Well, I'm back- and after a couple of weeks learning to manage training while balancing a few new job related responsibilities, I resolve to pay more attention to this blog thing. Two weeks ago Leigh and I made the short trip over to Asheville, NC for the Lake Logan International Triathlon on August 6th. In it's fifth year, this great race draws more than 500 racers and a talented pro field. After racing poorly three weeks prior in Charlotte, I was jonzing to get back on the start line and have the opportunity to put together a solid race.
The Swim
Race morning in the mountains was a little cooler than what I have been waking up to each morning in Carrboro, and I was stoked for the cool temps. At 73 degrees, Lake Logan was serving up a rare August wetsuit legal swim. The open wave was the first to send off, with a deep water start. With Pro/uber swimmers like John Kenny and Kevin Lisska in the field, I didn't have delusions of swimming off the front of the race. My plan was to settle into the tail end of whatever breakaway pack formed in the rectangle swim course, and just hang on. There were 30+ people in the open wave send off, and I was able to do just that. I found some feet pretty quickly after the chaotic scrum in the first 300 meters. I stayed on the tail end of a decent paced swim train of four racers, until breaking away and soloing the last 400 meters or so, coming out of the water in approximately 13th position.
The Bike
After some self analysis of past racing so far this season, I was determined to let it all hang out on the bike course at Lake Logan. I felt as if conservative riding in the past had not left me in any sort of competitive position coming off the bike. Lake Logan was going to be an experiment in finding my run legs after (attempting to) smash up the bike course. After a decent T1 I made the 50 second sprint down the gravel road to the mount line- which was kinda weird. From the transition area you couldn't even down the road and through the trees to the bike course start! Out onto the course I quickly tried to settle into a rhythm, pushing the biggest gear I could keep at a 80-90 cadence. Outside of one steep climb in the last few miles, the LL bike course was surprisingly absent of any epic climbing, given the race location. Rolling hills and winding roads keep things interesting, and I was able to pull back four racers on the ride. I stuck to the plan of mashing hard and putting myself out there on the bike, and I rolled in with a 59:19 bike split. I was pretty stoked with the ride, and hoped my legs had something left to give on the run course.
The Run
Coming out of T2 I knew I was somewhere in the hunt for the top 10, but other than that I wasn't sure of who was up the road. The Lake Logan run course was a pretty simple out and back 10k. The first three miles are a slow, steady climb out of town at a 2-3% grade, with the back half of the run cruising down the mountain back to the finish. I felt pretty good in the first mile, keeping the legs turning over and looking around each bend for the guys ahead of me. Somewhere close to mile two I started dealing with some oblique cramps (body low on salts?) that forced me to back off the pace a little, but by the time I hit the turn around things subsided a little and I was able to refocus on the task at hand. Although at times I could see two racers up ahead, I could never quite close the gap. I started the run in 8th position, and that's where I finished, with 38:55 run. I wasn't too keen on a 38:55 10k, but given the course I guess it was a decent effort. All in all I finished 8th in the open wave, with a new Oly distance PR of 2:04:35. Great race venue and great weather, and a great time with friends in beautiful Asheville after- not a bad weekend.
