That's the Brakes

I did the Huntington's Disease Sprint Triathlon this weekend at the Miami Marine Stadium. This is my favorite venue for triathlons in South Florida due to its protected bay swim and its tree shaded partial trail run. I hadn't done an event there yet this year. In fact, other than the the Florida 70.3 in mid-May, I hadn't participated in any athletic event this summer. It was time to get back into action.

Knowing I hadn't focused on swimming recently, I knew I had to get back in the pool. I tried to get together earlier in the week with a training buddy, but we couldn't coordinate a workout until Thursday. I spent a total of 30 minutes doing laps that morning. On Friday, my back was a little sore from the swim, which told me I wasn't in ideal swim shape. While I chastised myself for ignoring the pool, I figured it was better than going into Sunday morning's swim cold.

Sunday morning, I pick up my friend Jerry and we head down to Miami. We pick up our numbers, set up in transition and await the start. The Olympic athletes go off first, then those of us in the sprint waves. Buddy Tony Whittaker is also in my wave. I start the swim and try my best to find my own space. I'm that comfortable with my breathing, but tell myself to simply focus on my technique. As I make the turn around the last buoy to had back to shore, I notice Tony off to my side. Either my form is not as bad as I feared, or we are both off of our game.

As I ride my bike, I don't seem to be able to maintain a decent average speed. I seem slower than usual, but keep plugging away. As I come back to transition I think that I must be off my game due to lack of longer rides.

On the run, I start to feel better about myself. I seem to be picking up speed as the run went on. I see my friends Jerry and Tony well ahead of me on the run and know that there is no catching up with them. Both Tony & Jerry had been riding long and hard over the summer months. I figured they killed me on the bike. After crossing the finish line, we find out that Jerry took an age group award. Another friend Helen placed first in her age group in the Olympic. Thus, we stick around for the awards in the hot sun.

After packing up and driving back home, I start to unpack my bike and gear from my SUV. As I check out my bike, I note that the front break is rubbing on the carbon fiber hub. Aha! So that's the culprit. Either that or I need to get back to a spin class.