4 Days Until the Miami International Triathlon
Posted by Admin on March 10, 2010 in Training
Can’t believe my first real race of the season is around the corner. I’ve been thinking about it non-stop for the past week or so. So many emotions are running through me, some of them strong, some of them reeking of concern and insecurity.
I’m worried about the swim. In recent weeks, I seem to have decreased my time in the water, mostly because of the deconstruction of my stroke into a much better one… and that has me doing far less distance within each workout. Eventually, this will be worth it, the improved technique that is, but for now, I’m not doing terribly well. Moreover, my confidence in the water has taken a big hit.
On race day, I’ll do my best to continue to engage the proper technique and hope that I can do complete the entire swim leg in this fashion. But, if things get hairy, I’m sure I’ll revert to the old one which provides some measure of confidence and efficiency. It’s not like they are terribly different, but from a true technical view, they are. I’ll not go into it here, but suffice it to say that I roll way too much from side to side and spend far more energy controlling my balance instead of using it for forward thrust.
With the swim concerns, I’ve begun thinking that I’ll have to make up for it somehow on the bike and run. I’m encouraged by Monday’s loops on my road bike in Central Park. I didn’t go my hardest, but when I amped things up at certain points, I felt like sustainable strength was there. Last night, at the indoor session for my tri team, I tried holding back just a bit on our highest intensity workouts and from a pure feeling perspective, I would have thought my metrics (e.g. heart rate, pedal cadence, etc.) would have reflected such a decrease, but I was actually quite close to the goals of the various workout sets and with very little fatigue or concern. This bodes well.
I just got my bike back from the shop. I use this little tiny place called Master Bikes on the Upper West Side. The owner is the former master mechanic at Toga Bike Shop, also on the UWS, named Imbert, a Dominican guy with immense talent with bikes of all kinds. I’ve been working with him for most of my “career” and that loyalty pays off handsomely as he seems to always take great care of me like a VIP. The work he just did on my triathlon bike was to install a new aero bar set-up, tune the bike, replace brake pads, and with my race wheels loaded, to ensure that the race set-up was perfect. I have to admit; the bike looks pretty good right now. Wish I had a picture to share on this post, but I’ll remember to do so soon.
With the recent workouts, the aggregate mileage built up so far, the drills forced upon me by the tri team, and now a faster bike, I hope to have a good day out there. I don’t have a time goal per se, but I’d like to average 22 mph for the course. It’s reported to be flat, so it shouldn’t be too tall an order.
The run has been going well for me too. Last week, I had an incredible training run on my short 4 mile course that takes me from my apt. into the northern hills of Central Park, and back home. I had planned on heading home early from work and to begin the run at 1 p.m. so that I’d be back home in time for a 2 p.m. conference call. I wound up getting delayed and didn’t start the run until 1:27. With only 33 minutes allotted, and with that block including the walk up and down the stairs, fumbling with keys, etc., I was going to be very compressed. Knowing this, I put forth a pretty good effort from the get-go. Climbing the hills felt easy even with the higher intensity. My last mile was timed at 6:48 for an average pace of 7:14. It was a personal record for this course, albeit by only 2 seconds, and it did not represent my ultimate effort. I still had plenty of gas in the tank. Naturally, the memory of this recent run will stay with me going into the Miami event. I’ve run since and have tried to scale back the efforts, and while the heart rate indicates that I am holding back, the times remain fast. The trick will be to find a comfortably yet aggressive pace right off the bike, and to build the intensity with each mile.
In this Miami race, I’ll be wearing the Terrier Tri Team official race kit (shorts and top) for the first time. I’ve not had a ton of interaction with the folks on my team, but those people I’ve met have been very welcoming and friendly, and it’ll be with pride that I represent the team in Miami. I’ve heard rumblings of other teammates doing this event, so it’ll be easy to find one another with the uniform worn.
I leave on Friday and get back on Monday. Fernando, his brother-in-law, and his two friends will make up our little group and I’m sure there will be a ton of smack talk on Friday night and all day Saturday. After the race on Sunday, something tells me we might get a drink or 10. Thank God for planning a Monday return!
Not sure if I’ll have time to post while there, but I’ll try. I got a Macbook Pro last month, so it’s a distinct possibility! If not or really in either event, I’ll be sure to include a race report and pics if I can get ’em (especially the bike!).
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