{"id":518,"date":"2012-06-18T18:14:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-18T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikaelstaer.com\/clients\/cbeals\/dev\/?p=518"},"modified":"2015-05-18T17:09:35","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T21:09:35","slug":"race-report-guelph-lake-i-olympic-tri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikaelstaer.com\/clients\/cbeals\/dev\/2012\/06\/race-report-guelph-lake-i-olympic-tri\/","title":{"rendered":"Race Report: Guelph Lake I Olympic Tri"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another race report… yawn. I’ll try to keep it brief and mildly entertaining. After weeks of hemming and hawing, I finally decided to move up to Olympic distance and, in short, it was a success. I easily met my goal of sub-2:00 and I placed well in a strong field that included four elites\/pros. As usual, here’s the ADD version and the long-winded version.<\/p>\n

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Executive Summary<\/h3>\n

Guelph Lake I Olympic Triathlon<\/a> <\/b>(June 17, 2012)
\n1:58:13, 4th overall (1st amateur)<\/b><\/p>\n

                            Split | Pace | Rank | Comments<\/p>\n

\nSwim<\/b> (1.5km):   20:23 | 1:22\/100m | 7th | cruisy<\/div>\n
\nBike <\/b>(40km):      1:02:08 | 38.6km\/h | 6th | bumpy, gusty<\/div>\n
\nRun<\/b> (10km):       33:48 | 3:23\/km | 2nd | great!<\/div>\n
\nNutrition: 150 Calories, 280 mg caffeine, ~50 ml lake water<\/i><\/div>\n
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Tl;dr Version<\/h3>\n

\nSwim:<\/b> Despite starting conservatively, I managed to escape from the tangle of thrashing limbs unmolested (unlike Milton<\/a>). I swam at relaxed pace, surging occasionally to draft swimmers ahead. An unintentional addition to my nutrition plan was a gulp of goose shit-laced lake water\u2014only marginally less palatable than my sports drink. I exited the water in 7th and picked up a couple spots on the long grassy run up to the transition area. The trend continues; the less I swim, the faster I get.<\/b><\/div>\n
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\nBike:<\/b> The sky looked ominous and the wind was picking up. I started second guessing my decision to use a deep front wheel and a disc. Lightweight riders\u2014even pros<\/a>\u2014can get buffeted all over the road. Speaking of roads, part of the course is in really rough shape. Nonstop wheel-wrecking potholes and bone-jarring cracks. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being a Himalayan goat path and 10 being the Autobahn, this road is a 3.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nAfter my near-bonk experience in Milton, I really needed to sort out race nutrition. I never use sports nutrition products in training, so this was uncharted territory. I opted for a sports drink and a Columbian guava paste bar wrapped in a plantain leaf (biodegradable yay!). The bar was a BIG mistake. I spent 5k with the thing crammed in my cheek<\/a>. I finally worked up the nerve to masticate it to a sickly sweet pulp that lodged in my throat like a glob of phlegm. Next time I’ll take a gel instead of hippy food.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Other than that the ride was uneventful. <\/b>I’m always on the lookout for speed limits to break. I crushed the 50km\/h maximum riding through the aptly-named hamlet Speedside<\/a>. My pacing was fine and I’m happy with my 38.6km\/h average given the conditions. My position did not change and I came off the bike in 5th.<\/p>\n

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\nRun: <\/b>In transition, I heard the announcer gushing about the running ability of the guy 30 seconds ahead of me. Great, I thought, this won’t be easy. I slowly reeled him in, closing the gap to 10 meters over the first 5k. He eventually reopened the gap, but I managed to pick up a place at 8k. For once, my legs surprised me with finishing kick and I could see third place coming back to me, but I ran out of runway.<\/div>\n
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\nI ran a 33:48 10k, not much slower than my standalone 10k race<\/a> last weekend which uses part of the same course. This is why I avoid checking splits during races. I probably would have freaked out had I known my pace. Better to listen to your legs than your watch.<\/div>\n
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Triathlon uses all the muscle groups\u2014even jaw muscles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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