Upper Mainline YMCA Triathlon 2014

This year I'm working with a coach for Ironman Lake Placid.  We are well into the training program and I've done many long runs and long bike rides.  I've even completed two half marathons.  But I haven't done much in the way of long swim sets.  Usually the 50 meter pool opens two weeks before the triathlon but this year it only opened the week of the triathlon.  I decided to take the opportunity to swim 500 meter sets for the night and I was able to keep my times consistent for all of the sets.  I'm still not a fast swimmer but I am consistent.

The bike course was changed this year because one of the roads was so riddled with potholes it wouldn't have been safe for the athletes.  The bike course was shorter which took away my advantage since biking is my strength.  We knew about the change to the bike course a couple of days before the race so I drove the course one night after finishing a workout at the YMCA.

The day before the triathlon I had a long ride on the bike trainer and then I went to the YMCA to pick up my athlete packet.  After picking up the packet I rode the bike course.  I didn't see any issues with the road surface except for one downhill section that required me to pick a less bumpy path to maintain my speed.  It was warm and sunny and I hoped the next day would be just as nice.

This is my fourth year racing the Upper Mainline YMCA triathlon and I've learned you have to provide an estimated swim time when you register.  I've also learned to say I swim slower then I actually do so I get a later start time.  My swim wave was scheduled for 9:01 AM and it was supposed to be 50 degrees so I figured I would enjoy a warm day.  What I hadn't counted on was the wind.  I was so cold just racking my bike in transition that I went back to the car for a jacket.

I did my swim warm up in one of the indoor pools where it was warm.  I pulled on my sweatshirt and went outside to wait for my swim wave.  It might have been 50 degrees but I was cold and the wind was cutting through my wet sweatshirt like a hot knife cuts through butter.  I couldn't wait to get in the pool.  Finally it was time to swim.  I picked lane two and the guys on each side of me looked around and decided I was the fastest swimmer.  A nice vote of confidence but only the clock could prove who was the fastest.  I was coiled up against the wall and pushed off with all the energy my legs could deliver.  I was the first swimmer off the wall and I never gave up the lead.  I was first out of the water and it was my fastest swim in four years at the UMLY triathlon.

I thought I did a decent job running on the cold concrete sidewalk to transition.  I pulled on the jacket and it zipped up on the first pull.  Sunglasses, helmet and off I went to see if I remembered how to perform a flying start.  

One of the issues with this triathlon is you ride the bike course by yourself.  Since I was first out of the water I had no other riders to help me pace the course.  I passed one rider on the first hill and caught five more riders on the next hill.  One scary moment on the course involved two police officers.  I saw two cars up ahead that wanted to turn left and were stopped by the police office.  A patrol car pulled up and was in a diagonal position in the intersection while the two officers talked.  There wasn't a lot of room but I went left around the stopped cars and right around the two officers.I got to the dismount line with another rider and I kept yelling "on your left" hoping the rider would move right and not cause a crash at the dismount line.  I passed the rider and ran to transition.

There were some people setting up their bikes in transition but they quickly moved out of my way.  I dropped off my bike and helmet but I kept the jacket for the run.  I didn't know the run course had changed so I made a left at the first intersection like I always did in the previous triathlons.  There was a guy near the intersection and he yelled at me "if you are in the race you are not on the course."  I stopped, doubled back and saw a sign that said I was supposed to run straight through the intersection and run up the hill.  That guy wasn't a volunteer with the triathlon but he saved me a lot of extra running.  When I got to the top of the hill I saw other runners and more signs.  I hadn't pressed the button on the Garmin 910XT so I didn't know what my running pace.  I just tried to run down the person ahead of me and continued doing that until I crossed the finish line.

Just like last year I finished third in my age group.  The person that finished second in my age group was only fifteen seconds ahead of me.  If I hadn't made the mistake on the run course would I have finished second?  I'll never know.  What I found interesting was the difference in swim times.  I gave him a two and one half minute head start on the swim.  I'm surprised I ever closed the gap to fifteen seconds for the overall times.