Tri season is officially started for us.

Genine raced down at the Jersey Shore on Saturday morning with our friend Alexis. So we got a bit of a reminder of how much goes into getting ready for race day. Here were some of the surprises for us this time.

Wetsuit: It hasn’t been used in a year so we pre-soak it to give it some flexibility before putting it on. Well even before we soaked it, Genine noticed her suit had separated at one of the seams. Fortunately, we still had some wetsuit glue around and it was a simple fix.

Bike: Genine’s bike has 650cc wheels on it. Which means not many people are going to have a spare tube or tire for her if she needs it on race day. Fortunately we had a spare tube in her bike bag because when she went to inflate the one tire, it ripped the tube right at the stem. This was the first tube change for this bike, keep in mind this was “new” to us this winter but it’s a 2008. That tube was stuck into that tire in a big way. I’m really glad this didn’t happen during a race. It took much longer than normal to make that change. We also know that we need to pull the other tube, just to free it from the tire before the next race.

Of course the other problem is that she just used her spare and the one we pulled I can’t patch. I need to work on a better race day toolbox for the car. Having the extras in the basement at home isn’t helpful.

It was predicted to be a bad weekend of weather. Fortunately, other than a wind off of the ocean it turned out to be a decent morning. Which meant I got to run around with the good camera and have fun. I’ll leave the race report to Genine.

By the time we got home, cleaned up, got something to eat and looked through pictures, we found ourselves totally exhausted. The 3AM wakeup had caught up with us. I had a number of workouts I should have been doing, especially considering that Sunday was much more likely to rain with lightning. Next thing you know, 3 hour nap. Ah well, you can only do so much. Today was spectator day and it was fun.

Sunday: If I was really inspired (and if I believed the weather wasn’t going to cancel the event), I could have gone to an early morning open water swim practice (40 min away). I really wanted to go but didn’t want to take another 2-3 hours out of my weekend on a chance that it would be canceled. So I slept in. The key workout I wanted to do this weekend was the bike. I really needed to put some more miles onto those Hed3 wheels to determine if I am comfortable enough on them to race them next weekend.

Genine was off running a 5K (Susan G Komen) with friends from work. When she finished, she had some lunch, then we headed out to ride 2-3 hours. The roads were wet but it was never raining on us. I had on my full race gear for next weekend just to make sure everything was comfortable.

There was one new piece of gear this week. This was a purchase that took me awhile to finally decide to do. I got a good deal on a pair of Oakley Jawbones. I’ve got a solid pair of polarized lenses and I also have the vented yellow lenses. My review? They are fantastic! The yellow lenses on a rainy day like Sunday really brightened everything up. Super sharp and clear. It was also a good day to test the venting. They definitely fogged over on some of the climbs but once there was some airflow as you sped up they cleared off really well. With my other glasses I’d have to move the glasses down my nose to create that airflow behind the lenses to get them to clear. I’m very happy with my purchase. Now I have to make sure I don’t lose em!

The road was wet but it never really rained on us beyond a bit of mist. Last week I said the Hed3 braking was pulsing and I was very uncomfortable with them. I think between the fact that it was a little wet and that the brake pads were worn in a bit (Swiss Stop Carbon pads), I really was feeling better about riding on them. (no 15 minute descent like last weekend either tho). So the 2^nd lap/hour, I decided I had to let it fly on the descents, just like I was racing. It went well, I was 41-42 mph on the one descent. Feeling good about the wheels. Now I’ve got to pickup some of that Pit Stop goop or foam to use in case I flat.

The other exciting moment on the 2^nd lap was during one of the descents going about 30mph or more a deer runs out and crosses the road not too far ahead of me. I hop on the brakes. Where there is one, more are likely to follow. Then something shoots out towards my front tire, now I’m really jamming the brakes. I thought it was a rabbit at first but it was a squirrel. I was as close to running over that squirrel as you can get without actually hitting it. We are both lucky he didn’t decide to get caught up in the trispoke wheels. I look up and that deer runs back across the road to the other side. Alright, I get it, I’ll slow down for a few minutes.

We completed 2 hours or riding and Genine was done. So we headed home, cleaned up the bikes and that was the weekend.

I missed a few workouts last week. I’m not that concerned about it. I feel like I got the important ones done. I also know that after the long runs my heel was hurting the next day. I don’t need to get into the problems I had last year with my feet.

Less than a week out from Columbia, what do I think?

Swim: Will probably be the same ole 1:45/100m (26:30ish) I always swim if all goes well. Of course I’d like to think I’d do better than that but I’m not sure that’s realistic. I do feel that I’ll come out of the water comfortably and ready to ride.

Bike: I feel that that this is where I have the most potential to improve over last year. (not that I was disappointed with last year’s results 1:20:14, 19mph). I very may well have cooked myself on the bike last year, so if my time ends up close to the same, I won’t be disappointed.

Run: 50:20/ 8:07 pace last year. I don’t know. I really don’t. I missed run races each of the last 2 weekends that would have given me a clue as to where I am and maybe some confidence. I’ve got some ideas in my head as to how I’m going to try and get through the first half of the run course (hills) and I’m hoping I finally let it fly once the course becomes a bit more friendly.

We will see how it all plays out on Sunday. I’m looking forward to the whole weekend. Not only do I get to race but I’m going to catch up with 4 other “groups” of friends that aren’t racing. It’s going to be busy but it really makes the trip that much more enjoyable.

I’m sure there are a ton of other things I want to post but I’m just not finding the time lately. I’ll post up the randomness as I think of it.