Here is the race report I sent out earlier today.
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Hey all,
This past weekend I went back to my home state of
Texas to race the Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 triathlon.
Lubbock, Texas had the pleasure of hosting an all star
pro field with the recent addition of a $25,000 purse.
I received my pro card in April, but this was my first
pro race in a high profile event.
I have raced triathlons for nearly six years now, but
toeing the line with such high caliber athletes was a
new experience. My goal for the swim was to get
on_anybody's_feet and hang on. We all had a good clean
start and by the first buoy I had settled onto
someone's feet. The view did not change much for the
next 25 minutes and soon enough the swim was finished.
I set a new PR for that distance so I was certainly
motivated approaching the bike leg.
My transition to the bike was not the smoothest of the
smooth. I needed an extra challenge for the day so I
decided to detroy my sunglasses (by promptly stomping
on them) while stripping my wetsuit. The next hiccup
came at the top of the first climb (the bike course
begins with a steep, short climb) when I had to hop
off and adjust my brake calipers. I must have hit them
in T1, but all was well after that. I just put my head
down (literally, the wind made my eyes water without
sunglasses) and pushed from start to finish. Coach Joe
and I had really worked to get me dialed into
appropriate HIM power on the bike and it showed on
race day. I came off the bike with a 2:19 bike split
(courtesy of Javelin bikes) and was ready to attack
the run.
The run course at BSLT includes several major climbs
and descents that are pieced together with steady flat
sections. I managed to settle into a solid pace to the
halfway point, but the wheels slowly started to fall
off after that. I tried to bring myself back up to
speed, but it looked as though my race mojo had been
spent on the first 63.8 miles of the course. At this
point I just focused on composing myself, limiting my
losses, and getting to that finish line. I crossed the
line in 4:14:20 and 10th overall.
The lowest point of my race occurred in the final few
miles so disappointment clouded my vision of the race
as a whole. I did achieve a number of goals I set for
myself and bested my previous BSLT time by 12 minutes
along the way.
I will be taking a few easy days this week before
starting the process all over again. Boulder Peak and
5430 Long Course are next on the list.
Thanks to EAS, Coach Joe Friel and Ultrafit, Oomph
Triathlon gear, Wheelbuilder.com for providing a super
fast ZIPP 808 wheelset, and Javelin bikes (I have a
new Barolo frame that needs to be built right now so
I'll see you guys later).
Cheers!
-JD
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