Monticelloman Olympic Triathlon - 5/3/15

Just a week after my first completed Sprint Tri I did my first Olympic Triathlon. During this week, I also did my first Tuesday Evening IOS Ride. This would become a regular thing for me while training for IMCHOO. Below is a snapshot of my week of training leading up to Monticelloman.

Now, if I had thought about it more, I'd have done one a little closer to home, but this one must have struck my curiosity because I signed up for it. This race took place in VA, Lake Monticello. It was between home and family, so I didn't think it would be all that bad. I had to drive up the day before to check in, pick up my packet, and attend the pre-race briefing. After that, I drove up to stay with some family for the night in northern VA. I had to get up kind of early race morning to drive back down to Lake Monticello.

There isn't a whole lot about the swim or bike sections that I remember, other than it was sunny and I made sure I put on sunscreen. It was also wetsuit legal, so I know I had to strip out of that in transition, so I likely had my kit on underneath. I do remember the run, however. It sucked! It had a lot of "rolling" hills and it was hot. I remember trying to take water at every aid station, and that each time I did I felt worse than before. Looking back, I realize that I was not taking in any salt or electrolytes with the water, so I was over hydrating. I felt like crap by the end, and had a really shitty run split, like 1:05 for a 10K. There was food and drink at the finish, and I remember feeling sick and not being able to eat or drink anything for a good 15-20 min. I did force myself to eat some pizza and oreos, which by the time I finished ended up being a good thing and I started to feel better.

Lessons learned: It was after this race that I really got to thinking about my salt intake (or lack thereof) and decided then and there that I was going to meet with a nutritionist. I also learned that I didn't want to have to drive that far again on race morning or the day before. I don't have cruise control, so it really did a number on my legs, which I'm sure didn't help on race day.

From a results standpoint, I'm happy with how I did overall, and my swim and bike were really good. But that run, I finished 4th in my AG by 3 min. You can see below all the other stats. At least I have a starting point, and something to try to improve on at the Nickel City Tri in July! 

Below are my race results, data, and pictures.

 Results:

Data:

 Pictures: