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I was a bit apprehensive before starting this race as I didn’t think it would turn out any better than Wilmington and I’ve been having some mild pain in my right shin ever since then. I told myself I wouldn’t worry about the outcome and just give it everything I’ve got. I took my speedometer off my bike so I could concentrate on how I felt instead of how fast I was going. Dave came down to watch me race which was a really nice gesture on his part and much appreciated on mine. The swim started off pretty standard, me swimming a 5:10. Not particularly surprising, although Dave did say I swam my first lap in 1:30 so if I would just pace myself better I could bring my time down.

Then came the bike. 14 miles, fairly long for a sprint distance triathlon. I got on, took it easy for the first 200 yards while my legs got used to things, then pushed hard for the rest. Wasn’t sure how fast I was going but felt great. Way better than Wilmington where I was just miserable for the entire race. The guy who started right behind me in the swim, #155, was the only person to pass me on the bike which was good motivation for me to not let him get too far ahead.

Got back to the transition area and into my running shoes and I was still fairly close to #155. Started the run to Dave yelling “Set your eyes on #155! Run him down! Go go go!”. It didn’t take long to pass him with some authority, beating him by over 3 minutes on the run course. The run felt really strong. At Wilmington I have a particularly vivid memory of starting the run and immediately thinking “Oh god. This is going to suck.” and feeling awful throughout the entire thing. It was extremely mentally taxing. This was a much more pleasant experience where I felt better starting the run and didn’t start to feel completely spent until the last leg of it. I think a lot of it has to do with the bricks (biking and then running immediately afterwards) workouts that I’ve been making an effort to add.

When it was all said and done I was happily surprised to end up getting 11th overall (500+ people registered) and 1st in my age group. Thanks for coming out Dave and looking forward to getting a reality check next weekend at White Lake.

Overall men’s results here. Note: The guy in 6th place was disqualified for taking a wrong turn on the bike course and cutting 20+ minutes off his time. Age group results here.

The month in training: Big strides for me including 1000 yard swims, a 14 mile run, and a bike-40-miles-then-run-5.5 brick which left me feeling not so hot for a couple days (should have eaten more & rested the day after).

1 – Running – 10 miles – 8.5 min/miles with Charlie. Ran longer after we split. Epic. Felt great during the entire run and still feel great.

2 – Swimming – 600 ODS, 10×100 (with 30s rests in between) each around 2:00, 600 ODS.

2 – Biking – 100 minutes – 40 minutes of studying Japanese at low intensity then 60 minutes of long intervals. Added an extra 5 minute interval to my set to make it 4 5 minute intervals and a 10 minute interval. That last 5 minute interval killed me, which is a good thing.

3 – Running – 4 miles – Intervals. In the rain. By myself. 8×800 meters (half miles) at a 5:20 min/mile pace with 400 walking recovery between.

6 – Swimming – 300 yards. Wilmington Athletic Club triathlon. Had a pretty pathetically poor swim when my goggles filled with water immediately after I kicked off the wall.

6 – Biking – 11.5 miles – 20.5 mph. Wilmington Athletic Club. A little disappointed with my bike performance considering it was only .5 mph faster than the Cary Duathlon which was a much longer race.

6 – Running – 3.1 miles – 22 minutes. During the Wilmington Athletic Club sprint triathlon.

7 – Swimming – 150 (3×50) warm up, 300 (5:35), 200 drills, 500 (10:40), 200 drill, 300 (5:40), 150 (3×50) cool down. Really happy with today’s swim. Both 300s were fast (for me) and the 500 was the first time I’ve ever swam that long so I was really pleased just to be able to complete it.

7 – Biking – 95 minutes – Took it easy on the trainer.

8 – Running – 12 miles – 8.5 min/miles. Another epic run in Umstead Park. Equipped with my new phatty kicks (running shoes) and amphipod running belt (holds 32 ounces of liquid) I had a fantastic run.

9 – Swimming – 150 (3×50) warm up, 300 (3×100 w/ 30s rest: 1:42, 1:48, 1:46), 200 drills, 600 (12:41 total. 100 yard splits: 2:10, 2:09, 2:10, 2:06, 2:06, 1:57), 200 drills, 300 (3×100 w/ 30s rest: 1:46, 1:47, 1:47), 150 (3×50) cool down.

10 – Running – 5.5 miles – 8.4 min/miles. Merideth with Chris and Charlie.

11 – Swimming – 150 (3×50) warm up, 300 (5:18), 200 drills, 700 (14:38), 200 drills, 300 (5:28), 150 cool down. Great, great, great swim. Set some new time and distance records for myself

11 – Biking – 34 miles. A relaxing ride through some excellent greenways with Will.

13 – Biking – 40 miles. Greenways then did some laps in Centennial. Relaxed pace.

13 – Running – 5.5 miles – 8:15 (8.25) min/miles. Merideth. This was after biking 40 miles right before hand. I thought I was fine and it wouldn’t be much different but basically immediately upon starting my legs felt much heavier. It was a real struggle to make it the whole way. Lower back pain (forgot to stretch it) was also an issue. Turns out I was running too fast as well, oops. Feels like I’m running really slow when I’m in pain.

14 – Swimming – 1800 yards – 150 (3×50) warm up, 300 (5:18), 200 drills, 1000 (no watch, but felt like the standard around 2:05 pace), 200 drills, 200 (4×50 w/ 30s rest: 45, 44, 44, 47), 150 (3×50) cool down. Really pretty pleased that I can swim 1000 yards without swimming now. Used to freak out around the 200 yard point and not be able to swim any more. Also, swimming a 300 is no longer a dreadful thought like it used to be.

14 – Biking – 60 minutes. Trainer. Pushed, but didn’t kill myself.

15 – Running – 14 miles – Umstead park. Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

16 – Swimming – First swim lesson with Greg Warren, Dave’s coach and fellow triathlete. Things to work on: Keeping my hands up in the water when extended. Don’t plow left hand. Rotate shoulders more. Swim with a smoother tempo. Get head up a little.

16 – Biking – 30 minutes. Trainer. Just a little something.

17 – Biking – 45 minutes. Trainer. Hard intervals before running.

17 – Running – 5.5 miles – Merideth. The standard run to the art museum and back.

18 – Swimming – Tried my new wetsuit out in the pool to see how much faster I can swim with it on. The answer: A lot faster. Swam a 300 in 4:19, almost a full minute faster than without a wetsuit. Swam the 1000 10-15 seconds faster each lap.

18 – Biking – 24 miles – Greenways.

19 – Running – 2 miles – Not good. Shin hurt a lot. Good timing though, I need to lay off before my upcoming races anyways.

21 – Swimming – 150, 500, 1000, 500, 150. No watch.

21 – Biking – 24 miles – Greenways.

22 – Running – 10.5 miles. It was raining so I was forced inside. This time I tried out a treadmill though, which was neat. It told me I burned around 1250 calories and let me control exactly which speed to run at. Was pretty boring for 90 minutes though, definitely missed Umstead park.

23 – Swimming – 1000.

23 – Biking – 60 minutes – Trainer. Pushed, but not too hard. Felt great and was on a pretty high gear.

26 – Running – 3.1 miles – 21:49 at Riverwood sprint triathlon.

26 – Swimming – 300. 5:10 during Riverwood sprint triathlon.

26 – Biking – 14 miles – 20.75 mph. Riverwood sprint triathlon

27 – Biking – 60 minutes – Trainer.