Pacific Grove Triathlon Report : Why do YOU race?

For the few days leading up to the Alcatraz tri, I'd been thinking to myself, "Well, I've been training for 8 weeks now, I've found myself in a pretty nice daily groove of work, get a workout in, finish up work, have fun on the weekend, maybe I want this to continue?" I took another look at the upcoming Tri schedule and found the Pac Grove tri was scheduled for Sep 10, 3 weeks after Alcatraz. Once it was clear that I couldn't join Cliff's bachelor party in Amsterdam for various reasons, I got serious about the race.

Also, it occurred to me that back when I rowed for Capital Crew, we'd have a series of races, maybe 5 or 6 in a season. I'd kind of missed that chance to peak for a race, race, recover, then prepare to race again. So far my endurance experience had been to train months for an event then just stop training after. I wanted to recapture that feeling of continuity. Also, I wanted to be at least sort of fast, dammit! The Wildflowers and Alcatraz were all hilly bike and run courses. Fun and satisfying, but not fast. So with registration still open, I grabbed a Pac Grove spot and I was set!

T0: I drive down to Monterey mid-afternoon on Friday. I run into some traffic on the 1, but still make the orientation meeting and packet pick-up. I run into Carl from spring TNT, then head to the orientation. I get the low down on the course: 2 laps of a "kelp crawl" swim in Lover's Point. 4 laps of the bike course out along Ocean Beach, then 3 laps of the run course towards the Aquarium. Quite scenic! I check into my hotel, find a restaurant to get my pasta share, and head back to my room for the night.

Unfortunately, work has been uber busy the past few days so I need to finish a few things as I catch the tail end of the Giants game. Bleh! I do manage to find time to set a few personal goals for the race, though:
- Break 3 hours. 2:55 would be even better.
- Run the entire run. Have yet to do this. But with the schedule having me run off the bike twice a week, finally think this is realistic.

So I break down the legs and set "sub-goals". Swim: 30 minutes. T1/T2 : 6.5 minutes total. Bike: ~18 mph for 1:23-1:25 ish. Run: 9 / 9:30 pace for 55-57 minutes. If things go well, just might break 3! I read a few chapters of "Band of Misfits" for inspiration from the improbable 2010 Giants, then try to sleep.

I wake up, head to Pac Grove, and set up transition. I run into Coach Drew who says, "Matt, you haven't had enough tris yet?" I then head to the beach at Lover's Point and warm up a bit in the ocean. Catch Ralph and Michelle who are supporting summer TNT participants. Line up, and "BOOP" it's 7:45am, and my race, the second wave, starts!

Swim: I seem to have positioned myself decently. The chaotic arm swinging and fighting for open water is present as usual, but no one's swimming over me. So, decent. Then we hit the kelp. MAN. This is the swimming equivalent of running in sand. I get stuck in the kelp and feel like I'm just wasting energy. Annoying! Hit the two turn buoys and head back to shore. I swim parallel to a guy from the 7:30 wave who's on his second lap for a few minutes. We try to negotiate him moving to the exit on the right side of the shore, and me moving to the lap anchor on the left. I finish lap one, hear the start of the 8:00 am wave, and head back out for lap two. The kelp CAN'T be as bad now, right? Right?

Hah, um no dude. Second lap is just as kelp-ey. Just as annoying. But I finish, jump out on the shore and make my way back up to transition. Think I catch the race clock and figure my swim was about 33-34 minutes. Bleh. I blame that kelp for 3 or 4 minutes! But feeling a LOT better physically than post Alcatraz swim (though feeling a lot less awesomeness... reaching shore was an incredible feeling at Alcatraz.) Shoes, nutrition, helmet, glasses, check. And off....

Bike: One of those good days on the bike. My bike feels smooth and stiff. I'm still trying to figure out why this happens some days, but I'm betting proper tire inflation / drive train lube are huge factors. The course is NICE and fast/flat. I get to big gear it the whole way except for a very mini climb towards the turnaround. I'm feeling good, and I tell myself, well as long as I'm faster than 18mph there's no need to push. Don't get me wrong, I'm still getting passed by the full aero-position/ tri-bike riders clocking around 22 mph, but I can live with that. The course is beautiful. And I'm energized by it being flat. First 3 laps fly by and I hear encouragement from Coach Camilo, Michelle, and Drew. As I head out to the final lap I hear "Matt Peeeerson". The announcer got me name right! I tell myself, okay, take some nutrition and water in, keep above 18 mph, and drop to a lower gear to spin 1/2 a mile before the run. I ALMOST miss dismount line and have to screech my breaks, but I head back to transition. Quick check of race clock and I realize it's been about 2 hours.... so 3 is within reach! Who the hell knows how the run will feel though. I've NEVER split 10:00 miles in a tri leg.

Run: This part of the course is also beautiful. Not sure how I'm going to like running out and back laps, but at least I can break the run into 6ths this way. First mile feels good, and I hit the turnaround near the Aquarium. I check my watch and I'm hitting about 8:30 miles.... and it feels good! I think, "sweet", and I head back to Pac Grove. Then we get detoured up a mini hill, so the way back is longer. Arrrggh... but not THAT bad. I turnaround AGAIN and head back to the Aquarium. Still hitting about 8:30 ish, so I tell myself, well if I feel good and I'm sub 9, no need to push and I'll try to set myself up for a solid last mile. This feeling continues, and before I know it I'm trying to hold on to the pace for the last mile or so. I see the finish chute, do a quick Jersey Shore-esque "fist pump", and I'm done. I check the clock and see about 10:40 am. Looks like 3 hours AND 2:55 hours were broken, AND I ran the whole run, SWWEEEEET!

T3: Tired, spent, but not 1/2 as bad as post-Alcatraz. I chill a bit in the finish area and get some sugar and water back in me. I actually see an old Capital Crew teammate, Adam Zastrow. I'm pretty proud that I'd broken my 2:55 goal, but then I check out his time. 2:15.... good enough for 2nd place in M30-34! Dayamn. Turns out we'd even started in the same wave (it's impossible to recognize someone you haven't seen for 13 years in a wetsuit and double swim caps though.) Been having a fun day, so think, hell, I'll just chill, talk to Michelle a bit, and watch the pro waves. Fun!

Towards the end of the morning I chat with another racer. I ask how his day went, and he says he got 6th place in his age group. I'm flabbergasted, and I exclaim, "wow." He says, "What do you mean 'wow'. That's f---ing terrible." I ask him if he's disappointed because he wanted to podium, and he says, "Yeah, why do YOU race, for 'fun'?" For the focus and relief from stress it gives me. For the feeling of climbing ashore after a challenging swim, speeding downhill on my bike, then stumbling across the finish line. For the camaraderie with fellow athletes. For the friendships forged through seasons of TNT. For a sense of purpose and something greater than just my times and personal goals. But this guy is a pro, it's a different world to him, so I muster up a "Yeah." He's mocking me, but my "yeah" is sincere. And that will have to suffice. Plus Adam Zastrow kicked his butt.

So, why do YOU race?