Saturday, October 16, 2010

Big Rock Olympic Triathlon Race Report

For starters, I managed to finish this race, which is a huge mental win.  Because of last weeks gear problems, I had a few nightmares about races going bad.

Lake Perris is about 65 miles east of me, so it falls into that awkward "middle distance" classification where it can't be considered local, yet is still too close to justify a hotel.  So I went to bed early last night, set the alarm for 3:45 and was out the door by 4:15.

It was a quick trip so early in the morning.  In fact, I don't think I've ever been on the 91 Freeway without having to deal with heavy traffic.  I got to the lake at about 5:15, parked, grabbed my race numbers, set up transition and then enjoyed some very short lines at the porta-potties.  We all know how key this is.

Craig from Let's Do This Again was racing as well.  It was his first race in 15 years, and I was shocked to learn from him that  the last time he suited up, Body Glide didn't exist yet.  I now know how a teenager feels when their parents tell them that when they where kids there was no such thing as text messaging.

Craig and I
The Swim

We headed down to the beach for the 7:30 start.  I was in Wave 2 which went off at 7:33.  Since they where running running sprint and Olympic distance races at the same time, the swim course was a 750 meter box with the sprint racers doing 1 lap and the Olympic racers doing 2.

I want to thank everyone for their comments on yesterday's post about swimming.  As you suggested, I really focused on reach, glide, keeping my core tight and keeping my head down.  My swim time was 28:06.  That's the fastest I've ever swim this distance by 10 minutes.  Too fast, in fact - I wouldn't be surprised if the swim course was a little short.  Regardless, I could tell it was my strongest swim to date.  You guys rule.  Thanks again.

The first lap had more traffic than the second due to the sprint racers, but all in all it was a more mellow swim than some races this year.  My navigation and sighting where fine.  All things considered, I'm pleased with my performance.

Swim - 1500 meters - 28:06 - 1:43 minutes per 100 yards. 

The Bike

The run from the beach to transition was long - not quite a half mile, but more than a quarter mile across a wide beach and then a field.  I hit the run from the water to transition area pretty hard, so my transition time of 4:07 ended up being good against the rest of the field.  But the strong run to transition was at the expense of a elevated heart rate, and when the bike course started climbing almost immediately, I was not a happy camper.

Luckily, it was a short hill and when I crested I started hammering the downhill.  The bike course was two twelve mile loops.  Other than the hill at the start and another more significant hill at the end of the loop, it was mostly flat.  But the road surfaces where not great nor where the roads completely closed to vehicular traffic.  At one point in the first loop, I was riding with two other riders, but one of the guys pulled this lame blocking move in a short stretch of construction (yeah, there was some of that too), so the other guy and I dusted him and rode together most of the rest of the way while trading off on the pacing.  All in all it was a good ride, and I managed the 19th best time on the day.

Bike - 40 kilometers - 1:13:47 - 20.21 MPH

The bike that treated me well today
The Run

I got through T2 in 1:10 and set out on the run.  It was an out and back course, with the first and last mile and a half on a rolling multi-use path and the middle three miles on the top of a dam.

Lake Perris Dam
The first mile and a half was a little rough.  But it always is, so what could I do besides run?  By the time I got to the dam I felt better but I wouldn't say I was running happy without a care in the world.  I got a bit more of a boost at the turnaround point when I saw how many people where behind me coming across the dam.  But the boost didn't last too long - the last mile and a half back on the trail to the finish line was pure torture.  The little rolling hills, which I am sure would be pleasant on a weekend jog, destroyed my hamstrings on the way up and my quads on the way down.  It was pretty brutal.  But I kept running.  And then finally, the finish line.  It wasn't a bad run, but it was definitely a hard one.

Run - 10 kilometers - 48:59 - 7:53 minutes per mile

My time for the race was 2:36:11.  That got me 5th in my age group and 36th overall.  Based on the previous years results, I thought I could get 3rd in my AG but that wasn't in the cards today. 

Still, I'm pleased with the result.  I gave the race everything I had and I think my performance today was a pretty good indication as to where my abilities are at the moment.  So I'll take it, and end the 2010 triathlon season on a high note.

It wasn't a very big race, maybe 250 people.  But the thing I noticed was that it was a very friendly race.  The guy who I had paced with on the bike found me afterwards and introduced himself.  And everyone on the run, whether passing or getting passed, had words of encouragement.  It was a cool atmosphere for sure.  I'm actually pretty glad that last week happened and I did this one instead.

32 comments:

The Green Girl said...

Whoo hoo! Congratulations on a strong swim and a great race!

I know what you mean about the 91. When I go snowboarding, I get to zoom east so easily because I go so early in the morning.

Barbie said...

Whoa, you rocked that swim Patrick. Actually you rocked the whole damn lot. Well done. Glad that website helped. It's an awesome application.

RockStarTri said...

Very impressive. Well done!

KovasP said...

Great result Patrick! Your hard work is really paying off, strong in all 3 legs. Good way to end this season and a definite confidence-boost for Hawaii. Love races where people are friendly.

Lindsay said...

nicely done! 65mi would definitely be good enough reason to stay overnight for me... i do not like getting up that early! lol. glad you got some good tips on swimming... i am rarely in the pool so i knew i would be of no help.

DRog said...

Dude!
You ended on a huge HIGH note! Great race! Very solid effort all the way around!
-Derek

Lucas R. Tucker said...

way to hammer on the bike and work through the pain on the run!! You kicked @$$.

I love friendly races. I make it a point to speak to every volunteer, person passing me, and person I pass when I race. I think it helps make the race easier.

Raegun said...

What a fantastic race, Patrick. Thanks for sharing the report. It is stories like this that make me want to push on and continue learning to like running. I made a sarcastic post today about a 5k that makes me feel like a big wuss after reading about your accomplishment, lol. Well done!

Jennifer said...

Great job Patrick! You are doing so well with your training and racing, keep it up! You'll be going to Kona in no time.

TRI714 said...

Nice job brother, very strong showing. I was very stoked for you and did my best to pack my stuff up and get back up the run course to encourage you on. My calves where a bit toast from bike to run and major anxiety. But it was good to get out there and get that out of the way. Again great job.
May have been our 1st together, but won't be the last.

Patrick Mahoney said...

Hey Craig, I'm sorry...I should have written "And then finally, there was Craig and the finish line".

I appreciate you being there at the end, was cool to see you...

misszippy said...

Nice work and great redemption for last week! Glad you got it in.

ajh said...

Sounds like a good race with all the encouragement. I don't know a lot about tris but that run to the bike sounds long. Good job overall - congrats!!

Unknown said...

Very nice race!

Chris K said...

Damn, I am impressed. Especially the run. I can't comment on the first two, but 7:53 is awesome after swimming and riding. 5th is great. Congrats Patrick, well done.

Anonymous said...

Excellent race!!! Congrats.

Unknown said...

Great times in all three events. Glad the swim worked so well for you; that's quite the improvement.

Good to know I'm not the only one checking out previous year's results before a race.

Aimee said...

Woohoo! Congrats on an AWESOME race! All of your times were super fast! :)

I really like small, friendly races too. There's just something about them that makes the race just "fun"-ya know?

Oh, and I like the pic of you and Craig...you're actually smiling! :)

valen said...

great race, Patrick and an impressive swim, 10 minutes is HUGE!.
that sets you up well for hawaii,
by the way, 250 is what we called a crowded race around here, he he he.

Johann said...

Fantastic race, well done! That's a good time as well.

Pahla said...

Wow, Patrick, excellent race!! What a strong finish to your season - rest up and revel in your glory!!

Shannon (IronTexasMommy) said...

Super awesome! Those were some amazing times you put up. Great job, Patrick!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Congrats

Heather said...

Great job!! I am glad it turned out so positive for you.

Thanks for the report!!

Glenn Jones said...

Great job Patrick! Way to turn ast week's adversity into this week's triumph!

Andrew Opala said...

Awesome man!!! I love the fact that you swam faster.

You didn't mention anything about breathing out of your eye-lids (but I'll take that as a given).

BTW under the metric system 5th place counts as placing. It's a mahogany. 4th is tin, 3rd-bronze, 2nd-silver, 1st-gold.

:)

Quinton J said...

You rocked that one Patrick! But enough about the race...your face in that pic is the flippin best. I'm going home to practice that sh** in the mirror right now.

Caratunk Girl said...

You have crazy eyes going on in that picture!! It is awesome!! I like that better than the serious ones for sure! But I am not so serious so that is probably just me. Congrats on an awesome race, awesome results...I just spelled that resluts at first. Oops.

Kathleen said...

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this post was
"he is smiling!"
Congrats on a great race.

TRI714 said...

Finally someone said it .HES SMILING !That was the 1st thing I said after we took those pix. Dude, smiles all the time in person.

Quinton J said...

...I'm still practicing. It's harder than it looks.

Jill said...

Woohoo, great race there Speedy!! Congrats, sounds like an awesome experience!!

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