Racing Tomorrow

Well, I'm racing tomorrow. Olympic distance at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon.

I don't have a real plan other than to hit it as hard as I can without totally flaming out.

The swim is a little shorter than a standard Olympic distance at .75 miles. I'm not complaining. I've only been out in the open water three times this year, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I did tell Matt that I'd never race in Lake Erie again, because it is too variable with the waves. However, it is only .75 miles and I've certainly swum in rough water before.

My new bike is seeing its first race tomorrow. I've been out on her twice and she is light and fast. I do have a small shifting problem (a few times I've dropped the chain going from the small chain ring to the big one). Luckily, Bike Authority is at the expo today and they said they can adjust it. The bike is where I hope to make up some time. I know the course extremely well.

Then, the run will be what it will be. I make no claim to having any kind of speed, but I am usually able to hold a consistent pace.

So, what's the goal? Well, I did this race as my first Olympic 4 years ago. I think I finished it in 3:05, so I have to do better than that to feel good about myself. My PR for Olympic distance is 2:49, but the bike was a little short on that one. With a short swim, maybe I can go sub 2:49. Does it count though? I don't know. Wish all races had consistent distances. Wish me luck!

I'm kind of looking forward to it being over, so I can go back to riding and running long. I've got Dances with Dirt the weekend after Labor Day and want to make sure I've got plenty of mileage base. Time to ramp it up again!