So Close

Hawthorne Farms Sprint Triathlon
Hillsboro, OR
500 yd/13.2 mile Bike/3.2 mile Run

The Short Version

Overall Time: 1:20:18 (59/205 OA, 12/108 F, 2/23 AG) - 1:39 CR & PR!!!!
Swim: 9:01 (2008-8:42) - Ugh!
T1: 1:45 (2008-2:24)
Bike: 43:15 (2008-42:48)
T2: 1:25 (2008-1:17)
Run: 24:52 (2008-26:45)

Breakfast Report: Cinnamon roll oatmeal w/ dried cherries, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Black tri shorts, blue Sugoi shimmel, funky Terry arm warmers, black Transition Girl skirt for the run, LIT hat
Race Nutrition Report: Gatorade Endurance on the bike
Finisher's Swag: A new pint glass for finishing and a couple of free burritos from the post-race raffle
Post Race Libation: Cask-conditioned Deschutes Armory XPA

The Long Version

So, so close. I set a goal of sub-1:20 for this sprint despite training through it, no taper, etc. I very nearly had it. I can't complain though. It didn't rain and it was still a very solid early season race. Race morning was a bit chilly but compared to most other race mornings, rather relaxing since the race site was all of 5 miles away from my house. I got to Hawthorne Farm Athletic Club in plenty of time to get everything set up, take care of last minute business, and watch the two waves before mine off. The pool area was shrouded in steam and once I got in the pool, I discovered why. Warm, really warm, like water exerciser warm. After a short warm-up, we were off. I was the second swimmer in my lane. I pushed off at the whistle and my swim was.........meh. I realized about 250 yards in that I just did not have the feel of the water today. I felt disjointed and my legs were heavy. I focused on at least finishing solidly but I was never so glad to get to that last length and out of the stupid pool so I could get on my bike.

A quick T1 where I decided to wear the arm warmers and I was finally off on my trusty mare. My plan for the bike was to hammer the flats/rollers and attack the hills. I started off in the big gear and settled in fairly quickly. A woman on a sweet Orbea passed me about two miles in and we both passed a guy on the freeway overpass. After that....nothing. It was actually a pretty lonely ride considering. Fewer distractions to my master plan. I started to hammer, standing up on the moderate rollers where I needed to, shifting down to my 34 for the big climb, and getting as aero as I could for the downhills. I felt strong and solid throughout the ride which really pleased me since I've only been biking two times a week so far this season and have only built my long ride to 30 miles or so. In no time at all, I was back at T2 and transforming to my runner self.

The plan for the run? Don't lollygag like I did last year and try my hardest to make it in under 1:20. I set a solid pace coming out of T2 and kept it going through the run. Since I seeded later this year, there wasn't too much bike bling roaming around to divert my focus. I ran down the woman on the Orbea and one or two more folks who finished the bike before me from some earlier waves but all in all it was a nice hard run pushing the red line all the way through. I checked my watch with about 400 m to go and saw a 1:19:xx so the sub-1:20 wasn't meant to be today but I'll be damned if I let it turn over to 1:21:xx so I kicked it up as much as I could and finished strong.

Seeing as I'm about 2.5 months behind in my training cycle compared to this time last year (I don't have an early season A race after all), I'm very happy with this race. It showed me I'm ahead of the curve with respect to bike and run fitness. And well the swim...it is what it is but I have plenty of time to work on that as my season kicks into a higher gear.