Half Moon Bay Olympic TRI — Post Race
Super cold race. The swimming part was an absolute mess. About 60 people in my age group started together. I don’t remember wrestling in water to be so bad. Several times I got hit in the head so bad that I saw stars. Could do a proper stroke because every time my hand would go in the water, there would be someone’s leg or ass. On top of it, the water was just ice cold and dirty. Couldn’t see anything. Bottom line — I didn’t enjoy the swim part. I did not get to swim to my potential. I think that the swim was poorly organized and chaotic. Complete fail.
Bike. Coming out of the water with enough frustration and anger I felt as if I could rip those pedals off the bike. I felt great and went straight to work. In the first half, I did about 85% effort, riding solo and being careful with the traffic and other athletes. The second half and three gels down, I opened up the throttle and went harder. Nose to nose competition with a guy from the Stanford University team made it more fun. We passed each other two-three times, after which I realized that it is more efficient to stay on his tail, rather than flex my muscles and pass him once again. I followed him, within the drafting rules, for about 5 km until the transition zone. We dismounted at the same time and I told him “good work”. Fast transition — under two minutes.
Run. I and the same guy left transition and went to the run. His pace was 4 min/km, which was fine by me until it wasn’t. Two spasms in my abdomen forced me to slow down, however, I was able to maintain a 4:10 min pace. Haven’t had any water or food on the run. Finished with a strong sprint against another Stanford team guy. I didn’t let him beat me.
- Swim — fail.
- Bike — good.
- Run — good.
6th in my age group out of 58 guys. Not very satisfied because I didn’t get a chance to race to my potential. However, I know what to work on and keep my head up. I know I can do it.
