Hey everyone, welcome to my blog. Here I will give race reports and updates on training. I will try to keep it as up to date as possible. You can also follow me on twitter @bauer_andrew for more frequent updates. Enjoy!
Triathlon is one of very few sports where an equipment problem can take you out of a race. I've been pretty lucky in my short career to have finished every race I've started....up until this past Sunday. Sunday was the San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz, one of my favorite triathlon venues I've raced and right in my backyard. My training has been going very well and with only a few races left in the season, I was excited to get into a race to test my fitness.
When I parked at the race site, and started to unload, the bad luck started. When I pulled my bike out of the car, I discovered that my rear tire was flat. I tried not to panic, quickly changed the tube, and set up my transition in close to record time. It wasn't until I was sitting on the bus to Pier 3 that I was able to take a deep breath and relax. I was definitely warmed up. On the boat ride out to the start, the water looked pretty calm. "Oh yeah, this should be a good, smooth swim" I told my good buddy Ethan Brown, who had never swam Alcatraz before. As we were let out onto the ledge for the start, the smooth water turned to white caps. Oh crap, sorry Ethan, this is gonna be a tough one. I jumped in and tried to keep contact with a few bodies for the first part, but immediately got dominated by the waves. I breathed to the right and got a face full of water. I tried breathing to the left...same thing. Every time I would look up to sight, all I saw was the next 3-4 foot wave coming at me. It was brutal out there. It was tough to stay motivated while getting pummeled and knowing you are losing a lot of valuable time to the leaders.
Out on the bike, I felt great! I flew by Sports Basement and gave a salute to my co-workers who always come out in full force for every single race that goes by our marquee store. They always give me an extra boost. Two miles into the bike, I had passed another and caught up to a 2nd. I was having a great ride. I climbed well up to the Legion of Honor and bombed down the hills through the neighborhoods and past the Cliff House onto the Great Highway. I planned on using the Great Highway, which is flat and straight to get into a good rhythm and try to take time out of some of the guys ahead of me. The only bad thing is that it's extremely bumpy. I struggled to find a good line.
When I reached Golden Gate Park and some smoother roads, I felt something weird on my rear wheel. Even though the road was smooth, the ride felt bumpy. I knew something was wrong, so I quickly jumped off my bike to check it out. The tube was pushing the tire off the rim. It was still ride-able, but I couldn't go fast. At this point, I was halfway through the G.G. Park loop, so I jumped back on made the decision to slow pedal back to transition and compete in the run. I made my way through the Park and on the final descent back out to the Great Highway, my front flatted. My day was done.
A DNF sucks. The feeling is brand new for me. I've been racing competitively for over 15 years. In 15 years, I've turned ankles, gotten ridiculous cramps, hit a steeplechase barrier, and crashed my bike and never not finished the race. This is the first. Unfortunately it is part of the sport. What I can do is take the positives from the race. Even though the swim was a suffer-fest, I came out mid pack in the pro field. That's good for me! I also felt great on the bike and was making up ground on some of the competitors ahead of me.
Thanks to Rebecca and her mom, Beth, who skipped her Sunday morning bike ride to come out and cheer me on, for their support. Sorry I couldn't finish the show. Thanks Mrs. Leto for picking up my water bottle after it unhitched from my bike...happens every time! Up next is Pacific Grove on Sept. 11. Thanks everyone for reading!
Last Saturday was my 2nd attempt at this whole ITU style racing thing. This time it was conveniently located 15 minutes away from my front door on Treasure Island in San Francisco. I was looking forward to this day for a while. Rebecca signed up for the age group race and I was excited for this rare opportunity for both of us to watch each other race. We got there early in the morning and I found a nice place to sit and relax as I watched Rebecca leave it all out there to take 2nd in her age group in only her 2nd Olympic Distance event. She's awesome!
I felt good going into my race and was hoping for a good swim to set myself up for a good finish. With 59 athletes and a wide variety of talent, I figured there would always be a pack to swim and bike with in the early stages. If I could get myself onto the bike with a group in good position, I could relax and rest up for a strong run. Anyway, that was the game plan...
It was 250 meters to the first turn buoy and I knew it was going to be crazy. The horn went off and I took off in what I called a sprint. Apparently my sprint is half the field's regular pace and by the time we hit the turn buoy I found myself at the tail end of the pack. The pack at the first turn buoy resembles a mosh-pit at a Rage Against The Machine concert. We all came together as 59 guys tried to swim in the same exact spot. Once again, I got dunked, elbowed, kicked and was drinking unwanted salt water from the bay. Usually the plan is to start hydrating on the bike and not in the middle of the swim. After the mayhem of the first turn, the field split. I found myself at the back of the 2nd group in the water. I was in a great position and feeling the draft. As we came up to the end of the first lap, I put my head down for about 6 strokes without breathing and when I picked my head up to sight, I found myself a little off the pack and to the left. Oh crap! I put my head back down and tried my hardest to reconnect with the pack but could not. For much of the 2nd lap I swam alone until 3 guys overtook me. I finished the swim with these guys about 1 minute down on the pack that swam away from me.
The bike was a mess. The first and second groups out of the water packed up nicely, but behind them, was unorganized chaos. With no organization back in my pack and the wind howling on Treasure Island, it made for a tough day on the bike. I started with a few guys and my legs weren't responding to their surges. The first 2 laps of 6 were a series of falling off the back and catching up. A few guys caught us, worked their way to the front and gapped us without a response from me. For the last 3 laps I rode with one other guy from Canada taking turns riding steady. We came into transition another minute down from the few that I started the ride with. It was now up to the run to reel some in.
The 10k run course on Treasure Island is a 3-lap flat run. I ran well off the bike for the first mile. I ran away from my bike partner right away and caught 2 guys from the group ahead. Starting the 2nd lap, I felt my back begin to tighten. I've had issues with my lower back in the past, so I knew this was going to be a tough finish. I struggled through the final lap and a half and made it to the finish line in 29th place for the day.
I was pretty disappointed as I crossed the finish line. I was disappointed with myself for letting the pack swim away and for letting some of the guys slip by me on the bike with no response. I believe I could have done better on this day. Rebecca and my coach reassured me that on a "bad day" I finished 29th out of 59. On my cool down, I settled down, and thought about the race and where I'm at. Last year I watched this race on Treasure Island in awe as the pros flew around the corners. This year I was in it. I've come a long way and I'm looking forward to getting back out there and race again!
This past Saturday I lined up on the beach next to some of the best in the country. Three-time Olympian (triathlon has only been an Olympic sport 3 times) Hunter Kemper and a top US Pro Ben Collins highlighted my first ITU Olympic distance experience. I didn't go into the race expecting to be rubbing elbows with these guys, but I was excited to have this opportunity to gain valuable experience for future races. Going in, I knew the swim would be fast. All ITU swims are fast. The first 300 meters went by in a blur. It was a whirlpool out there and I was getting sucked along for the ride. The first buoy was 350 meters out and at that point the bottleneck happened and I was no longer sucked along for the ride, but sucked under the water. I got absolutely pummeled at the turn. At one point I came up for a breath on my right side and took in 0% air and 100% water. After taking some swim strokes, choking, coughing, and trying to take a breath all at the same time for 30 seconds, I regained composure. After the quick 2nd turn heading back to the beach for the end of lap one, I saw that I was well back of the leaders. I tried to catch some feet but could not. At the end of lap one, there was a short run along the beach, around a buoy before plunging back in. I sprinted onto the beach and ran as fast I could around the buoy to catch some guys. After all, I'm faster on land than in water. It worked. I caught a pack and stayed on their feet for the rest of lap 2. Once out of the water, I ran as fast as I could to transition (every second counts in ITU) and grabbed my bike. Heading out I noticed that most of the bikes in transition were already gone. I had some work to do...
I was scared that with a bad swim, there would be no one to ride with and that I would be hung out to dry all by myself. Fortunately for me, that wasn't the case. I jumped on my bike with 3 other guys together and worked hard to mop up 3 more riding by themselves on the road. I felt really strong on the bike taking, what felt like, faster pulls than the others. On the 4th lap of 8, we caught the 3rd group on the road growing our group from 7 to 12 riders. I still felt like we needed to go faster, so again I took strong pulls at the front. We got out of the water 2:30 down from the lead group and although I felt like we had a decent ride, lost another 2 minutes on the bike. There's not much you can do with a 10k run when you come off the bike 4 and a half minutes down on the lead group. I still had some work to do.
I came out of the water in 35th place out of the 39 that started. After the bike, I had moved up to 25th. Immediately off the bike and into my run I felt dead and my legs were shot. I could now feel all the work I did on the bike and regretted it (chalk that one up to "experience"). Two of the guys in my bike group took off and I didn't have the legs to respond. About a mile into the run, I was able to compose myself and settle into a pace that slowly picked people off, but was not making up ground on the 2 that broke from me. I made my way through most of the 2nd bike group on the road and even caught a few stragglers from the lead pack that was 4:30 ahead, but I was just not feeling strong. With a half mile to go on the 4th and final lap of the 10k run course, I gave it all I had to pick off a few more guys in sight, but I was happy to see the finish line. At the end of the run, I had made my way up to 17th overall.
A good day of racing for me. I have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn. It seems as though I say that after each race I compete in this year, but it's true. I'm in a whole different league now racing professionals that have been doing this for years. At this level, it's not always the strongest triathletes that come out on top, but the smarter racers. Monroe gave me some of that valuable experience my coach, Brian and I can take to form some specific workouts for the next few races. The goal is to not only become a very strong triathlete, but to work on being one of the smartest in the field.
Next up for me is the San Francisco ITU Pan American Cup on Saturday July 9th. Yes, I said San Francisco...my home town (sorta)!! The elite race starts at 1:00pm sharp on Treasure Island. I invite all Bay Area triathlon fans to come out and support. Swim is 2 laps, bike is 8 laps, and the run is 3 laps. You will see us A LOT and won't be disappointed. I hope to have a better swim and get more experience in this fun style of racing. Thanks for reading and hope to see you out there next Saturday.
This Saturday I will be taking part in my first of hopefully many Olympic distance ITU-style races. Most of you triathlon-savvy people know what this is, but for you that are not familiar with the wide world of triathlon (thanks to you for reading my blog by the way...it means a lot), ITU racing is a fast, exciting, and unpredictable experience. I will explain...
Almost all triathlons in the age group division and all full and half-Ironman triathlons are non-drafting on the bike. In any race, you can swim directly behind someone in the water, catching a draft and can run in a group like a road race to pace off each other. Drafting in the water or on the run makes a difference in effort, and is almost impossible to enforce a non-drafting rule, but it isn't as substantial as drafting on the bike. There are 2 main reasons age group races and Ironman races do not allow drafting. Number 1 is safety. In non-drafting races, athletes usually race on time-trial (TT) bikes, shown here, that are equipped with long aero-bars for positioning the body as aerodynamic as possible, and tough to maneuver. Crashes are more likely to happen if a group of athletes on TT bikes are riding close to each other duking it out. These races have anywhere from 300-3000 participants. Reason number 2 is to promote individual efforts. Imagine if 2 Ironman athletes got out of the water together and were equally strong on the bike. The second guy could hypothetically follow the first guy's draft for 112 miles. That just wouldn't be fair. So drafting on the bike is illegal in most triathlons out there.
In this type of racing, more than non-draft racing, every second counts, making swim-bike and bike-run transitions more important. If someone gets out of the water with the front group and takes 10 extra seconds putting their helmet on and grabbing their bike, by the time they are riding the group is gone.
I come from a running background, so my goal for this Saturday in Seattle is to swim as fast as I can for 1500 meters to finish close to the front of the 60-man field. If I can make it into the front group, or the chase group with a chance to catch the front group, and conserve enough energy on the bike, it puts me in a position to take advantage of that running background and have a good result. I also want to take away from this race the experience of draft-legal racing. The more I do it, the more comfortable I become.
It will be an exciting day! I'm really looking forward to experiencing a new style of racing. Next week, I will have a race report up from Seattle. Thanks for reading.
When I parked at the race site, and started to unload, the bad luck started. When I pulled my bike out of the car, I discovered that my rear tire was flat. I tried not to panic, quickly changed the tube, and set up my transition in close to record time. It wasn't until I was sitting on the bus to Pier 3 that I was able to take a deep breath and relax. I was definitely warmed up. On the boat ride out to the start, the water looked pretty calm. "Oh yeah, this should be a good, smooth swim" I told my good buddy Ethan Brown, who had never swam Alcatraz before. As we were let out onto the ledge for the start, the smooth water turned to white caps. Oh crap, sorry Ethan, this is gonna be a tough one. I jumped in and tried to keep contact with a few bodies for the first part, but immediately got dominated by the waves. I breathed to the right and got a face full of water. I tried breathing to the left...same thing. Every time I would look up to sight, all I saw was the next 3-4 foot wave coming at me. It was brutal out there. It was tough to stay motivated while getting pummeled and knowing you are losing a lot of valuable time to the leaders.
Out on the bike, I felt great! I flew by Sports Basement and gave a salute to my co-workers who always come out in full force for every single race that goes by our marquee store. They always give me an extra boost. Two miles into the bike, I had passed another and caught up to a 2nd. I was having a great ride. I climbed well up to the Legion of Honor and bombed down the hills through the neighborhoods and past the Cliff House onto the Great Highway. I planned on using the Great Highway, which is flat and straight to get into a good rhythm and try to take time out of some of the guys ahead of me. The only bad thing is that it's extremely bumpy. I struggled to find a good line.
When I reached Golden Gate Park and some smoother roads, I felt something weird on my rear wheel. Even though the road was smooth, the ride felt bumpy. I knew something was wrong, so I quickly jumped off my bike to check it out. The tube was pushing the tire off the rim. It was still ride-able, but I couldn't go fast. At this point, I was halfway through the G.G. Park loop, so I jumped back on made the decision to slow pedal back to transition and compete in the run. I made my way through the Park and on the final descent back out to the Great Highway, my front flatted. My day was done.
