Triathalon

August 18, 2021

First Triathlon in Four Years

On sunday I ran (biked and swam) the peasantman triathlon in Penn Yan. This was my first triathlon since 2017 my first return to the peasantman since completing the half in 2015. Going into the race I knew that I was being powered more by enthusiasm and excitement than by actual training, and opted to step down to the intermediate distance. I finished the race in 4:11:54.

Going into this race I am fairly sure that I have not actually swam at all within the past two years. Probably not the best prep for what was the second longest swim of my life. Still I finished the mile in 55:06 which while near the tail end of the pack, was more or less in line with what I expected and actually slightly quicker than my average pace during my last tri.

I biked the 29 mile lap in 2:12 in what was the most difficult part of the course for me. With my slow swim I had a fairly lonely bike ride after turning away from the bikers on the sprint distance course. I did pass one rider (and gained ground on many others), but didn’t see to many people on the course until some of the other distance competitors started catching me towards the end of the loop. Maybe it is because I could only really compare myself to the sprinters and the leaders of the full, but it felt like my bike just didn’t go that fast even when I was maxed out going downhill. Still the final downhill into Penn Yan was a ton of fun and allowed me to reach some speeds that would have been reckless without someone directing traffic at the bottom of the hill.

The bike portion (and my lack of training on the bike) is what really held me back from going for the half distance. I could have managed a longer run, and the swim distance is barely different, but I would have really been in trouble had I needed to do a second lap on the bike.

The transitions between events are not the most exciting parts of the race, but they are a part of it nonetheless. I mention this only to point out that my 39 second transition was actually the quickest in the field. I may not have won the swimming, or the biking, or the running, but I was the T2 champion.

For the run I completed the quarter marathon in 1:01:25. This was the one discipline that I was actually prepared for, and while I passed a handful of people I started too far back to really move up the field. The run was quick and steady even if I didn’t have much of a finishing kick after racing for four hours.

This is going to be my one and only triathlon for the year, but I should have some more foot races coming up before too long.

June 13, 2017

Finishing last at the Keuka Lake Triathlon

When I started this blog I wrote that it would be nice to finish last in a race, and on Sunday that finally came true as I had the slowest time at the Keuka Lake Triathlon. Unfortunately it did not come from pushing myself further, but rather from a lack of preparedness and some problems with my bike.

I knew that I hadn’t put in the practice for the swim or the bike, but was looking forwards to the race as it was fairly short. Then two days before the race, I got an email letting me know that my past self was far too overconfident, and that I had in face registered to compete in the longer distance. I ended up finishing the race in 4:11:36.

The swim portion actually went pretty well. 1500 meters is the second farthest that I have ever swam, only behind the 1.2 miles I swam in the 2015 Peasantman (ironically also at Keuka Lake). My time of 50:50 (while comparatively on the slow side) was very much in line with how I did in my longest swim.

The bike portion is where I had the most trouble on the course. The first ten miles went well enough. However after that there was a two mile long uphill that came just as I was getting fatigued, and where my bike started getting a bit of a vibration. After reaching the top of the hill it should have gotten easier, but it was starting to become apparent that there was something wrong with my bike, and mid-race I was unable to find the problem so I just pushed on. Fortunately the final seven miles of the bike course were all downhill so I could mostly coast into the finish, but at this point my bike was shaking so much that it was uncomfortable to stay in the saddle so even this section was slow.

By the time I got to the run I was solidly in last place, unmotivated, and a bit behind on my hydration. I felt bad on the run, but my time was actually very much in the middle of the pack. Over the 10k run I was averaging 10:42 miles. On its own this would be slow for me, but given that I was already three hours into the race, this was actually much quicker than I was at a similar point into my marathon a few weeks ago.

My next race is Wednesday night on the trails of Lucien Morin Park. Having the next few races being all running, and no biking should help me get some better results.

August 8, 2016

Sodus Point Triathlon

On Sunday I completed a triathlon at Sodus Point. I finished the course in 1:45:08. Without any previous times on this course, the most I can say is that my average pace was similar to the slightly longer Shoreline Triathlon I finished last month.

A last minute change moved the swim to the other side of the peninsula in an area that included a few shallow areas that need to be walked. If anything that was a help to the slower swimmers like myself and I finished the swim course in 23:01.

The bike course was unexpectedly hilly, but at only 13.1 miles it was also a bit on the short side. I finished the biking in 52:13 and averaged the exact same miles per hour as my last triathlon.

My 27:11 for the run was a little disappointing, but relative to the rest of the field the run is still my strongest part of the race.

July 18, 2016

Shoreline Triathlon PR

On Sunday I finished the Shoreline Triathlon in 2 hours and 5 minutes. This is my best time yet on this course, and I improved my time on the swimming, biking, and running portions of the race.

I finished the half mile swim in 24:43 which is a bit over a minute quicker than last year. I am still one of the slower swimmers, but I am improving.

I finished the 15.7 mile bike course in 62:21. This is 13 minutes quicker than I was when I first did this race in 2014. Last year’s bike course was slightly different, but I still had a higher average speed than last year, and also the paddle-tri from earlier this year.

The run has been my most consistent part of this race, but I still managed to finish the four miles 45 seconds quicker than my previous best on this course.

August 18, 2015

Finishing a half-ironman

On Sunday I finished my first half distance triathlon at the Peasantman race on Keuka Lake. At a combined 72.3 miles, the race was two biking miles longer than your standard half-ironman race. Overall, I finished in 8 hours and 36 minutes.

The swim actually went very well. The distance of 1.2 miles is by far the longest I have ever swam, yet I was able to maintain the same pace that I did for the shorter swim in last month’s triathlon. While my time of 63 minutes was no where near the fastest, I felt pretty good after finishing.

The 58 mile bike course is the farthest that I have ever rode on a bike, and consisted of two 29 mile loops. The first loop went very well, and although I don’t have an official split I think the first loop was a bit under two hours. Additionally the course ended with a rather significant downhill, so I got the unique experience of passing some motorcycles. The second loop started well enough, but around mile 34 I began to hit the wall. I struggled through until a water stop at mile 39 where I stopped a bit to get recharged. I was able to bike pretty consistently for the rest of the course, but I no longer had the same speed. Still I was at least quick enough to pass a few Amish buggies along the way. I finished the full 58 miles in 4 hours and 24 minutes.

Finally there was the run which is the one part of the triathlon that I am supposed to be good at. Unfortunately the course had very little shade, and after the first mile I was already worn out. Being beat up from the bike, and unable to get away from the sun I ended up walking a significant portion of the half-marathon. While my time of 3:05 was about an hour slower than I had been hoping for, given the conditions the run could have ended much worse.

Overall, I am now done with triathlons for the year, and won’t need to worry about biking or swimming until 2016. My next big race is the Rochester Marathon on September 20th, but first I have another trail race on Wednesday night.

July 20, 2015

Year’s first triathlon complete

At Hamlin Beach Park, I completed my first triathlon of the year in 2 hours and 20 minutes. While I placed a bit better than I did last year, I still have a lot of room to improve when it comes to triathlons.

Once again I was one of the slower swimmers in the race, but I did improve my time by a little over a minute. I would have like to have done better on the bike. This year’s bike course was longer and hillier than last year’s, but with my new bike I still had hoped to improve more than I did. My run was actually a few seconds slower than last year, but this remains the one stage of the triathlon that I am confident in.