Last Tri of the season...thank goodness.
Each year, DAR has an invitational tri at the end of the season. In order to qualify, you have to have finished in the top 10 of your AG in an event in the last 2 racing seasons. So, therein lies the mystery...I'm one of the slower guys, and, typically don't finish near the top. As I looked back on my race reports from the past 2 years, the only DAR event where I finished in the top 10 was the depot day run in 13. A small field led to a 3rd place finish in my 1st 5 miler ever.
I was a little torn about competing in this event, as my last few races had been slow, tri season was wrapping up, and, it fell on the same day as the FW Marathon, which I had been targeting for most of the year.
However, I was unsure as to when I might qualify again, so, I used my invitation code and registered.
This course was familiar, as the swim and bike were identical to the Monster Tri Denton (2 weeks ago), and the run was the same as the Old College Tri.
I'd been struggling with insomnia much of the week, my training had been crap, and, to add additional stress, I'd had a few beers on Saturday. But, after a sleepless night, I rolled out of bed and headed to Denton on this cold Sunday morning.
I arrived to temps in the 40's. I added a cycling jacket and arm warmers to transition, and headed to the pool.
My swim, although slightly slower than last time, felt good. Freestyle the whole way and not the kind of traffic I'd encountered 2 weeks prior. Off to T1. Painfully slow. I tried, unsuccessfully, to put on the arm warmers, but my wet arms kept me from it. I did add my jacket, and, off I went. Like the last 2 times I rode this route, I felt good on the way out, with splits of 20 mph or so. However, on the way back, I struggled. The cold, wind, lack of sleep and hills made the ride suck. My bike average was 15.9 mph...the worst in any tri I've done and 1.6mph slower than 2 weeks ago.
My run was "normal". About 10 minute splits. Overall, I was 6 and a half minutes slower than the same course 2 weeks earlier.
At the end, I'd finished last in my AG. 150 of 260ish overall. Glad I did this one? Not so sure. But, definitely glad that Tri season is over. Bronda's Du for me next week then all running until Spring.
No comments:
Post a Comment