Another week has passed, but oh man this was an epic week!
Since my last week and the (almost) 25 km run I did on Saturday I have been experiencing some slight pain in my right knee. It went all quite well over Sunday and Monday but the pain got worse after my Tuesday brick workout where I ran some 9.5 km. Since I had my big race coming up I wasn't going to do any running until Saturday. With every day the knee got better and on race day it was all good again (except for my right hamstring but it wasn't too bad).
My first race was just awesome. I arrived quite early just to make sure I don't mess something up. I even kept my 4€ since only Slovenian triathletes needed to buy the one day license if they don't have one (the triathlon was held in Čatež, Slovenia by the way).
So I racked up my bike and my first "problem" came up. I forgot that I came to the race in my running shoes which I would have to leave now in the transition area. Since I forgot to bring a spare pair (or something else to wear) I spend the next 30 minutes or so barefoot :)
Lesson learned!
Once I got all set up I only had to wait for the race to start and a little while later I would be a triathlete. I wasn't really able to sleep that night because of the excitement. I was waking up every 2 hours checking the time and making sure I don't miss the race. I was feeling quite strange the whole morning and had this tingling sensation in my stomach the whole morning. I guess I really couldn't wait for the race to start.
The race was scheduled to start at 12.00 so we all went to the pool 15 minutes before to warm up and get ready. I did some light stretching mostly to shake of the nervousness which would prove to be a slight problem later. I picked a lane and waited for the start. All guys around me looked like they knew what they were doing and I felt a little bit out of place but I tried to keep it together and when the race director signaled the start it was one of the craziest things I have ever experienced.
The combination of (over)excitement and inexperience proved to be a big problem. Since I was in a very fast lane with very good swimmers I didn't even notice how fast I was swimming. My brother told me that our lane was by far the fastest and that he couldn't believe that I was trying to keep up with the guys. I didn't even notice how fast I was swimming until it was to late and I felt my legs and arms getting heavier and heavier. After 200 meters or so I realized what an idiot I was and spent the next 200 meters trying to get my shit together and set into a more sustainable pace. I soon realized that my pace was still faster than for some of the other guys which was a nice confidence boost but all in all my swim pacing needs some improvement.
Lesson learned!
I had some slight problems in transition from swim to bike and bike to run since I missed my spot but it took me some 10 more seconds overall which isn't that much of a disaster but I'll make sure to mark my spot a little better next time.
Lesson learned!
The bike course was nice, I had to remind myself to slow down a little bit. I was telling myself "Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!" for the first 3-4 kilometers while I was overtaking 3 or 4 guys. Then a Slovenian asked me if I want to ride together with him. I accepted the invitation and for the next 20-ish kilometers we drafted each other, changing positions every 30-40 seconds. I was a little stronger on the bike than him since our speed was always some 5 km/h faster when I was leading but the time spent behind him was time well spend recovering. We started overtaking a lot of people in the second half of the ride and finished quite decently the second part of the triathlon race.
Once thing I will change for sure in the bike portion are the energy gels I am going to carry with me. Since they spent some 30 minutes in the sun they were quite warm when I wanted to take one in at the beginning of the bike ride just to have some reserves for later. My mouth felt instantly dry and sticky and I had to was it out with water in order to feel comfortable again. Next time they will come straight out of the freezer which I did a few times before so that I could see how it will taste during a training session.
Lesson learned!
Later in the day when I checked out my data I saw that my top speed was 65 km/h which is insane on this type of road we were riding. The road was a little "patchy" with not many smooth stretches but you work with what you have.
The run was then just a formality. Since I had un upset stomach for pretty much the entire race and felt like I would throw up every second (damn you nervousness!!!) I ran some 5.10 min/km which felt like a sustainable pace.
I crossed the finish line in 1:35:10 (I think) and I have to admit that this was really a nice experience and a great test for all that's ahead of me.
I would also like to mention that instead of maybe taking it easier on Sunday I had a bad-shit-crazy bike ride which included a two loop ride up the Medvednica hill here in Zagreb. It all resulted in a 90 km ride with a total ascend of 2650 meters which is almost 600 more then what waits for me in Nice. I finished the first climb in 38 minutes and the second one in 39 (the best guys go something around 27 minutes so there is definitely room for improvement) while at the same time overtaking a lot of people which is really an awesome feeling.
This was quite a lengthy write up but I just have some many things I couldn't even remember now in my head which I just want to release :)
Let's look at the numbers and then enjoy the rest of the week:
| Distance | Time | Pace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swim | 6.5 km | 2:23:00 h | 2:12 min / 100 m |
| Bike | 204.76km | 8:36:10 h | 2:31 min / km |
| Run | 16.36 km | 1:23:43 h | 5:07 min / km |
And the overall numbers:
| Distance | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | 125.50 km | 48:42:00 h |
| Bike | 2392.81 km | 104:29:37 h |
| Run | 551.86 km | 45:49:35 h |
Until next week, don't forget to be awesome :)