Race Report- Sprint Triathlon #7: Top 10 Performance

I made the top 10 in my age group!!!

Sprint Triathlon #7

Date: September 20th, 2015
Event: Super Sprint Triathlon (250 yd pool swim, 9 mile bike, 2 mile run)- > Women only!
Time: 1:02:35
(Swim: 5:32 (7th/34), T1: 1:05 (3rd/34), Bike: 29:03 (7th/24), T2 + Run: Timing Error)
Age Group Place (25-29): 8th/34!!! First Top 10 finish with a large number of people in my age group and Top 25% :)

------------------------------------------

The Swim- 250 yd pool swim (5:32)

Average Pace: 2:13 per 100yd

Grrr. The swim.  It started out ok, until the person who started behind me didn't seed herself properly.  She probably should have been one of the first to go.  She was speedy.  Instead of passing me at the wall, she decided to repeatedly pull on my feet, then my legs.  She also mouthed some choice words about how I needed to get out of the way.  If you are the one passing, you need to spend the extra energy to sprint fast enough to pass me cleanly.  I shouldn't have to slow down to let you pass.  That altercation with the other swimmer made me lose count of my 50s, and I had no idea where I was in my swim.  I kept going, but I didn't know when to start picking up the pace, as I didn't know how much I had left.  We only swam one way in each lane, instead of going down and back in the same lane, so it was much harder to count.  As I did start to pick up the pace, I went to turn and then people were yelling at me to get out.  I had already finished the race requirement, but was turning to do another length.  An absolute mess!!! Needless to say, my time was impacted and I was "HOT" the rest of the race. I still managed to rank 7th out of 34.  My swim coaches would be happy about that.

The Bike- 9 miles (29:03)

Average Speed: 18.6 mph!!!

After my interrupted swim, I was determined to make up some time on the bike.  I was a woman on a mission!  As soon as I mounted my bike, I took off and gassed it.  The first part was a downhill...I think I rode that momentum the whole race.  The best I have ever averaged on the bike is between 15-16 mph even for shorter distances.  To be able to average close to 19 mph, shows how upset I was about my swim, and also demonstrates the level of fitness I have attained in my final preparations for my half iron distance triathlon coming up next month.  Maintained my position of 7th out of 34.

The Run-2 miles 

Average Pace: Not Sure

There was a timing error, so I do not know my run split, however it was consistent with my last super sprint.  I'm sure it was around 24 mins, approximately a 12 min mile pace.  This run had a monster hill that seemed to never end, but with the long uphill, there was a long downhill, as the turnaround was at the top of the hill.  While my pace was slower going up, my feet still don't do uphills well, it was faster going down, so it evened out.

--------------------------------
Reflection

 Just like my other super sprint race, I had a blast!  I knew that I was doing well in this race because I was within a mile of the finish line when I heard the announcements of the winner crossing the finish line.  I haven't ever been that far up in the race to hear that.  It was an extremely proud and rewarding moment for me, because I am out here doing this with reconstructed ankles, competing against people with far less limitations than me. It also validates my decision to go back down to sprint type events, as I am far better at them, enjoy them the most, and am the most passionate about them.  I am really good at pushing myself to the limit and beyond for short bursts.  With my performance today, there is no question that I have the fitness to complete my half iron race next month.  This was the final tune-up. I was also proud because one of my college buddies came and watched me race my super sprint in August, and I inspired her to sign up and compete in her first triathlon- this race, in which she finished as well! 

On Endurance Racing: A love that has been lost...

It was just a normal day at swim practice where we were asked to do an endurance set after our normal warmup and stroke drill sets.

5 x 300 yd (ugh!)

I started just fine, and somewhere in the middle of the workout, after swimming too many yards to count, it hit me.  I DON'T LOVE ENDURANCE SPORTS ANYMORE!  I'M NOT EVEN "IN LIKE" WITH THEM ANYMORE.  I have spent my entire life as an anaerobic/power athlete who primarily played team sports before I had a moment of inspiration in grad school to pick up endurance running.  I think the initial draw for me was proving to myself that I could train myself to cover long distances, that I could gain that level of cardiovascular fitness.  It was also to experience what those sports were like, as that is one of the major focus areas of Exercise Physiology.  I didn't want to earn a PhD in it without fully experiencing all aspects of sports myself.  It adds to my credibility that I know more than the science side.


I spent over a year building up my endurance base before my surgeries.  I've been through hell and back twice (two surgeries), fighting to walk and run again, and to get my endurance base back over the last 2+ years.  I am to the point where I can actually race again, rather than just survive to the finish line, and now that I've reached my goal, I've completely lost interest.  What exactly is fun about swimming for over a mile in the open water, or biking or running for hours on end?  NOTHING.  It is something if you haven't been there, done that before.  (Don't let my rant deter you from ever trying endurance racing, because it is awesome...the awesomeness just wears off after awhile.) I've played many sports in my life (dance, tee ball, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, tennis, softball, basketball, track and field, swimming, cycling) and have crossed many finish lines (5K (too many to count), 10K, half marathon (2), full marathon, 8 triathlons), and am over the thrilling sense of accomplishment you get when you win the big game, or give the performance of a lifetime, or cross the finish line.

What I had to overcome, the strength I had to summon, the pain I had to ignore, and all the voices shouting NO that I had to silence to get to the finish line of my full marathon, no one can take away from me. However, I'm over that feeling at this point because I have crossed the finish line of every distance running event up to a full marathon, and now every tri distance except half and full iron distance.  Maybe I am also over it after realizing that what I had to go through to learn how to walk again from scratch twice and return to living a "normal" lifestyle again was much harder than any athletic or academic feat that I have ever accomplished.  My half distance triathlon comes up next month, so I will have crossed every finish line in the tri world too, except for full iron, and I don't think that I will ever want to do that.  Per my race report from my international distance aquabike, I just don't like being out on a race course for hours and hours on end.



Maybe I got into doing longer runs and tris because I thought I couldn't call myself a "runner" or a "triathlete" if I didn't do the ultimate distances in each sport-> full marathon and full iron distance triathlon, respectively.  But I am happy to have a good head on my shoulders and realize the error of my ways.  Why do we always say, "Just" a 5k or sprint triathlon when referring to the shorter distances.  It's not "just" anything, those are accomplishments too, certainly different from the long stuff, but you're a runner and a triathlete the moment you do any distance race, not "just" when you do a full marathon or full iron distance triathlon.  I had the most fun that I have ever had when I did the super sprint race back in August, a race I frowned upon for years because it wasn't a "real" triathlon.  Bullshit.  Does it have a swim, bike, and a run component? Yes you say? Then it is a triathlon.  It doesn't matter what the distances are.  I had so much fun because I could go all out and see what I was really made of instead of trying not to light all my matches and blow up too early (hit the wall), as you have to worry about in the longer races.  Maybe I just TRIed so hard to get back to a place where I felt I was worthy to call myself an endurance athlete again after my surgeries and in the process I lost sight of the fun of it all.  


After this next long race, I am going to focus on my swimming races, which are sprints!!!! I am a far
better sprinter (back to my original nature and physiological predisposition) than long distance swimmer.  I'll be competing in 50s, and 100s in the different strokes + IM- Individual Medley Relay (all 4 strokes) and think that I am going to focus my tri training for next season on going fast for super sprints and sprints.  I think that I am hanging up the towel on races that are over 2 hours at this point.  Maybe I will find my inspiration for the longer stuff again, but at this moment, I just want to have fun and embrace the challenge of going all out, giving it everything I have, until I touch the wall or cross the finish line...

Race Report- Why Tri when you can Aquabike?

1st International Distance Race! 1st Aquabike :)

Date: September 12th, 2015
Event: International Distance Aquabike (1500m lake swim, 28 mile bike)
Time: 2:42:24
(Swim: 47:45, T1: 5:15, Bike:1:49:26)
Female Aquabike Place: 8/9...not last!

------------------------------------------

The Swim- 1500m lake swim (47:45)

Average Pace: 3:11 per 100m

While waiting for the swim, a group of ladies were expressing how nervous they were and they didn't feel like they were going to make it.  I told them, "You are going to make it.  You only have two options, sink or swim.  I know you will choose to keep swimming no matter what happens."  They appreciated how much I simplified the task ahead of us.  To be honest, I was nervous too, this would be my longest open water swim by double the distance.  However, this PTTD journey has taught me to never quit, no matter what.  It has also taught me that life is about sinking or swimming.  Are you going to be defeated by your circumstances or are you going to rise above them?

My actual swim wasn't great.  I never seemed to get into a rhythm, I had trouble sighting, and I know for a fact that I wasn't swimming in a straight line (which means I swam a lot further than 1500m). On the last leg of the swim, after turning around the last buoy, there was nothing to sight from except for a brown pier that blended in with the forrest in the background.  That leg took me an absolute eternity.  When I looked down at my watch when I got out of the water, I was in shock at my time.  It felt like I was in there for awhile, but I expected it to take me at least 10 mins less than what my time was.  I wasn't upset, I just know that I need to spend more time open water swimming if I want to improve.  Believe it or not, it is completely different from pool swimming.  Kind of like running outside vs. running on a treadmill.

The Bike- 28 miles (1:49:26)

Average Speed: 15.4 mph

While I was swimming, it was raining the whole time.  This didn't bother me on the swim, of course, but it made the transition area an absolute mess.  The transition area was set up on patchy grass/dirt that was now mud.  As I ran into the transition area, I picked up mud all over my bare feet.  Thankfully, I always keep a gallon jug of fresh water at my transition area, so I used that to wash off my feet.  I also had an extra towel to dry them, then I put my socks on, followed by my cycling shoes. I took my sweet time.  It was pouring rain and was muddy.  This race was about completing it, not about my finish time, especially in these conditions. I spent over 5 mins in transition with everything being so muddy and rainy.  To make matters worse, after I got my cycling shoes on, I had to run my bike out of transition before mounting, as is customary for triathlons, but this time, that really sucked!  I wasn't able to run, I had to walk through the mud in my cycling shoes, which got dirt stuck all in my cleats and kicked up on the back of my legs.  When I got out of transition and mounted my bike, my cleats would not lock into my pedals.  I had to use my fingers to dig dirt out of my cleats to allow them to clip in.  Now my hands were muddy!

My transition woes were hard to shake off, as everything kept getting worse.  The rain went from a sprinkle...to a drizzle...to a torrential downpour.  It was also dark and foggy, no sun was in sight.  Here I was on these back country roads riding in the pouring rain.  I was by myself the whole time, except for when I passed a few riders that had been dropped from their waves.  They put the aquabike as the very last wave, so we were the last ones out on the bike course.  There was water dripping down off the front of my helmet onto my sunglasses (yes, I was still wearing them, it was my only guard against the rain), my jersey was soaked, if I adjusted my seat position I could make water wring out of the padding in my tri suit...and so on. My pace felt good, I was happy with my average pace, but I did realize after awhile that I wasn't enjoying myself.  By the time I got back to transition, I gathered my stuff and left quickly.  My family was ready to go, they were standing in the rain all that time, and I was ready to go.  I didn't stay for any of the post-race festivities, I just wanted to go home!

--------------------------------
Reflection

Long, boring, lonely, and wet!  My fitness was there, I felt great physically, but my motivation left after the 2 hour mark.  I was all alone for most of the course, a serious contrast from the race day experience of my super sprint last month. I realized somewhere out on the road with the rain pelting down on me, that I have come a really long way in regaining my fitness; however, I enjoy the shorter races much more. The best part of this day was being able to end my race without doing the run.  The aquabike category is great for anyone that has weight bearing/high impact restrictions.  It is it's own race category and even has a national championship that you can qualify for through USA Triathlon sanctioned races.