Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

Two steps forward and one step back, that was the net result of this week’s Milkman Triathlon in Dexter, New Mexico. Before I get into the details I want to congratulate all the El Paso and Las Cruces athletes that participated. It was nice to see so many El Paso Tri Club and Run El Paso people there. Not only did the two groups have a high participation total, but both groups brought home more than their share of hardware! Great Job everyone! I also want to congratulate the Milkman racing staff and all the volunteers. The race was very well done, as always, and the amount and variety of post-race drinks and food was spectacular.

Waiting for the Swim start

Ok, time for the race report and the good and bad that took place. This being my second full year in the sport, I realize that every race is a learning experience and too soak in as much knowledge as possible is very important. I had a plan coming into this race to better last years’ time and really push myself on the bike and run. I also wanted to try-out a new wetsuit and see how it felt before I use it in Lubbock in three weeks. First, lesson of the day: Plans change.  

Out and back 500 meter swim

Race morning was very pleasant and when I went down to the lake to test the water temperature it felt a little cold. As a note to those of you who have not done an open water swim before, I’m  willing to bet all open water at 6:30 am feels a little cold so don’t freak out about it. If you’re expecting bath water temperature it just isn’t going to happen. At 7:15 am the race director announced that the water temperature was 74 degrees, so I decided to go for a little warm-up swim and then decide if I was going to wear my wetsuit or not. 74 degrees is a very nice temperature and even though it feels cold getting in, your body will adjust and pretty soon it will feel just fine. As many more experienced racers can tell you a great number of open water swims are done at 58-65 degrees, so 74 degrees is nice. I decided not to wear my wetsuit and that was my first mistake. It wasn’t a mistake because of the temperature, but for the fact that I had wanted to test my new wetsuit, and just because the water temperature was nice, doesn’t mean I should have abandoned my original plan. Yes, I would have been a little slower in transition, but the whole point was to try the suit out. So now I’ll be at the pool doing a workout in my suit and won’t have the benefit of using it in a race environment.

 

The Milkman Triathlon uses a wave start to begin the race, so I was part of wave #3 that consisted of men and women in the 35-39 age group. I was feeling great and couldn’t wait to get started. I have put in a good amount of time in the pool this season and wanted to see if the hard work was going to pay off. The gun sounded to start my wave and I quickly began my swim. I wanted to get a fast start just so I could avoid all the bumping and thrashing that occurs at the beginning of a swim. As I began to swim I was taking a breath every two strokes (As I always do), but after around 25 meters I realized I was not breathing OUT! This led to me not being able to catch my breath and just like that, my swim was falling apart. Since I was ahead of ¾ of the swimmers I didn’t want to just turnover on my back and get swam over, so I started to breast stroke. I was able to make forward progress, but didn’t catch my breath until the 250 meter mark. As I looked at my watch I was at 6:15 (Never a good sign when you can look at your watch during the swim)! I was able to start my freestyle stroke at the 250 meter mark and felt really comfortable the rest of the way. I was feeling very frustrated but happy that I swam the last 250 meters in 4:11 and finished the swim at 10:26. Not a good time at all and I had spotted the leader in my age group over a minute and a half and the elite racers in the field a full 3 to 3 and a half minutes.

Transition to the bike went fine, even though the pity party I was having probably cost me a few seconds, but I knew in order to get back into this race I need a strong bike. I headed out on the bike and hammered as hard as I could. The road was rough. I didn’t remember it being so bad last year, but this year I didn’t find a part in the course that wasn’t jolting my bike all over the place. I passed a ton of people and caught everyone in my age group except the leader and even though I was pedaling hard I felt that I had plenty left for the run. 

Transition into the run was smooth, but I do have a little advice for those new to the sport. I wear socks during races. I know many people that have been in the sport for a while don’t, but I don’t like the feeling in my shoes when I don’t have socks. Remember though that if the race begins in the water and you put on socks afterwards to ride the bike, the water will run down your leg and your socks will soak it up. When you get done with the bike, your socks will be swollen because of the water and you might have trouble getting your shoes on. I already have my shoes tied and just slip them on after the bike, but it is harder to get them on if your socks have soaked up water. The run course at the Milkman is flat, but a mixture of trail and pavement. As I was finishing my bike I saw the person in my age group that was leading heading out on the run and I wanted to run him down if possible. Overall I had a solid run and finished it in 21.20, but I just couldn’t catch the leader from my age group. He ended up beating me by 50 seconds and the minute and a half lead I gave him in the swim was my undoing.

The good news is that I beat my last years’ time be over three minutes and felt strong on the bike and run. I also didn’t feel bad on the swim once I caught my breath, so I’ll take that as a positive. Bobby Gonzalez won his age group and finished 3^rd overall and Albert Lugo and Cid Lopez finished first and second in the 40-45 AG and also 4^th and 5^th overall. Both had incredible races and I don’t look forward to moving into that age group next year. Jim Kehrle had a great race and took first in his age group and Greg Garcia finished with a strong third place showing in the 45-49 AG. Laura Bernal finished in third for her AG and did a great job out there! 

I look forward to racing the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in three weeks and just want to remind everyone that is going to get your hotel room soon. Rooms seem to become scarce every year for this race so book early.