19th on the Bike, and 57th on the run. So guess what I'm focusing on for the next 12 months? Well, I will when this gouge heals.