8.10.2009

Coeur d' Alene Triathlon 2009- Race Report

I want to start of by saying how much I REALLY like this race. I love that people fear this race because of the hills on the bike course. There are long climbs with some sections steep enough to make you contemplate getting off and walking, though I have never actually done that:)

This would be my third straight year racing the CDA Tri. Though I have definitely improved over the course of the last few seasons, this time I was going to race it a bit different. Rarely have I been able to look back on a race and feel that I truly gave it 100%. Not that I don’t try hard but I look back and wonder, could I have swam faster, pushed a little bit harder on the bike or dug a little deeper on the run. As an athlete, I HATE that feeling.

This usually happens on the bike. I never seem to be able to push push push throughout the entire race. I find many moments where I get lost in lala land and have to remind myself that it is ok to feel uncomfortable and even though it hurts, pain is only temporary.

With all the analysis that I do before each race I came up with one plan: RACE HARD!

There were not going to be any points where I would feel like I should have pushed just a little harder, I was going to give it my all.

The race report is going to start a few days before when I decided to put new tires on my race wheels. After spending what seemed like hours and adding blisters to each thumb, pointer and middle fingers, Roger and I glued on the new tires and I was ready to go.

Friday evening as I packed for the race, I checked my front wheel. It was flat. Great, I thought, this is the one I glued on and who knows what I did wrong since it was my first time. After struggling to find the problem and re-taping the valve extenders and valves, I went to bed hoping I fixed the problem. With the alarm set for 3:30am it was going to be another early morning. After waking up a million times throughout the night (yeah I said a million) I checked the tire at 1:00am and it still had air. This was a relief and now I could focus on the race.

Roger and Tim rolled up shortly after 4:00 and we were on the road to CDA. This was the same time I left for Ironman but with a little bit different feeling in my stomach :) I knew I was going to finish, it was just a matter of how hard I could push myself.

Even though we rolled into CDA before 5:00am, we were still not the first people in transition, but I still got the prime location at the end of the rack. After setting up my transition area, it was time to mingle and get mentally prepared for the race. It was great talking with all my fellow Tri-Fusion members and it helps the time pass. Before long it was time to head down to the water and start the race.

I was able to get a short warm up in and to be honest my arms did not feel good. I didn’t exactly know what it was but I felt sluggish. Rarely do I feel great but not usually this tired or slow. I chalked it up to the early morning start and knew that once the race started I had no excuses and just had to swim.

Mass Swim Start
Photo By: Rory Buck

As I lined up on the shore, standing next to Roger and Ben, two fast swimmers, it was go time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up but the philosophy of going out fast and getting out in front of the masses worked great once again. I am not sure what clicked but the feeling from the warm-up was gone and I was feeling great. By the second turn buoy I had open water everywhere. I honestly was wondering if I had gone off course. I was a bit behind the main pack since there was no one within 25 yards of me, at least in front of me.

Mass Swim Start
Photo By: Rory Buck

I really felt great. I felt like my effort was up, but I wasn’t struggling like I usually do near the end of a race. During Thursday’s practice, Coach Rory really helped me focus on technique and position in the water and I really think it helped. When I hit the last turn buoy, a few swimmers finally jumped off my feet and that is when I realized I had pulled them around the course. Oh well, I was feeling good and my heart rate seem to be low. I was wondering if I could have gone harder but as I tried to pick it up here and there, I felt my form start to diminish and just focus on solid pulls and for the first race kept a flutter kick for the majority of the swim.

I had set a goal for sub 24:00 and even though the course was short I am pretty sure I would have been sub 23:00 for this race. I am ecstatic about my swim and really felt like it was one of my best ever. Though I have a ton of room for improvement, that is exactly what I am doing, improving. I will go faster, it is just a matter of time and a whole lot of practice.

Swim Time:
2007: 30:41
2008: 26:05
2009: 19:27 (The swim was about 2:30-3:00 minutes short, but that would still put me at a sub 23:00 minute swim)

It was now time to head off on the bike. Tim informed me as I entered transition I was in 21st place. Not to bad and I knew there were “swimmers” in front of me and I am a triathlete. The plan was to see if they could hang.

Heading to Transition: See I am Fast:)
Photo By: Rodger McKeon

I had a 56 second transition good for second fastest on the day, behind Roger the winner of the race. What I lack in speed out on the course I make up for in my transitions. There have been countless races where I have gain well over a minute in time, just in transitions. In an Olympic that is good for nearly 10 seconds per mile on the run, and since I ain’t the fastest runner, I need to save time where ever I can.

Heading out of T1
Photo By: Rory Buck

As I jumped on the bike, the goal was to ride HARD. I wanted my legs to feel uncomfortable the entire time. There wasn’t going to be any moments where I should have pushed harder. I really like races that have at least one turn-around. You can get a good idea on where you are at and who is behind you. As we headed out to Higgens point, I knew I was near the front. The closer I got to Higgens the more excited I got. I had yet to see the race leaders and I was up and over Tubbs hill and near the turn-around. Then I saw Roger leading, which was pretty cool because I knew how bad he wanted this race. Then Ben and then two more riders. Yeah that’s right, I hit the turn-around in 5th. WTF?

These next few photos are by Rory Buck. Great shots of me heading towards T2.

It was at this point I was like “Holy Mother C”, I am not suppose to be up here. I will have to admit it was pretty cool but I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. The plan was in place, go HARD the entire bike. I hit the hills and was passed by a few riders but I was racing my race. After chit chatting with Haley Copper (she’s a pro:)) on our way up Yellowstone Rd, we decided talking shouldn’t be this easy and it was time to drop the ball-pin hammer and get moving.


Overall the bike leg went well. I was able to push the entire ride and really felt like I had given it my all. There were times when some of those hills jumped up and kicked my butt and all I did was kept on pushing. I knew it would be over soon and there was no time to pussyfoot around.


I had set a goal to be around 1:05. I knew this was going to be tough but at the same time I knew it would help push me the entire time. Though I was a bit off my goal, I had an almost 3:30 PR and I am happy with the result.

Bike Time:
2007: 1:12:32 (Course was short- approx. 22 miles)
2008: 1:09:31
2009: 1:06:06

Bike Dismount

Heading into T2 I knew I was near the Top 10 but wasn’t quite sure where I was. It really didn’t matter because anything can happen on the run. As I dismounted my bike and heading into the transition area, all I think about is being quick. Like I said earlier, I make up serious time in transitions and they are important in my race. I once again had the second faster T2 at :38 seconds with yet again, only Roger beating my by 1 second. I chalk that up to him racing for his life and me standing at my towel for split second and only seeing my visor and thinking there should be something else. Oh well, you can’t always have the fastest transitions :)

Heading out on the run!
Photo By: Dave Erickson

The run is where you can win and lose a race. I am never actually in that position but at the same time I am in my own personal race and in today’s race, I won. Last weeks run where I had averaged the 6:20’s that are required to run a sub 40:00 10K split, was after a much shorter bike and swim. I knew it was going to be tough and I knew that at the first mile I was going to be able to see if that was possible.

I took off out of transition in a small group with one racer in my age-group about 50 yards ahead. The plan was to chase him down and run my ass off. Since my running, has be slim to actually none lately due to a sore foot and well plenty of other excuses that really are just that excuses, I didn’t really know how I would do for a 10K.

Out of T2 to the Run
Photo By: Dave Erickson

The run was tough. Just after Mile 1, I had caught the guy in my age group and now it was time to put a little distance between us. I felt great for the first 4 miles. Though my average was closer to 6:40’s than 6:20’s I wanted, I felt like my effort was solid. Between Miles 4-5, the wheels started to slow down as I struggled to a 6:55 mile but picked it back up and finished relatively strong with a total run of 41:29.

This was another PR and though I wish it was a bit faster, you really only get in what you put out and my running recently has been pathetic. After a good long talk with Jessi about expectations, how do I really expect to break my goal if I haven’t put in the time and effort that is required order to achieve it? My swimming has been consistent and it shows, my biking is getting better and though I am not as strong as I can be, I am still faster. My run on the other hand needs work. I have not been diligent and though I have improved as you can see, it has not improved at the same rate as cycling or swimming. Now this is where I pledge to make changes, and promise it will only get faster.

Coming to the Finish (this guy was doing the Du)

Total Time:
2007: 2:36:37 (Short Bike)
2008: 2:20:27
2009: 2:08:37 (Short swim)

Kinda Tired :)
Photo By: Jessi Thompson

I estimate I would have been around a 2:11 with the normal swim, which is still a 9 minute PR and only going to improve. I ended up 12th overall and 3rd in my age-group for my first podium at a major race.

Post Race: Rog still smiling
Photo By: Rory Buck

Thanks again to all the Tri-Fusion people cheering and supporting me throughout the race. The last two weeks have really reminded me why I love to race and why I need to train. It ain’t always fun to train but it is sure fun to have a great race.

Thanks again to my folks for coming out and cheering for me!
Photo By: Jessi Thompson
Until next time…

7 comments:

Spokane Al said...

Congratulations on a terrific race. Your improvement over the past three years is absolutely stunning.

The CDA tri is such a great race and brings out the very best in competition and you kicked butt.

You deserve to be very, very proud of your race. You definitely earned it!

Tiffany said...

Keve, I am SO stoked for you that you had such a great race! I know you were a bit nervous for this one and I'm so happy to see that it turned out so well! Awesome mentality going into it. There's no better feeling than finishing your race and knowing you gave it your all! Way to go, A+!

p.s. I about died of laughter at what you said when you realized you were 5th on the bike at the turn around! Love it!

jessithompson said...

You rocked this race, Keve and have improved so much because you have invested so much into your training all year. Excellent job on PR after PR all season long. You have so very much to be proud of. You are one hell of a speedy B!

And of course I flove that you're still hungry for more and still setting goals. That's surely why you keep getting stronger and faster.

Thanks for the fun night of training tonight... it's always great to have people to laugh and suffer with.

Roger Thompson said...

Great race and detailed report. It's amazing that when you put in the time on the swim and bike, you end up pretty high up on the bike huh? Now, totally hypothetical of course, let's pretend you do all the run workouts just like you have been doing the bike and swim workouts? Imagine....

Nice work out there. You have put in some tough miles this season, and those are what get you to the PRs. Remember coming home from Blue Lake? :)

Congrats,
Roger

BRFOOT said...

Great race and great report. Nice job keeping the fire burning hot throughout the race. Getting to the podium in this race is quite the accomplishment. You should be proud.

Matt said...

Impressive race, keep up the great racing!!!

Laura and company said...

Wow! Glad to catch up on blogs, finally. What a great race you had! Congrats!