June 2019
After a year absence due to low attendance and organizational restructuring, the Buffalo Triathon returned this year. It was great to see so many familiar faces in attendance!
The water was cool. The late spring did not make for much open water time this season. After a swim at home a few days before, I decided it wasn't as bad as I had thought and it would be okay on a sleeveless wetsuit, my preferred suit. When it came turn for my heat, I positioned myself on the front line and in an aggressive position. They had reversed the swim course this year so it was a clockwise rotation with a straight out start. At the gun, I dove in and started swimming. Through the first couple buoys, I was struggling. My mind wasn't in the game. The cold water sucked! I pushed through. I quickly found my groove! I rapidly found that those around me were dropping from my view. Soon, I felt someone on my toes and realized I was into the previous wave. Just after the first turn, I recognized my friend Kelsae swimming next to me. As I pulled alongside her I took a second to tap her on the shoulders, something I regretted not doing a few years ago when I saw her on the IMWI swim. It added a little laugh in the middle of the race. The remainder of the swim I continued to dodge and weave swimmers while also attempting to shed my follower in the process (or at least really make him work to stay with me). The exit was a little different with the change in direction. It was a little more difficult to sight. I came out of the water with two guys on my heels. (more on the swim later)
In the run to transition, the first guy was obviously much younger (therefore an earlier wave). The second and I exchanged congrats on a great swim and headed to our bikes. I had the 15th fastest T1. Considering the field, I'll take it!
The bike course was changed to a two loop course this year. This eliminated a dangerous intersection where the Olympic course rejoined the Sprint course. It felt like more hills, but I really liked this change in course. This was my first race on my Quintana Roo PR5, so there was some adjustment going on. First and foremost, I was racing without power.
T2 was fast an efficient. I held my goal of 60 seconds.
The run was a battle for me. This is a fairly hilly run for a tri. I did very well for the first half, but after the turn, it became the mental game to stay in the fight. It was not my best 10k, but I pushed to the finish.
After the race, I received a message from Ben (the guy who pushed me on the swim). He thanked me for the swim and asked if I had seen the results. He had taken 2nd in the AG for which he credited the swim. He was pointing to the fact that we were over 95 seconds ahead of the next guy out of the water (Courtney, the women's AG fastest swimmer and winner, was about 20 seconds behind us). He thanked me for pushing him to swim fast. At the same time, I had to thank him for not letting me back off! Even though I thought my swim was aweful off the start, it ended up being a great in the end!
