Bri and I had a nice time in Virginia this weekend, visiting with my sis-in-law and family. The
Breezy Point triathlon is in nearby Norfolk so it gives us a good reason or excuse to go up and hang out with them for a while. My bro-in-law, who is a Navy search and rescue diver, also did the race.
The triathlon takes place on Norfolk NAS, aka Breezy Point. The finish line is right on the water near some of the aircraft.
Last year I was 3rd out of the swim by just a bit, then took the bike lead a few minutes into it, and held the run until 2.5 miles, when 2 guys passed me.
This year played out differently. There were 3 high school guys in the swim that stomped all of us by 1-2 minutes (no wetsuits). It was a wake up call that 6 to 8,000 yards swimming per week is not going to mean jack when racing against talented swimmers who cover 40,000+ per week. I exited the swim in 4th, first among the adult population and 2 minutes down on the lead kid!
The first part of the bike course is really choppy, and I caught 2 of the 3 young'uns in the first couple miles. I then blew past a left turn and had to backtrack a bit, losing a few seconds. It was coned off but there were cones all over and the volunteers had trouble pointing me in the right direction. A bit after this another cyclist caught me, and I did my best to keep pace with him through the rest of the race. We eventually passed the fastest swimmer (all the youths sans aerobars), and towards the end of the ride another cyclist passed me. We then took another left near the finish with a cop car in the middle of the road, and I wound up riding into the grass on the right hand side, but stayed upright and got back on course. I don't know what was going on there but it was messy. I did not feel super strong on the bike but I didn't feel weak, either. Summer will bring some bigger ride weeks which will help with the fall races.
In T2 I had a fast transition and ran out with both of the riders who were in front of me. One guy took off lickety split, while myself and the other fellow ran closer pace. I slowly pulled away focusing on fast turnover, high knees, relaxed upper body. It was hot as hell. My first mile was my fastest but I did not get the split. Halfway through the run another fast runner passed me and I saw I had about 20 seconds on #4 and 1 minute+ on #5. I pushed as well as possible and was able to finish before falling apart completely. My run time was 19:44 which is good at the moment, I still plan to get a sub-19 before the end of the year but it is not easy to do. All told I finished 3rd overall.
This was one of those races where I didn't feel great in anything but not bad in anything, either. I also don't like being a weight weenie but I've shed a bit of my beer gut and that makes a huge difference in the run, especially in a hot run. The heat index was near 100 when we were running.
Bri took 2nd to a
fast girl who won collegiate nationals in April of this year. On the men's side only one of the top five was in his 20's, the rest of us were old farts with lots of races under our belts.
We took home some prize money as well, which is always nice.
Next up is
Kure Beach double sprint on June 27. I am probably going to ride my bike down to Wilmington on Friday as a warm up. Bri and Tassie will pick me up that afternoon.
