Cape Girardeau Steamboat Classic 2010

Triathlon season is finally here!  Last Sunday I did the Cape Girardeau Steamboat Classic Triathlon, which consisted of a 450 meter pool swim, 15.5 mile bike and a 5 mile run.  Naturally, all of these events ended with me being wet.

Storms blew through the St. Louis area late Saturday night and I had hoped that all would be clear by 9 AM on Sunday morning.  We left home at 6 and headed south to Cape.  I could see clearing off in the distance and by the time we were setting up transition, the sun was shinning.  Sweet!  Well, that didn’t last long.  Fortunately, it was a drizzle, but as soon as we got out of the pool the rain had started again.  This wasn’t my first rodeo.  (here, here, and here) Weather conditions:  58 degrees and rain.

The swim was a serpentine 450 meter swim in a 50 meter pool.  The pool that I typically swim at is a small 25 yard pool.  FYI – 50 meters is a long way.  This pool also had a serious deep end and I could feel the difference at that end of the pool.  I started off fine and flew down the first 50 meters.  Made it back for the first lap, but then started to tire quickly.  I 1) didn’t warm up and 2) started out way to fast.  I had to mix in some breaststrokes just to get through the swim.  I wasn’t pleased with my performance here and have some work to do before my Olympic distance open water swim in a few weeks.  Swim time:  10:03:50.

After a short barefoot jog to the transition area, a failed BG test or two, I was off on the bike.  Transition 1 time:  2:43:60.  Just awful.

The bike course was tough and despite the elevation chart, the biggest and most challenging hills were after mile 11.  I hit the bike hard and had a good ride.  I’m really enjoying cycling and see much more of it in my future.  Bike time:  49:13:65.  Very happy with this time.

Back at the transition area, I did a little bit better job getting out on the run.  I waited to test out on the course, so that saved me some time.  T2 time:  1:22:30.  Not good, but better… for me.

Now here’s where I got frustrated.  I was unable to test my BG during the run.  My OneTouch Ultra Mini that I normally love was returning nothing but Error 2’s.  I’m fairly certain that these errors were caused by the damp conditions, but neither my meter or the test strips got wet.  I guarantee it.  I kept the meter and the strips in a ziploc bag.  They never came out.  I have had this happen during the humid summer months and would have to remove and re-insert the strip a few times to get it to work.  I tried a number of times during the run, but it never worked on this day.

Dear OneTouch,

This is UNACCEPTABLE.

Seriously.

I had to rely on past experience and go with how I felt, which is often quite difficult.  At times when running, a high is tough to distinguish from a low.  Going into the swim I was at 170.  Given nerves, a quick high intensity swim, and being off the pump for about 30 minutes, I was 177 before the bike.  I drink a G2 on the bike, so factoring this all in, I placed myself a little high.  So, I no GUs for me on the run and I would just take water at the aid stations.  I started off the run a little sluggish, but feeling pretty good and by the end of the 5 miles I felt great.  I didn’t push it at all.  Just kept a good pace.  Run time:  42:48:50.

Finish time:  1:46:11

Finish BG:  89  <–I was right.

Despite the conditions and my failed meter, I had a great race and a really good day.  Hats off the the race organizers.  Great job and the post-race meal was perfect!

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