Edinboro Tri Race Report

Edinboro was my first of the season and my first race on my new P3 so I was anxious to race. Going into the race I hadn't done any open water swimming (thanks to the awesome Spring weather we had) and most of my riding has been steady, distance rides. Seeing Duecker and LaMastra at the start I knew I was going to get smoked in the water. I started off okay but felt like I was zig-zagging the entire swim. I probably added some extra yards but I was happy with how I felt. I came out of the water 5th (pretty much tied with 4th). Swim Time: 15:12 (NOTE: 1200 yards, not 1500).

I came out of T2 with another guy and he passed me a few miles into the bike course. The course was reported at 23.7 miles so I knew going into the race I wanted to be in at around an hour. I was really tight in my glutes in the first half of the ride, which I can't quite figure out. Weird. The bike course had a nice mix of hills, roller, false false, etc. I was hurting on the long, steady climbs by the end. Overall, I'd say my bike was average. I never felt like I had a lot of power but that's how it should feel in the beginning of the season when you're building mileage. Bike Time: 1:00:08.

I came out of T2 feeling a bit disappointed in my ride but my legs felt light. I was told by spectators that there were 2 guys within 2 minutes ahead of me, so that got me moving. I caught both by the two mile mark and was still feeling strong. I knew Jim LaMastra had 6 minutes on me coming out of T2, so that was out of reach. I hit 5:45 - 5:50 pace comfortably for the first 4 miles and was feeling smooth until a side-stitch attacked at mile 4. Not sure what that was about but it was a good one. My form started to suffer as a result and Mile 5 was 6:10. The last mile was downhill and I cruised in for a solid but not ideal run. Run Time: 36:24. Final Time: 1:53:55.

When I took my shoe off after the race my foot was covered in blood. I went to the medical tent and apparently I had stepped on glass at some point before T1. So that's been a bummer this week as I've only run once since the race and have been nursing it. I think Jeanne's disaster magnetism is contagious.

I thought I finished 2nd overall, but Kevin Park, who started 3 minutes after me with the older age group, got me by 26 seconds...and unfortunately his T1 was 31 seconds faster. Whoops. Oh well. I was pleased with this race overall and I took away a few things to work on: T1, cycling (still) and swimming straight lines. I was also pleased that I seemed to recover better from this race than I did for races last season, so hopefully that says something about my fitness.