DP Racing: Music City Triathlon 2013

My fourth triathlon! Technically Chattanooga Waterfront counted as a triathlon, but I don't count it since it was obviously a duathlon. MCT was great! They have both a sprint and an intermediate race. I competed in the intermediate. I'm wanting to get into the longer distances and am trying to get used to each new distance, at least a little, before moving up. This marks my very first intermediate triathlon.

The weather was amazing! I've never felt weather like this during the summer in Tennessee, and I grew up here. The race started with air temps right around 65* and water temps about 74*. That made the swim start wetsuit legal. Not owning and never having swum in a wetsuit, I elected not to rent one, which probably hurt my time slightly, but I wanted the swim experience anyway. I have no guarantee of having other races be wetsuit legal, so why not learn to swim the 1500 meters without one?! The bike course was slightly on the windy side, but nothing too crazy, and the run course wasn't too bad either. I'm pretty sure the air temps didn't reach 80* during the race, and it wasn't humid either. Nashville is generally VERY hot and VERY humid. This was a good way to do my first intermediate!

Swim (I heard it was a little long by someone who had a GPS, but I have no way to back this up): 26:56

Bike (again, I was told this was 27-ish miles rather than 25, by more than one person): 1:19:44

Run (was told this was 6 rather than 6.2): 45:01

All-in-all I'm satisfied with my time. My goal was to be under 2:30:00, and if the measurements I was told are correct, then my corrected goal time was almost exactly what I finished in! I really thought that I would be closer to 2:40:00, and I beat that by 4.5 minutes!

I swam very controlled. Sometimes I pushed a little, but I didn't want to wear myself out at the beginning of the swim like I did at MachTenn. I just kept a pace, sighted every six or so strokes, and tried not to lose too much time on the swim. I need more time in the water again before I'm comfortable pushing faster for that length of time. I think I can get my swim down toward the twenty minute mark by the end of the year, sans wetsuit.

I tried to push it on the bike. The problem was that I couldn't tell how fast I was going. There were bumps in the road at the beginning of the bike course and it caused my computer sensor to move slightly so I couldn't see my speed. I could still see my rpm and tried to keep them in the goal range. I need to figure out how to keep that from happening again! I did feel much stronger on the bike this time, and if the 27 miles thing is correct, I averaged 20.5 mph! I really just need more saddle time and to get my legs stronger. I'm getting more comfortable around people, passing and being passed, and leaning into curves at good speeds.

I put an electrolyte replacement thing in my water bottle that I had tried the day before. It seemed ok until I was on the bike. It made me burp so I didn't drink much. However, using tips from Brad Rollins, I taped two GU gels into my bike. I used one 1/4 of the way through the bike, and the other when I got off. I don't know if these really helped, but they definitely didn't hurt and probably kept me going pretty strong.

My legs actually felt pretty good after the bike. I had put it into an easier gear and spun around 100 rpm for about 3-4 min prior to dismount. After getting up that first big hill going onto the walking bridge, I felt pretty decent. I tried to push my pace a little, even though my legs didn't really want to give more. The hill on 1st Ave was a lot harder on race day than when I ran it earlier in the week. On the second lap, I walked for about 15 seconds while getting water at the 1st Ave aid station. Other than that, I ran the whole thing. I started really trying to push in the last mile of the run. I didn't quite give it all I had because I wasn't sure how long I could maintain that output. When I finished, I realized I had a little more that I could've given. That will be good to know in the future.

I actually really enjoyed myself before, during, and after the race. I volunteered to help set up, do packet pickup, and break everything down, so I was a little concerned that my body would be tired even before the race began. It was a good time with Team Magic! I also thought about nutrition but didn't WORRY about it the few days before the race. I got my first good night of sleep before a triathlon, and I think that was a tremendous help! I'm happy with my result, but I have a long way to go to catch Craig Evans!

Total time: 2:35:35!!

Out of the water!