I have no illusions that I will even manage to get round this race in any sort of competitive way. I have only entered in order to see if I can get in a pack during a Draft-Legal race and how different that is. My legs are also likely to be in a poor state after Saturday's race.
In terms of World Champs Qualifying, I am not even registered on the eligibility list for this one. The World Age-Groups in Cozumel this year are too soon after my wedding and I have been told that if I want to take my bike on a Mexican honeymoon, I am going on my own.
Pre Race
Another early start but the extra 20 minutes later meant I could get a proper breakfast this time and check out of the hotel before heading to the course. I actually arrived at the course and it was still empty. It wasn't until I was registered and racked my bike that I realised how much smaller the field was for the Sunday event compared to Saturday.
Swim
The swim was tough. I went out harder than yesterday, aiming to get higher in the pack and have a group to ride with. Within the first 30 strokes I realised that it was going to be a hard day. I was already suffering from Saturday's race effort. I couldn't find swimmers to work with either. About half way round the lap I was passing people easily. This seems like a good thing but it actually means that somehow I have ended up back with the slower swimmers. It was only when I got out of the water and checked the watch that I realised I was nearly 40 seconds down on Saturday despite the extra effort. And there were very few bodies around me.
T1
I was struggling to get through T1. The long run from the pontoon to the timing mats seemed much thougher than Saturday and the mats through the transition area had been taken away and I had been put in a really rough gravelly area. That led to me shuffling almost to a walking pace through transition. I got out of my wetsuit and put my helmet on and shuffled off towards the exit but somehow it took twice the time of Saturday.
Bike
I nearly did a stop and mount until I heard someone shout for me and embarrassment took over and I put some effort in. I managed to get into my shoes neatly and started pedalling up the hill. No-one in sight in front, and on the first little climb two racers shot past but there was no way I was getting on to a group with them.
On the way out on lap 1 on the bike I just couldn't get any sort of pace going. My legs were just empty. Before the halfway turn a couple of other riders passed me, easily, and I couldn't get near to them to draft. As I turned and headed back towards the start I could see the lead riders starting to form into groups and they were making huge headway on lapping me.
My targets for this race were to swim fast, get in a group to ride with and have fun and none of those were happening.
Before the lap turned back in to the finish area I decided I was done for the day. I only kept pedalling down the hill to try and make sure I wasn't too much of an obstacle when the fast group caught up. Once into the arena, I pulled over and dismounted.
A few officials did rush to my aid and I had to explain several times that I wasn't injured, just exhausted.
Post Race
My race on Saturday means I had a good weekend despite Sunday's DNF.
I would still like to see what a draft-legal race is like, but it would have to be one at a relevant race level (these guys weren't relevant for me), a big enough field to guarantee some grouping (this one was a bit too small, Saturday's size of field would have worked much better) and when I am not completely knackered.
However, for now, I am back to the opinion that draft-legal is not 'real' triathlon. It is much too biased towards strong swimmers who can do short bursts of effort on the bike.
Swim
The swim was tough. I went out harder than yesterday, aiming to get higher in the pack and have a group to ride with. Within the first 30 strokes I realised that it was going to be a hard day. I was already suffering from Saturday's race effort. I couldn't find swimmers to work with either. About half way round the lap I was passing people easily. This seems like a good thing but it actually means that somehow I have ended up back with the slower swimmers. It was only when I got out of the water and checked the watch that I realised I was nearly 40 seconds down on Saturday despite the extra effort. And there were very few bodies around me.
T1
I was struggling to get through T1. The long run from the pontoon to the timing mats seemed much thougher than Saturday and the mats through the transition area had been taken away and I had been put in a really rough gravelly area. That led to me shuffling almost to a walking pace through transition. I got out of my wetsuit and put my helmet on and shuffled off towards the exit but somehow it took twice the time of Saturday.
Bike
I nearly did a stop and mount until I heard someone shout for me and embarrassment took over and I put some effort in. I managed to get into my shoes neatly and started pedalling up the hill. No-one in sight in front, and on the first little climb two racers shot past but there was no way I was getting on to a group with them.
On the way out on lap 1 on the bike I just couldn't get any sort of pace going. My legs were just empty. Before the halfway turn a couple of other riders passed me, easily, and I couldn't get near to them to draft. As I turned and headed back towards the start I could see the lead riders starting to form into groups and they were making huge headway on lapping me.
My targets for this race were to swim fast, get in a group to ride with and have fun and none of those were happening.
Before the lap turned back in to the finish area I decided I was done for the day. I only kept pedalling down the hill to try and make sure I wasn't too much of an obstacle when the fast group caught up. Once into the arena, I pulled over and dismounted.
A few officials did rush to my aid and I had to explain several times that I wasn't injured, just exhausted.
Post Race
My race on Saturday means I had a good weekend despite Sunday's DNF.
I would still like to see what a draft-legal race is like, but it would have to be one at a relevant race level (these guys weren't relevant for me), a big enough field to guarantee some grouping (this one was a bit too small, Saturday's size of field would have worked much better) and when I am not completely knackered.
However, for now, I am back to the opinion that draft-legal is not 'real' triathlon. It is much too biased towards strong swimmers who can do short bursts of effort on the bike.
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