Pinchot Triathlon 2009

I ran my third consecutive Pinchot Triathlon yesterday. The weather was cool and overcast. There was a pretty strong wind at the beginning of the race. Fortunately, the rains held off.

I got up at 4:30, ate some breakfast, loaded my gear and then drove to Sheetz to meet Bill L. I met Bill through my blog. He raced at Hempfield, and as it turns out, has been casually reading my blog for a little while. He was the individual that I mentioned in my Hempfield race report. After reading the report, he emailed me.

We had a nice ride to Pinchot, and after checking in got set-up in nice positions on the racks. Another friend, Eric D. passed us on the way to the race and met us at the transition area. This was to be Eric's first tri.

Swim

I have been working diligently on improving my swim, and wanted to average 2:00 per hundred, which is not too bad for an open water swim, especially for someone who only began swimming two years ago. It was decided at the start of the race, that all swimmers were going to go out at the same time. Last year this would have unnerved me, but I wasn't bothered this year. At the horn, we were off and I got into a rhythm faster than I ever have. I quickly rounded the first buoy and was off on the long stretch of the swim. Things went well, and I was holding position, and actually passed people. The only bad part of the swim, was when I rounded the second buoy. The wind had created chop, and it came over my face as I went to breathe. I got a mouth full of water, but still maintained form and came out of the water in the top third.

Bike

I haven't been biking as much as I would have liked, because of weather and schedules. I started out well, and felt fine, but the first hill seemed harder than I remember. Then, on the back stretch, the wind was directly at my front, which made maintaining speed difficult. I held position, and managed to win most close battles, but my time ended up slower than last year. I did catch one individual in my age group, and passed him. He would get ahead of me again at the transition, but he couldn't hold me off on the run.

Run

My run wasn't great, but it was the best time in my age group, so I can't complain. The lack of biking, also meant the lack of doing bricks, so I think I started a little too slow.

Transitions

I continue to improve here, and no longer lose significant amounts of time.

Results and Final Comments

* Overall time: 1:38:47; Swim, 14:11 (1:53 per 100 yards, goal met); Bike, 1:00:21 (17.9 mph, work needed); run, 22:24 (7:28 per mile, brick work needed), T1, 1:16; T2, :35.

* 20th place overall; 2nd in my age group. 2:30 faster, and I would have been 1st. I'm getting there, but can't seem to excel at all three events at the same time.

* Well run event with great volunteers

* Must find ways to shave a little time off the bike for the next race. I'm going to try a set of add-on grips to bring my arms closer together and narrow my frontal profile. I also need a little more conditioning. Bill L. who was a former bike racer has suggested two key work-outs: 5 minute all-out repeats, and 20 minute LT repeats.

* Congrats go out to my buddy Eric D. for completing his first tri.