Cicero Triathlon

T Miller Sun Aug 07, 2011 8:59 pm

I decided to participate in one final tri for the season. A bunch of my training buddies do it every year and I had transportation and free lodging so it was a go. It was a sprint that they call it a runner's race. The distances are 400yd swim, 9.5 mile bike and 5k run. There were a total of 281 finishers.

I feel as though I've struggled to properly assemble all of the stages in my 2 previous triathlons this season. I was glad to have one final attempt to get it right. Switching between the different distances in the triathlon are not as natural as they are in running races. I have to remind myself of the distances and the amount of effort that should go into each stage. This one was short and the plan was to relax on the swim and go all out on the bike and run and take the minimalist approach in transition.

There were 3 waves for this race and they were separated by 5 minute start. I was in the second wave so we were able to see the leaders exit the water before our wave even started. I lined up on the left side in hope of having a clear unobstructed swim across the reservoir. The horn sounded and I started swimming. I started off easy and felt some arms on my legs and had difficulty sighting. I don't know if I drifted to the right or what but there was more contact that I had hoped for and I could see a few swimmers quite a ways off to my left. I started to panic a bit but was able to calm down and get it under control before it became too unbearable. I felt like the bulk of the group was 30 feet ahead of me at the end of the swim.

Swim time was 7:16 giving me a rank of 91 amongst the field.
Cicero Triathlon Timswi12

I was in the front rack so T1 time was very good with 35 second transition which appears to be the quickest of the top 10.

The bike started off with a bit of a head wind or so it felt. After a couple miles, I felt the lactic acid building in my quads and was afraid that I had started a bit too hard. I backed off just a touch and the legs came around. There were a bunch of turns as we zig zagged our way across the relatively flat course. The number of turns were bound to slow down the average but I hammered the pedals to get it back up to speed after each one. I feel as though the second half of the race was with the wind so the 26 - 27 mph speeds were easier to attain. I passed probably 30 - 40 people and was only passed by 1. As I came into transition there was a guy in front of me that stopped just in front of the mats. I had my feel off of the pedals and was ready to hop off and run to my front rack position but I had to stop dead in my tracks for a couple seconds waiting for this guy.

Bike time was 24:25 for an average pace of 23.3 giving me a rank of 10 amongst the field.
Cicero Triathlon Timbik10

Once again I was in the front rack so it was off with the helmet, slip the shoes on without socks and go while fastening the race belt. We had to run to the back of the transition area to get to the shoot that allowed use to exit T2 for the run. T2 came in at 51 seconds which was only 2 seconds behind the quickest of the top 10.
Cicero Triathlon Timrun10

The run, as I was running toward the back of transition to enter the exit shoot I passed my buddy Bill exiting through the shoot. This put him about 100 feet ahead of me and meant that I made up some time on the bike. He was a swimmer in high school so I was expecting to have to catch him on the bike and run. He currently has a calf pull so I knew he would be holding back on the run so as to not jeopardize his NYCM training. My plan was to start conservatively until I could get my legs back and ease into the run as it progressed. I passed Bill after about a 1/4 mile and he shouted out encouragement. The course had a slight hill with a peak in the middle of the out and back with a little lollipop in the middle. I peaked the hill and made the turn. I was able to receive encouragement from nearly all of our local competitors on my way back. I peaked the hill in the middle and set my sights on a young guy I could see about 100yds in front of me. I was able to pass him with about a quarter mile to go and opened it up in the finishing line sprint to hold my finishing position.

I finished the run in 18:45 which was a 6:03 pace giving me a rank of 10 amongst the field.
Cicero Triathlon Timfin10

Finishing time was 51:50 placing me 8th overall and 3rd in my very competitive AG.

I'm happy with these results and feel that I didn't leave much time out there as a result of execution errors. Next year I hope to capitalize on lessons learned.

fostever Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:04 pm

Nice result ,Tim. Wow you must have been flying by people on the bike and run to go from 90th to 8th overall!

Randy E Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:51 am

Nice job Tim and congrats. I look forward to seeing you develop your triathlon skills and reach your true potential. Great pace on the bike and run.

John Kilpatrick Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:49 am

Holy cow, Tim - that was a fantastic race! I have a sprint this weekend and can't imagine running like that - your run on tired legs is faster than my best 5K on fresh legs. Great job and you are just going to keep getting better! Congrats.

Diego Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:13 am

Just wonderful, Tim. You'll look back on this day as the one that launched your competitive triathlon career. pirat

T Miller Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:22 am

fostever wrote:Nice result ,Tim. Wow you must have been flying by people on the bike and run to go from 90th to 8th overall!

Thanks, I was flying past people but I didn't get to pass all of them because of the wave start and the 5 minute differential.

Randy E wrote:Nice job Tim and congrats. I look forward to seeing you develop your triathlon skills and reach your true potential. Great pace on the bike and run.

Thanks Randy, I need to figure out how to fit it all in.

John Kilpatrick wrote:Holy cow, Tim - that was a fantastic race! I have a sprint this weekend and can't imagine running like that - your run on tired legs is faster than my best 5K on fresh legs. Great job and you are just going to keep getting better! Congrats.

Thanks John, You're going to do great this weekend.