Well, gentle reader, I didn't want you all (ya'all to the folks south of the Mason-Dixon line) to think all I have been doing is sitting around and eating big hamburgers. Sidebar: Big hamburgers are delicious.
Now back to the story at hand.
The Jayhawk Latebird Tri. Ben did a great job explaining his side of the story. Now for the truth. Or, at least my rendition of the events. Yes, yes I know that the race was a month ago. I've been not being a triathlete for a while. So, you just had to wait for this gripping tale.
The whole Emery's gang was there. Brent, Julie, my Julie, Ben, Kari, Matt, Andy, Scott (my hero), Anna, and I were all in attendance. Ben's Steve (actually Anna's Steve but he was Ben's Steve first) was out due to injuries and or other commitments.
I have to admit that it was my hope that all the fast guys like Scott and Andy would be exhausted from IM WI and other training to allow me to contest for an overall win. Not so. But fun was had.
Leading up to the race Ben and Kari started swimming again. From our conversations, it was learned by me that both were definitely faster that I was. This made me happy because Kari was in my lane for the swim. I was planning on drafting off her for the entire swim. Well, that didn't happen either. I started first in the lane and Kari right behind me. Throughout the swim she was right behind me, but never passed. So, there I was stuck actually swimming. I saw Ben get out of the water as I started my last 50m. At that point I knew I has him. Not only was I starting about 2 minutes behind him, but I knew my transitions would be faster than his.
Sure enough, as I exited the pool into transition, there was Ben messing with his wardrobe. I understand that fashion can influence speed on the bike. But I'm not sure whatever Ben was messing with was worth it. I believe he was color coordinating his earrings and nail polish. I'm not sure, but that is what I am going with. So, I passed Ben while he was standing still in transition.
On to the bike I went. Pedal, pedal, pedal. At the first turn, which might be about 1.5 or 2 miles in, I glanced back and saw nobody. I continued to pedal, pedal. I did finally see Ben after the turnaround at about mile 7 or 8. By my computer's clock I had a bit over a minute on him for sure at this point. I kept my pace nice and even figuring that he would have to seriously blow himself up to catch me on the bike.
In T2 I had a good transition and was not able to see Ben at all. Figuring transition time, etc. I figured I had over 2 minutes at this point. I didn't think Ben was going to run 6 minute miles, so I went on to concentrate on my run and hopefully a decent overall time.
Mr. Garmin kept me at 6:45 pace through the whole run. Which had me feeling quite good. Sidebar again: Mr. Garmin had my average pace as 6:48 min/mi for 3.24mi but timing and scoring had me at 7:11 for 3.1mi. I finished the run strong and feeling pretty good. What was really cool was that I was the first person through the forest section and I was able to run with a family of deer for a little bit. Not exactly a normal race thing.
In the end, I think I was 6th overall. Andy beat me this time where I beat him in the spring. Ben, although he was looking really good (earrings and nails you know), came in a couple of minutes behind me. It was really, really cool to see all the Emery's folks finish.
My Julie really did well. She wound up 3rd in her age group and with a personal best course time. I have to admit that her accomplishment far outweighs anything I did that day.
End of the race season. That was the last of the races for 2010. I might do a couple of running races yet. But, we'll see.
I made it through the Monday and Tuesday after Whitewater without working out. By Wednesday the ants in my pants required some feeding. Since then, I've just been working out for workout's sake. No real goals, just staying in shape.
I've taken a look at my results this year. Although my swim times have not been poor, they were not front of the pack kind of times either. I, to date, have really only done aerobic swim training. I'd go swim 800, 1500, 2000, 2500 meters straight. If I ever did pace work, it was rare. And, I mean rare. Like, maybe, 10 times in the last 5 years. My race plan has always been to not work too hard on the swim, catch the fast swimmers on the bike and try to run as fast as I can. I think my strategy may need to change a little for next year.
I know what I was capable of swimming in my youth (yut south of M-D line). I also know that I am not 20 years-old any more (even though I try to act it). So, my "until new year's resolution" is to swim like a swimmer for a bit. I should be able to get my aerobic swimming pace into the high 1:20's over the next few months. Maybe coming out of the water with the lead pack will allow me to conserve a little on the bike to allow my runs to be stronger. Come along with me and we'll see.
So you've been warned. If you see me in person I'll smell like chlorine, I might have marks on my hands from my paddles (which are way fancier now then they were in 1989 the last time I used paddles), and as usual I'll have a new goal to be working towards.
If you're looking to school me in the pool, give me a shout via e-mail, etc. I am more than will to suffer if you can get this old man any faster.
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