Pelican Fest Triathlon

From Tri Buddha

Prologue

After the tornado ravaged Windsor, CO last year, the Pelican Fest triathlon is back with a new venue. The morning doesn't look promising but hopefully the rain will hold off for the race. It's cool, almost cold, it's been raining on and off for days and it looks like rain again today.

Act 1 - The Swim

The swim this year is point to point which seems strange in Colorado. It's only 750 meters across the south side of the lake. I'm swimming in my new Synapse wetsuit, it's a full wetsuit which promises to help on this cool May morning. I've heard that full wetsuits constrict the shoulders and make it actually harder to swim. I line up near the front since it seems no one else wants to and I'm off with the lead group.

The swim is pretty non-eventful until I reach the exit and T1. You have to climb up the bank which by now is wet and slick from the earlier wave. Fortunately there are volunteers to help you exit the water.

800 meters - 13:31, 1:41/100

Into T1, I have a decision to make, to jacket or not. It feels cold now that I'm wet but do I want to waste the time with a jacket? I opt for the jacket since hypothermia isn't my idea of racing. It cost me a little time but hopefully it's worth it.

T1 - 2:20

Act 2 - The Bike

I'm riding the newer P2C. It was the bike I had on the trainer all winter so this is going to be the carbon summer.

I thought Windsor and the Pelican Fest was supposed to be flat. The course is basically a big square around rural Windsor. It starts with a long, steady climb from T1 to the first turn. It's not steep but I can't find a good cadence or rythym. Maybe it's the cold and I'm must having trouble warming up. The most fun part of the course is went it detours onto the bike path. It's narrow and winding so you really have to watch your speed. Speaking of which, I failed to produce any speed on the bike.

10 miles, 26:29, 22.7 mph

I'm glad I grabbed the jacket but it's time to run and lose the jacket in T2.

T2 - :45

Act 3 - The Run

The run is out and back around the lake so it's really flat. The only bumps are little bridges crossing creeks. I settle in early and pace off a man and woman who are running pretty good. After about 3/4 of a mile, she drops him so I pick up the pace to stay with her. She's running strong so I just focus on keeping contact. I hang on for most of the run and she only gets away on the last 1/2 mile so I don't worry to much about it. Overall the run was really good.

5k - 19:34, 6:18/mile

Epilogue

The rain held out long enough for Holly to finish and for me to grab some dry clothes. That was about it and then it started to pour. I feel so sorry for the people still coming in because the temp is dropping and everyone is getting wet. After the race, I meet Steven who won the age group. It was pretty close between us. He had me a little on the swim, a lot on T1 and a little on the bike. I closed the gap on the run but he had too much of a lead. Still, you can't complain about second at a sprint when you've been training for Ironman. Oh yeah, I moved up an age group this year.

1:03:09, 21st overall, 2nd M45-49

2009 Goals

Most years I have a list of goals but this year there are only two: qualify for the Ironman World Championship and help Bob complete his first triathlon which happens to be Ironman Florida.

When I competed at Ironman CdA, I was more concerned with finishing than going fast. When the gun went off, I waited on the beach until the crowd had started the swim. On the bike, I tried to be steady and well within my limits. On the run I stopped a few times to say hi to friends and didn't push myself. At the end, while I didn't feel fresh, I didn't feel trashed either.

This year it's going to be different. To improve upon CdA, there are three areas I'll focus on. The first is transition. At CdA, the first transition was around 10 minutes and the second around 6. I have enough experience to know those can both be safely dropped to around 2 - 3 minutes each.

Over the last three years, I've improved my cycling a lot. I've went to holding 19 mph on the rolling Harvest Moon half-iron course to holding 23. I am going to train to be able to hold 23 for the Ironman distance while still having enough in reserve to have a strong run. This will be my biggest challenge, to ride faster and longer while being more efficient and saving more energy for the run.

Compared to the bike, the run should be easy. Last year at Harvest Moon, I held back on the run and finished in 1:38. As long as I don't go too hard on the bike, I should be able to complete the run in 3:15.

Helping Bob may be the bigger challenge this year. Bob is aerobically one of the fittest people I know. The challenge is that he doesn't know how to swim and he signed up for Ironman. If I can get him to finish the swim under the cutoff time, he should be able to finish without any problems. His cycling needs a little work since he mostly uses the bike to cross-train for running and his run needs no work at all.

Just two goals this year but I think both will be very challenging for completely different reasons.

New Beginnings

The plan was so perfect. Take it easy in October and the start to slowly build the base in November, December and January. October became November and ski season started. Then the holidays rolled around and there were all the social committments.

It's the end of January and the base is just starting to be built. It's not like nothing happened. Fortunately at work the gym crew get going so I did get some exercise in. The volume is a little low but I don't think that will be an issue in another month or two. For now I'll keep skiing on weekends and training during the week.

Customer Service

I had thought that good customer service was a thing of the past until last weekend. A few weeks ago, I picked up my new P2C from BikeSource. I had a quick fit using the figures from last fall and everything seemed right. Since I was racing Boulder Peak and didn't feel like I would have enough time on the new bike, I kept training on my P2SL and the P2C sat in the corner.

Last week with Boulder Peak behind me and no races on the horizon, I decided to start training on the P2C. During my first ride, I noticed that I couldn't quite drop my heels at the bottom of my pedal stroke. I've had tight calves in the past and I can usually stretch them while riding but on the P2C I couldn't.

After the second day of riding I started to think the setup was wrong. Out came the tape measure and the P2SL. I started measuring everything on the two bikes and comparing them. Everything seemed to match. I looked at my road bike and just happned to notice the crank arm length. I looked at the new P2C at the cranks were 172.5 whie my road bike and the P2SL were both 170.

I called BikeSource, described the issue and they said come on in. I thought that I would have to leave my bike and come back later but 15 minutes later, the cranks were swapped and I was on my way. No hassle, no charge, just a thanks for coming in from the manager.

The Power of Yellow

It is said those who can't remember history are doomed to repeat it. With this year's Tour de France wrapping up, it appears that this saying holds true for sports as well as life.

In 2004, Thomas Voeckler grabbed the yellow jersey during a long break away. For days he carried the yellow jersey on his shoulders. When the race tipped upwards in the mountains everyone expected him to lose it to Lance Armstrong but to everyone's surprise, Voeckler rode better and faster than ever to hold onto the jersey. It took three mountain stages to finally dislodge his grasp on the jersey.

In 2007 on stage 14, Alberto Contador attacked on stage 14 climbing the Plateau-de-Beile. Cadel Evans didn't respond and allowed Contador a 1:50 cushion. Everyone assumed that Evans would grab the jersey on the penultimate day during the time trial after all, he was the best rider. Somehow Contador rode the time trial like he has never before. While Evans was faster, somehow Contador was quick enough to retain the jersey relegating Evans to second place.

Looking back on 2008, the same situation happened on stage 17 climbing Alpe d'Huez. Evans kept watching Frank Schlek and failed to notice Carlos Sastre. Sastre attacked at the base and rode his way to winning the stage and a 1:34 gap over Evans. Again everyone thought Evans would win the jersey during the time trial but again, powered by the yellow jersey, Sastre rode the time trial of his life. While Evans was faster it wasn't enough and again he wound up second.

Maybe next time, when someone attacks, Evans will cover it to make sure he retains yellow.

2008 Boulder Peak - Epilogue

I was the twelfth person to cross the line but that meant little considering the number of athletes in later waves. I quickly found Brad and Ben to congratulate them on great performances and then went searching for shade. At Boulder Res, shade is always in short supply and high demand. After a quick massage, I set out to find Bruce waiting for Holly near the top of the hill. She was on pace at the start of the run but the heat finally caught up with her.

As I write this a few days later I only now realize how good by bike was. I didn't hear the whoosh-whoosh sound of any disc wheels passing me. I passed a few disc but none caught me.

I'm also pleased with my run. It wasn't my fastest but it was one of my smartest. Last year I caught and passed a runner with about a mile to go. I didn't catch and recover, I just went straight to the front. Last year my pass didn't stick. This year when I caught Ben, I settled in and recovered for a couple minutes. When I finally made my move with a mile to go, I had recovered enough to make it stand up.

All in all, a great race and a fabulous PR.

Total time: 2:16:35, 32 overall, 3rd AG M 40 - 44

2008 Boulder Peak - The Run

Grab the hat, number belt and dash out of T2. It's early, the temp hasn't climbed much and it's time to put some time on the run and see if I can hold off the rest of the wave. I pass a few runners from the first two waves on the hill and when I head out on the first part of the dam, Brad catches and passes me. I know I can't match his speed over 10k so I'm content to let him go and hold my pass.

On the way to the turn around there aren't many people going out and fewer people coming back. I start to count runners to the turn and there are only fifteen people in front of me. I saw Brad and Ben so I know there are at least two people in my AG. I set my sights on Ben but it's a long way to go. Remembering the lessons of the Taos marathon, I know I don't have to catch him right away. Working consistently I slowly close on Ben and finally catch him on the north portion of the dam.

Knowing how I passed and couldn't escape from a runner last year, I settle in behind Ben for a little while to recover. I decide to use the last aid station to make my move and by quickly grabbing a cup I'm able to open a small gap but Ben is able to close the distance. I keep pushing hard on the last section of the dam until I can't hear Ben's footsteps. All I have to do is hold the pace to the downhill and I'm able to hold off Ben.

10k - 41:06. 6:38/mile