Sunday was the main event for Memphis in May Triathlon and it was going to be a very hot and humid day. I woke early and got my bike ready and into transition from our campsite at 5:45 or so and there were already a few bikes on our rack as transition opened at 5:30. I dropped off my gear and headed back to camp for breakfast and coffee. It was really nice to watch everyone head into transition while sitting back relaxing before the race start at 7:00.
They made the announcement that the water temp was 77 degrees so wetsuits were legal for this race. I was still debating on wearing it though as the sun was out today and not overcast.
I went down to transition around 6:30, got everything setup, stretched, put on my wetsuit, and lined up as this race was a time trial start every three seconds. I was 497 out of 1200 or so. Everyone was cooking at the swim start I had my wetsuit on my legs only and my cap off until right before the start and was still hot.
When my number was up I was off into the water, the swim was uneventful, a little sun in the eyes after the first turn and a bunch of people to swim around throughout the course. I do wish I opted for no wetsuit though as I was hot in a full suit with the sun beating down. I exited the water at 15:56, which was 12 sec back from the fastest swim of the day by Bill Bishop whom I swam in high school against.
T2 was the same as the day before and I choose to put my bike shoes on in transition and run in them rather than on the bike. It worked out best with the slight uphill out of transition. The bike I felt fast but tried to keep the watts down slightly since I knew the run was going to hurt in this heat. It is a relatively flat course, with one water stop, which I dumped all through my tiny vents in my black helmet. This seemed to have helped as I felt better, I think I need to get a white helmet soon for these hot races. I did not get passed the entire bike, so I knew I was doing pretty good at this point. My computer said 23.54 miles in 55:44, 25.27 avg mph, and 296 avg watts, this was about where I wanted to be. I rode right by our campsite with my family cheering me on at the end of the bike. I knew the end of the course from the day before and was ready this time with my shoes off.
T2 was fast and I even remembered to tighten my shoes this time before heading off on the run. The sun was out now in full effect and there was minimal shade on the run course. The first 5k I felt pretty slow going uphills, but I was still passing people. Each water station I grabbed two cups one to take a sip from and the rest on the head. A few had ice which was great, I remember thinking about how much each one helped until you would heat up again. I was still not feeling fast through out the run, but the last 1.2K I tried to kick it up a little bit as I still had no idea where I stood in the race since it was a time trial start. I hurdled a dog in the way on the final stretch and finished, really not feeling that bad for doing two races back to back in the heat. Ended up with a 39:19 10k at 6:20 per mile, not that great for me but it was slow for everyone due to the heat. The lake sure felt cool now when during the start of the race it was feeling hot.
After the race I again swam with my girls, watched the pros start, and got some good bar-b-q from the food tent. Results were not posed for a few hours so I did not know where I placed until then. I was a little surprised that that the majority of security at this race including the guy checking wristbands at the food tent all had Beretta's strapped to their sides. I guess they had problems with people getting seconds last year. Maybe they were just off duty officers volunteering, the race was ran very well. Plenty of bathrooms, free camping, and someone at every turn on the bike. Though this was the last year at this venue, as they announced it would be in Tunica Mississippi next year. I am not too sure they will allow cheap athletes like me to camp at the casino.
We had to wait around until 2:00 in the afternoon for awards which gave us way more than enough time to take down camp, swim, and talk to folks about the race.
I received my trophy from who else but the king himself for first overall and $400 for first in the amateur challenge, apparently I beat all of the pro field at this race as well.
Now for the drive home about 4-5 hours for us, we had to stop for ice cream for the kiddos and myself of course. Overall a great weekend with the family and at the races.
Swim - 15:56
T1 - 1:12
Bike - 55:00 25.6
T2 - 0:55
Run - 39:19 6:20
Total - 1:52:21
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