Health Net Triathlon
Posted by Admin on June 15, 2009 in Training
This past Saturday, I raced in the Health Net Triathlon. I actually work for Health Net, so it was a special occasion for me to be able to represent my company at the race.
I consider this event to be a “mom-and-pop” event given the contrasts to the bigger, elite events like the NYC, LA, Chicago, and Philly Triathlons, and while it lacks the organizational elements of these marquis races, there exists a charm that is undeniable… and invariably, any inconsistencies in the distances of the race legs or other anomalies are part and parcel, and all competitors will face them.
So, let’s get into it:
– The swim was in a fresh water river. I’ll guess that the temp was around 65 degrees and while a little cold while getting in, it wound up being quite refreshing. The course was not well-marked in that too few buoys were there. As a result, on several occasions, swimmers heading in one direction collided with other swimmers returning in the opposite direction. I was fortunate to narrowly avoid what could have been a pretty big collision myself and instantly became annoyed at the race organizers.
– I didn’t realize it until later, but the swim course was longer than it was supposed to be. Typically, an Olympic distance course includes a 1,500 meter swim (=.93 miles) and since I’ve been swimming for many years now, I know generally how long it should take me. In this case, I was about 7 minutes slower than would be expected, and that same 7 minutes applied to Elizabeth. So, we are convinced that the course was improperly marked with buoys.
– The course notwithstanding, I was relieved to get to the waters edge and got into T1 quickly. According to the race analysis, I was second fastest out of everyone. Again, I demonstrated my transition prowess (as if that really matters!).
– Once on the bike, the course went uphill for about 3 miles, the last mile and change at a fairly consistent though steep gradient. I was in my easiest gear but managed an fairly efficient pedal stroke/cadence and passed a ton of people. After that, there were rolling hills none of which offered too much hardship but nonetheless, my legs felt tired. I can’t help but wonder if I never fully recovered from the long rides from the previous weekend. Last Saturday, I rode a time trial session of 65 minutes, meaning that I went pretty much all out (followed by a short fast run, aka a “brick” session). Then on Sunday, Elizabeth and I rode 45-50 miles with tons of hills. I was definitely beat after that ride and only did some light stuff during the week to exercise the legs. One would think 6 days would be plenty of time to recover though, so the fatigue during this race was confusing and unexpected.
– At one point on the bike, the course went sharply downhill. I got into a position that was as aerodynamic as possible which including tucking my knees against the top tube, bringing my shoulders and elbows in, and ducking my head. In this position, I kept checking my cyclometer and saw the mph figures continue to increase. The fastest figure I saw was 49.2 mph and while I’m proud of that speed, I sure would have loved breaking the 50 mph threshold. Oh well!
– To my chagrin, the bike course was short. A typical Olympic bike course is 40 kilometers (=24.8 miles). The race website indicated that this course would be 22.4 miles but in the end, my cyclometer indicated 19.61 miles. I hate when this happens because I’m purposely timing my surges and recoveries on the bike based on where I am on the course. In this case, with the bike leg generally being my strongest, I was potentially robbed of having more opportunities to make gains on other competitors.
– T2 was quick as always, and led athletes immediately onto a cross-country course. Grass and roots and rocks were the norm for about 5 minutes and for me, it was a disaster. I had tremendous difficult finding any rhythm and was literally just going through the motions. The feeling of just surviving reminded me of my poor races from last year where I almost always suffered on the run, vs. the feelings earlier this year especially at St. Anthony’s where I was able to dictate the pace I wanted to run.
– Fortunately, the run took us out onto some pavement but to my chagrin, that pavement included a two loop course with a big hill which, if you’re keeping score, equates to 2 climbs per loop or 4 climbs altogether. Combined with very high humidity, it was very hard for me. The feeling of helplessness was unmistakable and emotionally debilitating. The only saving grace for me was seeing Elizabeth on each loop; the thought of seeing her and wishing her good luck made gave me something to look forward to. And, I didn’t want her to see me suffering and have it at all affect her. So, I smiled and high-fived her as I masked my pain.
– In the end, I wound up running quite slowly, something like an 8:20 pace. And again, I found irregularities in the course markings. My first three miles were within seconds of each other in terms of pace/time. The fourth mile was a about 20 seconds slower but I didn’t feel as if I had slowed down so much. What was considerably more strange was the fifth mile time which indicated nearly two minutes faster than the 4th. I know my general pace these days without a watch, and there was no way that I was running a 7 minute mile in those conditions and with those hills. In the end, my final mile and change seemed right.
– I am a little upset with so many obvious problems with the course. I would think that the race organizers would consider this aspect among the most important, but that’s just my opinion. I was happy though to see that Elizabeth finished 19th out of all the women. I was not so fortunate in terms of comparing my performance to others in the race, but that’s life. If nothing else, it was a good training race and I got to spend time with a couple of officers from my company’s senior management ranks.
– Next up is the Philadelphia Triathlon on June 28th. I’ve done that course four times, so the element of unfamiliarity won’t be around this time. It also features a pancake flat run course which I’ll finally be able to use to my advantage, or so I believe. We’ll see.
In other news, my father just began his second epic bike trip which will take him from St. Louis to our home town, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Not sure of the total mileage, but it might be in the 1500-1800 mile range given his rather indirect route that will take him north to Ann Arbor, Michigan (to visit his brother Jess), then across Ontario and down NY state nearly all the way. I am going to try to meet him, if it is at all feasible, for the last day or two of the trip. With my luck, they’ll feature the hardest hills but if my presence helps my father, it’ll be worth it. More to come on his newest adventure in future posts.
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