Mission Man tri race report

Since I have another tri tomorrow I better type this out before I forget or get the two confused. you know how us old people are...

This was a great race for me. I am definitely not a good warm weather athlete, so I was more than a little nervous about this one as the race start was at 8am and predicted to be in the upper 70's with upper 80's when I started the run. Picked up Karyn around 5:30, she had a flat and was attempting to change the tire. I put the new tube in and we tried to pump it up, but the new tube was also dead, so we loaded up the bike and drove to the race thinking they would have tubes there. she as 650's on her bike or I would have given her my spare. Made it to the race site to find out that tri-sports bike assistance wasn't set up yet. I got all my stuff setup, body marked and was about to go out for my warmup jog when I hear the announcer make a plea for anyone with a spare 650 tube, I look over and there is Karyn standing next to him. Luckily a kind sole had one for her, then it took the bike mech about 10 minutes to change put the new tube in. I had done it in 3 minutes in her garage so I was disappointed to say the least the bike assistance crew, first not having 650 tubes is nuts, then not being able to get the tire changed. but luckily she got it all straightened out and was ready for the start. My pre-race went much easier and I got my 2 trips to the port o john, warmup run, and warmup swim with no hassles. Just after the first wave went my stomach said, "ah maybe you should make another trip" I was in the third wave, so I jogged over to the now empty poj line and took care of business and was back at the start just in time to wish Mika and karyn luck and get into the water for my start.

Swim: 15:44 #2 in MC div ( :02 seconds away from #1 )
With my shoulder still on the mend I knew my success in the swim would hinge on swimming as straight as possible and maintaining the best form. so there was no sprint at the start, not jockey for position, just stroke and sight. Very happy to report I swam possible the straightest I have ever done in a race and aside from one dufus who kept cris crossing in front of me in the first 200 yards had an uneventful swim. the best kind...

T1: :55
no messing around in T1 - shoes, helmet, glasses on, head out

Bike: 43:46 #3 in MC div ( :23 seconds away from #1 )
the first 5 or so miles on the bike I was trying to maintain a fast pace and wait for my lungs to catch up, but that wasn't happening so I slowed down, drank some and took it easy for about a mile until my breathing returned to semi-normal, then began to pick up the speed until I got the breaking point, then backed off slightly and kept that pace. It was really hard as the air quality was not so great and the heat was on the rise. Only say a couple drafters today, and they were all relay teams, ( not to relay teams: you are not allowed to draft either ) so was happy about that, passed a bunch of people and got passed by only a few. when I pulled into the park I was over 20mph ave so very happy.

T2: 1:42
did some messing around in T2 but it ended up helping me. Needed to cool off before the run so took some extra time to dig ice out of my cooler and put a handful in my hat, and another handful down my tri-suit. yes it was cold, but felt really good.

Run: 26:40 #2 in MC div ( :01 second away from #1 )
Within the first 1/2 mile I knew the run was not going to be fast today. At the first water stop I asked for water, but the boy gave me Heed instead, I didn't notice till I dumped it on my head, so the run was literally hot and sticky. When we turned onto the trail, I cut back the speed and got to a maintainable pace, on the uphills I was passing walkers left and right, the carnage was already starting. Normally for a sprint I am for low 8's on the run, but today I wasn't even going to look. I just got in a rhythm and went. It was probably one of the harder runs I've ever done, but mentally I was ready for it and since it was a two loop course, I knew what to expect on the second loop so I was able to push up the hills knowing when they would end. There was only 1 hill I thought would be a maybe walk and when I got up that one I knew I was home free. The toughest part about this run course is there were no downhills that you could recover on. they were all short and steep. with about 1/2 mile to go finally someone passed me a speed I could hang on to and I rode his pace to the finish. I was right on the edge at the end and so I knew I had given it all I had. The best way to finish a race, at least that's how you feel about 30 minutes after you finish.

total time: 1:28:44 1st in MC division

Overall they put on a great race. plenty of water on the run, ice at the finish and a great spread of food at the end including watermelon, cantalope, oranges, cookies, chips, gatorade, sode, water and other stuff. and to top it off I got this reward