Omaha has a few small triathlons but this was the first ever Olympic, large scale, USAT sanctioned race in Omaha with a major race management company putting it on. 700+ signed up for the race, most individual triathletes but some doing the relay and some the aqua-bike race plus a kids race.
I had been nursing a bad hamstring/adductor for two weeks since straining it at the Okoboji tri, so I had no idea how it would hold up. Dr. Faye Jones of Blair Chiropractic did some great ART work on it which was very helpful!
The race start was delayed 30 min. as we waited for the EMT guys to get there. We knew it was going to be very hot and humid so we weren't excited about having to wait... There were about 450+ who raced in the individual category. I wanted to swim in the 25s and came out at 25:51 thankful for my XTERRA skinsuit in the no wetsuit swim and my Barracuda goggles as we swam directly into the sun for 1/2 the swim.
Quick T1 and then I flew over the very difficult 40K+ bike route. Some have said this is the hardest tri course in all of NE and IA. I couldn't believe how good I felt. I had my Hammer Nutrition dialed in perfectly. My Valdora PHX bike was amazing - so fast, light and responsive! Love the cool deep-rim wheels too.
The run was tough as the course is super hilly and it was getting hot out there. I stayed steady the whole run and when a bit of cramping came on, I popped some extra Hammer Electrolyte caps and I finished strong. My time wasn't close to my Olympic PR but considering the hilly bike course that was longer than 40K, the very hilly run course and the heat and humidity, I was very pleased.
Out of about 420 individual finishers, I got 11th overall and first in the 50-54 age group. Take out the Elites and I was 5th. I beat some guys I've never beaten before or hardly ever beat. I actually beat 4 Elites. It was a blessed day for sure. I carried a copy (which got destroyed during the race) of Psalms 91 in the back pocket of my tri top. Someone had sent it to me that week in an email so I printed it out and took it with me. Great encouragement in that chapter - it applies well to triathlons!
Thanks to you all for your encouragement, support and great companies and products. I appreciate you all!
Lincoln
1 comment:
Nice result on a tough day.
Post a Comment