Frisco Runaway Triathlon

The 2nd Annual Frisco Runaway Triathlon was held today down in the small town of Willard, Missouri. Two famous residents of Willard include John Ashcroft and Lori Endicott. Even Bonnie and Clyde made a stop in little ole' Willard back when they kidnapped a Missouri police officer. That's it for today's trivia. Now the event recap...

I was on the fence about heading down to participate in the triathlon for two reason. One, I wanted to do well in Sunday's Crocodile Rock MTB race. The other is I still feel kind of weak on my run due to lack of specific run training. The past several weeks I have focused (when I do have time to train) on my swim and cycling. But sometimes the best way to train is to race. I am now very glad I did head down because the MTB race was rained out.

Heading down to Willard Friday night Carolynn and I started to get hungry so we started looking for a place to eat in the small little town of Clinton, MO. She used her new HTC Hero phone from Sprint (Thanks again JP) to research local eating establishments. We came across El Camino Real - Authentic Mexican. It got great reviews and I was willing to give Mexican food a chance (don't like to usually eat that type of food before a race if you know what I mean). We made a wise choice. El Camino Real was the best Mexican restaurant I we have ever eaten at. Just wonder food. If you are ever passing through via Hwy 13 do stop by.

Race morning came with some very loud rumblings. I don't mind racing in the rain, but today's triathlon is sanctioned by USAT and they stop events due to bad weather. Luckily it only rain a short time and soon clear away to allow us to start on time.

The 300 yard swim was at the Willard Aquatic Center. A nice little place, but lacks one thing which you really need for a swimming event - lap lanes :-). Put nearly 100 triathletes in a pool with no lap lanes and you get some interesting results. Every lap there was near head on collisions. I lined up inside the top 10 so I did not have it to hard and put in a very healthy swim - 5th overall swim time in 4:38. This time included the run to the transition area so the time I put into the pool over the last 3 weeks have paid off.

T1 was a complete disaster. One of my worst transitions ever. It was like I was at a rest stop for the Ride the Rockies ride or something. Usually a transition should be around 30 to 40 seconds. My slow butt took 1:24. For some reason I decided I would wear socks (yes I am afraid of blisters on my baby feet) and a jersey. I opted to put on my jersey it T1 (I had forgotten my tri top) which had my stuff to repair a flat in case I got one. I was glad to finally get out on the road and tackle the 12 hilly miles that laid ahead.

The course was indeed hilly but I felt strong on the bike, especially the rolling hills and flats. I had a little difficulty on the larger climbs due to my present weight and form, but I was still catching everyone in front me. I worked my way up to second only about 20 seconds from the leader on the road. I could see James Matthews and the lead emergency vehicle up ahead, but wanted to stay within my self and have a good run. I also wanted to save something for the MTB race on Sunday. In the end I completed the 12 hilly miles in a little over 34 minutes for a 21 mph average. That was good for the 3rd fastest bike spit. The two rider that had faster splits had disc wheels and area helmets. I wonder it I got disc wheel and fancy helmet would it save me 30 to 40 seconds? Is it worth the added weight? I might have to look into it.

T2 was much better and I was out in about 25 seconds and off for a 5k run on the Frisco Highline Trail. Carolynn was out riding the trail during the race and she said it was very nice. A nice addition to this small town. The 5K run was an out-back. The wind which we encountered on the bike was sheltered by the tree lined route. My main goal was to limit the amount of athletes to pass me. The run is my worst discipline in a triathlon, well beside my T1 times. I also ran in fear of trying to keep Sarah Fuchs behind me. She was leading the women and posted a very quick swim time and solid bike. I focused on leg turnover and pushing it right on my current fitness limit. To my surprise no one was able to catch me on the 5K run. This is a first for me. I cruised to the line in 1:04:12 which was good enough to win the Male 40-44 division and 4th overall. Take away the horrible T1 time and I would have been 2nd overall so overall I am very happy with the way event went and how my form is improving.