Race day! I had my normal pre-race breakfast of a power bar and water while driving in with my friend and fellow racer, John Ankney. I have found that if I eat too much before a race I feel sick and cannot push it hard. I certainly was excited as we selected our spot on the bike rack and began getting our gear ready. I went through the standard pre-race checklist and laid out the towel, bike shoes, running shoes and my racing number. I pumped up the tires to 120 PSI and added another pump for good measure. Then we were off to the pool to dutifully wait until our names were called.
It was still too cold to be swimming, but I waited for my turn anyway. While there was still time to change my mind and not race, I knew that without a doubt I would be swimming in less than five minutes.
It was while I was waiting for the whistle to blow that I realized that the top 2 inches of the water are in fact warm, but it also hid the true temperature of the underlying frigid water. My thoughts of how water would layer like that was interrupted by the signal that we had 5 seconds until we begin swimming.
The whistle blew and we were off. After the first few strokes I realized the truth that has been the case in all of my races–I am one of the slower swimmers. The good news in a 200 yard swim is that, no matter how poorly I swim, I will not lose more than a few minutes. I get out of the water in about 4 minutes and actually pass John running down to the transition area. This is important because in most races I never even see John until he is cheering for me at the finish line…..
Well the lead is short lived given that he beats me out of the transition area. I was behind him by very little and could still see him, now on his bike about 200 yards in front of me. As we made the first turn and began climbing the hill he pulled out to about 400 yards and then the distance yo-yo’d back and forth with me alternately closing and falling back. For me, it was still a good day because for most of it I could still see John.
That is until my chain jumped.
I had ridden almost 250 miles so far this year and never had this problem. With disgusted resignation I pulled over to fix the chain. I finish off the ride with another chain jump and end with a solid run.
As I made the turn into the parking lot I could see the clock and realized I had missed my goal, Total time is 1:01:50. It was by far my best race this early in the season, yet I felt a sense of disappointment.
Certainly the two chain jumps cost me a few minutes and if not for them I would have broken the hour barrier. Confident with the success of a good early race I leave with the belief that this season will be the best yet and with the knowledge that I can physically break an hour in this race.
Unfortunately, it will be next year before I know it for certain.
