Geel race report: aerobar blues

Competed in Geel‘s sprint distance, non-drafting triathlon yesterday, my first race with my new handlebar and aerobar. My race goals were simple: do better than last year. Racing conditions could not have been better: clear skies, sunshine and not too much wind. Perfect.

While I immediately found my rhythm during the swim leg, my time sucked bigtime: 500m in 11’02”, a whopping 3 minutes slower than last year. No comprendo. It got worse from there. I rode my bike as hard as I could (30k in 50’18”) but was not able to find a comfortable aero position. On top of that, I started getting stomach cramps during the final kilometers. That spelled bad news for the 5K run. And indeed, I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame out there. 33’28” of jogging, walking, cursing and more cursing.

Conclusion: this race was another learning experience. While there were some positives (open water navigation, smooth T1, fast bike time), the negatives (horrible T2, atrocious run) are worrisome. Remedy: work on swim speed, running economy (yeah, right) and body position on the bike. Bullen Meetcentrum, here I come.