Swim, Bike, Fall Over, Pt. 2

Now that we're well-informed on my amateur triathlon career, how about Saturday's result? As expected, the Züri Tri possessed a different atmosphere than my previous conquests, specifically as we learned with our half-marathons last year, the Swiss only engage in athletic events they want to win. The Midwest laid-back, newbie-friendly, just-training-to-lose-a-few-pounds mentality simply ain't there. With all my travel this spring, I had trained perhaps 5 hours per week instead of the group average 15 hours. And as Olympic events always attract the serious crowd vs. sprints, I planned to mostly suck fumes the whole race. Yessiree, I was dead on.

The other new twist was a topographical one...hills! The cycling leg consists of 3 loops of about 8 miles each, mostly flat alongside Lake Zürich, but then each featuring a detour up the affectionately coined "Heartbreak Hill" (apparently no German translation) on the lake's west side. Let's review my experience from this perspecitve (you'll have to click on each graphic to examine in detail)...

Chicago Triathlon. Pancakes ache to be this flat:




Lake Geneva (WI). I used to think a brief 2% grade was a hill:




My "training course" from home in Zürich to the next lake over. I unfortunately only completed it once this year prior to the big event. Basically uphill or downhill for 2+ miles at a time, a fairly consistent 5% but up to 8% grade. If you're currently watching the Tour de France, this would barely earn an extra heartbeat per minute for those guys, but rookies may experience a fair level of discomfort:




Züri Tri. Heartbreak Hill is shorter but as steep as the worst parts above, from 5-7% for about 1/2 mile. The third ascent usually earns a few grunts and/or curses, especially after swimming a mile:




Regarding the run, no surprise that Chicago is flaaaat, Lake Geneva is actually murderously hilly and Zürich is mostly flat. So there's the background ad nauseum.

So Saturday. Checked my bike into transition at about 9:00am for a 10:40am start. The only amatuerish-looking people are already competing in the early sprint event. Everywhere else the eye beholds only relaxed, tanned, beautifully sculpted all-around athletic bodies and $8,000 tri bicycles more aerodynamic than an F-117 Nighthawk jet. Due to a cool cloudy workweek, the lake temperature measures slightly less than the regulation 21.9 C or 71 F, not really cold but enough to allow wetsuits, a major gift as wetsuits drastically improve buoyancy for sinkers like me.

With a group of slightly under 300 men sporting identical baby blue swimming caps, I run down the short beach and splash into Lake Zürich at 10:40am. My swim proceeds predictably poorly for the next 42 minutes over 1,500 meters, a tricky course with lots of turns; I'm not the absolute last competitor out of the water but not far ahead of him. My faithful cheering section of one is there at the transition fence to root me on, but I'm so discombobulated from the long swim I can barely locate her voice. The benefit of the wetsuit is typically partially negated in transition as it inevitably frustratingly refuses to release my legs. I don't own a tri "onesie" like the pros so I waste precious time actually donning a shirt. My transition lasts a lousy 3:50 min. So far no surprises.

On the bike I measure my pace trying to assess how much juice the ol' legs contain today. I settle into a 18-20 mph pace over the slight undulations on the somewhat windy flats and watch all the expensive bikes sail past with their aero tires humming like small engines. First time up The Hill goes surprisingly OK, I can almost hold my own on the ascent due to my slight "climber's" frame. Second time up is a little tougher but also OK. I bomb the descent hitting 41 mph, thereby almost missing a tight turn on slick blacktop, hopping a curb and nearly pitching over a fence, but recover in time. I see my cheering section, now two people, twice during the ride. Third time is up is decidedly painful and slower but successful, with energy ebbing from the legs during the final 5 miles of the 25 mile course; total cycling time 1 hour 26 minutes. Second transition lasts a mere 1:33 min., my best performace so far.

As a longtime runner I usually perform a bit better, but it never matters because the advantage in triathlon is won in cycling (and for me, lost in swimming). Nonetheless I manage to pass about a half-dozen people and keep both quadriceps from cramping over the final 6.2 miles and 52:44 min. My cheering section has grown to six people but unfortunately I don't see them until the bleachers at the very, very end. Inspiring nonetheless. Total time 3 hours 7 minutes, actually a pretty good result for me considering the conditions, but not so competitive. For an early summer result, I'm happy.

Sound miserable? Actually the opposite is true, I love these events. I think I've got one more late summer Olympic in me this year and maybe a sprint for good measure. But I really have to work on that swim. Oh yeah, and the bike too. Oh yeah, and the onesie...