The Galena Triathon was this past Saturday. My second race of the year, and second race in two weeks. I wasn't sure how the race would go seeing as I just raced a half ironman last week, but I figured I'd see what was left in the tank. Chad, Matt and I left on Friday for the race as it's a solid 2.5 hours to get there, and the logisitics of this race aren't the easiest. So after packing up all of our gear we were on the road and got to Galena at about 1. As is the tradition for us we went out for a quick 10 mile ride on the course...and I always forget how incredibly HILLY this course is! This year we even took a swim around the course when we were done biking. We typically say we're going to do this, however never have...so this year we stuck to the plan I put on my Zoot Prophet wetsuit and swam the course plus a little more. The water was not bad at all, and I kind of wanted to keep swimming...what's wrong with me?? We were lucky once again and stayed at Chad's in-laws house in Iowa. It's always hard to leave that house, and I really appreciate being able to stay there! Amy made some awesome lasagne on Friday night and after dinner it was just about time for bed.
I was able to sleep pretty well and was definitely ready to race. After getting transition set up which was pretty painless it was almost time to go!
Swim - 9:33 (10 seconds faster than last year)
Pretty uneventful, I felt good the entire time. I was pushing the pace, but lost contact with the first group of about 150 meters in. I could see the lead kayak for most of the swim (it was only 660 yards) but I couldn't kick it up any faster to try to catch up. I figured I'd try to do damage on the bike and run. I swam until my arms hit the sand, then started the run to T1. This is a relatively long run, and once you hit transition you have to run on these little pebbles which hurt like crazy!
T1 - 1:11 (7 seconds faster than last year)
This would have been better if I didn't forget to buckle my helmet...it's a good thing I noticed before I mounted my bike! I felt like a huge rookie at that point...oh well can't remember everything right?
Bike - 43:04 (1:35 faster than last year)
I had a nice kid tell me that I was 6th once I got out onto the bike course. I was happy with this, but knew there were fast guys in the waves behind me and that I'd need to really push the pace the whole time. The problem is that I never felt that good on the bike...well I should say not until about mile 12-13 or so. I passed the three guys that I saw immediately in front of me, so I rode up into 3rd place in my wave. But I could never catch the two others in front of me. They ended up being Ryan Guiliano (eventual winner) and Mike Lavery (2nd place overall). Those guys were hammering off of the front, and I ended up riding pretty much alone for the entire bike. I just now checked last years time and am happy that I was that much faster than last year, surprised for sure though!
T2 - 1:05 (1 second slower than last year)
Not sure why I was slower the Zoot Speeds are SOOOOOO easy to put on. Goal for next year = less than 1 minute T2!
Run - 24:57 (3:48 faster than last year)
The run course this year was slightly different than last year, which I'm sure partly explains the faster time. But I also ran this a little differently. There is a huge downhill out of transition, and my plan was to just run down it as hard as I could. When I reached the bottom I realized that my average pace (at the time) was 5:04. I now had to climb about .75 miles to get to the top of the hill. I stayed positive and just drove my arms up the hill. My heart rate never got all that high (at least it didn't feel that way) and when I got to the top of the hill I took a look back...no one in sight. I tried to look forward and there too was no one in sight. Again I knew there were fast guys behind me so I needed to stay on the gas. I was able to get into a nice little flow and just rolled with it. It was cool to see David and the Endure It crew at the first aid station and Jenny was nice enough to give me something else to think about..."drop your arms and run like hell" So I did just that, dropped my arms, relaxed my upper body and ran like hell. I felt good while I was running, and a hell of a lot better than last year! I am guessing my run training has improved this year!
Finish - 1:19:49 4th Place Overall & 1st Place M25-29 (5:39 faster than last year)
I'm happy with the overall finish and age group win. This was a competitive field, and it helps to reaffirm the training I have been doing. It was fun to see all of the people out on the course, Chad did great and ran so much better than he has in the past! Matt had a huge improvement as well, although he doesn't know for sure because he lost his chip in the swim.
Sara continues to dominate and won the W45-49 age group by 8 minutes, improving her bike time by 6 minutes and her run time by 6 minutes as well...simply ridiculous! The Endure It crew ended up winning 4 age groups, not too bad for having 15 people racing!!!
Another special thanks to Jake and the crew at Zoot! I saw far more Zoot's out on the course than I have ever seen before. Also thanks to Endure It, GU, Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, Lululemon and Kyle Zake.
Ironman Couer d' Alene is about a month away. I still have two races to use as tune ups and have a huge weekend of training on tap coming up for Memorial day. Hoping to get some good long riding in, as I haven't done quite as much as I would like yet. I do think I'll be ready for CDA though, can't wait to get out there and race!
I was able to sleep pretty well and was definitely ready to race. After getting transition set up which was pretty painless it was almost time to go!
Swim - 9:33 (10 seconds faster than last year)
Pretty uneventful, I felt good the entire time. I was pushing the pace, but lost contact with the first group of about 150 meters in. I could see the lead kayak for most of the swim (it was only 660 yards) but I couldn't kick it up any faster to try to catch up. I figured I'd try to do damage on the bike and run. I swam until my arms hit the sand, then started the run to T1. This is a relatively long run, and once you hit transition you have to run on these little pebbles which hurt like crazy!
T1 - 1:11 (7 seconds faster than last year)
This would have been better if I didn't forget to buckle my helmet...it's a good thing I noticed before I mounted my bike! I felt like a huge rookie at that point...oh well can't remember everything right?
Bike - 43:04 (1:35 faster than last year)
I had a nice kid tell me that I was 6th once I got out onto the bike course. I was happy with this, but knew there were fast guys in the waves behind me and that I'd need to really push the pace the whole time. The problem is that I never felt that good on the bike...well I should say not until about mile 12-13 or so. I passed the three guys that I saw immediately in front of me, so I rode up into 3rd place in my wave. But I could never catch the two others in front of me. They ended up being Ryan Guiliano (eventual winner) and Mike Lavery (2nd place overall). Those guys were hammering off of the front, and I ended up riding pretty much alone for the entire bike. I just now checked last years time and am happy that I was that much faster than last year, surprised for sure though!
T2 - 1:05 (1 second slower than last year)
Not sure why I was slower the Zoot Speeds are SOOOOOO easy to put on. Goal for next year = less than 1 minute T2!
Run - 24:57 (3:48 faster than last year)
The run course this year was slightly different than last year, which I'm sure partly explains the faster time. But I also ran this a little differently. There is a huge downhill out of transition, and my plan was to just run down it as hard as I could. When I reached the bottom I realized that my average pace (at the time) was 5:04. I now had to climb about .75 miles to get to the top of the hill. I stayed positive and just drove my arms up the hill. My heart rate never got all that high (at least it didn't feel that way) and when I got to the top of the hill I took a look back...no one in sight. I tried to look forward and there too was no one in sight. Again I knew there were fast guys behind me so I needed to stay on the gas. I was able to get into a nice little flow and just rolled with it. It was cool to see David and the Endure It crew at the first aid station and Jenny was nice enough to give me something else to think about..."drop your arms and run like hell" So I did just that, dropped my arms, relaxed my upper body and ran like hell. I felt good while I was running, and a hell of a lot better than last year! I am guessing my run training has improved this year!
Finish - 1:19:49 4th Place Overall & 1st Place M25-29 (5:39 faster than last year)
I'm happy with the overall finish and age group win. This was a competitive field, and it helps to reaffirm the training I have been doing. It was fun to see all of the people out on the course, Chad did great and ran so much better than he has in the past! Matt had a huge improvement as well, although he doesn't know for sure because he lost his chip in the swim.
Sara continues to dominate and won the W45-49 age group by 8 minutes, improving her bike time by 6 minutes and her run time by 6 minutes as well...simply ridiculous! The Endure It crew ended up winning 4 age groups, not too bad for having 15 people racing!!!
Another special thanks to Jake and the crew at Zoot! I saw far more Zoot's out on the course than I have ever seen before. Also thanks to Endure It, GU, Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, Lululemon and Kyle Zake.
Ironman Couer d' Alene is about a month away. I still have two races to use as tune ups and have a huge weekend of training on tap coming up for Memorial day. Hoping to get some good long riding in, as I haven't done quite as much as I would like yet. I do think I'll be ready for CDA though, can't wait to get out there and race!
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