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| Refreshing the Caffelatex with 30ml in each wheel after 2 years. |
The Lifetime Fitness Marquee Triathlon was Sunday and was the last little rust buster for me before the season gets going. Unlike the previous few races of just rolling into the races, this one I went through a more typical routine the night before of getting things ready and getting to bed earlier for the early start. I broke out the race wheels and refreshed the tubular tires with 30ml Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex of sealant, it is a very quick and easy insurance against having a flat tire ruin a race. Thanks to the stability of Caffelatex I only need to do this maybe once every 1-2 years, so depending on how much you race and the tires, you could easily wear out the tires before you need to refresh it.
The swim was in Tempe Town Lake and the weather had cooled things off enough to make it wetsuit legal. I would have preferred non-wetsuit but it was good to get in my 2XU X:3 in preparation for the next two races that will likely be wetsuit legal. The race was an amateur race but there were a couple other pro's there using it for the same purpose I was and I would have some good competition with Pedro Gomes and Tyler Jordan. I swam well leading out of the water and put 30 seconds on Pedro and a couple minutes on Tyler.
I transitioned quick tossing on my Rudy Project Wing57 and jumped on my bike. I did not position my Ergomask glasses well on the bike to put on and they fell off the bike and I rode straight over the lens. A volunteer ran and grabbed them as I turned around to grab them and told me they were broken, I saw the pieces from a far, he said he would get them to lost and found and I could get them later there, and I took off on the bike. The course was a two loop bike, on the first I had smooth sailing with a clear course and really pushed, unsure for the first 8 miles if I was gaining or losing ground to Pedro. I clocked an estimated split of about 1:15 or so on an out and back that I was ahead and was hoping to put more time on him. The second loop was a bit messy though as more athletes from later waves were headed out on to the course. There was a lot of dodging athletes and trying to be a good representative of what you needed to do on the course with the narrow lanes of staying to the right and only moving just enough to the left to pass. On the out and back section I was able to spot Pedro again and estimated I had maintained the gap around a minute ten with only a few miles left to go and worked on continuing to use the other athletes to slipstream further ahead. I had a smooth transition to the run and hoped was moving well enough to hold Pedro off.
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| SRM Power Graph for the LTF Marquee Tri |
I had done well on my nutrition thus far in the race taking in all of my First Endurance EFS Pro and a good swig off of my EFS Liquid Shot flask during the bike. I felt strong and my legs felt like they were turning over well but I was not moving quite fast enough as on a few sections of the two lap run I could see Pedro was gaining on me. Towards the end of the first lap he caught me, I made a little surge to stay with him but did not commit to it hard enough and he pulled away. I kept pushing though the second lap and used the other athletes that were on course as carrots to keep gaining ground and keep Pedro as close as possible. I did not know that Tyler Jordan was gaining on me and closing things down. I crossed the line in 2nd and found out later that Tyler was only 10 seconds behind. Overall I smoothed out my transitions and my effort on the swim and bike were right on. The run was not up to par with my training and I need to work on the mental part of my run a bit more. It was great having Spooner Physical Therapy there after to help loosen my left glute and hamstring out which was a bit tight on the bike. I got my Rudy Ergomasks back after the race and the best news is that the lenses did not break, the removable ear piece came off and there is a good scratch on the lens, as to be expected riding over them, but with Rudy's Replacement Lens Guarantee I will have clean clear vision at the next race.
I now have a week left in Tucson before leaving my wonderful winter training grounds in Tucson and the real racing begins. It will be a solid mix of XTERRA and half ironman distance triathlons through the year. Below is where you will be able to find me this year there are a couple races later in the year that may change. Let me know what races you may be at and best success with your seasons as well.
4/25 XTERRA West
5/2 IM 70.3 St. George
5/16 XTERRA Southeast
5/31 IM 70.3 Raleigh
6/14 XTERRA East
7/5 Challenge St. Andrews
7/18 XTERRA Mountain
8/1 XTERRA Mexico
8/16 Challenge Pocono
8/30 Challenge Maine
9/19 XTERRA USA
10/4 IM 70.3 Silverman
10/18 Challenge Rancho Cordova
11/1 XTERRA World Championship
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