Tri for Real

Race Report by Marc Trucano:

     This race was first time for me at this location.  This is a nice venue.  I decided that I was going to go almost all out in the swim and bike and push the run to either win or finish last.   I can in about 4 minutes behind the real swimmers from what I could tell but caught my age group leader by the end of the bike leg.  I came in on the bike just behind the leader and we started the run at about a 7:40 minute mile.  I could see the leader of my age group about 1 block ahead of me but at about the 2 mile mark I did not have the leg strength in the rolling hills to keep his pace.  By the 3.5 or 4 mile mark, I had to stop and run, I had gotten very dehydrated and had stopped sweating and got the chills on my arms as the temps approached the upper 80s.  I walked and ran the last 2 miles and came in about 40 minutes behind my age group leader.  I failed to hydrate correctly on the bike due to pushing so hard.  I'm planning to do the next race in this series at the same location on July 13th so I will get another chance at it.  There were about 8 athletes from the Vacaville and Winters area there and 3 of us from VW.  I look forward to seeing their reports.

Thanks , -Marc

Race Report by JT Peebles:

Last Sunday I had a blast racing my first Tri of 2014. It was an Olympic distance Tri put on by Total Body Fitness. Their events are always fun and they put on many races throughout the season ranging in length and all abilities are welcome including kids! I raced the same "Tri for Real" course Rancho Seco Park, Herald, CA last year in July and hoped to do better this time. Charissa Odom offered to drive my wife, Becky, and I down because we all registered to race. Waking early and getting there was a breeze and picking a spot in transition was easy being that we arrived right before transition opened. Once my bike and gear were all squared away it was time to change into my Velo Wrench Tri Suit. I have a few one piece suits but none compare to the form fit of this one. It was perfect! They called for all men 34 and under to head to the water and I had just finished putting on my sleeveless wetsuit. I was hearing others talk about how they didn't think they were going to use a wetsuit because they thought the water was fine. I went and did a short warmup swim and figured I would leave it on for the extra buoyancy. Once we all lined up and the gun went off I wished I had just swam in my Tri Suit. I warmed up quickly and felt like I had to work too hard to get a deep breath. With my heart rate strap, a snug fitting tri suit, and a wetsuit I was constricted to say the least. I finished the 1500m swim in 25:34 and felt I swam as best I could. Even with my goggles fogging up I swam straighter than usual. That time earned me 13th overall in the swim. After I popped out of the water I decided to get out of the wetsuit just before hitting dry land. I feel it helped my transition time, because if you run all the way to your bike I find it difficult to get my legs out. Once out on the bike it was tough to catch my breath as I had worked so hard to breathe during the swim. I finally did, but then my legs felt dead. I know I kicked pretty hard during the swim but didn't expect the fatigue I was feeling. Maybe I ate too small a breakfast... Maybe I wasn't trained up as well as I needed to be. I pushed on and got passed by 3 people and made no passes. I felt a pretty strong headwind on the way out and was excited to turn around and ride the wind back in. I needed this to get my MPH average up. When I made the turn to my dismay I had a headwind again. Everyone was talking after the race about how it was just swirling out there and they had the same feeling. By the end of the bike I made an improvement of 22 seconds over lasts years bike time but felt it it took twice the effort. My time of 1:06:46 for 40k earned me 13th overall on the bike. Once I made the transition to the run I started feeling better. This is when I realized my base was built up in the run and the other disciplines needed work. The run is mostly off-road and has some fun hills to deal with. Mile 3-5 it's single track so it's hard to keep your pace up. I ended up really losing steam just past mile 5 as the day was heating up and I was ready to be finished. I willed my way forward and was glad to come to the finishing banner. I threw my hands up and pointed to the Lord thanking Him for seeing me through the day. I quickly made my way to the water station and started catching up on lost fluids. I poured some on my head. As soon as I was cool enough to eat I made a big plate and reloaded the body. I also looked at my run splits and saw.. Mile 1: 6:52, followed by 6:35, 6:18, 6:39, 6:42, 6:59 and the last .2 = 6:21 pace. My heart rate climbed the entire time because of the rising heat. I averaged 174 beats per minute and maxed out at 184. Ouch! I found out later my 41:29 10k was the 3rd fasted run of the day putting me 7th overall and 2nd in my age group. I then watched friends finish strong including my sweet bride. Becky broke 3 hours for the first time at this distance even though she wasn't able to train much. I was so proud! I can't wait to race again with everyone. Charissa Odom finished in 2:41, Marc Trucano finished in 2:45, and Becky made it in at 2:58!  -JT

Marc, JT & Charissa

Not bad for JT's first Tri of the year.



JT & his wife Becky

Shoes!!