Crossroads Triathlon

This event kind of snuck up on me. Last week I had decided to take a little break from racing and get back to 100% before cyclocross season. On Wednesday I got an email reminder from Active.com that I had signed up for the Crossroads Triathlon several months ago. Should I still do it?

Wednesday the family went mountain biking at the Humpday North ride up at Smithville Lake MTB Trails. I decided that I would do a brick workout after the ride. If I felt fine I would race. The Crossroads event also has a pool swim which is really nice for me. Decision was made to race...

4:00 a.m. came early, especially after you spend 4 hours after work all day building custom cabinets in 90+ degree heat. But when your brother in-law brings you some new cabinets that were not able to be used in a new build job you just can't say no.

To Carolynn's and my surprise this 2nd year event drew 147 racers. A nice lady told us about this event at the Hospital Hill Run. Carolynn was also planning on making this her Triathlon debut, but chickened out. After seeing all the happy faces at the finish I think she will do it next year for sure.

As I lined up to start the swim I saw some fast guys ahead of me. Guy's like Tristan Collins, winner of the CGSC Leavenworth Triathlon and short course specialist Doctor Allyn Smith. I was seeded 12th in the swim (based on estimated swim times). I haven't been swimming much since the 1/2 Ironman back in June, but with only 200 meters I did not expect any problems. 3 mins, 11 seconds after the start I was out of the pool and quickly headed to my favorite leg.

I really wanted to see if I could catch Allyn since he was seeded 11th and started 15 seconds ahead. I felt good on the bike and at the half-way point was dead even with Allyn. This is actually an accomplishment since he has won several overall's at local triathlons over the past couple of years. Return trip I started get that old lactate buildup and slowed down some in hopes that I would have a good run. At the end of the bike I was in 3rd place overall with only Tristan and Allyn in front.

Run, as always, was my down fall. One day I will be able to get off my bike and run with the big boys, but today was not that day. I said to myself before the race that this was "just a training race" and that I was not going to push my limits. I kept an o.k. tempo and was only passed by a Bike Shack guy. He also got by me on the run at the Leavenworth triathlon. I will have to make a mental picture of this to give me motivation when I finally start doing those intervals...

Ended up finishing the 200 meter swim, 8 mile bike and 2.1 mile run in 42 minutes. This was good enough for 2nd place in the Male 40-44 division and close to top 5 overall. We will have to see once the final results are posted. I guess getting close to top 5 is not bad out of 147 racers. That makes 2 podium finishes (3rd place at Leavenworth) out of 3 triathlons this year.