2011 Kemah Triathlon Race Recap

Sunday morning I woke up at 4am, ate a Clif Bar, hopped in the shower and got dressed. For some reason my legs usually feel tired the morning of a race, but today they didnt. Maybe I've finally figured out how to do this whole taper thing. The Passport Inn I was staying at was right next door to the finish line and transition area, so I grabbed my prepacked transition bag and bike and headed out.

It hit me as soon as I opened the door to my hotel room. For someone who's never raced in really humid weather (80%+), I never really appreciated how much it affects the body. I asked myself "If it feels like this at 5am, what's it going to feel like in 4 hours on the run?" Nerves started settling in and I more or less reminded myself I know how to swim, bike, and run. My training program hadn't let me down yet. What was I getting so worked up about?



Chris Lieto's transition area

 The transition area was buzzing at 5am. The boat taking us out to the swim start would be leaving in 30 minutes, so everyone had to get set up quicker than usual. I had a great rack location, 2 rows from the bike in/out and about 20 feet from the pro rack. I walked over to check out Chris Lieto and Terenzo Bozzone's set ups. Right then it was easy to see one of the differences between a pro and a beginning age grouper. Yes, the bike probably costs 5x as much, but what surprised me the most was the lack of "stuff" in a pro's transition. It was practically empty. Mine on the other hand had a towel on the ground, extra towel to wipe off my feet, water bottle, bike shoes, running shoes, hat, race belt, etc. Lesson learned: stick to what you need. Dump the rest.

View from the beach

The boat ride out was about 35 minutes once we got going. Pro men led off first, followed by the pro women, then elite age groupers before the rest of us started our time trial starts. 3x3 we jumped the 5 feet into the murky bay and began our mile swim. We had about 1-11/2ft chop and a slight cross current. The water tasted like a mix of salt water and diesel fuel, and for my first open water swim in about 6 months, I think I handled myself ok. I had forgotten my Body Glide at home, but a trip to Target for some Aquaphor Healing Ointment saved my neck from any wetsuit chafing. I climbed up the ramp and was out of the water in 29:57 with the 2nd fastest swim in my division.

It was about a quarter mile run from the beach to transition and I ran past the wetsuit strippers. T1 time was longer than I'd like at 4:06 probably because I took my time catching my breath, putting on my socks and shoes, grabbing a drink, and making sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Eh, this will improve with practice.

The bike ride was nice and flat with a couple out and back sections. The outs tended to be into a headwind and the backs were rewarded with a strong tailwind. It took me a little bit to settle into a comfortable cadence but I started passing people from the waves that took off before me. On the last 6 mile stretch with the wind at my back I got up to the fastest I'd ever gone on a flat road before. I'm still not 100% comfortable with my road handling ability at high(ish) speeds, but I felt good getting up to 27.5mph. It's all about achieving small goals. I dropped into a smaller gear about 5 minutes from the bike finish just to get my legs ready to run, had an uneventful dismount, and finished my bike 3rd in my division with a 1:14:52. My average pace over the 24.85 mile course was 19.9mph.

T2 was short and sweet. Drop the bike and helmet, switch out the shoes, pick up the hat and race number and run out. I was out in 49 seconds including 5 seconds of running the wrong way because I didnt check earlier where the Run Out gate was located. Another newbie mistake.

I've always had a pace/heart rate monitor when I ran, but I didnt bring it with me for some reason this race. Instead I just wore my trusty timex digital watch and ran the stopwatch function beginning at mile marker 1. Right out of transition I felt tired. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike. Maybe I didnt hydrate enough earlier in the race. Whatever the reason, I eased up a little and found a perceived effort that I could sustain. As the miles ticked by, I checked the lap function on my watch and was usually around the 9:00 mark. It was a little upsetting considering I was running 7:30's a couple weeks earlier, but if I tried to run that at this point, I never would've finished.



Kemah bridge



Around mile 4, we had to go over a 10% grade bridge. Slow and steady, I picked out guys ahead of me that were walking and challenged myself to beat them to the top. Eased down the other side, turned around at the bottom and went right back up picking off more walkers. Nothing helps you forget your own pains more than out-toughing the guy next to you. Mental toughness is a key aspect in triathlon training and it shows itself at the end of every race.  

At the bottom of the bridge I knew I had less than a quarter mile left so I kicked into a higher gear and pushed as much as I could. Making the final turn into the finish chute, I saw that it was about 100 yards long and there was a guy about halfway down ahead of me. I am going to beat this guy. I used whatever I had left, probably even borrowing some from the crowd as they started cheering for me, and outsprinted him to the finish. When I looked at my run splits later, the last 0.2 miles was run at a 6:00 pace and I've never gone that fast before. Totally pumped and exhausted and covered in sweat, my race was over in 2:44:05. Beat my goal of 2:45:00, so I considered today a success no matter how the results ended up.

I grabbed a bottle of water and some HoneyMilk (which is now my favorite protein drink) and headed next door to my hotel for a shower before checking out the results. With a time trial start, you don't really know how you finish until more people cross the line, so I was in no hurry. When I got back, I looked at the board...Clydesdales Under 40...2nd place. Wait...WHAT?!? There were 16 guys racing in my division. Surely my slow T1 time, my inexperience on the bike, or my slow run had me finishing in the middle of the pack. I had to check this out. Ran over to the awards table and found out there was a timing mistake in my category. Oh, ok...that makes sense. And then:

"Sir, you're 3rd place. Here's your award."

To see the race from the eyes of the pros, Terenzo Bozzone (2nd place) posted this vid:

Preview: Kemah Triathlon - International distance

I'm heading down to Kemah, TX for an international distance triathlon this weekend. Like a lot of Texas cities, I didn't know Kemah existed until I signed up for this event. Here's what I know: 1) It's just southwest of Houston, and with the Final Four in town, I'm sure it will make for some fun traffic. That's all.

The main reason I signed up for this event was that the international distance race, also called an olympic distance, is a qualifier for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco this summer. I had heard of the Alcatraz tri when I was younger living and living in Orange County, but always thought those people were crazy. I mean who'd want to do that? Turns out, I do.

I'm racing in the Clydesdale division for what I hope is the last time. I'm sitting right now at 204lbs and have been dropping about 1-2 pounds per week with all the training I've been doing since the end of January.

The swim course is kind of interesting. Instead of a beach start or rectangle course, the race organizers herd all of us onto a paddleboat, cruise a mile out into Galveston Bay, drop anchor, and then we jump off. From there, it's a straight line into shore. Kind of boring without any turns, but hey...free boat ride!

The bike course is pretty flat 25 miles and consists of 3 out and backs with turns, so there's plenty of opportunities to see your competition. I hear it gets windy because of how close it is to the water, and with the bike being my weakest discipline, I'm not really looking forward to it. We'll see.

The 6.2 mile run winds through a Kemah neighborhood before sending us past the roller coaster and games on the boardwalk, and finally over and back on a 10% grade bridge. With the bridge sitting at miles 4-6, this could be mentally challenging.

I've raced the International distance once before, so at least I have something to compare it to.  My goal is to beat 2 hrs 45 mins with a 30 min swim, 1 hr 20 min bike, and 50 min run. I'm a little concerned with the heat and humidity. It's supposed to be 80F and 85% humidity at the race start. Yuck.

Also of note, is the fact that there are several pro triathletes competing with me. There's no better way to measure your abilities than seeing how you stack up with Ironman winners and world champions. They'll probably be starting their run by the time I finish my swim, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys, if only in transition before the race starts.

My first triathlon

Today I crossed the first of many triathlon finish lines on my way to Hawaii. It took me 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 16.1 seconds to complete my first Olympic distance (heck, my first ANY distance) triathlon. No tears. No agony. No bloodshed. It wasn't completely uneventful though, but I'll get to that in a bit.

I had never set up my transition before, so at 6am on the morning of race day, I looked around at the other 1100 racers and just copied what looked like a good idea. Here's more or less how it ended up, except for the swim caps...

At a relatively hefty 208 lbs, I registered in the Clydesdales division (Men 200+ lbs)instead of the 30-34 age group, so I started in wave 9. I never thought my bald head would need a swim cap, but red never looked so good on my shiny dome. Walking down to the Olympic swim start I chatted up a couple of others who were also racing for the first time. Apparently my 3 ocean swim practices made me an expert compared to them, and actually helped to relieve some of the anxiety I was feeling pre-race.

The water was about 60 degrees and was cold enough to make you want to evaluate your commitment to this whole triathlon thing. The first time I ducked under a wave, I swear my breath came out as ice cubes. Luckily I finished the 1 mile rectangular swim course and clawed my way up the beach in 31 minutes and 47 seconds. The warm sand was a welcome relief from the frigid liquid tundra, and I immediately started stripping off my wetsuit.

Apparently I set up my transition area ok, because I didnt have any issues getting down to my trisuit and putting on socks and bike shoes. Looking around, I noticed the other guys in my division were starting to come in. I had a lead! I threw my helmet on, shoved a Clif Bar in mouth, grabbed my bike and ran for the start of the bike course. 2 minutes, 52 seconds for T1. Not bad for a first timer.

In what felt like a bad joke, within 10 feet of the bike mount line, I got a flat in my front tire. Nooooooooooo! This is where I tell you that I've only changed a flat once before, and never under the pressure of a race scenario. Fortunately I had a spare tube for such an occasion. As what seemed like a river of racers rode by me, I pulled out the old tube, inserted the new tube, and now to inflate. Wait, how do I use this CO2 cartridge? I got it because I thought I'd need it someday, but I never saw how to use it. Whoops. There's gotta be a button somewhere to release the air. Where is it!?!?!? Turns out you twist it. The huge cloud of C02 in my face taught me that. Lesson learned. Inflated the tube with what was left, got on the bike, and raced off. 6 minutes for the pit stop. I need to hire a better crew chief.

The bike course was a relatively flat 2 loop course with a small hill and a bridge. I took a huge gulp of my Nuun Tri-Berry flavored electrolyte-laden water, dropped into the aero position and started picking off the slow riders in front of me. Man, that's a good feeling. Besides, I had time to make up for. Eventually I ended in a group that I couldn't shake and hung with for the rest of the ride. I would pass them on the uphills and they would pass me on the straight sections. Maybe the 75psi in my tube was holding me back. I don't know, but I wasn't happy about it. 1 hour, 15 minutes, 25 seconds on the 24 mile course including 6 minutes for the tire change. This should improve next time.

T2 was quick and dirty. Hang the bike, drop the helmet, add the hat, kick of the shoes, slide into new ones, grab a Clif Bar, and go. I only mustered a smile to the guys around me. 1 minute, 33 seconds.

My legs at the start of the run didn't feel as bad as I expected. I had done one brick workout before this where you run after riding to practice for this exact moment. I quickly settled into a 7:30 pace (which is fast for me considering I've been a 9:00 guy for the past year) but my heart rate was up too high before the 5k point and I couldn't maintain. I was in a good state of mind for the victory lap (aka lap #2 on the run course). I would catch up with a couple guys from earlier waves, chat for a second, then move up to the next group. It helped take my mind off the fact that I had never ran 6 miles at this pace and kept me from walking. The Hammer Gel I took at the halfway point was a big factor too!

200 yards from the finish line I picked out a couple runners up ahead and made it my goal to beat them to the end. I caught up with one about 50 yards out and finished just behind the other who had a great final kick. 51 minutes, 37 seconds. Hey look, a new personal best! Woo hoo! The cross training has definitely paid off for me. Awesome!

All said and done, my finish time of 2:43:16.1 was well under my goal of 3 hours, placed me 203rd overall out of 1100 competitors, and I even finished 2nd in the Clydesdale division. I missed out on my haystack podium photo op because I left before the awards were announced, but got a great Strawberry Fields Triathlon white ribbon medal in the mail.

The experience of racing for my first time has taught me a couple things:
1) The run is still my weakest event
2) My bike maintenance knowledge needs immediate improvement
3) The port-o-john at a multisport event smells equally as bad as at a single sport event. The multiple sports don't make it better or worse.

Next race is in October, and I can't wait!

Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance

This weekend I'm heading up to Oxnard, CA for the Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance triathlon. It will be my first time doing this race (a 1 mile swim in a sometimes wild Pacific Ocean, a less than leisurely 24 mile bike ride through strawberry fields, and a 6 mile run along the beach) and from the looks of it, no surprising monster hills await.


From what I've heard, sometimes the surf can get out of hand, but overall it's designed for some PR fun! With 6 days until the race I'm tapering and emptying out the carb reserves. Refueling starts Thursday.