June 26 -- KIC IT Olympic Triathlon

After training all Spring for the Century ride at Lake Tahoe, I decided at the last minute to tackle the KIC IT Triathlon in Stamford, CT. I tend to be an over-planner, but there was very little time to plan for this, and I don't think my time suffered much. I got to sleep at my brother's house in Norwalk at midnight on Saturday, and woke up at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday for the race.
The water was COLD: the USAT official measured it at 61 degrees. That is literally take-your-breath-away cold. But I have enough experience now, to get into the water & warm up, and after the first twenty warm-up strokes, I could at least breath out in the water. As it turned out, the swim was, for me, really good: just exactly 30 minutes for .9 miles (1500 meters). I had a decent transition (I got my long sleeve wetsuit off in record time for me), and got on the bike, my favorite third of any tri.
It totally sucked. At mile one I had a rear wheel pinch flat after hitting a pothole when forced left by another rider. My CO2 inflator failed, twice, and I had no pump. By the time another participant stopped to lend me a hand-pump (THANK YOU, whoever you were -- not too many people would do that), I had lost 20 minutes, and worse, lost my warm muscles.
The bike course was pretty challenging, with a 12% grade at one point, and quite a few hills. My cyclometer tells me it took me 1:33 for 26 miles (excluding the flat). That's 18.2 mph, very slow for me.
The run, as always, was a pain. I just don't like running very much. But I did under 10 minute miles for 6.2 (10K), a decent pace. I finished the triathlon in about 3:11 (official results are not posted due to a "computer glitch".
I certainly learned a few things (get a new pump!), and as this was only my 3rd Olympic distance Tri, I have more to learn, especially about hydration and eating. At least I did not "bonk". And without the flat, I would have had about a 2:50 Olympic, which I would always accept.
This season is designed to build to New York City Triathlon on July 27.