Short Version
Cold swim, flat tire, solid run.
Long Version
So after some back and forth discussions with Mike and Clint from Duluth Running Co., we all decided to head out for the New Bri Tri as a season starter. The weather forecast was 50/50 on if it would rain, and in the end we had great race weather. No rain, and the temps were in the mid 60's for the race.
We all showed up early and signed up race morning. I went to work getting everything set up for the race. Happily I did not seem to forget anything needed for a good race. Mike would be in the first wave, Clint in wave two, and I got to go off in wave three. With two minutes separation, I knew Mike would be up the road the whole time. I figured Clint would be seen on the run out and back, but most likely not able to be caught.
Swim
Cold. With our lingering winter around Minnesota, everyone knew the water would be brisk. The RD said 62 degrees. I was glad to have a full sleeve wetsuit for this one. The first few strokes felt a little chilly, but after a minute or two it was just another swim. Since I had not been swimming much so far this year, I focused on staying smooth and straight. No sense swimming any further than I had to. When I hit shore, I felt like I had a good swim. As usual, I totally forgot to hit my watch for a split, but later saw in the results it was a 13:41 for a half mile. Solid for me overall.
Bike
I have not been biking as much as I would like. The poor weather has been keeping me from getting out some times. Being in the third wave, and also a little slower in the water, there were plenty of bikers on the road in front of me. Heading out of the park, I had to pass a minivan and got stuck behind a group of slower cyclists taking up the whole lane at one point.
Once out of the park, I tried to settle in and get a good pace going. This course has a bunch of turns and it helped to have ridden the course last year. Knowing the corners before you got to them helped me carry a little more speed. Just after I passed the half way point as I was navigating the 170 degree corner I hit a pot hole with my back tire. I saw it in time to get the front tire up over it, but the back tire hit it straight on and blew. It was flat within one second.
I set to changing my tire and in just over five minutes I was back on my way. I was now back in the pack and trying to pass people again. I once again got caught up behind a couple of bikers who would not pass a car that was stuck behind a slower biker. After getting by them, the remainder of the ride was uneventful.
Run
I was feeling decent for the run, even if the legs were a little heavy. I was hoping that had more to do with it being the first race of the season and the fact that I had not run off the bike much yet this year. After about half a mile and cresting the first hill my legs started to come around. Now I started to pick off the other runners. SKINNYSKI.COM was at the race taking pictures and just after I started getting in my groove I came across the photographer. The following pictures show me coming up on the photographer with the final picture with me front and center looking pretty good for me.
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| Far left in the distance. |
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| Under the guys right elbow in the distance. |
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| On the right. |
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| I rarely look this happy during a run... |
I kept the pace strong and tried to build as I hit the two mile mark. Right after the far turnaround, I had a lady behind me that helped push me for a half mile or so before she finally passed me, and then just as I came to the finish line someone made a push to pass so I had to give it one last sprint to make sure it did not happen.
1:17:08 when it is all said and done. Take out the flat changing time and I would be really happy with that time. Bottom line, a good first tri of the season.
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