Race Report - Memphis in May

Dottie and I travelled to Tunica Mississippi this weekend to compete in the old new Memphis in May Triathlon. The race was moved to Tunica from Millington TN this year. All I can say is that you don’t realize the logistics involved in competing in most triathlons until you find a race that basically eliminates 90% of the work. The organizers and host hotel took the logistical worries out of the picture. It was easy to focus on the reason we travelled there….to race.  We stayed at the Harrah’s event center in Tunica MS.  Within 100 yards of our hotel room was the swim start, the transition area, the finish line and most importantly, the food tent.

Here are the details…

Swim

The swim start at this race was in the TT format.  Instead of sending off the swimmers in waves, one swimmer left every 5 seconds. It makes for a less hectic swim start because there’s no getting pummeled by 50 other guys trying to get to the same spot you are. But, as you’ll read later, there is a downside to it.

The lake was shallow. If you needed to, you could stand up on every part of the course. It was shallow, but not swampy. It smelled and tasted clean…the water was just cloudy. You couldn’t see your hand stretched out in front of you as you swam.

We were allowed to warm-up so I got in a much needed 10 minute swim prior to getting in line. It helps me tremendously to be able to wake up the swim muscles and get the blood flowing. I finished my warm-up and walked over the start line and within 5 minutes I was next in line to be sent off.

I felt great from the start. The stroke was long and strong right from the beginning. I was able to keep it right on the edge of a strong effort and working too hard so the stroke goes to hell in a hand bag. The work I spent this winter with the findingfreestyle group, showed itself today. I was pleased.

This course was by far the easiest one I’ve ever had to navigate. I was never off course. The markers were as follows.. An easily identifiable break in a tree line about 600 yards from the start. A huge green turn bouy about 20 yards from the first turn. A four story hotel. A narrow channel followed by another four story hotel. The hardest sighting point was the finish line. There weren’t any banners or flags flying…just an orange buoy at the water line.

Time: 23:44 / 4^th out of 44 in my age group

I don’t usually mention my transitions in these race reports. I’m going to break from that tradition and just say that it’s a REALLY STOOOPID idea to try and put on your Garmin 310xt in T1…I’m too cheap to buy the quick release gadget they have and it cost me at least 15 seconds trying to get the thing strapped to my wrist and buckled up…I’ll be shopping at the Garmin website this week.

Bike:

This was my first race done with a power meter. I’ve been training with one this winter and spring but never used it in a race situation. I didn’t have any watt numbers in mind to try and hold.  The plan was to ride as hard as possible and just look at/analyze the numbers post-race. That was a good plan but I kinda adjusted on the fly.

After the Garmin debacle mentioned earlier, I got on the bike and took off. I felt ok from the start, not great, just ok. Tunica is located on the Mississippi Delta. The bike course was as pancake flat. Even though I wasn’t feeling all that great, I was still holding 23mph…(in the pouring rain).  I took my first peak at Garmin about five minutes in and it was reading 240 watts…way lower than I expected but it was what it was. I didn’t feel like I should go any harder. As the race went on, I felt stronger and stronger. The first half was into a steady breeze and what normally would have felt like 20mph, was 22mph. That was a good sign so peeked at Garmin..it was reading about 260 watts….much better. My legs really came good about 15 miles into the race. The wind was directly at my right side and I was holding 25mph and 270 watts. Even better. As the race turned north back to the finish and with the wind, the mph’s were at about 30 and the watts were still reading 270. I was well in control at 270 + watts. If I was racing without the power meter, I probably would have pushed harder. But the combination of the mph and watt #’s caused me to go conservative…..not a good thing during an Olympic distance triathlon. Next race, I’m going to target 280+ watts and see what happens. Overall, I thought the bike was great and the power meter training completed this winter was evidenced by my finish time and mph’s..both personal bests on an Olympic Course.

Nutrition:  10oz of Power Bar Perform

Time: 59:03 / 25.02 mph  (I think the course may have been short but I was still much faster than last year) / 271 watt average /4^th out of 44 in my age group.

Run:

Did I mention the course was flat? Not a hill in sight. Even though the course and the day were made for a PR, (cool, cloudy and rainy) it wasn’t too be. I left transition feeling not too bad. Not great, but not bad. I was able to quickly get into what I thought was a good, sustainable pace. Unfortunately, it was about 10 seconds per mile slower than where I thought I would be. I was still wearing my Garmin and it was showing my pace as about 6:30 sec per mile. I was hoping to be running 6:20’s. Mentally, I didn’t have it in me to push any harder at that point in the race. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I was smart or just plain weak.

As the run went on, I felt like I got into a groove and my stride smoothed out but unfortunately my pace slowed to about 6:35. I made a deal with myself that I would push it hard at the turnaround and see where it took me. I figured I could at least drop the pace to the low 6:20’s. Again, it wasn’t to be. I picked it up and my pace dropped to the high 6:20’s. There wasn’t anything left. I finished the last 1.75 miles with a 6:25 pace. As I finished, I thought this was the first race where I felt like my run let me down. I didn’t know it then, but that premonition almost came true and cost me the race.

Nutrition: Two Gu’s and about 4 mouthfuls of water

Run time: 43:30 / pace 6:30 per mile / 3rd out of 44 in my age group (Course was long..6:65 miles instead of 6.2)

Closing thoughts: I’m not a fan of Time Trial starts. Because your competitors either start in front of you or behind you, it’s hard to judge where you stand in the race. There’s no excuse for not racing as hard as you can, but I would rather race my fellow 50-54 year old males than a clock.  The guy that finished behind me was only 17 seconds back. He was running me down and I didn’t know it. I wonder how I would have responded the last couple of miles if I had known he was closing. I thought I was running as hard as I could, but you never know.

The race went as well as I’d hoped it could. The finish result met my expectations. The swim met my expectations. The Bike exceeded my expectations and the run disappointed.  Three out four ain’t bad. The goal was to qualify for the 5150 national championship at the HyVee race in September. Check.

Overall time: 02:08:57 / 1^st place, M50-54

I’d also like to mention that Dottie and I had the pleasure of spending some time this weekend with fellow BretcherMultisport athletes,  Andrew and Suzanne Person. What a great couple. Funny, smart and great triathletes..it was a real treat for us. (It’s just too bad Andrew isn’t a fan of Mount Rushmore).