Welp, here it is. I'm honestly not sure what to think. I'm happy about some things and a little "meh" about others. The big swim improvement is really a result of a much shorter course this year. We had ripping current but, unlike last year, a lot of folks undershot the landing zone and ended up running to the swim exit. I found myself short about 500 yards short of the swim exit. It felt like cheating to get out so early and run to the exit, but I was only in about 3 ft of water at that point. I sorta split the difference and swam to some deeper water, did another 300 yards or so and then hopped out. You can see my pace spike up at the end that reflects my confusion.
I swam with booties this year. That was a major help with the 800 meter or so run to transition 1. I'm a confirmed tenderfoot and cold feet on asphalt just kills me. My transition 1 time was a bit better this year i think because of the booties.
I always feel strongest on the bike. The stretch goal was under an hour. I missed that by about 6 minutes and 32 seconds. The ride felt "properly uncomfortable" aka, I was pushing. I think my heart rate reflects that pretty well. Strava says my average power was 187 watts for the ride. I'm pretty sure that's the biggest number I have seen. Cool! My bike set up was pretty uncommon for the event. I ran a 1x up front with a 38 tooth oval wolf tooth chain ring and an 11/32 cassette. I did use the 32 tooth granny on the steepest climbs. I'm on the fence weather or not a 34 tooth would let me spin more and climb a little faster. I was absolutely spun out on the descents. I don't think its significant though. Strava says my top speed was 43.2 mph and there is no way I was pedaling for that. I was in a full tuck and trying to recover my heart rate. I don't think I'm quite fit, or even skilled enough, to push much more on the down hill's. I did get into the 11 tooth for the flatter sections but never could quite spin it out there. I do think a 2X up front would be better for this event but, on this bike I'm pretty committed to a 1x. This is the same Blacksheep Ti bike I used for Rock Cobbler. It's my swiss army bike lol. If I wanted to stick with a 1x for this event I might do a 40 tooth up front with an 11/34 Cassette.
And then the run! As much as I want to brag about not being passed on the bike, EVERYONE passed me back on the run.
The Run course of this event is an adventure. Up, down, sandy, steps, a tunnel, athlete traffic, all the things. A single digit pace for the entire event is my goal. I didn't get there this year. I felt a bit cooked off the bike. It didn't help I forgot to fuel in transition 2. They don't allow gels on the coarse. They don't want to deal with the garbage and I don't blame them. I had 2 gels in T1 before the bike and wanted to take 2 more before the Run. I totally spaced and took none. Run fueling consisted of water and "Prime" for electrolytes. I don't like PRIME and have no idea what is in it. It's a sponsor of the event so, its that or water. I really wanted a coke
So, all in all I'm not disappointed, but maybe feeling a little unsatisfied I didn't improve as much over last year as I would have hoped. The field at this event really impresses me. It's crazy how fast some people are. Anyone who can do this in under 3 hours has my utter respect. I think that will be my goal if I get picked for this again. I may have to come to terms about "competing" in a trisuit to reach that goal.
It's a weird space to feel a little unsatisfied about a result and at the same time be stoked on participating and getting to enjoy all the best vibes. I think this is a special event and I am grateful to participate. Thanks for all the support guys. This is by far my favorite corner of our little online town square.
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