Pre-Race Goals

Bad Squirrel!

Well I often neglect writing my goals down prior to a race, so since I have a free second or two, I will put them on paper (...err, internet) so I can look back and see if I was close or not. Let's start with the swim, and no, that isn't my squirrel or bike.

Swim: The swim leg will be a 500 meter OWS in Gull Lake with a temp of 73*F (per the RD and as of last week), so my plan is to have the wetsuit handy, but more than likely going to go without it, given my prior wetsuit swim fail at White Lake. I am going to set my goal at 12:30, mainly since I haven't swam since my last tri (see previous posts) and I dread OWS (but I'm willing to work on them!) So anything less will be a victory, anything over will mean more work in the pool / lakes.

T1: My T1s have been a mess, so I am going to tweak the freak out of my system, and try the flying mount with the shoes rubber-banded to the bike, and no socks. This should cut my time by about 33% to around 1:00, since I am giving too much time away in T1. But this is all dependant on how big the transition is, and if there is rough ground between me and the mount line, so we shall see.

Bike: I am going to hammer the hell out of the bike this time, since it is only 10 miles and slightly rolling. I am looking for a sub 30:00 on this and a top 20 bike split, especially if I am riding the QR. I still haven't talked to the wife about taking both bikes home, but we shall see. I know I am capable of pulling a 23 mph average, but will be happy anywhere above 22 mph.

T2: Again, I am going to cut this down some, going with no socks (hope this works!) and get in and get out in less than 1:00 (again size dependant).

Run: I know I am not going to set the world on fire, so I am gunning for a sub 23:00, and really hoping for a 21, but beggars can't be choosers on the run. But I really want a good showing back at Gull Lake, where it all started for me.

Overall: I'd like to podium, but I know that might be out of reach with all my issues, so a top 10 in my AG will be awesome and top 40 overall. It is just a bummer, but the 6 months of hard work came undone by injury, it just hurts (no pun intended) to not be on my A game each race. But I am old, and I recognize that.

Well, I guess only time will tell if I reach my goals this weekend, but I have a funny feeling that I might just do pretty well, since I am home and there are things to say about that. So we shall see! Wish me luck folks!