It’s done, and it wasn’t pretty.  Disappointing actually and I’m the only one to blame.  Self-sabotage would be the best way to explain it.  End result…I was 3 mins slower this year than last year.

Here’s the race report with all the details on the Beginner Triathlete website, and I’ll break it down further here with my theories.

Theory #1 – Bad diet.  The couple days leading up to race day, my diet suffered….GREATLY.  I ate pretty much what I wanted and food I should have avoided, including salty popcorn less than 12 hrs before the race.  This theory is HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE.  Your body will only perform as good as it’s fuel, like trying to run regular gas in a car that was built to run premium.  It’ll work, just not at it’s peak.

Theory #2 – Poor hydration.  The day before the race (Sunday), I should have been drinking plenty of water all day, but for some reason, didn’t.  I tried to cram some in Sunday evening, but it wasn’t enough as I didn’t have to even get up during the night to go to the bathroom.  Usually when I’m properly hydrated, I have to get up at least once.  This theory is PLAUSIBLE, but probably not as great a factor as I also hydrated well in the morning leading to the race, and the weather was not that hot for the race.

Theory #3 – Too fat.  Yes I’ve gained some weight over the winter, and no to this date haven’t lost any.  That meant that on this race I was actually about 25 lbs heavier than last year for the same race.  This theory is HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE.  Although 25 lbs doesn’t sound like much, strap it to your back and go running and hill climbing on a bike, then do it without the 25 lbs.  You’ll see a big difference.

Theory #4 – Lack of proper nutrition heading into the 2nd run.  Something happen in that 2nd run and I can only describe it as BONKING although it shouldn’t happen on a short race like this.  I had my usual breakfast 3 hrs before the race, had a PowerBar Gel 30 mins before the race, and drank 150 cals throughout the bike ride via 26 oz of Infinit Nutrition.  But this could also be tied into theory #1.

Theory #5 – Weather.  Although it was a little cooler this year, the winds were not.  Gusts hit the 30 kph with steady winds 12-14 kph, and it was from the south, meaning only a short south t0 north section of the bike course was easy with a tailwind.  The remainder of the course was either in crosswind or headwind.  That being said, I had a better bike this year so at the most, I should have equaled last years time, but I was actually 2 mins slower.  This theory is SOMEWHAT PLAUSIBLE.

Here’s the data from the Garmin for the 3 legs:
RUN #1 (4k) |  BIKE (30k) |  RUN #2 (4k)

Official results HERE.

RESULTS SUMMARY

2011 2010 DIFFERENCE
OFFICIAL TIME 1:42:34 1:39:36 +00:02:58
OVERALL 226 of 454 (50%) 216 of 519 (42%) +8%
AGE GROUP 35 of 48 (73%) 24 of 51 (47%) +26%
1st RUN SPLIT 20:34(5:09/km) 21:01(5:16/km) -0:27
BIKE SPLIT 56:31(31.8 kph) 54:31(33.0 kph) +2:00
2nd RUN SPLIT 22:50(5:43/km) 21:31(5:23/km) +1:19

 

Next on the schedule is a short Woodstock Try-A-Tri (triathlon) on June 12th.  This consist of a 300m swim, 10k bike, and 2k run.  This serves as a practice for the bigger races.

With that said, I need to get my diet in order.  Discipline is what’s lacking at the moment.  I also need to bring back my run fitness up, and practice more transitions.

Click on image below to see other pics.

Victoria’s Duathlon 2011