Dilloman Race Report. Today was the 2006 Dilloman Sprint Triathlon put on by the Austin Triathletes. No pictures available to post for this entry, but I'll get some up in later posts when they become available. Here's my race report:

Short Version (the numbers):

Overall: 12th/458
Age Group: 2nd/42
Swim: 16:02.0
T1: 3:54.9
Bike: 34:29.3
T2: 0:48.0
Run: 23:49.2
Total: 1:19:03.4

Click here for the Official Results (Overall)

Long Version:

The Day Begins:

Surprisingly, I woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm was set to go off, which was 4:30 AM. I wouldn't have set it quite so early, but I learned from last year's Dilloman that an early arrival at Pace Bend would be essential to a good race. Last year, I got there at 6:45 and had a really bad rack position for the bike. Today, I made it by 5:30, just when the park opened, and managed to get an inside position on the second rack closest to the bike out. Very good spot for me.

Not much in the way of pre-race nutrition. Lisa toasted an Ego waffle with peanut butter for me, and I had a little carton of orange juice, but that was it. The only thing I hate about getting to races that early is sitting around transition forever waiting for the darn thing to start. If finally started, but probably about 15 minutes late.

The Swim:

I was in the second wave consisting of men ages 35-39 and 40-44. Except for the fact that the water was very low, the swim was not too bad. I'm a bit surprised by the 2:00 per 100m pace I had because I felt like I was swimming faster than that. There's no getting around the fact that I need to get my butt back in the pool and work on the swimming. I should be able to consistently swim at least 1:40 per 100m. I'm just not working hard enough at it. Surprisingly, however, I came out of the water in first place in my age group.

T1:

This was pretty bad for me -- and really for everyone. The low lake level made it so that we had a long hike -- about 450-500 meters from the swim exit to the transition area. This was over rocky terrain, so it was a mandatory shoe run. It took some time to get my sandy feet into my running shoes and then get my butt from the beach to the transition area. Then, I had a bit of trouble getting my tri top on again. I need to just wear a tri suit or go shirtless. Cost myself about 20 seconds fumbling with the shirt. Also, I had forgotten that the run from the bike-out up to the bike mount line was a rocky, gravely road. That's not fun to do barefoot with you shoes already on the bike! Anyway, I got out of T1 in second place in my age group, though I didn't know it at the time.

Bike:

This is still my favorite part of every triathlon. I just feel at home on the bike! The Guru was freshly lubed and tuned up by David at Jack and Adam's Triathlon Shop. She was running very smoothe, I must say. I got into my shoes pretty easily, and from there, I was passing people left and right. One guy did pass me, but he was from the swim wave ahead of me, and I'd passed him on the swim, so I didn't mind so much.

The two-loop course was pretty hilly. I remember that from last year. At least this year it wasn't pouring down rain! My bike split was a lot better than last year's. I averaged 21.6 mph, more than 3.5 mph faster than last year. I really felt like I was flying for most of the ride. I could tell that I wasn't as fast as some of the flatter rides I've done, though. That Guru just takes alot out of my legs even on short climbs. I really need to find a way to climb more comfortably.

Anyway, the second loop was pretty crowded with all the folks coming in off the swim. I had a couple of close calls and an occasional slow-down because of slower riders, but all-in-all, not too bad. I hit the dismount line in about 35 minutes and proceeded back down the rocky trail to the bike-in.

T2:

I'm proud of this time. Less than 50 seconds in T2. Just dropped off the bike, dropped my helmet, slipped into the running shoes, and I was off! Sure missed my visor, but at least I had my sunglasses on!

Run:

The run was a trail run. Not my favorite. However, I still ran pretty well. It was a bit demoralizing when I'd gone about 400 meters into the run to look up and see the overall winner, Brandon Marsh, heading back in for his final 400 meters. Here I was just getting started on the run and he's in the home stretch! Oh well . . . that's why he's a professional!

I ran pretty well. No back problems this time, but I couldn't get my heart rate to drop. I was up over 170 bpm for most of the run, and I'd rather have been down near 160. It didn't seem to matter too much, though. I still managed a sub-7:30 min. per mile average. This is GOOD for me. Much better than my 10:00 min. per mile average last year.

So overall, I finished in 1 hour, 19 minutes and 3.4 seconds. Good enough for 12th place overall, by far my best finish at an Austin race, and second only to my 11th place overall finish in Orlando earlier this year at a MUCH smaller race. I was pleased with the overall time and finish. My goal was 1:20:00.0 and I beat it by almost 57 seconds!

Here's my comparison of this year's Dilloman with last year's:

2005/2006

Swim: 14:39.2/16:02.0
T1: 2:56.0/3:54.9
Bike: 41:21.6/34:29.3
T2: 1:16.4/0:48.0
Run: 30:08.6/23:49.2
Overall: 1:32:22.0/1:19:03.4

My goal was to hit 1:20:00.0, and I beat that, so I'm pretty happy! All-in-all, it was a good day. Plus, the podium award for second place in my age group was a stuffed armadillo with a blue handkerchief and a medal that said "2nd" on it. I'm pretty proud of it!