Daybreak Tri. I did the run leg of the Olympic relay. Warmed up for about 4 miles, including several pullouts/strides to get HR close to race effort (180+). The swim leg got drastically modified at the last minute due to the presence of roundworm in Oquirrh Lake, so John Karren only got to swim 75m, then run about 1.25 miles to the transition area. He was first out the pool and second into the transition area. Elliott Smith smoked everyone on the bike leg, so I took the chip in first place by a significant margin. I held my HR above 180 throughout the effort, but my splits were slow. The course was two loops along a path that winds around Oquirrh Lake, and it felt like about 2 miles of each lap were slightly uphill and into a stiff headwind. I hope that was what slowed me down so much, because I was at least 30-45 seconds per mile off my projected pace. Splits were as follows:
1: 5:39 (AHR 181)
2: 6:06 (AHR 184)
3: 6:10 (AHR 184)
4: 5:54 (AHR 183)
5: 6:17 (AHR 183)
6: 6:23 (AHR 184)
Last 0.35: 5:45 pace (AHR 186)
We won the relay by a huge margin and beat the first solo guy by about 8 minutes, so it wasn't ever close. Still, I was very disappointed with my performance. There is no good reason why my HR should have been up in the clouds at such a pedestrian pace. Anyway, I'm going to concentrate on the fact that I held my HR above 180 throughout the race and still managed a modest kick instead of focusing on the pitiful splits.
After the race, I cooled down for 6-7 easy miles around Daybreak while we waited for the awards ceremony.
Still feeling some fatigue/tightness in my left arch. It was present throughout my warmup and cooldown. Didn't notice it during the race. | 