AABC rider Doug Woods recounts he latest trials and tibulations in the Eagleman Triathlon.  As Doug himself points out, " WARNING all bike racers this is a triathlon race report, only one portion of this report contains relevant time trial information. Please skip to the section marked BIKE to avoid reading unwanted non bike related materials."

The race horn sounded at 7:00am in perfect conditions still seas and easy conditions. The swim went slowly for me despite my meticulous beer and TV preparation.  The slow swim had me out of the water at the back of the pack but I jumped out feeling pretty good and hit the road. 

BIKE; (2 hr 23 min for 6^th in my age group, average speed=23.5 mph for 56 miles)

On the bike I immediately started to pass folks and kept telling myself to relax and take it easy. That lasted 5 minutes then I just started hammering (This is called Plan B).  For you power nerds the first half of the ride was at an average power of 241 Ws with a normalized power of 243Ws and a VI of 1.01. So it was a steady 28 miles completed at just above my planned race pace. Then came the second half my effort level went up and it was harder to hold onto my power numbers (Power nerds I race at 80% of FTP in a race of ½ Ironman distance). By now the race had split into loose packs and so I was jumping from one to the next until I got to a pack of 5 guys with 10 miles to go. I did my usual blow by them but one guy didn't like being passed (lets call him Racer in the style of Brian D). This complete stranger, who I had come to know as Racer B, repassed me (first time repass for the day), it all seemed strangely familiar and we were both suddenly riding at over 300 Ws. After 10 minutes Racer B settled down a bit and I figured great I'll just follow him till be blows. Racer B rode 250-280Ws all the way in. This pace was stiff so Racer B and I dropped the rest of the guys. (Power nerd numbers for the whole ride were Average power 243 Ws, normalized power 245Ws, average heart rate 145 bpm, estimated CdA= 0.28)

RUN; (1hr 38min, 7:30 mile pace for 13.1 miles and 29th fastest in my age group).

Going out to the run I grabbed a banana and something to drink and hit my regular aerobic pace.  My lungs are still not good so 7:30 pace was all I could manage. As the race went on two guys passed me and three guys including Racer B passed out. At mile 7 when doubts about my sanity started to creep into my mind a steely eyed turtle crossed the road just in front of me... I swerved. The aggressive attempted pass by the turtle sent me into overdrive and I left that turtle in my dust. Then it was cruise control home. Not bad given the 13 miles (total) run training over the last 3 weeks. Post race I spent 30 minutes trying to re-learn how to breathe I guess the doctor calls that exercise induced asthma.

Things I learned are

1) I need to swim faster

2) I should bike even faster

3) Breathing helps to run faster

4) The Bronchitis Beer and TV taper can be highly recommended................................................