I had a blast at Tri the Rez this year! It's so amazing to see my race grow like it has. I could not have picked a better successor than Jennifer.
Race day: I woke up before my alarm went off and naturally couldn't go back to sleep. I drank my smoothie while I got dressed and couldn't find my body glide. I thought I had 3 sticks of it. No idea where they are. I didn't freak out, just got some Aquaphor instead. I got to wear #1, which was super cool. I had the best spot in the entire transition area although someone with a bike # in the 150s had racked in my spot (so I had to make her leave). From my vantage point, it looked like everything was running smoothly behind the scenes. I never saw a line at the bathrooms since we rented so many port-a-potties and the Rez opened their bathrooms. There were 110 registered collegiate athletes, many of them from other schools.
Swim: the water was something like 74°F. I wore my wetsuit partially to get my money's worth out of it. I borrowed some body glide from Colin for the wetsuit but still it didn't come off super easily. The lake level is very low at the Rez and we had to run through a little bit of muck and vegetation that's been absent in years past. The buoys were easy to sight and I gave myself a little bit of space to the outside of the first leg of the swim to stay out of the herd (Javi got hit really hard in the nose). I was the 17th guy to come out of the water. The exit was a bit tricky in the muck and everyone had dirt on their hands and faces. Very nice entry to T1, a bit of wetsuit trouble, then my chip had come loose and I noticed only after unracking my bike! That was awkward. Oh and my watch broke during the swim. Blank display. I took it off while running and set it down with my swim cap & goggles. It was weird doing the rest of the race with nothing on my wrist.
Bike: I slipped into my shoes pretty easily. Not a whole lot of people around me. Nobody passed me on the bike! I passed a few people. I wish I could have pushed a bigger gear at the same cadence, but I haven't been training very hard. The bike course director went around yesterday and blew off the bike course with a gas powered blower. It was amazing. Hardly any debris on the course. The poorly paved portions were painted and highly visible. I saw Colin heading back in while I was on Lost Lake Rd! He wasn't that far in front of me! Colin definitely opened a gap on the bike back and the run. After getting back on to Springhill, I noticed a headwind. Boo. I wish I was better at cornering. I need to practice. I had to slow way down to make the turn on to Lake Bradford. I think I did a pretty good job turning on to Flastacowo where Nat & Erin were cheering for me. After making the turn, I took my feet out of my shoes and pedaled almost right up to the dismount line. I quickly racked my bike, seemed like I took forever to get my socks & shoes on, then headed out to the run.
Run: I thought the course was very well marked (what can I say). The only issue is that it was missing the 1 & 2 mile markers. The run course coordinator told me that she put them up the day before and this morning they were snapped in half and the 2 mile marker was thrown in the woods. The course was way harder today than any other time I've run it. Maybe I was a little tired from the race, but I definitely noticed the hill that takes you out of the Rez and the sand trap in the woods. The water station was staffed by plenty of people and the woods was a nice touch. I really like that course. Through the woods, I couldn't see anyone in front of me and I didn't check for anyone behind me. After getting back on to Longleaf, I saw a UF jersey in front of me a good ways. I was working on catching him for an entire mile and I got pretty close at the finish, but he kicked it in really hard when he heard people cheering for me and there was no way I could catch him although he only beat me by 1 second.
Post Race: Got a massage and some food after cheering a few people in. Went on a cool down with Colin & Tommy. Saw the broken 1 mile sign with the 2 mile one nowhere to be found. Came back and enjoyed some food...should have eaten more. Didn't win an award because I finished 14th in the collegiate division. I helped clean up and headed home around 1pm.
My Results: 22nd/288 overall. total time: 1:06:12 swim place 35, swim time 9:15, T1 0:56, bike place 32, bike time 34:57, T2 0:47, run place 10, run time 20:19
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