After the truly horrible swim, I was still feeling a tightness and slight pain in my left calf where I had cramped so badly. I spent about thirty seconds or so in transition stretching my legs, figuring this would be time I would make up if I were a little looser. As I went out on the bike, I was passing a lot of people. They were mostly women who had beat me into transition even though they started a wave or two or three behind me, but it is still nice to pass people. About five miles into the bike, I saw the race leaders heading back in and going very fast.
I generally felt pretty good. I was aware of the tightness in my calf, but it didn't seem as if it were slowing me down in anyway. I had to stand up and stretch my legs a few times, but my speed seemed to be good. I continued to pass more people than passed me. The people who did pass me generally did so on hills. I have come to realize that I am not a very good climber. After now having watched three weeks of the Tour De France, I realize that even some of the best cyclists in the world are not great climbers. And like the riders in the Tour, usually the best climbers are not the best descenders. I guess that I am a pretty good descender because as with almost every triathlon I have done, there is always another triathlete with whom I play cat and mouse on the bike. They will pass me on the climb and I will pass them on the descent. I almost always end up beating them to the run transition and because I am such a slow runner, they almost always pass me for good on the run.
Slightly past the half-way point on the bike I was passed by my new tri-friend for the day, and fellow L.A. Tri Club member, Heather Richards. I knew she was three waves, or fifteen minutes behind me, so it was a humbling experience. Especially since much of our earlier conversation had to do with how neither of us were very fast at any of the three disciplines. I guess I showed her who really isn't fast!
I felt good coming into transitions. My calf had loosened up a little and otherwise my legs felt good. My final bike time was 1:28:18 which was almost three and a half minutes faster than last year's time of 1:31:45. The distance of an Olympic triathlon bike is supposed to be 40 kilometers or 24.8 miles, but according to my Garmin Forerunner bicycle/running GPS system the length for the bike leg of the race at Camp Pendleton was 26.1 miles. So, overall, not a bad time.
No comments:
Post a Comment