This past Sunday I raced, completely untapered and relatively unprepared, at the Washington, DC Triathlon. I chose to do the sprint race as I want to get in at least one sprint race for fun... I train for the Olympic distances and wasn't training for this race. So I thought of this as a 'training race' of sorts.
The swim wasn't bad. No wetsuit, but no problem, 800m isn't that long of a swim. I caught some good drafts and didn't have to let up at all. I didn't feel fatigued, but I had to kick more than usual because of the no wetsuit thing. That would play a role later. Came out of the water 3rd in my wave, 12:55 (1:29/100m), 41st best swim.
The bike wasn't bad either. In fact, it was probably my best event of the day. It started out a little rough, my legs being tired from the swim. But 3-4 miles in, I found my legs. And I started RACING. I jumped out to at least 2 minutes ahead of the next person in my wave and started catching Elites, who started 3 minutes before me. By mile 10, I had caught the 3rd place Elite, meaning that I was currently 2nd overall in the race (the 2nd place Elite was less than 3 minutes ahead). I had never passed so many people near the front during the bike leg before. It felt great... biking is becoming a strength. Time, 32:15 (23.1 mph), 7th best bike (my best bike leg placement ever).
The run was poor. Not much to say. I had no legs for it. I wasn't ready. I started out with 5:50 miles and ended with a 6:00 average for about 6.7k. I had the 5th best run, but it wasn't up to par with what I normally do.
Crossed the finish line, 2nd overall, 1:13:36! Good placement! And not bad for not being tapered or really ready for this race. I'm not pleased with my splits, but I am happy with the placement. This will be my last "fun" or "training" race for the season. Nothing but training and a couple running races until Du Worlds and Nations
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