Background
I signed up for the Coeur d'Alene Olympic distance triathlon this season for three reasons. 1. I was on holidays in North Idaho. 2. I wanted to do an Olympic distance race this season to see where my fitness was at compared to similar distance races in earlier seasons. 3. This one was 2 weeks after my A race 70.3 so it kinda just fit.
The recon I had read was essentially there is a big climb and a big descent. Lots of hills in my neck of the woods, so the climbing didn't scare me off too much. I had done some descending on my aerobars before the race trying to practice getting up to speed and while I had not crashed had certainly experienced some "Crap I think I might crash and that will hurt at this speed moments." Figured I would just brake and slow down and I'd be fine. (Yes I'm foreshadowing here) I didn't actually go out and drive the course first.
Swim - 29:03 Probably would have liked something more in the 26-28 minute range (swam a 33 minute 1900 m swim at my 70.3) but it was a bit choppy in the water too. I could live with it.
T1 - 1:36, not too long a run up pretty smooth. I could live with it
Bike - 1:18:18 - I took off feeling good and was riding in my power zone. There was good spacing on the bike amongst riders. Hit the big climb. Some guys I had passed came past me and some stronger bikers, but I was still feeling good and on pace. Then I got to what I thought was the top of the climb and we started to descend, but then the road turned and we went back up, and then down and turned and up and ...holy smokes this is no longer fun. I was having a really tough time feeling comfortable going down hill into the turns and keeping pace. Racers behind me were clearly taking it out of me on the descents.
Finally on one hill, around the 25 km mark, I was watching the guy in front of me descend on his aero bars around a curve. Thinking "If he can do it I can" I manned up and tried to hang on. Half way down thought - "Expletive - I'm not gonna make this turn!" Sat up and reached for the brakes, rear tire skidded. Not wanting to do a complete endo, I straightened up best I could, aimed at the ditch and then laid down for the skid into the ditch. Smacked my head (yay helmets!) lost some skin on my elbow, back, butt and knee. Otherwise, felt ok if a bit shaken. A few riders asked if I was ok, gave them the thumbs up. Checked out my bike and it was still functional. Got on and rode a bit. Noticed my front brake rubbing. Stopped to fix that. Carried on to finish the ride, just a little more sore than I hoped. Lost my water bottle in my crash, so a little thirsty too.
Here is a map of what happened, kind of.
T2 - 0:57 - Came into T2 with a bloody mess of an arm and leg and a hole in my tri shorts. Wife and mom saw me and looked worried. Said "Asphalt is hard!" then flashed a thumbs up and away I went.
Run - 46:01. The course is pretty much a pancake flat out and back. I felt ok but not great. I think I might have been able to go sub-45 without the crash - maybe. My best open-10k time is only 43:30 a year earlier so its hard to say. I was happy with the effort in any event.
Total: 2:35:55. Still my best time at a legit race at this distance by over 8 minutes. (I did one that was notionally called an "Olympic" the year prior in 2:05 but that course was "Olympic" in name only. Bike and run were both short. Given the wipe out I was happy with it but really would have liked to have seen what I might have done without the spill and even without whimpering like a scared kitten on every downhill turn.
If anyone has tips on how to practice descending without falling that would be cool.
I signed up for the Coeur d'Alene Olympic distance triathlon this season for three reasons. 1. I was on holidays in North Idaho. 2. I wanted to do an Olympic distance race this season to see where my fitness was at compared to similar distance races in earlier seasons. 3. This one was 2 weeks after my A race 70.3 so it kinda just fit.
The recon I had read was essentially there is a big climb and a big descent. Lots of hills in my neck of the woods, so the climbing didn't scare me off too much. I had done some descending on my aerobars before the race trying to practice getting up to speed and while I had not crashed had certainly experienced some "Crap I think I might crash and that will hurt at this speed moments." Figured I would just brake and slow down and I'd be fine. (Yes I'm foreshadowing here) I didn't actually go out and drive the course first.
Swim - 29:03 Probably would have liked something more in the 26-28 minute range (swam a 33 minute 1900 m swim at my 70.3) but it was a bit choppy in the water too. I could live with it.
T1 - 1:36, not too long a run up pretty smooth. I could live with it
Bike - 1:18:18 - I took off feeling good and was riding in my power zone. There was good spacing on the bike amongst riders. Hit the big climb. Some guys I had passed came past me and some stronger bikers, but I was still feeling good and on pace. Then I got to what I thought was the top of the climb and we started to descend, but then the road turned and we went back up, and then down and turned and up and ...holy smokes this is no longer fun. I was having a really tough time feeling comfortable going down hill into the turns and keeping pace. Racers behind me were clearly taking it out of me on the descents.
Finally on one hill, around the 25 km mark, I was watching the guy in front of me descend on his aero bars around a curve. Thinking "If he can do it I can" I manned up and tried to hang on. Half way down thought - "Expletive - I'm not gonna make this turn!" Sat up and reached for the brakes, rear tire skidded. Not wanting to do a complete endo, I straightened up best I could, aimed at the ditch and then laid down for the skid into the ditch. Smacked my head (yay helmets!) lost some skin on my elbow, back, butt and knee. Otherwise, felt ok if a bit shaken. A few riders asked if I was ok, gave them the thumbs up. Checked out my bike and it was still functional. Got on and rode a bit. Noticed my front brake rubbing. Stopped to fix that. Carried on to finish the ride, just a little more sore than I hoped. Lost my water bottle in my crash, so a little thirsty too.
Here is a map of what happened, kind of.
T2 - 0:57 - Came into T2 with a bloody mess of an arm and leg and a hole in my tri shorts. Wife and mom saw me and looked worried. Said "Asphalt is hard!" then flashed a thumbs up and away I went.
Run - 46:01. The course is pretty much a pancake flat out and back. I felt ok but not great. I think I might have been able to go sub-45 without the crash - maybe. My best open-10k time is only 43:30 a year earlier so its hard to say. I was happy with the effort in any event.
Total: 2:35:55. Still my best time at a legit race at this distance by over 8 minutes. (I did one that was notionally called an "Olympic" the year prior in 2:05 but that course was "Olympic" in name only. Bike and run were both short. Given the wipe out I was happy with it but really would have liked to have seen what I might have done without the spill and even without whimpering like a scared kitten on every downhill turn.
If anyone has tips on how to practice descending without falling that would be cool.
Last edited by:
OkotoksLawyer: Aug 28, 14 13:45