Colonial Beach Triathlon: This Water Looks Questionable

This past weekend I had the chance to get back into the Olympic distance of racing which I had been lacking for three months.  I headed on down to Colonial Beach to participate in the Colonial Beach Triathlon. I slowly have been getting back into getting longer and stronger workouts in so this would be a good way to measure how everything was going.

Colonial Beach is located right along the Potomac River.  The town is very different than the style of living I have experienced in the DC area and also different than back in Iowa.  The town was pretty secluded from everything and a lot of residents used golf carts to travel around more than actual vehicles.  The boardwalk seemed to have the potential to be more lively than it was but most of the shops were a little out of date.

Fun Fact: Somebody caught a bull shark right off the pier where I was swimming the day before. Just a great way to make a midwesterner feel REALLY comfortable swimming.

Race morning came early (3:30 am) and I got up and ready.  Jessie and I made our way to the course which included her getting worried we wouldn't make it to the race so we had to stop and fill up with gas at 5 in the morning.  I got everything set up and decided not to do a bike warm-up and instead just do a longer run and some dynamic stretching.

Trying to be more normal with my traditional pre-race selfie.

This would be my first experience swimming in a body of water that was actually connected directly to an ocean.  This race was also warm enough that wetsuits were not allowed. Of all the water I have ever swam in, it was the dirtiest. This may have been a good thing for me. The water was salt water which made me worried if I accidentally took a mouthful.  Before the race we were encouraged to sight further away from the actual course due to the current would pull us to where we needed to be. I got myself lined up and composed for the start of the race.

There was a little contact at the start of the swim but nothing too bad.  I began working my way out in the open while trying to best synchronize my stroke and the waves.  I looked over and saw that there was about ten yards to my side between me and the group of swimmers and within the next time I turned sideways I was right next to them.  The current may not have been noticeable but it was still moving me around.

As I made my way around the first buoy I got in a draft behind two swimmers.  I caught a quick rest and then surged past them.  I noticed a few swimmers ahead of them and made it a goal to catch up to them.  Sighting was a major issue as I had absolutely no idea where I was heading.  I would look up one time and see some feet ten yards ahead of me and then the next time I look up I would see a wave about to crash into my face.  Surprisingly for not having a lot of experience swimming in these conditions I did fairly well.  Talking to other racers afterwards they all did not like the swim but I felt it wasn't too bad.  This likely was due to the fact that I went into it knowing it would be a mess.

When we reached the halfway point of the swim I had caught onto the back of the swimmer ahead of me.  I used him to keep pace for the rest of the swim.  The way back didn't have the waves but we were swimming against the current so it seemed like forever before we actually got back.  Somewhere on the back half I did take a mouthful of saltwater but didn't swallow it.  During the second half of the swim I noticed that both my top and bottoms were feeling as though they were three sizes too big and had a giant bubble of air causing them to float.  For some reason this was a serious concern. I made my way to the beach and got up and running.

Transition was quick without the wetsuit.  I got my helmet on and out to the bike.  As we exited transition there was a trail of gravel to run on or a small portion of grass on the side if you were doing a flying mount.  Being as I try to look as cool as possible I wasn't wearing shoes so I had to settle into a slow trot behind the person in front of me because I couldn't pass him without running on the gravel.  I got to the mount line and off onto the bike.

The bike course was mentioned to be flat at the beginning and then challenging as we got towards the turnaround.  I got to work right away finding a comfortable gear as I made my way out.  Using my experience from my previous race, I checked my brakes earlier in the morning so I knew nothing would be rubbing and be more aware of whether I was riding uphill or not.  Another rider quickly passed me and I kept within striking distance of him as we made our way out. I found that was we went uphill I had the advantage and was able to close the gap but it was on the flats that he was distancing himself.

The bike was much better than the previous race as I kept my composure working out to the turn.  I got to the turn in six place and knew I had the chance to work my way up on the other guys.  As we made our way back I noticed there was a few groups that were beginning to form.  The front six were all split into groups of two and then there was about five guys holding onto a group after myself.  The closer I got to the bike finish the stronger my legs started to feel.

Getting off the bike I was confident in my legs.  I told myself that I had the legs to chase down the guys in front of me and there was a good gap behind me to not worry.  I made my way into transition as the guy ahead of me was leaving.

The run course was all flat.  If there was even an elevation change of 10 feet it would have been a shock to me.  I started the run pretty cautious as I have been known to go out on all cylinders and burn up quickly in the run.  I instead focused on a smooth first mile and then building from there.  Once factor that played into the run a lot was the wind.  The first portion was straight into the wind which made things difficult.  Not being able to see anybody else on the run made for a lonely feeling as I finally was able to get out of the wind and headed the last mile towards the turnaround.

As I started coming back on the run I got the first chance to see what was behind me and I didn't like it.  A few of the runners were gaining on me and the second half of the run might have me being overtaken by a few runners.  I kept moving forward and tried to think about a good stride as the heat started to pick up once the sun came out.  With about a mile left one of the runners came alongside me and moved on up.  Knowing it would be useless to try to accelerate by that much I allowed him to go passed me as I prepared to push for the final bit.  With about a half mile left my speed picked up and I actually began gaining back on him but his overall pace was too fast for me to close back on him.  I came across the line 7th and 10th overall due to a few racers in the older wave.

The bike and the run just didn't have the juice I wanted of them.  Both were able to put up good results but not to the level that I want and know I can produce.

I got a free mat at the awards!

My finish was able to get some things cleared up on what exactly is working and what I need to work on.  My swim is doing exactly as I am wanting it to.  Obviously it isn't up with the front runners but it is slowly progressing and allowing me to get closer each time.  My bike hasn't had the opportunity for long intervals of 20 minutes like I enjoy putting in and I know that I need to put in the longer efforts to make things work.  My run was not prepared for this course.  I have been doing hills and hills for the run so when I found a run that had nothing in that aspect I didn't have the extra speed that I needed to replace the strength that I had been preparing for.  Track workouts are going to suck in the upcoming weeks.

So for those of you who don't know, we have a dog.  We adopted Ryan a few weeks ago and he was a crowd favorite while I was racing.