Mike's Bike Blog

This was the final race in the 1379 Kids Tri series for Jack and the 1st triathlon for Zeb and Ethan. Zeb competed in the 5-6 year old division and Ethan was in the 9-10 year old division with Jack. The Hill Country Tri also has a parent division as well where the parents time is added to the kids time to form a team. Initially the plan was for Jennifer to compete since she's been swimming and running on a consistent basis again since coming back from a lingering ITB injury.

Two weeks before the race she pulled a muscle in her shoulder and wasn't able to get into the pool and the possibility of competing wasn't looking good. I stepped in to save the day. In the 2 weeks leading up to the race I got into the pool twice just to make sure I could still float and I ran 1/2 mile that first week. I had hoped to get a little more training in but with birthday's and work deadlines I wasn't able to get more in, thus I was a bit worried, mainly for the swim.

The race was in Kyle, TX and had a 5:30am check-in time for a 7am start, thus we had a 3:00 am wake up call. We got marked, picked up chips and set up in the transition. It was here that I learned that Zeb's run was longer than what I had thought. The 5-6 year olds were running the same course as his brothers, a .6 mile run. I had thought it was a 600 meter run for some reason. Zeb was in the first wave of kids and did a good job on the swim and got through the transition and headed out on the bike for a 1/2 mile out and back. The first half is on a slight uphill.

He quickly returned and was onto the run. He started out like a firecracker. Jennifer yelled at him to slow down and pace himself as it looked like he would fizzle out at the pace he was setting. He crossed the finish line in 16:12.81, for a 4th place finish.

While Zeb was out on the running course I ran over to watch Jack enter the pool to start his race. He looked really strong in the swim and I could tell his endurance from swimming all summer had paid off. He improved his swim time and also improved his transition time as well. Both Jack and Ethan had to do 1 lap of the course which was 2.6 miles long. Jack road a personal best for any of the other Tri's he'd done, beating his speed by 2 mph.

With Jack out on the bike course and Zeb done it was Ethan's turn in his 1st triathlon. He got through the swim, not the fastest but that was to be expected as he just this summer passed through the Nitro swimming lessons and just got on the Nitro swim team. As he was getting on the bike course the volunteer wouldn't let him out on the course and fiddled with the straps to his helmet. I was surprised at this as beforehand I double checked the fit of his helmet. I had him bend over, there was no slippage and when he came back up it stayed in place. The chin strap looked good as well, there was a little clearance, about a finger and a half. Well the volunteer would grab it and pull it up and I guess he didn't like it so he messed with it for 2-3 minutes. In the end I don't think he made any adjustments before letting him proceed out onto the bike course. Once Ethan got through the bike course he was off on the run and onto completing his first triathlon!

There was 1 more wave of kids between me and my first triathlon. The time came way too fast, luckily I was seeded next to last so I figured I wouldn't have too many people passing me. There was only 1 other person behind me by the numbers, but there were a few other competitors that didn't feel comfortable with their starting position and moved to the back.

Finally the time of reckoning I got the go signal and took off and jumped into the water and started my swim. I actually caught and passed a few other swimmers. About 1/2 way through as I got to the end of a lane I needed to pass the person in front of me. She ducked under the lane line as I pushed off and attempted to streamline under the lane line to come out ahead of her in the other lane. I didn't quite make it and whacked my head pretty hard on the lane line. I finally made it through the swim, now I knew the likelihood of finishing the tri was at 98%.

I ran to my bike and started my transition to the bike. This included putting on socks and my bike shoes along with my number and helmet. As I was attempting to put on my socks my legs were wobbly. This made putting on my socks and shoes difficult.

As I got out onto the course I saw a guy in a Joe's Pro skin suit, I heard him telling someone that he had the fastest bike leg in last years race. I figured he would be a good rabbit. My plan was to average about 95% of my RunFar power, which is 107% of my FTP. The course had 2 roundabouts to negotiate which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but getting around them with other people weaving through the road I braked more than I would normally to get around them. After the first turnaround I caught and passed the Joe' s Pro rider. After the next turn around with my average power now at 110% of my FTP I decided I better hold back a little so I have something left for the run. On the 2nd and final lap the section with the roundabouts was pretty clear so I didn't have to slow up. I think I scared the volunteers as I entered the roundabouts at over 20 mph as I don't think most people carried that much speed thru.

Now all I had to do was run the 1.2 miles. The first .3 miles of course are on a slight grade. The first lap was the hardest, my legs didn't want to cooperate. When I returned to the start the boys were there to cheer me on and run with me. I turned around for the 2nd lap while the boys ran with me. Not sure if my legs finally opened up or it was the fact that the boys were watching that kept me going and not walking. The final bit the boys ran with me egging me on with the promise of shaved ice afterwards.

I got my shaved ice and we waited for the results to be posted and the awards ceremony. When results went up my overall wasn't that great and figured we were out of contention for a family award. I did place 4th in the bike, 1 minute and 20 some seconds behind Kevin Livingston. Not too shabby, but wish I wouldn't had held back. Upon looking back I don't think I could have ran any slower so I should have went harder on the bike.

When Zeb and me didn't win in the 5-6 year old parent category I figured Jack and I wouldn't win anything. I was totally surprised to hear our team being called for the 9-10 year old parent category for 3rd place.

Everybody had a good time and the boys are raring to do more races, me on the other hand I didn't get bit by the tri bug. I could see doing another family tri as they are short enough that I don't have to train for the swim or the run. If I was going to do a full on triathlon I wouldn't mind doing a relay where all I had to do was the bike portion.

I'm not sure if this is a written rule but crashes usually happen in 3's, celebrity deaths happen in 3s. My last 3 rides fell to this pearl:

Sunday
First thing in the morning Jack and I got out for an hour of pace line work and decending drills. After that I was going to ride for another hour. I headed out on Limecreek Road towards Volente Beach. 2 Miles into it I hear a loud pop and the hiss of the air being released from my back tire. Upon inspection my tire had a severe blowout. I booted the tire with a dollar bill and changed the flat and rode home. That evening at the boys' soccer practice I changed out the tires with a set of Hutchinson Fusion tires I've had for awhile and got a 20 minute ride in.

Monday
This day will probably be remembered as Chaingate from the Tour de France. The day Andy Schleck lost the yellow jersey when his chain came off. I had my own chain issue. I had the TT bike and was planning on doing a 45 minute Sweet Spot interval (SST) which starts at the base of Courtyard and up City Park Road and down to Emma Long Park and then back up City Park and finally up the backside of Courtyard and finishes at the top. I was making my way up and was on the final part where it kicks up to around 20% grade when I hear a click and see the shifter for the rear derailleur move! Since I was out of the saddle when this happened the unexpected shift caused me to fall forward a bit. In the mealy I didn't realize the chain had came off so when I sat back down and started to peddle I got 3 or 4 spins in until I realized what the lack of resistance meant. By the time I realized the chain was off I didn't have time to unclip and braced myself for impact. There was no support vehicles for a bike swap nor any fans to give me a push so I had to go down a little on the hill and go back up. With the phantom shifting I decided not go up City Park cause if it happened again I didn't want to risk rolling into traffic and getting run over.

Tuesday
Still had the TT bike and was going to get a full 40 minute SST workout in but was going to play it safe and doing 40 minutes of down and backs on a 1 mile stretch of road on Rivercrest Dr. For this type of workout I'll usually do Bunny Run Road, which also runs parallel to Capitol of Texas Hwy and is right behind BreakingPoint Systems.  The nice thing about Rivercrest is it's a little flatter then Bunny Run and offers more shade. The downside is the road is much narrower and on some days there's too much day worker traffic (landscapers/construction, etc). I usually give it a ride as a warmup to gauge the amount of traffic and if it's light will ride it or go back up Hillbilly to Bunny Run. Today, the traffic was really light and was a perfect setting for a 40 minute SST interval. 10 minutes into it as I was approaching the turnaround point a truck that was parked on the left side of the road, facing the wrong direction starts to make a Uturn. I'm approaching at 23 mph and see the impending collision and hit the breaks. There's no way to swerve around him. I'm still not sure how I was able to stop as fast as I did. Instead of hitting him straight on I turned right a bit. I grabbed his big side mirror with my left hand and my bike came to a stop with a small thud against his passenger door. The left side of the handle bars are the only part of the bike that made contact with the truck. The left bar end shifter left a small dent and a scratch. There was surprisingly no damage to the bike, luckily all that happened was the impact caused the front derailleur to shift.

I took the bike into Southwest Cycle Sport and the culprit for the phantom shifting was more than likely a bent derailleur hanger. Peter made some other adjustments and I should be as good as new again. I rarely ever get into the small chain ring on the TT bike but hopefully the next time I try to go up a hill like Courtyard it won't fail me again. Now I'm ready for some good luck after getting the last 3 days out of the way.