My day began at 0500 at the transition since Blanca was volunteering that day. Got body marked and set up my bike in a good spot next to the start of the course. It was good to get there early and set up with plenty of time. I saw some athletes arrive shortly before 0700 and by then most of the good places were taken and they were rushed.
I decided that I would race with just my swim shorts and no shirt. I had shaved my chest and legs the day before and didn't want to wear a tri top because I felt it would slow me down. We lined up next the pool by our race numbers which were assigned based on our estimated 400 meter swim time. Everyone was pretty nervous as we lined up to wait our turn for the swim portion.
The Swim 400 meters 09:24
I jumped in for the swim and felt good to get started. I was able to pass the guy in front of me pretty quickly and got in a good rhythm. The pool was 50 meters in length and we raced one way and changed lanes on the way back. There were 5 seconds between each swimmer so it was not too crowded. I got out of the water feeling good and ran towards the transition.
T1 02:30
I got to transition and found out something very important about putting on the tri top with wet skin... It is not easy, and I struggled to put it on and had to take it off and put back on again. In retrospect, should have just rode the bike and ran with tri shorts only but I guess I'm too shy and self conscious for that kind of thing. Got the helmet on and forgot to buckle it in but fortunately no official saw it for that could be a penalty. Got to the mounting line and started on the bike.
The Bike 12 miles 36:10
The course was flat and fast plus the road was closed to traffic. I had a good bike split overall. The out was slightly uphill with a head wind but the back was faster with the tail wind. The crowd support was great along the course and riding the mission trail was cool. Saw the Socorro and the San Elizario Mission along the way. Passed several people along the way and finished 29 overall on the bike.
T2 0:38
I was faster on the next transition as the my set up was next to the exit. Grabbed a gatorade on the way to start the run.
The Run 3.1 miles 26:42
I feel like at the beginning of the run went too slow which cost me several precious seconds. Got in a rhythm and settled at about a 8:30 minute mile pace which I had trained with on the brick workouts. Again the crowd support was great and there were tons of volunteers guiding us through the neighborhood. Towards the end as I saw that I was less than 1 hour and 15 minutes, I slowed down a bit as I felt like I had accomplished my goal time. Finished with a sprint run.
Total chip time 1:14:28 48th overall. 5th in my age group.
Prologue.
After reviewing the results I found out that I had tied the 4th place person in my age group. Even worse, I was 21 SECONDS behind the 3rd place podium finisher for our age group... Needless to say, I have been going back and have no end of places that I could have made up those 21 seconds. The lesson for me is that you have to go hard the whole way and don't leave anything behind, specially on these sprint races. My plan is to try to apply these principles during my next race on October 10 in Alamogordo, NM. The 5K run, 30K bike, and 700 meter pool should be fun and a chance to take care of some unfinished business!
Bobby Gonzales (1st place), Angel Vela, and Me
