After aquathon #3 was delayed twice due to blue-green algae blooms, aquathon #4 was upon us. My legs are tired from marathon training. The hamstrings are tight, my calf is on the verge of cramping, and my shins are a touch on the sore side. I notice Mark Harms, local triathlete extraordinaire, and instantly everyone's gunning for second. "At least I can draft off him (in the swim)," I say to myself.
SWIM
Right off the bat, and I'm behind. After a few lunges and it's me & Mark. Then it's just me. Then it's Mark & me again. Then just me. Mark was all over the place, hardly keeping a straight line. Oh well. I'll just swim by myself. I concentrate on my stroke as I tend to drop my head. Long strokes...breathe right once in a while...keep the head up...sight for the buoy..."Why isn't it getting closer?"...long strokes...so on and so forth. The wind carried the second buoy off course to make the course a touch long, and I notice (with my picked up head) the bubbles in front of me. I surge a bit to latch on Mark's wake and actually catch a draft to the turn. Then, he's gone. Way to the right. Sigh. I make my way to the transition and let some thoughts creep into my head that perhaps I'm in front? Nope. Mark comes in from the right and nips me by a few seconds.
RUN
Mark is out of transition first and I'm not too far behind. And then he's gone again. Not to the right, but right off the front. After the first turn, I couldn't see him. I commented to the volunteer at the turn, "Man, he's fast!" And she replied that he beat her to her spot. I was induced by his speed and went out too fast. At the first mile, it felt like I should be at the 2.5 mile mark. I blame the marathon training, but not necessarily unhappy with it. I laid back for the next mile, and then tried to build up the final mile. Coming down the final hill into finishing stretch, two guys pass me, but encourage me to finish with them. I pick it up, so do they. I hold my pace, they pull ahead. I finish just behind, collapsing to my knees on the timing mats.
Overall, not too bad given the lack of non-running training and crazy life this summer.Everyone concluded that the swim course was long. It was about a minute longer for me, so I was right at a PR if you take a minute off. I've got two more months before the marathon and hopefully can get all the house projects done by then.