The first triathlon I ever competed in was Memphis in May in 2003, so I was a little sad in 2010 when Neeley and I were there and they announced that the race was moving to Tunica, MS. Did that mean that it would be Mississippi in May? Nope, but the race is still in Tunica and this was the first time that I have been back. The new course is just as flat (actually the run is a lot flatter) and fast, but the downsize is that it is not the same "big time" race that it once was. It is now smaller (but continually growing) and the field (both pro and amateur) is not as star-studded, but the venue and the race atmosphere are still top notch. The added plus was the 1 minute elevator ride and 3 minute walk to either the transition area or the swim start.
Enough about that, let's talk about the races. More importantly, how do you pace yourself for a Saturday sprint and Sunday olympic distance race? When I talked to Neeley before the race on Saturday, she informed me that I should swim fast, bike fast and run fast. Since I always do what she tells me, that became my race strategy. I swam well despite the issues that I created for myself by putting a hole in my wetsuit while trying to get it on and losing my goggles on my dive. Other than that, I fixed my goggles and swam comfortably and clean and quite possibly straight. It was otherwise uneventful which is how I like my swims. To say that the bike course was flat was an understatement, but with flat can come some wind. It was windy, but not bad and I felt fine and was riding well until someone passed me in the middle of the bike. That was my cue to pick it up and ride. I stayed with him through the second half of the bike and came out of transition in front of him on the run. My legs felt great on the run. I wished that I could find a way to save that for Sunday, but Sunday would take care of itself. As for Saturday, I was 3rd overall, just :23 out of 1st place, so it was a good day. The rest of the day was spent eating (thanks to Neeley for packing me plenty) and relaxing in preparation for the Olympic distance race to come.
Sunday's race started an hour earlier, but ended up being sunnier, hotter and windier. I felt pretty good when I warmed up so I thought that it would be a good day to follow my same race strategy from yesterday. After putting yet another small hole in my wetsuit I was ready to race again. I just had to wait for my time to start in the time trial format. This swim was even better and I ran into even less race traffic. The course was nice and easy to follow, the sun nor the shallow water that I had been warned about weren't issues. It was an Olympic distance swim PR, so despite my troubles getting the wetsuit on, it is really fast.
The bike was much of the small from Saturday, at least the route was, but did I mention that it was windier? I started out on the bike with the same guy that I finished with on Saturday but this time I wasn't able to ride with him. My legs felt flat; they didn't feel tired from Saturday, they just didn't have the power that I needed. When the second guy passed me, I realized that it was time to stop making excuses and start riding my bike. Either my pep talk worked or we changed direction enough that we had a tailwind and then I was flying on the way back to transition. Overall, the tailwind evened out the bike course, so what was a very slow first half was turned into a good split. Now it was time to run for the win. I started out running great and was able to hold it together enough in the heat and the headwind. I didn't have my best run, but I had a good enough run to get my first Olympic distance victory. I was excited about that but disappointed that I lost the Amateur Challenge by .1 sec, but that's racing.
This great weekend couldn't have happened without the help of my sponsors, Maverick Multisport, TYR, Scott, Infinit Nutrition, CycleSmiths, Occupational Kinetics, TriBike Transport, Smith Optics, Swiftwick, Brooks Airbrush Studio and Louisville Slugger.
Until next time
