From: tjensen@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (todd.r.jensen)
Subject: Race Report: Janesville
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 15:08:55 GMT

Janesville Triathlon - July 26, 1992 - [0.25M swim|17M bike|3.8M run]

Janesville, WI.  Back to racing after a month off.  The time off was well
spent, though, as Lauren and I tied the knot and then spent over a week in
Colorado running, hiking, riding, and rafting through the Rockies.  Nothing
like a little elevation and long climbs to get your heartrate up.

As the Nationals are in one week, we wanted to use the race as a tune-up.
As I looked around at the other members in the men's elite wave, it was
obvious that we were not the only ones.  Almost the entire Vic Tanny team
from Milwaukee was here, along with some top amateur talent from Madison.
The day started cloudy and humid with the temperature in the mid-70s.  I
checked out my bike, ran a little bit, then headed down to the lake.  I was
glad I spent some time warming up in the water, as it felt cold at first, and
it would have been kind of a shock to have gone running into the water without
acclimating to it.

The race was started in waves of 30 with the elite women going first followed
four minutes later by the elite men.  The later waves would start two minutes
apart.  As I was waiting to start, I saw the lead women had rounded the
turnaround in under three minutes.  A few guys next to me were having a
friendly discussion about who would come out of the water first.  I just
wanted to hang in the pack as long as possible.

The shout to start went off, and we ran into the lake.  I fought off the usual
flailing of arms and legs and sprinted between two guys to stay in the pack.
By the time I looked up to see where I was in relation to the leaders, they
were swimming back along the other side of the rope.  Ten seconds later I was
at the turnaround and headed back in.  The first half of the swim went by in a
flash.  I drafted all the way in and got out of the water in just under six
minutes, sitting in about 12th place.  I knew I couldn't be too far behind
and was looking forward to the bike leg.

I had a fairly decent transition and headed out on the bike.  It felt like we
had a north wind, which meant a crosswind for most of the course.  After about
three miles in my 54x17 trying to warm up my legs from the cold water, I
decided it was time to put the hammer down.  I started reeling people in,
but it was hard, as they weren't going too slow themselves.  I was averaging
25+ MPH according to my Avocet.  As I was climbing the last hill before the
turnaround I saw the lead vehicle.  I expected to see the men's leader behind
it, but no, it was Lauren, followed closely by Shawn Fredericks.  When I
reached the turnaround, I was still over one minute behind the leaders, but
I had moved up to 5th place.  I ignored the ache in my quads and pushed hard
on the way in, wanting to move up to the top 3.  I turned a 54x14 and 54x13
most of the way in, except for a short stretch into the wind, where I moved
into 4th place.

I entered the transition just as Lauren and Shawn had laced up their shoes and
were heading out.  I had trouble getting my shoes on, but took a deep breath
and then headed out.  I had averaged 25.3 MPH on the bike and my watch showed
48:20 as I started the run.  Lauren and Shawn were running neck-and-neck about
20 yards in front of me.  I was having trouble finding my rhythm and was in
oxygen debt.  My legs felt drained.  At two miles I had been passed by three
men, but had finally passed Lauren.  She was running strong today and had just
broken away from Shawn on a hill.  I started to finally feel my running legs
come back and was beginning to make up ground to the people who had passed
me.  With about one mile to go I backed off when I started thinking about
saving myself for next week.  I didn't feel motivated to work hard to chase
down those guys again.  I hope I feel motivated in Cleveland - maybe it's time
to see a sports psychologist or at least start listening to inspirational
tapes.  I broke the tape in 1:10:57 and ended up in 8th place overall, 6th in
my age (25-29).  Terry Labinski smoked the run to win (1:06:35) and Lauren
(Read) Jensen won the female division in 1:15:36.


Keep on truckin'

Todd Jensen                                  o
AT&T Bell Labs             ___^o_    __o    <|\
(708) 979-1254                     _ \<_     \
tjensen@ihlpe.att.com             (_)/(_)    /
Newsgroups: rec.sport.triathlon