Johan's Race Report

Well, I set out early this morning to pick up Jim and Paul for Johan's Trifest this morning. I woke up feeling great and confident I had a good race in me. However, I couldn't keep anything down. Instant gag reflex when I even thought about putting something in my mouth. I haven't had pre-race jitters like that in quite some time.

Johan's is a great race. I think it's the premier event in this area. Very well run - loads of volunteers - tough bike course - clean lake - it's a great race. The mass start is a pain in the backside, but you must take the good with the bad.

The race started right on time and I noticed real quick that I hadn't been in the pool for a while. I struggled in the first 200 yards to get my breathing under control. My breathing was real shallow and I had to stop for few seconds just to get it under control. I got things under control and settled in for a comfortable swim finish. Plenty of open water. Funny thing...I always feel like I'm off course, regardless of where I'm at...Hmmmm.

The bike was pretty good today. I thought I had a 21mph effort in my pocket today, but it was not to be. I only managed a 1:15:00 effort, which was about 19.9mph. It's amazing what 1mph can do to your overall time. I wasn't stressed at all on the bike and took it easy on the hills. Shifting to a cadence that keep my heart rate under control. Overall, not too disappointed.

The run...Ahh yes, the run. That's where things got ugly. I figured out I wasn't in as good a shape as I thought I was first thing in the morning. I struggled to keep things going throughout the run. I just didn't seem to have much in the tank. Probably had a lot to do with the fact I couldn't eat anything. A really tough finish averaging 8:21 on the run...Clearly, I have a ton of work to do.

Paul and Jim had great races today. Paul, in his second Tri EVER, finished 3rd in his age group. He had a monster bike and ran a 40:51 10K. Not bad for a rookie...he finished in 2:19:ish.

Jimbo did well today. He had a good swim and had a bike split comparable to mine. He has recovered well from his knee problems and ran a 7:00 pace to finish 2:31:ish on the day.

Good times were had by all...

Let the Tri Season Begin!!

Triathlon season is officially underway. Lori and I teamed up with Adam from work to do the Lake Macatawa Triathlon yesterday. I have done this event about 6 times, but the last three have been on a team.

I like to recruit a swimmer (this year Adam), I do the bike and Lori kicks tail on the run. If you have ever been on Lake Mac, you'd understand why I have a different swimmer every year.

Well, we smoked and took first place in the 3 person, co-ed division with a time of 1 hour, 53 minutes and some change. Adam swam well for not training at all...the wind was my friend for most of the ride, so I improved over last year's bike split by about 5 minutes. Lori, once again, had a great run - despite the temperature being less than optimal for running. (It was flippin' hot!!)

Overall, it was a great day. I managed to waddle my way through the run for my first brick of the season. Johan's should be quite interesting next week!!