Triathlon at Retirement

I live in Kerrville, a small town in the Texas hill country. Every year, there is a triathlon competition here and I have been signed up for a long time. With recent illness from covid, it was a difficult decision if I should go through with it or not. The race was quarter distance, that is 1100 yards open water swim, 29 miles bike ride and 6.4 miles run, a significant challenge even for a healthy 65-year-old. Would it be too much for me so soon after covid, and would it be damaging for my recovery in the long run?  I had been covid negative for 2 weeks and I started light training. I had been off all training for 4 weeks since August 19, (with only light swim workouts the week before that, due to a knee injury). Once I decide to do something, I don't like to change so it was my inclination to go ahead, but I was uncertain. Five days before the competition, I did my only hard workout, a 5km run on max effort. The result was discouraging, I was about a minute slower / mile than befo...

I always feel a lot of pressure at the Kerrville triathlon which is in my hometown. This year, I placed 2nd in the W60-64 division, quarter ironman distance (1100 yards swim, 29 miles bike and 10.4 miles run). The competitions are very well organized and set in a beautiful environment, but I have difficulty enjoying it.   On Friday afternoon, I volunteered at the sprint bike check-in for 5 hours, and it was hot, over 90f (32C). I already knew from my experience last year, that to avoid overheating on the run was the main challenge. I have spent most of the summer in much cooler temperatures in Sweden, and only about 3 weeks in Texas heat, so I worried that I was not fully acclimatized.  I prepared as much as I could, I did several bike and run workouts in the midday heat the weeks before the competition. On the morning of the event, I brought a small cooler full of ice and a water bottle to transition 2.  The Guadalupe River where swimming was taking place, was too h...

I guess we all know that it is harder to perform in hot weather, but I am coming to realize that the difference is bigger than I imagined. I keep statistics of all my training and competition, and the evidence is clear: hot weather is disastrous for me.  All my record times are in the winter season. The trend is clearest in running. Below is a comparison of my times on a 3.1 miles flat run course, and a 2.8 miles hilly run course. I also show temperature and heart rate. Best times are in the colder weather, and on top of that, my heart rate is lower despite the record time. Heart rate is increased in warmer weather. On many occasions during warmer weather, I think I have done really well, I pushed harder than normal, and the feeling of exertion is almost unbearable. Then I see the time, not good and I am disappointed. Thinking back, it has been a pattern my entire life, winter training is going really well, I am doing good times, but when temperatures rise, performance drops like a...