Athlete Series: Shake Out Races!

It’s mid-July and Kelly is finally getting to do a few triathlons. In this post I’ll talk you through his two events, and then we’ll discuss what is coming up.

In prep for my athletes "A” races for the year, I encourage them to race throughout the season in their build up. I think it is super beneficial for a few reasons. First, it breaks up the monotony of training throughout the year and gives the athlete something to look forward to as they build. Second, it gives the athlete the chance to dust off the cobwebs. They get to go through the transition process in a race setting and get a feel for the race environment. Third, they get to practice race power, heart rate, nutrition. And lastly, this gives them the chance to see progress and just race. I don’t want them to “put all their eggs in one basket” because what if something goes wrong? Then they have put months of training in and can feel let down. In almost every instance, the athlete learns a good deal in that first race and can practice these lessons so everything goes well during the big race.

Race #1: Pyramid Lakes Sprint Triathlon

The first race took place on July 9th and was a sprint distance event (500 yard swim - 13 mile bike - 3 mile run). Since Kelly is training for Ironman, and this race fell on a big build week of training, we made the decision not to taper for it. This would be one of those races that you just go to the start line with a bit of fatigue lingering in the body.

Numbers Going Into Race Day

Here is what the week leading into this sprint looked like, and his numbers race morning.

• Monday - Strength Only (4th of July so pool was closed)

• Tuesday - Swim (2800 yds. + 45 min. run with a little work)

• Wednesday - Bike Drills

• Thursday - Hard Bike with a Run off the bike

• Friday - Swim (1600 yds)

• Saturday - Race

  • Fatigue: 95

  • Fitness: 84

  • Form: -2

• Sunday - Long Ride

Race Goal + Results

The goal of the race was to have a super hard day of training and knock the cobwebs out of transitions. Kelly nailed the goals. His swim started rough as it was his first OWS of the season, but once he got in and calmed down he had a super steady swim. Goal Pace: 1:45. Actual Pace: 1:55.

T1 went well, other than Kelly forgetting to lap his watch! The bike was fantastic. Here Kelly was able to push it hard from the start. The course had one major climb, and then they got to descend it coming back into town. Goal Time: 40:00. Actual Time: 38:18. He spend 80% of the ride in zones 3-5 which was good to see. His T2 was quick and then out to the 5k run. Here he paced himself well with mile 3 being his fastest mile. Goal Time: 23:00. Actual: 22:45. Nailed it!

Without training for a sprint distance event, Kelly placed 2nd in his Age Group and 11th Overall.

Race #2: Donner Lake Olympic Triathlon

The second race took place on July 24th, and was an olympic distance event (1650 yard swim - 24 mile bike - 10k run). We decided to rest Kelly a little bit for this one, since it was both a longer race and the course was pretty challenging. The bike alone had 2400 feet of elevation gain in 24 miles, and the run had a short but steep incline as well.

Numbers Going Into Race Day

Here is what the week leading into this olympic looked like, and his numbers race morning.

• Monday - Swim with work

• Tuesday - Bike with Sweet Spot

• Wednesday - Recovery Bike

• Thursday - Shake Out Run (first run of the week due to a little foot issue)

• Friday - Swim with work

• Saturday - Bike with leg openers

• Sunday - Race!

  • Fatigue: 92

  • Fitness: 83

  • Form: +15

As you can see, his numbers were actually pretty similar (Fatigue/Fitness) but he was carrying a lot less fatigue going into this race.

Race Goal + Results

After talking through race one of the season, we had a few goals going into this race. The first was to prioritize the race warm up and really be loose before entering the water. The second was to focus on staying calm at the swim start, and the third was to push hard on the bike, but stay in control on the climb.

Overall Kelly hit his goals, even though the results of the race weren’t up to his expectations. He had a super strong swim with no panic at the start, and was one of the fastest swims of the day. Goal Time: 26:30. Actual Time: 26:16.

He held excellent power on the bike and stayed in control on the climb. Unfortunately getting off the bike he succumbed to some leg cramps and tightness in his back. This forced him to back off the pace on the run. Even so, he ran 8:30 per mile average and the course ended up being a half mile long!

Despite the setbacks, Kelly placed 5th in his Age Group and PR’d this course by over 45 minutes from the last time he raced it!

Thoughts

While I know Kelly has mixed feelings on how the second race went, this is because he holds himself to a very high standard! Most of us as triathletes are always seeking to do better, be better, be stronger, etc. He has (and is) doing an excellent job of balancing the stress of training with work and life. I admire his dedication to the training and the willingness to learn from the process.

Racing is a reminder that there are things that we can control, and things that we can’t control. It is how we handle the things we Can’t Control that shows are character. Kelly could have given up after cramping off the bike, but instead he took in more fluids and nutrition to try an alleviate the issue, and kept on going even though the pace he wanted to maintain was not possible. He finished on a day that was physically and mentally tough, and that shows the type of person he is. Great racing so far Kelly Dow!

What’s Next

Next up Kelly is entering another cycle of big training. He’ll cap off is mid-summer racing at Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee. Then, we’ve got the Big Day coming up! For those of you that don't know what the Big Day is, stay tuned, because training is about to get very exciting.

Coaching

Are you looking for a coaching program that can help you get to your end of season race? I am taking on new athletes for the remainder of the season and would love to chat with you on how this could look for you. You can reach out here!

-Happy Training