Bad Hair Day - Lake Havasu Results

Len Joy & Tom Vecchi after the race

 

Despite a 20 mile per hour headwind on the first twelve miles of the bike course, I was able to beat Victor Hernandez (the only guy in my age group) by 6 minutes on the run segment of the Lake Havasu Triathlon.  Unfortunately Victor didn’t seem to be bothered by the wind on the bike segment and he beat by eleven minutes on that segment.

 

So I finished second in my age-group (or last if you wanted to be negative about it) and so I didn’t qualify for the USAT Nationals. But I have two more shots at qualifying. I had a good race, exceeded my expectations on the swim and the run, but the wind was fierce on the bike course. I averaged 12 mph on the first half and 25 mph on the return, but the other guy was faster.

Here are the results:

Year	Total	Swim	/ 100	T1	Bike	MPH	T2	Run	Min/Mile
2010	2:51:46	27:28	n/a	3:30	1:23:41	17.9	2:00	55:07	8:49
2011	2:54:35	30:39	1:52	2:44	1:24:34	17.9	2:32	54:04	8:39
GOAL	2:50:34	32:48	2:00	2:45	1:21:00	18.5	2:45	51:16	8:15
2012	2:56:13	29:40	1:48	3:25	1:30:53	16.5	1:59	50:13	8:05

Next Race:  Wisconsin Half-Marathon - May 4, 2013

The End

 

Lake Havasu Triathlon - Saturday, March 23

The first race of my 2013 season will be in Lake Havasu, Arizona next Saturday.  This is a popular spring break destination and it would be great if some these hardworking college students would come out to watch me race, but even the older guys usually finish before 11 AM so I am not expecting any roadside encouragement.

My goal this race season is to qualify for the USAT National Championship that will be held in Wisconsin in August.  I can qualify by finishing first in my age group at Lake Havasu. I did that two years ago, but there was only one other guy racing in my age category. 

I am training at Precision Multisport under the direction of Heather Collins. My preparation for this racing season has focused on improving my technique and form in all segments of the race.

Swimming – I can now breathe on both sides and I’ve worked on maintaining a better body position in the water.  Kick is still not very effective, but maybe a little better;  I haven’t seen big improvements in speed, but I’m definitely more efficient.

Biking – more aware of my pedal stroke and maintaining power through the entire stroke. Had lots of indoor training on the computrainer and I feel like my legs are in good shape for Havasu.

Running – Heather has helped me to totally revamp my running style. I’ve shortened my stride and I’m now striking on the balls of my feet instead of on my heel. It’s been a challenge but now I feel very comfortable. 

Weight – my weight has crept up over the years. When I was in my 30s I weighed 175.  Last year after a ton of Ironman training I weighed 188.  This fall and winter my weight was consistenly over 190.  So I decided to lose weight. I used the My Fitness Pal website to log my meals and exercise and today I weigh 178.  I don’t feel any significant difference, but I’m hopeful that being lighter will help me on the run. 

Below is my goal for the race.  Heather has harangued (I mean counseled) me about making goals that reflect my training results. She doesn’t seem to think I can magically do better on race day. So I will try to be more conservative in my predictions and maybe I will actually achieve the goal time. 

Year	Total	Swim	/ 100	T1	Bike	MPH	T2	Run	Min/Mile
2010	2:51:46	27:28:00	n/a	3:30	1:23:41	17.93	2:00	55:07:00	8:49
2011	2:54:35	30:39:00	1:52	2:44	1:24:34	17.9	2:32	54:04:00	8:39
GOAL	2:50:34	32:48:00	2:00	2:45	1:21:00	18.5	2:45	51:16:00	8:15