Evergreen
Lake Triathlon weekend always promises to be an interesting weekend…this year
did not disappoint. Somehow I convinced Matt and Adam to come along for
the weekend. I’m not sure if it was the possibility they may get to go disc
golfing, camping, or beer…but either way, it is always fun to have more people
come along. So Friday afternoon Matt and Adam came to my house to pick up Wyatt
and me. We made the hour drive down to Hudson for packet pick up, all the
normal stuff that goes with packet pick up, and then I did a quick workout.
While I was working out, they set up the tents….we finally figured out we were
going to have 6 people, but only tent space for 4…possibly 5. Oh well, that was
an issue for a different time—we all just wanted dinner. We ate at Firehouse
Pizza in Bloomington, and I had my pre-race beer: Dark Horse Imperial Stout.
YUM! Went back to the campsite, talked forever, goodnight….much later than I
would normally go to bed, but we were having fun.
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| These are the two I trusted to set up the tent... |
Race
morning was the usual: up before the sun, stumble around like a zombie for a
few minutes, our noise makers may or may not have opened a beer at 5 something
in the morning, and we got ready for the race. With packet pick up the day
before and camping 200m away from the race start, it made race morning pretty
simple. Pump up the tires, walk bike into Transition, and sit around for a
while. The water temp was 81.1 degrees, so not we wetsuit legal. Dang! Oh well,
I only had to swim a 500m. They Olympic started at 7, and the sprint started at
7:30…I had a while.
Swim
(500m): 9:16
I was
hoping to swim in the 8:30-8:40 range, so when I saw 9:16, I was instantly
disappointed. Then I remembered that A) this swim course is usually set long B)
I still had a 40k bike ahead of me C) It was meters, not yards, so it was so
bad. Anyway, I just used positive self talk—Coree, you’re awesome…you swam
so well…you’re doing great—and started running for T1.
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| Not only can they make noise and set up tents, they can take pictures too! |
T1: 1:08
This was
an absolute mess. Normally my T1 is flawless, but I struggled to get my helmet
on this time. I also was not taking a bottle cage on my bike this time, I just
planned on holding a bottle in the back of my speedo…since I ride with 1-2 back
there on training rides anyway (yes, I wear bike shorts when training). I
was stupid though, and tied my speedo too tight before the swim and couldn’t
get the bottle in there. SO, I held the bottle in my mouth, did ran out of T1,
flying mount onto the bike, and started to ride…still could not get the bottle
in—I hadn’t realized my speedo was tied too tight yet. And, I forgot to loosen
the straps on my shoes, so I could not get my feet in my shoes. This little
situation ended up probably costing me :15…stupid mistakes.
Bike
(40k): 1:02:56
I don’t
have much to say about the bike course, besides it is a giant lollipop, and it
can fun or miserable, depending on the wind. I honestly couldn’t tell you what
direction the wind was blowing, but I was feeling good. It was a rather
uneventful ride, and I was only passed by one person on the bike! I just
remember being about half way tough the ride, looking down at my watch and
thinking, “uh oh, I’m going fast…this can’t be good….but I feel great.”
T2: :48.2
(Fastest)
Quick and
simple. In and out. So, 1 for 2 on transitions today.
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| Hoping for a cleaner dismount than the last time I was here.. |
Run
(“5k”): 16:54 (Fastest)
Earlier
this year, I got to run the 5k course for the Tri Shark Du. I ran 17:21(5:27/mile)
and was angry that I didn’t go sub 17 there…only to find out the course was 5.2
miles…so I felt much better about that. Well, same course this time and I was
16:54 (5:17/mile) 6 weeks later. I had no idea what place I was in starting the
run, but I knew I had some work to do. I knew Stephen passed me out of T1, and
some guy passed me 15 miles into the bike, so there were at least 2 ahead of
me, along with Litowitz and Alexander. So at best I was in 5th for
the sprint, but with my weak swim I figured there would be more out there. My
first mile was a 5:18 and I thought, “Oh, Sh*t! I can’t hold this…but it kind
of feels easier than some of my workouts…just keep pushing.” I could see
Stephen up ahead nearing the turn around. I knew I was in 4th. I’m
pretty sure Stephen flipped me off as he passed me on his was back…this was
playing out just like Tri Shark. Sure enough, a little after the 2 mile mark I
passed him, and was pretty sure I had 3rd place. There were few
athletes on the course ahead of me, Litowitz and some of the elite Olympic
guys, at this point it the goal was just to push it in. Mile 2 was 5:18, mile 3
was 5:24, my last .2 was :54 to run 16:54, good enough for the fastest run
split of the day.
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| Hey, there's Thomas Gerlach! |
Finish:
1:31:04. 1st Collegiate, 3rd OA.
Thoughts on the race:
Okay:
-Swim split—Not
what I wanted, but really not awful.
Bad:
-T1—I just
fumbled…A lot.
Good:
-Bike
Split- 1:18 in 2010, 1:09 in 2012, 1:02 now
-Run-
:10/mile faster now than 6 weeks ago on same run course
-Bringing
friends to the race—most fun I have had at a tri in a while.
Thanks to
Coach Steve for making me fast! Thanks to Matt and Adam for coming along and
making some noise…when I do an Ironman someday (a long time from now), I will
hire you two to be my noise makers. And thanks to the NIU team (and some of the SIU team) for making it a fun weekend!
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| Here we go NIU...I don't know why I'm not smiling...or wearing pants... |
Next up? 70.3 Racine! What’s
next for you?
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