Wow. This one really came out of nowhere. I was originally planning to do the Liberty Triathlon on June 11. The problem was that I couldn't decide between the 1/2 Iron distance or the Olympic distance. Well, by the time I had finally made up my mind, the race was full! D'oh! Fortunately, the http://www.tribuff.com/ was still accepting entries. Heck. From what I can tell, they don't have a limit on participants.
This will be my first time racing in Buffalo and only my 2nd Olympic distance tri ever. My first was Trinona back in 2009. I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to PR. I mean, I'd like to think that I've improved in the last couple of years. So, lets take a step in the WABAC machine and try to figure out how things are going to go down.
The Swim
Trinona: 33:12, or 2:01 per 100 yards
Being my first triathlon, I really had no idea what to do. I was still learning how to sight and was still getting over the initial shock of not having lane lines or any walls to push of of. Since the, my swim times have come down quite a bit. I averaged 1:45 per 100 yards at the Ironman. So, tomorrow, I should be able to break 30:00 without too much of a problem. I'm thinking that 28:00 sounds about right.
Buffalo Goal: 28:00, or 1:42 per 100 yards.
The Bike
Trinona: 1:28:12, or 16.87 MPH.
It's really not fair to compare bike courses. Trinona is famous for having one of the steepest climbs in the country. There's a mile-long segment with a grade of 12%. It's no joke. Plus, that was a couple years ago, and I didn't have nearly as many cycling miles under my belt. Buffalo, on the other hand is flat as a pancake, and the forecast for tomorrow is calling for little or no wind. It's a 12.75 mile course. The sprint racers do 1 lap and us Oly folk will do two. With close to 1500 other riders, things are bound to get a little crowded for lap #2. If all goes well, I'm hoping for an average speed of 19.5 MPH. 20 MPH would be excellent, but I want to save a little gas for the run.
Buffalo Goal: 1:18:00 or 19.6 MPH.
The Run
Trinona: 1:06:21, or 10:41 per mile
The run was a rude awakening at Trinona. I hadn't really done any brick workouts leading up to the race. So, when I hopped off my bike, I was a little shocked when my legs didn't want to behave themselves. It felt as though someone had shot me in each one of my butt cheeks. I didn't have to walk any of the course, but I wasn't exactly breaking any land speed records. Running is still my weakest discipline, but I'm still hoping to keep my splits under 9:00 per mile tomorrow. If I can hold something faster, great. But I'll try to keep it around 9:00 for the first half of the race and speed things up for the 2nd half if there's any fuel left in the tank.
Buffalo Goal: 56:00, or 9:00 per mile.
Summary
Trinona Total Time: 3:08:01
Let's see, before I know my final goal time, I'll need to factor in about 2:00 per transition. So, that brings me up to a grand total of 2:46. Okay. Sounds like a plan to me.
Buffalo Goal: 2:46:00
I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how I did. Later gators!
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