Alex McDonald Pro Triathlete

It’s April 4th and despite the fact that snow is in the forecast for this weekend in Burlington, VT my 2007 and inaugural season on the Timex Multisport Team has officially begun. I knew that an early season race, especially a big race like Ironman California 70.3, would be a challenge but despite a few hiccups all in all it was a great day and a great race!

My day began bright and early at 4:30am, it was cold, even for a Vermonter!! I had plenty of time to shiver standing around contemplating my day, becasue swim wave was the last to start, over an hour after the pro men. I was able to watch many athletes swim and make there way through T1 before I even began my day, which was a unique experience for me.

After what seemed like a very long time, I finally got into the water and to my surprise it wasn’t really that cold. Navigating the swim was not too difficult, being in Oceanside harbor the water was relatively calm, however, after the turn around I was swimming directly into the sun and really had no idea where I was going. At one point I literally swam over an athlete from a prior wave because I literally could not see anything. Out of the water I was happy with a new swim PR, then through T1, which involved a lot of running, but possibly one of the most organized and “fair” transition areas I have ever seen.

The first 10-15min of the bike I was having a rough time due to the chill from the water and the cool morning temperatures. The bike course was really a lot of fun. I was thrown for a little loop at the first aid station as North America Sports mixed it up this year serving Orange Gatorade Endurance on the bike and Lemon Lime on the run. But no matter, it made for a little bit of a change. There were a few narrow sections on a bike path and some spots where I’m convinced the surface area of potholes out numbered the smooth pavement, but that’s alright. I did get a little nervous due to the number of people I saw changing flats on the side of the road, but I was lucky!! Most of the bike course is very light on traffic with wide smooth roads through Camp Pendleton Marine Base.

There are a few gentle rollers at the beginning of the course, but around the half way point I took a turn and saw a long climb in the distance. My first thought was, “I hope the course doesn’t go that way,” but sure enough as I got closer I could see specs of little bikers slowing ascending the climb. There were only 3 steep climbs, but I was wondering if maybe I would have been better off with a 12-25 cassette at this early point in the season.

I got back to T2 feeling great, a little slower than I would have wanted but given I had owned my new Trek for only a little over a week, and although my position wasn’t quite where I wanted to it be, the TTX is a fast bike!!

As I said my wave (M25-29) was one of the last swim waves to start the race over an hour behind the pro men. As a result, as I was heading out of T2 I could hear Mike Reilly interviewing the winner Andy Potts. It’s always a little depressing when you are just beginning your run knowing that others are already done with their day.

No worries, there was still work to be done. The run course is a great double out and back, and much to my pleasure due to high tides the portion of beach running was removed from this year’s course. There were tons of spectators and it passed right along the beach and through some sea side neighborhoods. Mostly a flat course although there were a few small grades to be conquered.

I got into a good rhythum and focused on motoring down the road. At about mile 5 I caught up with the eventual age group winner (Mac Brown, who by the way is a really nice guy and great athlete, we talked briefly after the race) we ran together for about a mile then he began to pull away. I had enough to stay with him, but I decided that I would stay consistent and keep my pace. I kept plugging away not knowing where I was in my age-group or overall classification due to the staggered wave start. I have to admit at the second turn around I was ready to push it in and began to pick up the pace as much as my legs would allow. I actually wound up catching and passing Mac at around mile 12 and lead him into the finish by ~20 seconds, but he had started in the swim wave behind me, so wound up with a total time about 2:40 ahead of me. But it just goes to show that pacing in a triathlon, especially the run is key!

All in all it was an amazing race and the perfect way to kick off my season. A 4:18 is not my best time, and a little slower than I was hoping, but given that it’s March I was excited to see where my fitness is at this early in the season. I had a great experience and would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking for an early season kick start!

The next three days of Timex camp were equally as encouraging and inspiring (see Tim’s blog). Thanks to Ben, Tristan and Doug for getting our new Treks up and running in a matter of what seemed like minutes. It’s going to be a great year for Team Timex!

Swim Fast. Bike Strong. Run Hard. J

The Tupper Lake Tinman was celebrating it’s 25^th year! Wow, I was 1…ok so aside from being a youngin’ I was excited to be a part of a triathlon that has been in existence for such a long time. However, this race also had a little bit more special meaning for me. My father use to compete in triathlon many years ago and the Tupper Lake Tinman was a race that he used to attend!Being three weeks out from Ironman LP, my goal race, I didn’t want to alter my major build weeks, so as a result I didn’t really take much rest for this race and was treating it much like a lower priority race, however, being the 25^th year they were offering a nice prize purse for all the participants involved, not just the pros, and I wanted to race well. Let’s just say the race went exceedingly well and I could not have asked for a better day!

An 8am start time made for a very relaxed morning where I had plenty of time to check my bike in, get in a swim warm up and talk with a few friends before the start. The race went off in 8 waves, mine being the first, with the M30-34 and M35-39 5 and 10min behind respectively. As a result I wasn’t going to be able to watch the race unfold in front of me or see where the other racers were.

I got a great start and before I realized it I was swimming with only 2 other people. The swim was beautiful and fast, until I hit the turn around and was swimming directly into the sun, sighting was…well interesting…although not my fastest swim time, I’m sure I swam off course more than a few times.

A quick T1 and out onto the bike, but not before being stopped at the bike exit by a race marshall to let a few cars go past…I couldn’t believe it! I took that frustration and put it into the pedals and was riding right at my goal power. The bike was an out and back and the only chance I would really get to see the competition. The first 10mi included some hills and then the leveled out into a gradually rolling course. The roads were smooth with nice wide shoulders, and the sunny and 70 degree temperature felt great, the only issue was the relatively gusty wind that was constantly changing direction. At the turn around I was 4min ahead of the next cyclist, only I had no idea if they were from my wave or another. No bother, I kept my power constant and rode back into Tupper.

The run was interesting to say the least. It consisted of 2 loops, but they were not the same loop. The first loop took me through downtown Tupper Lake and out through some main roads with a more scenic return. That loop was pretty well populated with a few spectators and several athletes in the sprint race. The second loop was far more scenic, consisting of several small residential areas, an ATV trail through the woods and even a short section of single track. I wasn’t sure where I was going at times, but just followed the chalk arrows and occasionally not sure where I was or even if I was on the course. On this section of the course there were a few scattered aid stations, some with simply cups of water on a table, and no one there, I also only saw a few other racers heading out towards the second loop in the final few miles as I made my way back into town. Racing in IMLP in just three weeks I didn’t want to totally beat myself up so I cruised in the last few miles of the run feeling pretty good. As things turned out the arrows did not steer me wrong and I crossed the line in 4:05:03 a new PR!! I had to wait another ten minutes or so to see if anyone from any of the later waves caught up, I was pretty happy when the clock ticked 4:15 and it seemed as if no one caught me!

I had a great time at the 25^th anniversary of the Tinman triathlon, it was a great race and I had a lot of fun. To read the local paper write up follow this link, (anyone know how to make a hyperlink from this text?)http://www.lakeplacidnews.com/sports/sections.asp?Section=sports. Now I just can’t wait until IM LP in 2 weeks!

http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=41554