An Unfair Trade: Early-Season Race Report

Summary: When you take 6 months off from running, you get a lot slower. When you spend most of that time swimming, you get a tiny bit faster. And no matter how nice your bike is, if you don't have the legs on a given day, neither of those things matter.

I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. Competing, running pain-free, doubling over with side stitches -- I love all those things.

But if I could do them now as fast as I could have a year ago, I'd love them a tiny bit more.

In a remarkable and somewhat disappointing development, the swim at the Scenic City Triathlon was my best split. The cold winter months spent cranking out sets like 16 x 100m and 4 x 500m obviously paid off a bit. It was my hope that coming out of the water less fatigued would set me up for a better ride and, like always, I would seal the deal with a quick run. Aboard a real TT bike, how could that plan fail?

As it turns out, all it takes to derail that plan is three weeks of bad rides. I rode into form -- maybe too early -- back in February and March, but an ill-fated 70-mile ride sapped my legs for almost a month. My "training" was severely damaged (not to mention my psyche).

So I entered the race on the strength of two decent rides, which were apparently nullified by two days of cutting and hauling trees that were felled in the storm. I felt pretty good during the ride itself, and I rode without a computer or watch to let my body dictate the pace. Had it been a 9-mile course, my overall placement and sensations would have been higher. During the last five miles, though, all I could do was watch as stronger riders went past.

I left T2 with a small group. Again, the lack of miles in my legs was apparent, and I ran the short 5k with a double side stitch. I made up a few places, and unleashed a strong finishing kick to pass one more. Unfortunately, he had started three minutes behind me in the 40+ wave.

Overall, it was a great first race. Weather was awesome; my body felt fine, if not "great"; and I finished among some of Chattanooga's best triathletes. I think I will spend some time rebuilding my base, though, before I try to pick up speed. With no real target races, I'd rather train the right way than the easy way.

The Pink Panther is on the prowl.

Oh, and did I mention I wore a pink kit?