It Seems So Obvious Now 

I leaned something important for the Oshkosh Triathlon yesterday. Eat something substantial before a race. Duh. I mentioned after my last triathlon in Pewaukee that I felt like I bonked... just ran out of energy. I came to the realization that it was because I didn't really eat much before hand, except a Power Bar. Yesterday was the first race where I actually ate a decent pre-race meal... and low and behold it worked. What did it consist of? Well, for me it was a huge breakfast. I had a bagel, a banana, and a Power Bar. That's huge? For me... yes.

So how'd you do? When I take into consideration that the bike leg was a mile longer than any other race I've done (16 miles instead of 15), I beat my previous best by 3 minutes. I posted my best swim time at just a hair over 8 minutes. My bike time rivaled by best ever (when comparing avg. speed over the course), and my transitions were among my best ever. Best of all, my run was a full 2 minutes better than my previous best, and I felt strong during the whole run and put in a fast closing 50 yards. With that said, I have to thank Missy, another triathlete I ended up running next to, who seemed to have quite a cheering section in the race, for pacing with me on the run. Having someone who runs your pace next to you (and we went shoulder to shoulder for a good chunk of it) really helps. We kept each other going during the run.

I have to do my usual bitching about the organization of the race though. The beach area at the start was way to small for 50 people in a wave. Each wave ended up being backed up the beach to far to really be fair. This was also the first race I've done that had a point to point (or out and back) swim. Most of them follow a rectangular course along the beach. It's really not a big deal until someone from a wave after yours accidentally crosses the buoy line and swims into you (which happened to me). They also put the bike mount area on wet grass just outside the transition area. Not smart when you consider that most of us have treadless tires! I ended up running my bike up to the road about 30 yards away to mount, which was probably my smartest move the whole race. I also didn't appreciate the huge ditch in the transition entrance right after the bike leg. That was an ankle twist waiting to happen (and luckily didn't happen to me).

Full results are here, and I'll have pictures posted when I get em.