Race 1
The swim was a two loop with an exit/re-entry after the first loop. I walked down to the lake before the start and was greeted with an awesome scene. The lake sits in a bit of a bowl and the mist was burning off slowly revealing the marker buoys. The swim start was again a time trial format with people leaving every 5 seconds. Both of the laps went well and I cruised out in good shape.
The bike course was scenic and hilly. Many of the hills had steep downhills with sharp turns at the bottom. The race organizers did a great job of marking the more dangerous downhills so that riders knew to hit the hooks. A couple didn't and had lots of rash to show for their mistakes. The ride was definitely a challenging one - one of the more hilly routes I've done in a triathlon aside from IMW.
The run sucked. By the time I hit the course the temperature had risen and it was very humid. I was completely unprepared for the constant uphill of the run. The fact that it was a trail run didn't help. At the turnaround point there was a great downhill but then you had to climb back out. The run back was fast because it was downhill but also a little hard on the quads.
Race 2
Race 2 was a slightly different format from the usual triathlon - bike first, then swim, then run. I was not looking forward to the run. Waiting for the race to start the heat was climbing and I was feeling a little dizzy. I wasn't looking forward to this race.
The bike started again in time trial format - more waiting around in the hot sun. Yay. Once I got on the bike and started riding though I began to feel much better. The route was hilly but the climbs were longer and less technical. One of the climbs was a two mile grind which claimed quite a few.
The bike/swim transition was definitely unique. Before the race started several people recommended putting plastic bags over your feet and then putting the wetsuit on - the bags help slide your foot through the grippy wetsuit. This trick worked great. The water felt cool and soothing after the ride in the sun. There were several "cool" spots in the water and they felt great. My shoulders were pretty sore during the swim and the second lap was pretty slow, but I made it through.
The run actually went much better than I had thought it would. Maybe doing the swim before the run helped rest my legs (I don't kick much while swimming). I also hooked up with another guy from Chicago and we chatted about races and stuff as we ran. This definitely helped pass the time. Overall I felt better and stronger than I had in the morning. I definitely gotta work on my breakfast plan.
After both races I soaked my legs in the lake for a while before eating and drinking everything within reach.
Workout Summary
1 comment:
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