Tri for Fun Pleasanton race report

Triathlon number two, the Tri for Fun of Pleasanton, CA, is under my belt, and I think I'm hooked. For this race, there were no timing chips distributed, only a clock overhead at the finish line so you can eyeball your time and subtract out your wave start to get the total time.

I managed to finish the 400m swim, 11 mile ride and 3.1 mile run in 1:12:33 which is better than the 1:15 I was aiming for, but I think with a little more work, I can pull it closer to the 1:05 mark by the time the August race rolls around.

I wore my Timex watch to capture the splits plus or minus a second or two and they fell out like this:

• Swim: 8:08
• T1: 3:00 (!)
• bike: 31:25 (avg 21.1 mph)
  
• T2: 1:40
• run: 28:20 (9:40 per mi)
  

The good: The swim went much better this time than last. I was a lot more comfortable in the water, and had a nice stead stroke throughout even though I took the long way around hanging on the outside of the pack. The bike was definitely my strongest and a big improvement riding my Felt instead of the K2. Happy I averaged over 21mph and with aerobars, I'll go even faster next time. Only two walking episodes on the run and these were on short uphill sections when others were barely moving faster while they were "running" up the hill.

The bad: My T1 time sucked, plain and simple. I didn't even have to wrestle with a wet suit! I do know I spent a good 30 seconds trying to get my tri shirt on, which is something I struggled with in my first race, too. I've got to work on my run pace to get that down (no walking!) and make sure I leave more of me on the race course. I again crossed the finish line (overtaking someone in the last 100 yds) with some energy left in the tank. Better planning will mean I push harder longer and bring my times down.

For next time: Several things I plan to do before the next triathlon on August 16, one of which is already done:

• swim: work on the open-water swim and sighting techniques
  
• T1: I stopped by Sports Basement yesterday and used my 20% off coupon to buy an Orca one-piece tri suit and a race number belt to chop a good 40 seconds off my T1
• bike: install my aerobars and train with them
• T2: practice dismounting technique
• run: work on my increasing pace and continue to increase endurance

Still, I had a great time yesterday and enjoyed the camaraderie of Thom and Neil and the friendly competition between us three (Thom finished ~4 minutes ahead of me and Neil finished 30 seconds ahead). I know we'll push each other in future races, too.

I'm also so very proud of a couple of my triathlete coworkers, Linda and Dimple. Not two weeks after dismounting at the end of the 570+ mile ALC bike ride from SF to LA, Linda showed up in Pleasanton with a strong showing in the race. And Dimple notched another achievement by competing in and completing her first triathlon. I'll find out Monday if Dimple's going to become a repeat racer like Linda and I. In any case it's great to work with folks like these.

Now, it's time to focus on making it to the summit of Mt Whitney on July 11.