Rounding into form
Kansas City Triathlon race recap
I journal and make notes quite often and I am vocal about recommending others do the same. It is a great way to look back on what you have done and perhaps give yourself some solace for what is coming in the future.
This idea proved true for my most recent race, the Kansas City Triathlon.
The following is a journal entry from May 18, 2024, the day before the race:
Racing tomorrow.
I will do my best.
Something will go well.
I will learn something.
Stay calm.
All three of those statements were true about the race, but maybe not for the reasons I originally believed. I’ll detail below.
Leading in
After a disappointing 10K in March, I figured out that I needed a different attitude towards what I was doing. I had a rocky start to the season for training in that I was trying to finish school, figure out post-grad plans, and also pass the board exam. Extraneous factors impair training, even if they are not physical barriers.
Nonetheless, it all started to turn around through April. The weather was getting nicer, I removed some stressors, and the training picture became clearer. By month's end, confidence had returned and I decided to entertain the option of doing the Olympic distance race at the Kansas City Triathlon. Before committing to that, I put a race simulation in my training calendar to confirm that the April consistency was worth its salt. It served as an excellent indicator for how I am tolerating high-intensity efforts, so KC tri was a go! You can read more about that simulation here.
Swim
A wetsuit swim was on order for the 1500m, two-lap, Aussie exit swim. I got trampled on the Elite wave mass start, but I did not panic. My “cool it to the first buoy then HAMMER DOWN” strategy continues to work for these types of races. As with any open water swim, you never know how fast you are going, but this felt easy the whole way. 18:09 confirmed it was a solid effort. Content, I charged into T1.
Bike
T1 went better than it has in the past which gave me a boost of energy coming out of the park.
“Nice start, Max. Don’t mess it up,” I thought.
But mess it up I did. 5 minutes into the bike I started to hear this horrible screeching noise from my bike. Anyone on course can vouch that it was awfully loud. A flat? Brakes? ANOTHER wheel problem?
I stopped and checked out what was going on. No flat, brakes fine. I kept riding but the noise did not abate, so I stopped again and started messing with the way the wheel was seated. I even told the volunteer to call the service vehicle to pick me up and declare a DNF. To keep a long story short, I spent about 7 minutes messing with this wheel and eventually got it to spin without restriction. No DNF declared.
Angrier than all heck, I got going again with no idea how much time I had lost. I knew that being competitive in the race again was likely over, so I rode as best as I could and figured I’d try to post a nice run split. Once the issue was sorted, my average speed was quite nice. The second lap indicated I was capable of a 1:02/1:03 for 40K which would have been consistent with my pre-race expectations. A positive spin.
Run
I took some time to gather myself in T2, including putting on socks. I told myself that there was no benefit to digging a massive hole on this run with Des Moines 70.3 a few weeks away, so I committed to running controlled and relaxed, but still pushing hard. It is incredible how there is not much difference between 90% and 100% effort in terms of speed, except the latter just feels like death.
The splits from my watch indicated that I was having a great day holding 3:25-3:30/km consistently and feeling good about it. Roughly 5K into the course I passed a few athletes from the Elite wave which was a surprise, but gave me confidence to stick with the effort I was going.
Throughout the final lap, I fed off the energy on the course from all of the other athletes and gave it a nice push all of the way to the line, crossing with a 35:00 run split. I never gave in.
Overall
Not giving in was worth it. I ended up in 5th place overall for the Elite division which netted me a $75 prize. Not bad, but I could not help but think what could (awful word here because nobody cares about the hypothetical) have been without the mechanical woes.
Circling back to the journal entry, let’s break this down—
“I will do my best”: Not giving up when I wanted to walk off the course proved this one to be true!
“Something will go well”: The swim and run were confirmation that I am in a good spot right now. Even the uninterrupted portion of the bike was a best-ever performance on power/watts that could certainly have been higher. I also handled a hot day well. It was not until crossing the finish line that I realized how warm it was.
“I will learn something”: Even if you take the bike to a mechanic 2 days before the race, check everything in transition before the start. I think I could have prevented the issue and I will take the blame. To truly be Elite, you need to embody it in all aspects. This was a lesson that I am not there yet. I also learned that you can still get a personal win when adversity strikes.
Nothing is ever guaranteed. All I can do now is make certain my preparations for the next race are holistic; mechanically, physically, and mentally so that I can be proud of the effort on the course.
Awesome effort despite the mechanical (machine) setback! Makes me think about the idea of what's in "my" control and what's not. Mass-starting variables somewhat out of my control but bike problems a whole big set of variables that can be out of your control, its almost a roll of the dice. This coming from someone who has been only running and just started on the bike and has only gotten their toes wet in the water. Appreciate your insight and data and keep up the awesome performances while your are busy juggling your (science) work and your athletic work (and everything else).