Friday Race Briefing

This was my first elite/pro race briefing, and my first ITU race briefing.  The race director blazed through all the information and he was like “you guys all know this stuff...”, I sat there nervously trying to keep up and trying not look too much like a 'newbie'.

Opening ceremonies:

Kristin and the boys joined me for the opening ceremonies dinner.  The buffet was awesome and they had some traditional Korean performances as well.

Saturday

 Rain All Day!  Kristin took the boys to an indoor playground while I did a little work out in the hotel gym. Later in the day we drove the race course and I started to get excited.  The highlight of Saturday was going to dinner with Cindy and friends.

Sunday, Race Morning

I had a plan to ride to the race, but when I woke up there was a heavy fog and you could not see more than a 20 meters.  I thought that it would be best not to ride on a major rode in this condition, so I reluctantly woke up Kristin and the boys and asked them to quickly get ready. They were so gracious and did not complain about it at all!

The Race

Swim: 1.6km -  21:33

Water temperature was so cold (13 degrees Celsius).  I was able to at least get in the water before the start and try to reduce the shock of the cold, but honestly it didn't help much. 

Since it was an ITU race, each individual got to pick their spot on the starting line. This being my first elite/pro race ever, I was one of the last to pick a spot because I was ranked #31 of #35.

The horn sounded and I took off, and I actually had a relatively good start.  I plunged forward doing the “high knee” drill over the incoming tide and then I dolphin-dived a few times before settling in to my stroke.  Well actually, there was no settling in. The wind and tide made for quite choppy conditions. After about 200m I started to fade towards the middle of the pack.

I came out of the water in 15th… kind of a humbling experience for an ex-collegiate swimmer.  (I felt better after the race talking to some of the top swimmers who said their times where about 2min. slow.)

T1

LONG barefoot run, 500m up hill, with feet that were numb from the cold water.  It felt weird running and I was passed by a couple people in T1.

Bike: 85km - 2:06:09

The bike was the performance highlight of the race for me.  I started the bike in 17th and I worked my up to 4th by the end.  The best part of the bike was turning around after the first 40 km loop.  Kristin and the boys hiked about 1km to the turnaround point and they were ecstatic to see that I was in 4th place.

T2:

A little bit “Jello-leg” feeling, but it is my first race of the season and I have not done many brick workouts.  It was awesome to run past Kristin and the boys as they cheered their heads off for me!

Run: 20km - 1:28:00

My run run is still a work in progress.  Even though I had one of the slower runs in the field, I was pleased.  Last year, at this time, I ran 1hr 35min and this year I was 1hr 28min.

Finish: 4:00:46

Results Link  I was very happy to cross the finish line and embrace my family!  Also, top 10 in my first pro race! I’ll take it!

Post Race Playground

After the race we were driving home and we spotted a really cool playground!  Home can wait, especially after how awesome these boys were today in cheering for me and not complaining once! The playground had a really cool bouncy mound or hill.  The boys went crazy and spent a lot of energy! This made the drive home much easier... :)