Sunday, August 02, 2009

Socorro Tri - post bar celebration

I just finished racing Socorro this past Saturday. After participating for the first time last year, I think this will be a staple in the triathlon schedule. Its a whole lot of fun. An outdoor 50m pool, great volunteers, a good bike course, and a great pool of people racing.

I was a little worried, however, going into Saturday's race. I just finished my epic study-a-thon for the NM bar exam. I missed a whole bunch of workouts. Heading into this race, I think I was pretty unprepared.

[Pic of me trying to remember all the subjects on the bar exam]

The race began with a snake style swim start. I was number 79, and thus, about the 79th person into the pool. I decided to "take it easy" during the swim, and just focus on form and steady rate. I was also wearing my heart rate monitor for the first time during a race. Everytime I kicked off the wall, the strap slipped further and further down my torso. That was an odd feeling. I passed one or two people, and was passed by two. I hustled up to transition and caught two people.

T1 was slow. Real slow. Socks. Mountain bike shoes. Helmet. Sunglasses. Jeez, I'm a diva. Anyway, I headed out and wanted to build up a good speed to maintain. I noticed, after adjusting my heartrate monitor, that I was hitting about 180 bpm. Couple deep breaths later, I lowered it a bit.

The course did not seem nearly as hilly as the year before. I caught a few people, and was absolutely obliterated by a member of Enderance Endeavors on a fly tri bike. After hitting the last hill, another guy and I traded spots a few times.

Heading into T2, I threw the shoes on and started running. Soon enough, the guy, whose name turns out to be Dave, and I started a conversation. Turns out we've been side by side before in other races. It was good to run alongside someone with the same pace. He ended up having a little more in the tank than me, and I just tried to keep him just in front of me.

So I finished. Total times:
Total        Swim    T1     Bike     T2     Run
1:07:26.3 7:15 1:34 35:24 1:05 22:11


I did alright. I bettered my time from last year by about 6 minutes.
[last year's times:
1:13:37.1    7:37    2:06   36:56    1:04   25:57 ]

I also placed in my age group. Here's the evidence:


Paula also raced and did a great job! She's working on running and hasn't been swimming or biking as much as she usually does. Kudos to her for getting out there and getting it done.

Here's us after the race:



Next up? I think the Patriot in Rio Rancho. Elephant Butte fo sho. And a half-marathon in Oct. Oh yeah bob.


And, my job starts in a week. I'm taking my last vacation as a quasi-student tomorrow and heading down to backpack in the Gila. Hopefully, I won't wonder into Iran.

4 comments:

Podium quest said...

just found your blog. It's great! I added it to ones I'm following.
Great job at the Chili Harvest!

skoshi said...

Nice swim; the bike will get less hilly every year; I always think the run is too hot.

I guess I can look forward to a face like that on Mark next year...Any hints?

We're heading to an Xterra this weekend. T gets to slide around on wet off road trail on a mountain bike. Sounds like fun :)

mediumtriguy said...

They changed the run route this year (at least from last year). We ran along a diversion channel. It kept us off the pavement for a bit. And it was a bit cooler this year. I totally bonked on the run last year.

As for the bar-face you'll soon get from Mark, I don't think I can offer advice until I've actually passed the bar. But here's some anyway. Enroll in a class. Make note cards. Do many practice questions. Get a study partner. And relax. Make sure he doesn't miss his workouts (which sounds like it won't be a problem).

Jim Butler said...

Don't worry buddy. If you wander into Iran, I'll come get you. At least for the next month... then you're on your own.