Pre-Crash Saturday

I know, I said I wouldn't talk about it but... oh well. My body still hurts so I did anyway.

A shot from last week when it got warm. We got Cassie a couple of chances to swim while it was in the 70's. The water was still a bit chilly but she was having a good time none the less.

Friday night I went out to dinner with Aimee and her folks at the new National Harbor for her father's birthday. I won't go into my thoughts on the area, aside from pointing out how inaccessible it is and how badly I think that hurts it's chances of succeeding. After dinner we went to a sports bar to watch the Duquesne vs Dayton game. Very exciting with a GREAT outcome. Saturday's game not quite as great but still an awesome season for the Dukes. They will still likely make the NIT tournament which is a big deal considering their record four seasons ago was 3 and 24. See more fun Duquesne men's bball facts here.

Anyway, Saturday morning came early and saw me a bit groggy after a couple too many beers but I managed to drag myself out of bed before 7 anyway. I made my way down to Hains Point for the first DC Tri training duathlon of the year. The temps were just under 40 for the start at 8 and the group that showed up was surprisingly large.

I started off the opening 5k along with the front group of about 10 with a few guys tearing off the front of the group. For the first 2 miles or so I was feeling pretty descent and was sticking right with another guy who was running very smoothly. He eventually pulled away and continued to do so for the remainder of the run. I found myself somewhere around 1.5 and 2 miles losing my form and efficiency so there is definitely some work to be done there.

In the first transition I moved quickly and managed to make up some time on the guy I'd been chasing in the run. In the first few hundred meters I caught him, commended his run performance and then settled in for the 16.8 mile bike. I didn't feel great on the bike but also wasn't doing terrible. The glutes were feeling tight right away and stayed that way through about half of the bike section and in the end I averaged somewhere between 20 and 21 mph, with no serious head/tail winds for the ride. I believe I should be aiming for somewhere closer 23 in those conditions and on that course but at this point in the season I'll gladly take my result.

The second run was as usual a bit of a shock to the system. The calfs started to cramp initially but quickly loosened up. For the first brick of the season I feel pretty good about the post ride pace though hopefully later in the season I'll be able to hold a faster turnover on the run. One thing that needs some work which will assist in that and a better and more comfortable bike portion are my flexibility. Core strength also needs some work.

In the end I was passed by one guy at the end of the bike and otherwise sat in the same position from the early bike portion through the finish. Not sure my eventual placement but it was either 7th or 9th based on updates from one of the volunteers during the ride.

Total time was around 1:30.
My first run time was 19:40 (my first sub 20 5k I believe) a pace of 6:21/mile.
The bike portion was around 50 minutes, 20 point something mph.
The second bike 22:40, a pace of around 7:20/mile.