Swim: 12:56 (2:09/100m)
This was my first open water swim since CB&I back in May. I was in a later wave, so I didn't start for 32 minutes after the pros went off. Overall, the swim went pretty well. A couple times I found myself significantly off course, but since I sight rather frequently (about 14 strokes - counting both arms), I don't think I added too much distance. I did start to get hot at about 300-400m or so. The water was warm, the sun was coming up, and the swim cap keeps the heat in. I tried drafting once or twice, but it was a failure. The visibility in that lake is about 0.00001mm, at best, so that made it harder. The water was warm, so I started getting hot after about 300m, with the swim cap on. My time was 0:02/100m faster than CB&I and my time was a little outside of the top 3rd for my AG which was very consistent to CB&I.
T1: 2:42
The ground was a bit muddy from rain the night before, so I took a few seconds to wipe off my feet. Overall, though I didn't make any major mistakes. This race had a longer run in transition to my bike, which increased my overall time. GPS data shows that I was at my spot for 1:18, but I barely eeked into the top 75% of my AG. I need to work on this.
Bike: 41.28 (18.5mph)
I was happy with the bike. Per my coaches instruction, I was to not go too fast the first couple of miles. After that I was usually over 19 mph for most of the ride. Sometimes my mind would wander a bit and I would slow down slightly, so perhaps I need to focus more. At Sugar Land, I hammered the bike as hard as I could and average 19.3 mph, but I thought that was a cause of my poor run, so I deliberately spun at a lower gear before the finish for longer. I definitely felt like I could have continued at that pace for longer, so I'm feeling more confident for Galveston. Despite an improvement of 1.7mph over CB&I, I was still one of the slower bike - 100/129, but it was an improvement of 5 percentile.
T2: 1:39
Per my GPS, I only spent 39 seconds at my station, the rest of the time, I was running.
Run: 28:58 (9:19mi)
Chesty Puller said that "Pain is weakness leaving the body." Well, a lot of weakness left today. My run time was 2:24 slower than my PR, but it hurt the entire time. The weather was brutal. My wave was one of the last, so starting a half hour later in Houston in August is the difference of 3-4 degrees. According to the weather report it was about 84 for the run, but it "felt like" 95F, and yes it sure did. I normally run at 5:15 in the morning before work, which is usually the coolest part of the day and is about 76 and no sun. I found heart rate training to be helpful here. I know my LT was 184, and if I could stick to that, then I knew I was actually putting in a good effort and I didn't have to question whether I was "wussing out" over the heat. What to do differently? Carry my own freezer pack? I wonder if I could keep some freezer packs in a small cooler, and then grab them on the run. Twice on the run, there was someone with a hose which was helpful, and at the Mile 2 station, they handed out iced sponges. Both of these were welcome reliefs, but I could have used more. My relative rank in my AG was right at the same, so many must have been impacted by the heat.
Total: 1:27:45 Overall I was pretty happy with my performance - 78/129 - very consistent with CB&I. Despite the heart rate data, I still question whether I could have done better on the run. I'm sure every athlete does. At least for me, it's not like I'm getting 4th and miss the podium by 10 seconds. I'll keep striving for improvement, but it does ease that anxiety knowing that I am just comparing the difference between the 60th and 55th percentile.
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