Sprint Triathlon #3
Date: August 23rd, 2014
Event: Sprint Triathlon (500m lake swim, 12.4 mile bike, 5k run)
Time: 1:55:05
(Swim: 13:33, T1+ Bike + T2: 59:46 (due to timing error),
Run: 41:45)
Age Group Place (25-29): 12/13 (not last!!!)
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Before I give my race report, I should preface that on Friday, the day before this race, I didn't even want to pack my stuff up. I think that I was already over my inaugural tri season back from my surgeries.
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The Swim- 500m Lake Swim (13:33)
Average Pace: 2:29 per 100m
MUCH better pace and experience compared to my last race. I tried to calm myself and focus on the task at hand and not let the fear of the open water and all the people swimming around me shake my nerves.
The Bike- 12.4 miles (59:46 including transitions)
Average Speed: Not Sure
The best race directors ever decided that the transition should be at the bottom of a monster hill.
It was AWESOME having to climb for a few miles right after the swim. Said no triathlete ever... Overall, I really had to work hard to stay mentally focused during this ride. In the midst of climbing the initial hill, I was ready to quit. I was already over this race. I didn't want to start it and had no desires to finish it...except that
I AM NOT A QUITTER. I got my head back in the game and climbed
hill after
hill after
hill after
HILL and had to cross several lanes of "live" traffic without much police regulation. This was the poorest managed bike course I have raced on thus far and I was astonished that I had to worry so much about the cars during a race. Alas, I finished and headed back into transition for the run.
The Run-5k (41:45)
Average Pace: 13:26 min/mile, Average Speed: 4.5 mph
Remember that monster hill? Oh yeah...I had to run up that out of transition for the run course. By run, you know that I mean walk.
This chica does not run uphill anymore. The run course was as hilly as the bike course. But...I stuck with my strategy, walk uphill and jog/run the flats and downhills, respectively. Luckily, I had my head back in the game by this point, because I was focused on the finish line. I finished this much tougher 5k in a faster time than my last tri, so obviously happy to have made some progress. Of note, I ran my last 1/2 mile continuous! It was downhill, but I didn't stop to walk once during that stretch.
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Reflection
Improvement all around on this race, but I'm done.
I'm all raced out for the season. I am ready to transition to off season training where I will focus really hard on my swimming and pick up my biking as well.
I've decided to take my training to the next level. I joined another team, this one is a combination masters swim and triathlon team. I will continue training with my masters swim team during the year and this team will supplement those practices until tri season ends. One of the big benefits of this team is getting time in an outdoor 50m pool! This has been great for tri training. It is the closet thing to open water swimming without actually being in the open water :) The tri team component is cool too because there are weekly group strength training practices and the big training days on Saturdays where we go to swim practice and then straight to their gym with our bikes and trainers to do an indoor trainer ride. Absolutley the most intense "cycling class" that I have ever done. Dripping with sweat. Every. Single. Time. Other people go on and do a run too, but with my feet, I take a pass on that.
