Post by Ed Slovenkay on May 25, 2010 14:28:47 GMT -5
This was my first visit to Memphis. I’ve heard a lot about the race there and how stiff the competition is. Looking at the 2009 results I could see that a lot of really talented triathletes participate in this race. The Shaheen’s (Matt & Kim) and I shoved out of Cleveland late Thursday to make the 11 hour drive over 2 days. When we got in Friday the southern furnace was already fired up with even higher temps expected for race day. At the expo, you didn’t have to look to far to see what appeared to be some very fit athletes and that had me questioning whether I had done enough training yet this year to even have a modestly competitive finish.
We spent Friday evening on famous Beale St. and ate dinner at BB King’s restaurant while listening to live blues from the Will Tucker Band. If you were hearing him on the radio, you’d never believe he is only 16 years old. After dinner we watched as the crowds grow in the street, all looking to buy a beverage from the establishments on the street or catch a tune from what seemed to be an endless supply of live music. Possibly the most impressive was the one man band Richard Johnston. I’d suggest checking him out on you tube, he is unreal and even better live.
After a night of being kept awake by inconsiderate hotel guests celebrating the local high school prom, Kim and I rode the bike course Saturday while Matt ran it (all 40k in the heat, he is an animal!). The water temperature was 77.8 degrees and it was questionable whether wet suits would be allowed, so we did a practice swim without the suits. There were patches of hot and cold water so we were banking on the chance that the race official might hit a cold spot with the thermometer on race morning. Both of us brought our wet suits on the trip just in case.
On race morning, the humidity was so thick you started sweating just loading up the bikes. As we approached transition the announcer called out that wet suits would be allowed in the swim. The start was a time trial start in order of your race number. So after getting in the water to warm up, we stood in line, in the wetsuits, baking for about 50 minutes. I finally got up to the start and they called my number so I hit the water, forgetting to start my watch. I realized this about halfway to the first turn while my goggles began to fog up. I was feeling good in the water and was catching up to packs of other swimmers. Swimming over people actually crossed my mind but I opted to work in a push here or there during the strokes. Swim time 21:16.
It was a large race so consequently a large transition area. T1 was non-eventful and the wetsuit came off fine. Once on the bike I was able to start my watch but noticed my heart rate in the 170’s. Since I knew it was going to be a hot day I decided to spin a little to let my hr come down. After getting passed by a few guys I decided I better pick it up a bit. I didn’t suffer all winter on the computrainer and buy these expensive Zipp wheels to have an average day. So I started hammering and was catching the guys who passed me and then I hit a couple bumps only to have my aero bottle come loose. I could not pedal hard and reach to fix the Velcro so I decided I was going to just have to hold on to it. I thought about discarding it but it was too full and I knew I needed the fluids. There was a water stop coming up so I worked on finishing the bottle and while I was working it loose from the aero bars I got chicked! 2 fast females that were drafting each other passed me as if I was standing still. I quickly dropped the bottle and took a fresh one from the volunteers. As hard as I pedaled, never caught those two. Bike time 1:01:43.
Leaving T2 I felt pretty good, but man was it HOT! I started the run at a comfortable pace and figured I’d try to build on it each mile. There was water at each mile and I kept dumping one on my head each time, man was it HOT! The run course was more rolling that I expected and the slight inclines might as well have been Mount Everest. HR stayed at 175 as I could not push the pace any harder. People were passing out at or near the water stops and the ambulance was working its way through the run course, did I mention it was HOT! At mile 4, I saw two of the guys who passed me early on the bike. Any thought of stopping to walk a bit went out the window. My new mission was to catch them and cross the finish line before them. Passed one, and was seconds behind the other. Run time 46:52.
My overall time was nothing impressive compared to my AG peers, 2:13:16, a PR for an Olympic distance race, but 14th in the 35-39 AG. At the finish line I ran into Troy Jacobson, the Spinnerval guy. I own several of his DVD’s and trained to them last year. I introduced myself and we commiserated about the heat. I found it ironic that he is from Arizona and even he thought it was a hot day. He won his AG (40-44) with a 1:55 though. The trip was not a total loss, Kim Shaheen had a fantastic day taking 3rd in her AG. Congratulations Kim!!
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Memphis. The most disappointing part was learning that the race will not be there next year. They are moving it to Mississippi for some reason. It was also a drag to make the 11 hour drive home Sunday after racing.
We spent Friday evening on famous Beale St. and ate dinner at BB King’s restaurant while listening to live blues from the Will Tucker Band. If you were hearing him on the radio, you’d never believe he is only 16 years old. After dinner we watched as the crowds grow in the street, all looking to buy a beverage from the establishments on the street or catch a tune from what seemed to be an endless supply of live music. Possibly the most impressive was the one man band Richard Johnston. I’d suggest checking him out on you tube, he is unreal and even better live.
After a night of being kept awake by inconsiderate hotel guests celebrating the local high school prom, Kim and I rode the bike course Saturday while Matt ran it (all 40k in the heat, he is an animal!). The water temperature was 77.8 degrees and it was questionable whether wet suits would be allowed, so we did a practice swim without the suits. There were patches of hot and cold water so we were banking on the chance that the race official might hit a cold spot with the thermometer on race morning. Both of us brought our wet suits on the trip just in case.
On race morning, the humidity was so thick you started sweating just loading up the bikes. As we approached transition the announcer called out that wet suits would be allowed in the swim. The start was a time trial start in order of your race number. So after getting in the water to warm up, we stood in line, in the wetsuits, baking for about 50 minutes. I finally got up to the start and they called my number so I hit the water, forgetting to start my watch. I realized this about halfway to the first turn while my goggles began to fog up. I was feeling good in the water and was catching up to packs of other swimmers. Swimming over people actually crossed my mind but I opted to work in a push here or there during the strokes. Swim time 21:16.
It was a large race so consequently a large transition area. T1 was non-eventful and the wetsuit came off fine. Once on the bike I was able to start my watch but noticed my heart rate in the 170’s. Since I knew it was going to be a hot day I decided to spin a little to let my hr come down. After getting passed by a few guys I decided I better pick it up a bit. I didn’t suffer all winter on the computrainer and buy these expensive Zipp wheels to have an average day. So I started hammering and was catching the guys who passed me and then I hit a couple bumps only to have my aero bottle come loose. I could not pedal hard and reach to fix the Velcro so I decided I was going to just have to hold on to it. I thought about discarding it but it was too full and I knew I needed the fluids. There was a water stop coming up so I worked on finishing the bottle and while I was working it loose from the aero bars I got chicked! 2 fast females that were drafting each other passed me as if I was standing still. I quickly dropped the bottle and took a fresh one from the volunteers. As hard as I pedaled, never caught those two. Bike time 1:01:43.
Leaving T2 I felt pretty good, but man was it HOT! I started the run at a comfortable pace and figured I’d try to build on it each mile. There was water at each mile and I kept dumping one on my head each time, man was it HOT! The run course was more rolling that I expected and the slight inclines might as well have been Mount Everest. HR stayed at 175 as I could not push the pace any harder. People were passing out at or near the water stops and the ambulance was working its way through the run course, did I mention it was HOT! At mile 4, I saw two of the guys who passed me early on the bike. Any thought of stopping to walk a bit went out the window. My new mission was to catch them and cross the finish line before them. Passed one, and was seconds behind the other. Run time 46:52.
My overall time was nothing impressive compared to my AG peers, 2:13:16, a PR for an Olympic distance race, but 14th in the 35-39 AG. At the finish line I ran into Troy Jacobson, the Spinnerval guy. I own several of his DVD’s and trained to them last year. I introduced myself and we commiserated about the heat. I found it ironic that he is from Arizona and even he thought it was a hot day. He won his AG (40-44) with a 1:55 though. The trip was not a total loss, Kim Shaheen had a fantastic day taking 3rd in her AG. Congratulations Kim!!
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Memphis. The most disappointing part was learning that the race will not be there next year. They are moving it to Mississippi for some reason. It was also a drag to make the 11 hour drive home Sunday after racing.