RR: Heartland Triathlon

1/4 mile lake swim, 14 mile bike, 5K run.

There were 2 big differences for this race.
#1 I was responsible for no one but myself.  This was HUGE.  No
friends that I'm coaching, to wandering spectators who don't know
where to go.  Just me myself and I.  There are plusses and minuses to
this.  Probably didn't need to spend so much time festering about my
sub-par training these past few months.  Still it was good to play the
mental game, to find a way out of those negative thoughts to focus on
the race at hand.

#2 I raced without a timing device of any kind.  The effort was based
on feel.  I know my breathing rate when I'm chasing the main pack in
the bike rides.  I know the sensation of a hard 10K/5K effort when I
run.  The goal was to maintain that effort without any electronic
prompts.

SWIM:   10:02
Good for me in freshwater.

SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION:        2:50
Very long run uphill in sand to transition.

BIKE:   44:02
Unexpectedly hilly on the back side.  Windy but not over the top.
Next year I will be ready. Could have been a little faster but a guy
snot rocketed all over me and a spent a few minutes throwing up while
riding/attempting to wipe it off.

BIKE TO RUN TRANSITION:         0:42
It's a small transition area but that's still smoking.  Second fastest
in my AG.  Taking my feet out of the shoes at the end of the bike pays
off.

RUN:    26:51
Much better than my last few sprints.  Mostly hot on unshaded
concrete.  A few small inclines and about 1/2 mile in the grass.

FINISH: 1:24:25
Very pleased with my performance.  5 minutes out of third in AG.  My
best placing in age group triathlon racing so far.  Definitely
exceeded my training base these past few weeks.  For better or for
worse, running "naked" takes a lot of concentration.  It's more
mentally challenging in some ways, easier in others.  The hardest part
was to push the effort without an external prompt.  Too easy to let my
mind (and pace) wander. However, I liked that I couldn't psyche myself
out when my swim or bike were slower than I wanted. I didn't really
know what my times were.  The focus was on maintaining my effort at
the moment.  It was successful enough that I will try it again at
Morton Plant Mease Tri in a week.