18 May 2009

PATCO...meh.

So I will be blunt. Not too pleased with with my performance here in Oklahoma. Ya it is the first ITU in a couple of years, it wasn't what I was hoping but a starting point for the season. I have some tweaking to do before next weeks race in Austin Tx. Well here is what happened:

So race time was 4pm. So I got up at 9 for some continental breakfast Quick 20min jog with JP and back to the hotel for a shave and a nap. Quick lunch at 1pm and a coffee at 2. We hit the road at 2:30 off to the course, loop of the course and set up the transition. Quick Jog, a 20min swim and I was good to go.
Swim:
There was a bit of foreshadowing on the start line as when I dove in my calf cramped up a bit. None the less I managed to get a strong start and had open water early after accidently kicking someone. Sorry. So with clear water I looked to my left and saw another charge. I joined up with them and swam even. On the back side up current and into the wind I went to the front and set the pace and held it to the finish of the swim. So out of the water with a bit of a gap, my legs were already feeling some cramping but I ran hard into transition and exited in good position.

Bike:


A pack of 6 of us got moving working hard. I built into it due to the hard effort in the water. Mat Read, Hunter Kemper, Timothy O'Donnell, Matt Chrabot, Benjamin Collins and I built about a 2min gap over the 40km ride.
Run:

Fast transition on to the run but it became obvious quickly that the cramping was back. First lap was filled with sharp snaps back to reality that I had made a nutritionl mistake. I got into a bit of a damage control mode, unable to apply preasure. Second of four laps was better but the remainder of the run was on and off till a final sprint in for 12th. Not the kind of running seen at the TC 10km. Click Here for results. Triathlon Canada Articl.
So Not the way I would have liked to conclude the race, and not what I believe I am capable of. I am in the middle of making a list of the lessons I will take from this race and apply it to the continental cup in Austin. Top of the list is to figure out my hydration plan. A pinch of salt may be the trick but I will look further into this.
For now it is off to bed and recovery.
Ciao for now,
Andrew
No Cotton Wool.

1 comment:

Alex said...

Hey Man, I think you had an amazing race! I know the run split isn't the fastest that you can do, but you seem to have forgotten that you were the top swimmer, had an awesome bike with world class bikers, and were the top Canadian overall!! All the other guys have things they need to work on as well (ie Jeff cramping so hard on the run that he practically stopped and Austin puking the whole time), so I think you should be extremely pleased with the result!
Hope you Have a Blast in Texas!! See you soon