Here's the lowdown on the shop throwdown. Getting JT Lyons to the start line takes a little inter-shop smack talk these days. A lot of you didn't know or don't remember, but long before our road team started, JT was a pretty competitive triathlete. After starting a business, his fitness lagged as we grew. 2008 he raced IM Arizona and killed it. {Meanwhile, I did my first Tri in '08} He made a slight comeback for a bet with an old friend in 2011 at San Diego International {which he beat me in.} All the pre-race polls had me picked for the win, but I knew better. Jim and I had our bets on JT getting 2nd in each leg, but taking the overall win. Jim and I held up our portion of the specialization, taking the run and swim respectively, but not sure what happened to Vince on the bike. Oh wait- he put heavy cage pedals on his Dura-Ace 9000 cranks, thus using his running shoes on the bike because he "didn't want to get his Sidi's wet." And then there's that whole octopus dragging thing. Yeah, the bike did include the transition 1 and 2, but the clock doesn't stop in triathlon. He lost by 2 seconds. That hurts.
From my perspective, it wasn't going to be a close race so sadly I didn't take it seriously enough. I had a pretty big week of training, as my coach wasn't going to let me taper for a shop competition. {Next year I may reconsider the race calendar}. I came to the start line with 15 miles of running and 3 rides, 2 which were interval work. Looks like I left some watts on the silver strand on Friday.
The swim was ho hum. I'm not the greatest at the run-in, beach start, so I just tried to follow JT's line into the water. We were almost to the first buoy before I reconnected with him and saw his wetsuit. So, yes I figured it be a great idea to pull his leg, fully knowing he'd go ape sh*t on me. A hard dunk and a near kick to the face later and we were on our way. I put in a bit of an effort after the turn buoy and didn't see him again.
T1 was slow as I use socks and road shoes. I'm not really a sprint specialist, so transition times usually aren't a top priority for me. Foot comfort and no blisters matters much more in a half/full ironman and these swimmer feet can't seem to knock those comforts. Hopped on my bike and felt like poo. Power ended up being 15 watts less than my last tri, 2 weeks prior, and the effects of the training were showing. Apollo Ono passed me in the bike lane around 4 miles in {on the right!! He'll get a penalty in Kona if he pulls that crap} Apparently speed skater legs translate well into cycling. Then the inevitable JT pass occurred. I had 2 options, draft my way back or be fair and represent the shop and myself in an appropriate, legal manor. Grr, stupid morals. I let him go.
I got off the bike and hobbled through transition like a crippled old lady. {still struggling with the low back issue.} Lynne yelled that I was 30 sec down but I didn't see JT, so it had to be more. I ran hard on the boardwalk and wished I'd have known JT walked up the ramp! I started on the downhill towards the final 180 and these random men who were running but not in the race became my personal pacers and cheer squad. I told them that my boss is ahead and I need help. Trip him, please. :) We passed by as he was on us way back up and yeah, his running style looked like hell. Maybe I had a chance! I saw Jim with perfect run form and calculated that I'd at least, hold him off. Vince a little later looked like he'd thrown in the towel. I ran as hard as my legs allowed on the day and finished less than 2:30 min behind JT, keeping my job. :)
Racing my coworkers on a gorgeous So Cal day is pretty awesome. I ended up 3rd in the Elite category which was a fun bonus, ending up on the podium with Michelle Jones. (Olympian, ironman world champion and a Felt IA rider) She crushed all of us and edged out Apollo for a sprint to the finish.
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We're on our way to Tahoe! Vacation responder is on. Kermit is packed and I'm so ready to jump in that lake.
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