Memphis & TT'ing IT Locally
MEMPHIS
I made the trip down to Memphis in my mini with good friends; Brian, Justin and Laura...we also met up with Laura's other half, Denny, once down there. Brian and I drove from Madison to St. Louis, where we picked up Justin and Laura, who flew in from Colorado. The drive isn't too bad, but when you have 2 bikes in boxes, 2 bikes out of boxes, luggage, food and 4 athletes who can't sit still, the drive is long enough.
The event was a bit different this year, in that the pro races started at 1030am, after the age group race had finished. Besides a rockin' north wind, it was nice to have the 1700 age groupers + spectators, cheering you on!
I had a decent non-wetsuit swim and came out in a touch over 20minutes....not bad considering there was some chop in the water. The fastest guys swam just over 16minutes, so I have some work to do if I am going to be competitive in the water without a wetsuit, over the short distances.
The ride was TOUGH, but uneventful. I held back in the first half of the ride, because of a tailwind and then lifted my watts significantly throughout the second half. It paid off for me, in that I ended up with the 3rd fastest split of the day and bridged the gap up to 3rd, 4th and 5th place.
The run was a different story though. I had a tight glute muscle that was giving me problems in the week leading up to the race. I thought it wouldn't be an issue once racing, but unfortunately that wasn't the case and I was forced to slow to a jog for the last 4 miles of the 10k. I still crossed in 9th, but know that if I was healthy, I would have walked away with a paycheck. The good news is that everything seems to be getting better since the race, so hopefully the injury is behind me. Congrat's to JD, Denny, Laura and Brian on their races as well.
Before heading back to Wisco, we finished off the weekend down on Beale Street in downtown, for some BBQ, Blues and a few drinks. If you are in the area, this is a place that you hvae to check out!
Local Time Trial
This year I have decided to partake in more local events and races. Partly for the social aspect and partly because I think it is good for my head. Lastnight I did the local thursday night time trial. It is a very low key event, but it is comprised of a great group of cyclists and triathletes.
I had a ridden long the day before and run long, plus swam in the morning of the event. So needless to say, training was not ideal for great performance. Despite being a bit tired, I still came away with a very solid 15+minutes of racing. I averaged 385watts over the 11km course. I do believe I can do 400w when fresh, but I have to walk the walk, before I can talk ;)
Next Up
I will racing a TT each week through June, as well as running an 11k and a 5k. On the multisport front I will be racing 2 sprint distance events and ending my speed work block with the Philadelphia Triathlon on June 28th...let's hope for wetsuits!
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
BB
I made the trip down to Memphis in my mini with good friends; Brian, Justin and Laura...we also met up with Laura's other half, Denny, once down there. Brian and I drove from Madison to St. Louis, where we picked up Justin and Laura, who flew in from Colorado. The drive isn't too bad, but when you have 2 bikes in boxes, 2 bikes out of boxes, luggage, food and 4 athletes who can't sit still, the drive is long enough.
The event was a bit different this year, in that the pro races started at 1030am, after the age group race had finished. Besides a rockin' north wind, it was nice to have the 1700 age groupers + spectators, cheering you on!
I had a decent non-wetsuit swim and came out in a touch over 20minutes....not bad considering there was some chop in the water. The fastest guys swam just over 16minutes, so I have some work to do if I am going to be competitive in the water without a wetsuit, over the short distances.
The ride was TOUGH, but uneventful. I held back in the first half of the ride, because of a tailwind and then lifted my watts significantly throughout the second half. It paid off for me, in that I ended up with the 3rd fastest split of the day and bridged the gap up to 3rd, 4th and 5th place.
The run was a different story though. I had a tight glute muscle that was giving me problems in the week leading up to the race. I thought it wouldn't be an issue once racing, but unfortunately that wasn't the case and I was forced to slow to a jog for the last 4 miles of the 10k. I still crossed in 9th, but know that if I was healthy, I would have walked away with a paycheck. The good news is that everything seems to be getting better since the race, so hopefully the injury is behind me. Congrat's to JD, Denny, Laura and Brian on their races as well.
Before heading back to Wisco, we finished off the weekend down on Beale Street in downtown, for some BBQ, Blues and a few drinks. If you are in the area, this is a place that you hvae to check out!
Local Time Trial
This year I have decided to partake in more local events and races. Partly for the social aspect and partly because I think it is good for my head. Lastnight I did the local thursday night time trial. It is a very low key event, but it is comprised of a great group of cyclists and triathletes.
I had a ridden long the day before and run long, plus swam in the morning of the event. So needless to say, training was not ideal for great performance. Despite being a bit tired, I still came away with a very solid 15+minutes of racing. I averaged 385watts over the 11km course. I do believe I can do 400w when fresh, but I have to walk the walk, before I can talk ;)
Next Up
I will racing a TT each week through June, as well as running an 11k and a 5k. On the multisport front I will be racing 2 sprint distance events and ending my speed work block with the Philadelphia Triathlon on June 28th...let's hope for wetsuits!
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
BB
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