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Tucson Tri 2010 - Dan Moseke |
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Written by Dan Moseke
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Thursday, 25 March 2010 21:43 |
Race report for Tucson Tri:
I arrived at the race site at around 5:10, which is way too early when your swim wave doesn't go off until 9:30. I racked my bike near the swim entry because I don't like to run barefoot on asphalt any further than necessary. After that...4 hours to kill. I went back to my van and curled up and took a nap for an hour, then walked around and said hello and watched the start of the first wave. Okay...only 2 more hours to go. Wandering into McKale Center, I walked off some nervous energy and then found a row of padded chairs in a dark corner and took another nap. So basically my whole pre-race strategy was nap-centric.
I finally got dressed and triple-checked my gear with about :30 to go before my wave. I warmed up in the diving pool in my new speedsuit, the first time I've used it for a race. For whatever reason I was slow getting into my lane. The starting horn went off literally as I pulled my goggles into place and I barely managed to slap my watch and kick off the wall. Perhaps a panicked swim start is the way to go for me because I quickly settled into a rhythm and (to my surprise) eventually ended up lapping guys in the lanes around me. I got out of the pool with a new swim PR for this race and feeling ready to ride which is a great feeling to have as you get on your bike.
 The bike was pretty smooth sailing until about half way through the last lap, where I started to feel like I was overextending. For me, I recognize this feeling when I can't shift into a bigger gear and need to spin it out a bit to recover. Two friends I was trying to stay in front of passed me during this time, but I knew they would eventually and I was feeling pretty good it didn't happen until the third lap. I turned into transition one minute over my goal time but feeling ready to run, so it was a good trade-off. When I got to my rack, a bike from someone in an earlier wave had fallen over my stuff, so I had to dig underneath it to find my running shoes and run gear. It's just this sort of unexpected moment that's hard to train for, but having practiced my transitions a lot, I've learned to stay calm and just keep moving.
For this race I had a GPS watch to help me on the run because I tend to slowly slide into an easy aerobic pace and not push hard enough. I definitely pushed myself in this race, trying hard to hold a 7:00/mile. A guy who ended up finished 3rd in his AG and I took turns passing each other and I found it very motivating to try and stay with him. Leo and Mike, the eventual OA #1 and #2 passed me just as I started my 2nd lap and it was inspiring to see how hard they were fighting. I tend to have a mid-run slack-off, so between the GPS watch and watching the leaders go by I was plenty motivated to get going on the 2nd lap. I ended up finishing with a new 5K PR, knocking over 3:00 off my time from Tinfoilman last fall, and earned a second place in the 40-44 AG (which is really 4th since Leo & Mike won out, but I'll take it).
Overall the 2010 Tucson Tri was one of my best races. I got my nutrition right: breakfast at 4:30, 400 calorie snack and electrolyte drink at 7:30 and then NOTHING ELSE until after the race. My stomach actually stayed calm for the whole thing for the first time in a long time. All my new gear worked as designed (and tested). And I grabbed a podium spot in my first race in my new AG. It was a beautiful day for a race and it was great to see many Afterburner teammates and TTC members out there.
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