Friday, December 30, 2016

2016 Waxhaw Beer Mile Race Report

I've always wanted to do a beer mile. It's gotten so popular lately, that it seems like a lot of people are doing them.  I hadn't heard of any actual organized beer mile races, in my area.  I know there are some around the Raleigh area. I'm sure there is one or two in Charlotte, but I guess I'm too lazy to look into it. Being the offseason and all.

Anyways, my buddy Paul told me that they have a low key one every year.  This year it was announced to everyone in our MSA swim group.  I actually was almost excited about it when I first heard about it. One of the woman in our swim group hosts it over in Waxhaw.  This year was the 5th Annual.
Me, Paul, Laurent, Karen, and Jen
It happened to be the weekend after the Charlotte Marathon Relay. So as I was not in any sort of real shape, I didn't expect much.  At least I had gotten in a hard 6.2 mile run the weekend before.  Still, as the race got closer, I could barely contain my excitement and went to twitter:


The "race" was scheduled for 1pm.  I arrived at 12:45 pm, and parked a block up on a side street.  I talked to some people I hadn't seen in a while. Like Steve. I swam with him like all of 2015, but this year he was MIA.  People started slowly streaming in.  Paul had gotten a Keg of 'Golden Boy' from Triple C Brewing. So this was not ordinary beer mile swill fest.  We had good beer.
The course was just and out and back from the cul-de-sac.  So 1 lap was supposed to be 1/4 of a mile. Beer, then a lap.  Do that four times.  Sounds pretty straight forward.  Karen explained the rules to everyone.  They were giving a prize for the top overall.  They also had a kids juice division. We had to wait for the mail carrier to come through the cul-de-sac, then we got ready to go.  They had red solo cups setup on a table filled with beer.  Everyone had a cup with their name on it.  A couple people were going to be filling cups as the race was going on.  Carolann was the official starter and timer.  I put the cup in my right hand and put it up to my mouth.  I put my left hand up with my Garmin, so I could hit the 'start' button and begin drinking at the same time.  A countdown, then the GO!
Garmin Tracking
So I started Chugging.  I wasn't doing too bad, but some people really knocked down that first beer.  I was definitely in the middle of the pack as I downed that first brew. And off I went.  So at the end of cul-de-sac we're at the lower end of a slight downhill.  So we start off running uphill. With a beer sloshing around your stomach.  It was much harder to get the legs churning than I thought it would be.  Still, I managed to gain on people and started passing as I came back down.
Elevation, Pace, Cadence
Beer number 2 was harder than the first to get down.  The uphill was about the same.  It was similar as I gained on people going up the hill, made the turn at the orange pylon and then passed them on the downhill.  For some reason, beer number 3 went down smooth as silk.  I passed Jeremy at that point which put me into second behind Laurent.  I pushed as much as I could on that lap to bring me home for the final beer.
Don't mind that crazy straight line, I accidentilly hit Start later in the day.
Admittedly beer 4 was a struggle, but I didn't want to lose second place.  I downed it, gained my bearings and took off on the final lap.  I was too far behind to catch Laurent, so I pretty much cruised home in 2nd.  Laurent definitely won it on the beer chugging.  He is originally from Canada, so there's that.  My Garmin had 6:37 for 0.94 miles.  Maybe we can get a more accurate course next year.  That calculates out to a 7:02 pace for a mile.
Good Crowd for the 5th Annual Beer Mile
So I was a bit loopy after the race. Well, do the math: 4 beers in 6-1/2 minutes will probably do that. Karen had food setup on their back patio, so everyone hung out for a while and ate.  It was great to hang out with everyone with a little competition thrown in.  Next year I will know what to expect.  Hopefully I can bring home the Win. For America. #makeamericanbeermilegreatagain

Friday, December 23, 2016

2016 Charlotte Marathon Relay

Last year at the Charlotte Marathon I anchored a BSR/EPT mixed team. We ended winning the mixed (coed) and it was really fun.  So this year I was hoping that Paul would ask me again to run and sure enough he did.


We met at 6:15am  at the Harris Teeter that was near the first exchange there at Queens and Providence.  Everyone slowly gathered.  There were two EPT teams this year, plus Jeremy who was running the full monty.  People got coffee and/or used the facility.  We eventually figured out who was going where and piled into the cars.  We left the parking lot around 6:45am.
       And we got more rhymes than your whole damn crew
Our team (in order) was Steve, Karen, Jen, Carolann, and Me.  We referred to our squad as the "World Championship" team. For next year, Jen and Karen are racing the Ironman WC, and Carolann and I are racing the 70.3 WC (and Steve has raced Kona before).  The other team was Laura (who I did not know), Laurent, Laura (who I do know), Heather and Paul.  Paul, Jen, Laura, and I got in Paul's car and headed out to the 10 mile mark and the first exchange.
Chillin' at Einstein Bagels
We got there with lots of time to spare.  Jen and Laura did some warmup drills and then went out for a warmup run.  Paul and I just kinda hung out on the corner.  Evidently we looked like very official.  Several people stopped and asked us for parking and race course information.The first leaders came through about 55 minutes, which I had expected.  Steve came after his leg and we all went down to the exchange point.  We watched the exchange of the EPT teams, and then Paul and I headed out to Mile 20, our exchange point.
Karen to Jen

Laurent to Laura
We hung out for a little bit in the car and then went and found a port-o-let.  Jen and Steve pulled up and I got the race belt with a number from them.  We kinda forgot out race numbers.  Last year I got the numbers the night before and just pinned them on my singlet.  We didn't do that this year, and we didn't have any pins.  Luckily some people brought some race belts and we just used a couple of those to trade off. I did a short 7 minute warmup and got back to the exchange point with about 2 minutes to spare.
Warmup Run
Carolann and Karen came around the corner.  Karen ran with Carolann after Karen had run her Leg. #hardcore.  I was on the wrong side of the timing mat, but quickly jumped over to the right side.  Carolann looked pretty good. I took the wrist strap and took off.

I actually felt better than I had expected.  I was thinking it would be pretty ugly since I had only run 3 times since Augusta.  But I came through that first downhill mile only 5-6 seconds slower than last year.  I figured that my stamina would not be there as the miles (and hills) wore on.
I had to ask directions several times.  Being where we were at in the Marathon (and it not being that huge of a race) there were not a lot of people around me.  I actually started to make a wrong turn one time.  Coming down Hawthorne avenue you are supposed to cross Central.  I started to make the turn onto Central and the cop yelled at me.  I corrected my course and thanked the policeman as I went by.

So the miles and hills kept coming.  When I came through miles 3 and 4 and split 6:41 and 6:31, I was pretty happy.  Like I said, I felt a lot better than I thought. Unfortunately this course is the same as last year with that crap last mile.

You still finish with a perfectly straight last mile on Stonewall.  Slightly uphill, against the wind. It just zaps you.  I fought back and forth with a marathoner and he was hanging pretty tough.  I was impressed.  Then some official on a motorcycle rode alongside me for 3/4 of a mile. Not sure what that was about. I felt good at the last turn and tried to kick it in.  I gave Hugo a big double high five after I crossed the finish line.

I saw Jen and Steve at finish.  I didn't feel cold in just my singlet.  We grabbed a free beer and I met some other EPT people.  We hung out for a while, and got our second beer. Very fun day. I rode with Robbie, Carolann and Laura back to my car.  I stopped by Sugar Creek Brewery on my way home to celebrate a little.  I was very sore from the day.
'Sup Hugo?
Overall we finished in 3:03:49 (overall 7:00.7 min/mile average) good for second mixed.  Results here.  We were 15 minutes faster than last year!  Much stiffer competition this year.  We may have to up our game next year.  Here is how it shook out by leg in the Official results (in order):

Steve 4.2 miles in 26:35 for a 6:19.8 average
Karen 5.8 miles in 39:13 for a 6:45.7 average
Jen 5 miles in 38:05 for a 7:37.0 average
Carolann 5 miles in 38:19 for a 7:39.8 average
Me 6.2 miles in 41:36 for a 6:42.6 average
Cheerleading Gone Wrong

The "World Championship" Crew
Already looking forward to doing this again next year.  It would be great to get the same team together, but that rarely works out.  However it shakes out, we need to get that "W" again!




Thursday, December 15, 2016

2016 Ironman Augusta 70.3 Race Report

I first signed up for Augusta 70.3 because I figured it was my best chance to qualify for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.  I figured that if I didn't qualify in Muncie then I would have this race to fall back on.  I did Augusta as my first Ironman brand event back in 2012.  It was just my second half iron event.  It was kind of my "coming out" race as everything fell into place for me and I finished in 4:13. I got on the age group podium, was in the top ten overall and got a spot to the 2013 Worlds 70.3 race in Vegas.
Because of that, Augusta has always had a special place in my heart.  I had originally thought about doing Miami 70.3 instead of this race, because I like to do different races.  But honestly, if my goal is to Q for worlds, Augusta's wetsuit legal current aided swim is way more in my favor.  I'm a big believer in picking races that suit your strengths. I guess it depends on your goals, but if placing is in your goals, you need to go with your strengths.  So Augusta it was.


Friday
I took Friday off from work.  I took both the kids to school. I finished packing everything into the car.  Then I was able to have some breakfast out with my wife before I left.  We hit the IHOP, then I hit the gas station, then I was off.


The drive to Augusta is only a little over 2 hours. Somehow I managed to get hungry and stopped at a Subway.  When I got into Augusta, I went directly to the convention center to check in.  I was too early for the Ramada check in.


I parked in a dirt lot on the river side of Reynolds and had to walk a couple of blocks to get to check in.  There wasn't a line really at all, just 3-4 people ahead of me.  I still went to the AWA check in.  Yeah, I'm like that. I will still not wear that swim cap, though! #standards


So standard IM checkin. They didn't really follow the standard check in order.  I signed my waivers, then got the packet.  Then the lady tells me to go sign my waivers. I'm like, ok how about the timing chip line? She's like yeah you can do that too.  I'm like cool.  The swag line was actually kinda long.


As I got in that line I saw Kelly who I swim with all the time.  I actually didn't really recognize her at first.  She's looking at me like I should know her.  I'm like, why is this woman looking at me? Oh, Kelly! You have makeup on. I never see you with makeup on at 5:30 in the morning in the dark.
Actually had some nice stuff.


Her and Sarah had checked in, but they were waiting on Beth.  All Mecklenburg Swim Association Masters swimmers.  She invited me to lunch with them and since they were still waiting on Beth, they waited for me as well.  We all went over to Beamies for a late lunch.

The MSA Swim Crew
I checked out the rivewalk a little bit.  I found all the nice houses in the area.  Across the river in South Carolina.  Then it was finally time to be able to check into the hotel.  I parked in the back of the Ramada lot, it was pretty full.  Check in took a little bit.  The gentleman was a little confused as my reservation was for only 2 nights.  Evidently they had a 3 night minimum.  The manager came over and she said, it's ok, he must have booked before they put that in place.


Probably true.  Not sure if I blogged about this before or not.  But after the Eagleman fiasco last year, I've been booking my hotels a year ahead of time.  At Eagleman, I looked for a hotel about 8 months ahead of time, and all the ones close were booked.  I had to stay like 40 minutes away.  So now I book hotels for races the day it becomes available online.  This is usually 50-52 weeks out.


I'll book before I even sign up for the race.  I'll book if I'm even thinking about a race (like IM Hilton Head, that never happened).  Yes, I have reservations for Chattanooga in May and September next year, as well as Boulder, and Hinson Lake. #beprepared

View from my Hotel Room
I made several trips back and forth to the car to get everything up in my room. I checked all the race stuff and chilled out a little bit.  I got the stickers on my bike and the helmet.  I had it cleaned up and ready to go for a spin in the morning.

I decided to head back over to the convention center for the 5pm athlete briefing. I know, I know, Why? It's kinda become a tradition with me.  I always go. I never learn anything. The guy who MC's it is the same guy who does awards at a lot of the races (including Muncie).  He's been doing it like all 8 years.  He's talking about the course one time, and he's explaining something and he goes, unless they changed it this year, but I don't think they did. I would think he would at least have a 5 min conversation with the RD sometime that week and say, has anything changed? No? good. Really I could have done the briefing, but I digress . . .
One Person's Crap Carnage
I met Nathan over at Luigis for dinner, which was 1/2 a block down from the Ramada and a couple of blocks from his Holiday Inn.  It was busy, but we didn't wait but a few minutes.  The service was really slow.  I thought my food was good, but Nathan was not so impressed.  Anyways we turned in early.

Saturday
Slept in, shaved, the usual.  I rode down to the Holiday Inn to meet up with Nathan for a short ride.  We just rode out Broad onto Sandbar Ferry road.  We went just past the Savannah River bridge and came back.  That part of the route is pretty flat.  We had an overall leisurely ride.  I didn't feel too bad.  Not as good as Chatt, but seemed better than Muncie.


Headed back to the hotel, and I did a quick change.  I went out for a mile run there along Broad Street. I felt pretty good.  There was a lot more activity today.  Pretty much all down Broad and at the Commons there were people walking around.  So I got some pics and headed back to the hotel.
This is why I don't let people borrow my GoPro


Hopped into the shower and met Nathan over at Hildebrandts for an early lunch. Really cool local place right across the street from the Ramada.


I had been trying to get in touch with some BSR people Friday and in the morning.  Everything has to be a last minute decision.  Like no one can make plans more than 2 hours ahead of  time.  Anyways, some of them were meeting at the Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch.  I decided to join them.  I just had a salad with Ben, Lisa, and Carolyn.  All of whom I had not me before.  I did get to see Colin and his wife, who I met in Chattanooga.  All great people.

Me and the GodFather

Big Sexy Crew
After that it was time for Bike check.  Nathan and I headed down around 3pm.  We drove around to where the bike course comes out, instead of coming down by the river. There on Prep Phillips Drive there were a lot less cars, and we could park pretty close.
Ready to Unleash the Fury


We strolled in with our bikes and checked out the rack situation.  I again had a really sweet spot, just like Muncie.  Seriously it was the rack right next to the women's pro rack.  There wasn't much to setup.  I racked my bike by my handlebars, so it was't teetering like in my races earlier this year.


Walked around for a while talking to people I recognized and finding BSR people as well. Then we took off.  I got all my stuff setup back at the hotel.  Going through the normal routine to make sure I had everything organized.  Finally I was satisfied and chilled on the bed to watch some TV


There were a few bikes
I met my buddy Brad at the Soy Noodle House.  Brad's a former BSRer.  Chattanooga was both of our's first Full Ironman race.  I had some chicken and rice and sushi.  Brad had his family with him and some friends of his. This was the first time I had seen Alina since waiting in the swim line at Ironman Chattanooga.  I apologized for being so nervous and not talking to her, but she didn't seem to remember. So that was good.

Drove back to the hotel, and just crashed.  Set that alarm to 4:30 and I fell asleep pretty easily.

Sunday Race Day
Popped out of bed a little nervous, but had plenty to do to get ready. Since I was checking out of the hotel, I had to get everything down to the car. I decided to leave my swim stuff in the car, since the hotel was only 2 blocks over from swim start.  This also allowed me to bring my bike pump.  I've gotten pretty adept at pumping up the disc with the crack pipe.  The only downside is that my crack pipe is a Shrader valve. No big deal for my pump, but not sure about others.

I met Nathan outside the hotel shortly before 5am.  We walked down to the busses near the convention center and hopped the ride over to transition.  There weren't too many people there at that point.  No lines for body marking at all.

Got into transition, and walked over to my rack. A few seconds later we hear "Official Water temp is 77 degrees, this will be a wetsuit optional race". I turn to the guy next to me and we're like Really? First time in the 8 year history of this race. Stupid Global Warming. We all kinda started laughing. I mean I was pretty relaxed, I knew with the heat and bike course change, I wouldn't beat my previous time, but now, it really wouldn't even be close.  Honestly I thought, really glad I Q'd at Muncie.

Then I went to work on the wheels.  Kinda nice not having to find a pump. I mean this isn't Kona where there are 5 extra pumps on the end of every row.  A couple of other people borrowed my pump.  I then went to find Nathan and give him the pump, but he had already found one.

So the usual setup. Left the bike mounted by the front bars. I put my helmet on the ground since there is no real great way to put it on the bike with it mounted like that.  Put my shoes on the ground as well. Stuffed a pill bag in there, but had all the gels on Green Lightning. Stared at it. Went through my mental checklist many times. Finally satisfied, I left.
Prerace Parachuters
Found some fellow BSR people and we talked for a bit. Eventually found Nathan and we headed to the busses to go back to swim start.  Didn't have to wait in line too long for a bus.  We got dropped off just a block and a half from the hotel. I took Nathan's wetsuit and my stuff and headed back over to the car.
The Dock
Dropped my stuff in there.  Had to rummage around and find my swimskin. Lucky I even brought it. I never thought this race would be non-wetsuit. But always be prepared. As I've stated before. I am always prepared with my swimskin or wetsuit no matter what anyone says about the water temp anywhere or anytime.

Walked back over to swim start and found Nathan and Matt at the top of the ramp.  We hung there for a bit.  I saw Brad and remarked how the water temp was in his favor.  We eventually walked down to the port-o-lets and bag drop.  There was a big line for the portos. Then I saw the most amazing thing to ever grace a big race morning: The Portable Urinal Bathroom. Hallelujah! No line. Just get in and go. I go back and tell Nathan. He doesn't even believe me. It was like I told him I saw a rainbow unicorn or something. Anyways, he thought it was cool.

Dropped the morning clothes bags off and it was getting time for me to head to the start.  Saw my fellow Kona buddy Bill on the way back and some more BSR folks.  Watched the sky divers come down along with the national anthem.  I was in 5th wave, 3rd M40-44 (female pros, HC, then M40-44). I could have been in the 3rd wave if WTC wasn't so prejudice agains alphabetically challenged athletes. But I digress.

Got all suited up, with my cap and was waiting. Felt a tinge of nerves then, but not too bad. My goal was to get the W. Time didn't matter.  The waves started going off.  We started moving quickly. Went under the banner, and it was mostly a steady stream to the ramp.  Got some water in my goggles, spit, then put them on.  Hopped off the end of the dock and my first thought was "This feels wetsuit legal!!". I held onto the dock waiting for the countdown. In water starts with no wetsuits kinda stink. As the timer got close I swam out a little bit the start.  Gun blast, Garmin Started, I was off.

Swim
29:47 Officially 90/283 AG, 452 / 1607 Male
Garmin had 29:39 for 2,029 yards (1:28 per hundred yards)
It was a little congested at the beginning, with 100 or so people in the wave.  I got going relatively cleanly.  I was able to stay on some feet for a little bit.  I could definitely tell the effects of the current.  It doesn't just push you along, it makes you feel like you have better body position and are more efficient with your stroke. Or maybe it's all in my head.

I tried to stay as far to the left, in the middle of the river as possible.  The strongest current is there.  I came right alongside some of the kayakers and support crew several times.  One time I was headed right for the guy and couldn't get over because there were swimmers on my right.  He graciously moved further over to the left.

I felt really smooth the whole way. No issues, really.  I felt good. I tried not to get too bored, and stay focused. I think that's an issue for me every race. Especially one like this that there are no turns. You just swim straight and get out.

So I felt like I had a good swim.  Unfortunately most times I feel like that even when my swim stinks.  Still I was pretty pleased when I got to the end and saw the 29 on my watch. Only 2 minutes slower than 4 years ago without a wetsuit.  But I actually did have a really good swim: only 3 minutes behind the leaders in my AG. If I'm even 5 min behind, I say that's a good swim.

T1
3:05 Officially 60/283
Made the long run, passing people as I went.  They had wetsuit strippers, but I passed on that and continued to my rack.  No issues, grabbed GL and we were on our way.
I really was close to Bike Out
Bike
2:21:12 Officially 1/283 AG, 9 / 1607 Male
Garmin had 2:21:21 for 56.51 miles and a 24.0 average on 225 watts with a 90 cadence and 1,890 feet of gain.


Being in a very early wave definitely helps with the traffic.  It really wasn't bad. I passed quite a few people early and settled in quickly.  I felt pretty good.  The detour around the bridge definitely slowed the course a lot.  It added a long slow climb in the first 15 miles.  Previously that first 15 mile stretch is really flat.  Here I averaged 24.4 mph, but I had to crank 232 watts to get that.
Let's add some hills

I tried to get used to the pain. I basically told myself I needed to average 230 watts and worry about the consequences later. It was a go for broke kinda day: I already Q'd, the only think worth racing for was the W.  I kept on pace and over the next 25 miles I averaged 23.1 mph on 231 watts.  So 40M in, I was right where I wanted to be.

Then it got rough.  Or I started going faster so I didn't worry about the watts.  I didn't really feel hot. Nothing like Kona. But one time when I did look back, and pressed my face against my shoulder, it felt quite toasty.  I passed a couple of female pros in the last 15 miles, not sure how that happened.  I really didn't see much drafting.  But being in front of the throng of people, like I was in Chatty, you typically don't see much.

So over those last 15 Miles or so after 40, I averaged 25.4 mph on only 213 watts. I'm starting to think that I do better on flat courses. Hopefully that will play out in Boulder 70.3 next year. I definitely struggled that last 10 miles or so.  Basically counting the miles until I finished.

T2
2:32 Officially 18/283
I was pretty happy to finally make it into transition.  Very few bikes there.  I was glad to have my AWA spot.


Run
1:44:24 Officially 16/283 AG,
As soon as I got all the way out of transition, I knew it wasn't good.  After that first hundred yards or so, I could really feel that my legs were hurting.  The first mile split in 6:44 wasn't horrible, but usually I'll split that in 6:25 and not even think twice about it.


As I made it out onto the road and then onto Broadway, some guy told me I was the 4th male.  With the wave start, I figured I was 2nd or 3rd. (Turns out I was second off the bike).  I continued to just feel worse and worse.  It quickly became about survival and not racing.

That face pretty much sums it up

I saw Nathan about 5 miles in and he yelled at me really meanly.  He told me later "Man, you really looked like $#!& on that run". Hey, what are friends for?  I did see my swim coach there (as a surprise) cheering me on.  I felt bad that I was going so slow.
How 'bout dem splits!


By Mile 8 I was in the 8:30 min/mile pace range.  Then around mile 10 my hamstrings starting cramping up.  I had to walk a few times.  They straightened out a little. My calves were a fight the whole last 30 minutes.  They were cramping like crazy. A 9:30 mile 12 and I just wanted to be done.
Pretty consistent slow death



Almost every mile was progressively slower all the way through mile 12 (except mile 9 was 5 sec faster than 8).  I put the jets on that last mile and split a 9:02. Wow.  I was never happier to make that final turn and see the finish line.


Finish
4:41:00 Officially 4/283, 31 / 1607 Male
I got a across the line and took some water.  I slammed one down and poured another one over my head. I staggered around a bit and found a place to sit. I saw Nathan come through just a few minutes after I did.  I knew he was coming and I was surprised he didn't pass me while I was still out there.  He beat me be over 7 minutes with the wave start.

I wasn't sure were I finished.  I figured I was probably 6th or 7th. Definitely off the podium. I walked around with Nathan a bit and found his family.  Saw Brad afterward as well and he wasn't too happy either.  I grabbed a little something to eat.  Sabrina looked up our places and said Nathan was 6th and I was 4th in the AG. Results Here. I was kinda surprised at that. After grabbing some soda and getting fully hydrated, I walked back to my car and changed.
DeadPool!

Kids giving High Fives


Met back up with Nathan and the kids and walked down to the Whiskey Bar Kitchen to grab some beers and lunch.  We hung out there for a while.  Our friend Matt and his family met up with us as well so we had a pretty good crew.  The kids were cheering people on as they were running down the street.


We walked back down to the commons area for the awards.  I saw tons of people that I knew. I just kinda a walked around talking to everyone.  Eventually they start the awards, and I get mine.  They did the Tri Club awards after and we picked up Division I first place as well. Then it was time for rolldown.  I had several friends that needed some help to try and qualify.

Unfortunately there was very very little rolldown.  As they get to me, the MC calls my name. I didn't go up, someone yelled out "He's already got one!". MC is like where? Muncie.  In hindsight I probably should have gone up there and told him myself. He seemed a little confused.
Still made the Podium, Weak AG on this day

My biggest fan


So none of my buddies snagged a rolldown, that was a bummer. So I said some goodbyes and headed back to the car.  I drove on down to transition to gather my bike. I parked in the same spot that Nathan and I did the day before. I saw a few people in transition but didn't spend too much time.
Tri Club Champs!
I headed out kinda tired. I stopped in Columbia at the Chili's for another post-race beverage and some wings.  It felt kinda good to be done with the season.  Finally got home. Season over.

I think what ultimately happened was that I was overtrained. I killed myself to be ready for Muncie. I accomplished my goal there, but I should have rested more after that race. I knew my season was in trouble at Lake Logan. I had a really good week of rest going into that race, but I just felt tired. Definitely overtrained.

It just bums me out. I really had a great swim and then did my thing on the bike to put myself in position for that first win.  I only had to run 7 min miles to get it. I got dehydrated, but honestly I don't think it would have mattered what I did on that particular day. The die was already cast.  Next year I age up to 45-49.  It will be win or die at both Chattanooga and Boulder next year. Giddyup!
3 for 3 Div I Tri Club Champs: Chattanooga, Muncie, Augusta
So now I press the reset button. Six weeks of rest ought to do it.  Rested and ready to start the build to next years World Championships.  Lessons learned, fun was had, now were ready to start again.