Thursday night was the first Stroke & Stride of the season. 1.5k swim/5k run. I finished 8th overall and 2nd in my age group. I got a fast start on the swim but had a hard time following feet and got ejected off the back of the lead group after just a few hundred meters. Hitched on with the second group and swam with them until I followed poorly again and became unhitched just before the end of the first lap. I caught back up with the 2nd group on the beach run between laps and had a free ride for the entire second lap. Decent transition and then an uncomfortable but solid 20:39 5k--one of my fastest. Overall, happy with the effort. Took Friday off--slept in my Skins Thursday night and wore them all day Friday because it just felt good. Seem to have recovered nicely.
Yesterday morning was Tri for your Cause--a sprint fundraiser where each racer picks a cause to race for (and raise money for--I was racing for the PTA at the kids' school). I added this one to the calendar just recently--the week after the Pelican Fest. Like everything else so far this year, I treated the race as a tuneup and wasn't gunning for a big result. That said, I expected to do well since I'm nearly peaked.
Swim was just 5oom so not much time to distinguish myself. Got off to a fast start--goal was to separate from the pack but bring my teammate (Manuel) out with me. Was working according to plan for a while but he dropped off after a couple hundred meters and we ended up exiting the water 1 - 2--I had about a 15 second lead. My T1 wasn't great and he was right with me at the mount line. I planned to hammer the first 4.5 miles (very gradual uphill) and then settle in and ride even but strong for the rest of the 17 mile ride. Manuel came past me right around mile 4 and I sat in with him as close to the draft zone as I could legally ride. We rode most of the course together--was very helpful to pace off him. I rested when he rested, drank when he drank, and hammered when he hammered. With a couple of miles to go, he separated from me but didn't get far up the road. Overall, my numbers on the bike were great. I was under 45 minutes for the 17 mile course (my PT says 23.6 mph average) and net power of 299 (which is a little suspicious, but we were moving pretty good). If that's a true number, it's the biggest I've ever put up for this distance.
I had a good T2 and came out on the run just a few seconds behind Manuel. It was great that I was still there--we were near the front of the race and still 1 - 2 in the age group. But Manuel is a faster runner than I am so I knew I'd be racing for 2nd place. He started separating right away and I just focused on my own run. About a mile into the run, I got passed by another racer in our age-group. I had heard him behind me for a while and he wasn't moving too much faster than I was. I picked it up and ran right behind him until just before the turnaround but I was pushing too hard. I let him go, hoping he'd blow up and I was only about 5 seconds behind at the turnaround. I tried to hold the gap and even closed a tiny bit but at the 2 mile marker, he picked it up and put another 5 - 10 seconds into me back to the finish.
So I settled for 3rd place in the age group and was 8th overall. (Think about those numbers for a moment--this is the 40-44 age group we're talking about. Yup, I hate Boulder.) Congrats to Manuel who won the age group and finished 4th overall. He won an insulated water bottle and I won a Chipotle burrito--so who was the real winner? You make the call.
I'm going to have to workout relatively long tomorrow (if I can) to put a little fatigue into the legs. (Thanks for the good advice, coach Mike!) I'm afraid of peaking too soon so am trying to hold it off with a little hard work early in the week. But for the most part, this week will be all about R&R, packing & travel logistics, and tying up any loose ends. Feeling strong and confident!
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