Ladies Sprint Tri - 5.12.13 Race Recap!

I really like this race - It is a great season opener and a way to shake out the cob webs. This year there were 135 triathlon registrants, up from last year. Last year, I placed 2nd in my age group and secretly, I was hoping I would place again. This is a small enough race that I actually have a chance to place. I have said it before, anyone can win/place if they pick the race 'correctly'!

Pre-Race - 
I didn't get as much sleep as I normally would. I left a work conference I was at and met my family at my inlaws. We went to my nephews drama play and didn't get home until 11pm. It was difficult to get to sleep even after I finally got into bed. Normally I would be in bed by 8pm. Alarm went off at 4:30am; got myself ready and woke up my husband and son. We packed up the car and we were ahead of schedule. We stopped for coffee and I sipped on my Skratch on the 30 minute drive. I drank about 6oz of Skratch and 1/4 up of coffee by the time we got to the race. I had a banana about an hour before the race and a cliff gel about 15 minutes before the race.

SWIM-
This was a seeded start meaning that you had to tell them how fast you *think* you would finish the 400 yards. I had seeded myself at the 10 minute mark. I was #105 into the water. They start a new person every 5 seconds. I had a difficult time finding a breathing rhythm and wound up breathing on every stroke for most of the swim. Although I did better than last years swim, I am still slow as molasses.I had much less anxiety though which is good.

Swimming
00:10:08 | 400 yards | 02m 30s / 100yards
Age Group:	11/27
Overall:	75/135 (pathetic)

What would I do differently?
Figure out how to swim faster or become a duathlete. (Not kidding!)

BIKE - 
This was supposed to be an 8 mile course. Garmin measured it as 7.21 miles. It was 2 loops with 9 hairpin turns. As soon as you got up to speed, you were forced to slow down and do a 180. The wind was terrible and there was a head or crosswind for about 80%. There was one section where I had a tail wind which allowed me to get going pretty fast. I felt like my shifting was very effective to try and maintain an even cadence and not power through the wind. I was VERY happy with the fact that not a single person passed me on the bike (or the run). I was able to track everyone down within eyeshot. My bike split was 6th fastest out of 135.Given the wind and all the hairpin turns, my average was only 16.2mph.

Biking
00:26:36 | 07.21 miles | 16.26 mile/hr
Age Group:	1/27 (Woohoo!!)
Overall:	6/135 (Woohoo!) - See SIDENOTE below!

What would I do differently?:
Try to drink on the bike. I was parched by the end.

RUN-
 There was a headwind or crosswind with gusts until the last 1/2 mile. I thought I was running much faster than I was. Definitely felt it pick up once the wind was at my back! Again, Garmin measured 1.82 miles, it was supposed to be 2 miles.

Running
00:16:01 | 01.82 miles | 08m 48s  min/mile
Age Group:	2/27
Overall:	20/135

What would you do differently?:
Practice running faster more.

Overall, I won second in my AG again. If I could fix my swim I may actually win my AG. Ahhhh...a girl can dream. I guess you always need something to challenge you and for me, swim it is!!

I was happiest with my bike performance! I feel like I have made a lot of gains in the bike! Sidenote: The top two bike finishers I highly suspect cut the course. I am not sure if it was on purpose or not, but they had times 3-5 minutes faster than anyone else this year or last. They also started their swim after me therefore with their bike times, they should have passed me - they didn't. So unofficially (and my coach agrees with this), I had the 4th fastest bike split!!

Next race.....EAGLEMAN!!!

Half Marathon Relay Race Recap - 5/5/13

Here we are in May and I beg to ask, WHERE IS SPRING???

Today was the first race of my season. I did the NJ Half Marathon Relay last year as well. For races that I have done before I always check back and see what my time was so, of course, I can try to beat it. Last year I did 6.9 miles with a 8:37 min/mile pace. That's not too shabby for this 43 year old! The gauntlet has been dropped - I need to beat 8:37 min/mile.

Tina and I arrive early. We even had time enough to stop at a hotel along the route to use the restrooms. This is our signature move....although I will use a portapotty if I have to, I prefer a clean bathroom and hotels are perfect for this! Thanks to the Holiday Inn, that is what I got.

Next stop, my drop off at 5:45 am. The race started at 6:50 and it is 46 degrees out (again, where is spring??). I was smart enough to dress appropriately with 3 layers on top, compression socks, and my skirted Athleta pants. AND I remembered gloves!!! While waiting I bounced around, stretched, ate my banana, waited, stretched some more. I had a Cliff gel about 5 minutes before the race started and washed it down with some Skratch.

I kept telling myself that this should/could be a training run. I had no taper for this run and was just finishing a 3 week build for my triathlon. I rode 45 miles and ran 2 miles yesterday. My legs were tired. I shouldn't put that pressure on myself. But that darn competitive nature of mine kicked in full force.

The national anthem was sung and then they did a round of Sweet Caroline in honor of Boston. The wheelchair races were off and then so was I. And I was really off....

First mile 7:56 min/mile
Second mile 7:58 min/mile
Third mile 8:37 min/mile (uh oh)
Fourth mile 8:38 min/mile (another uh oh)
Fifth mile 8:56 min/mile - who put two bridges in the same mile!!! It's a hill, get over it is what I kept telling myself
Sixth mile 8:44 min/mile - now I am averaging these miles in my head...
Seventh mile 8:34 min/mile
Eighth mile 8:11 min/mile - longer than last years race

So the average.....do you think I beat it?
7.02 miles
59:34 total time
8:29 min/mile average
8 second per mile PR for a total of 56 second PR!!!

That was close.
I wonder if I had tapered if I could have maintained the sub 8 min/miles??

The handoff went well to Tina. She was off. I walked about 1/2 a mile and then did a recovery pace the rest of the way. I met Tina at the finish and our total time was 2:00:23. She did a great 9:49 min/mile pace which gave her almost a 7 minute PR over last year!  Go Tina!!

We were 8 seconds from being the 3rd female masters team out of 31!! We were 6th last year, so we moved up 2 spots to 4th this year! This might be the reason we go back next year!!

Next week - my first TRI of the season!!! The Ladies Choice Super Sprint in Manassas, VA!!! I won 2nd in my AG last year.....the pressure is on!!

38 days and counting

 

 "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will."~~Vince Lombardi

 

Here I am!! The last month before Eagleman! I have been training specifically for this since October. Next month is June already and the countdown continues. I have moments where I think I am ready and moments I think I am crazy. Ready vs. Crazy?? Maybe a little of both. I know I can do each of the distances separately for sure....but can I add them together while racing?

Which brings up....Racing vs. Finishing. I think those are two different things. I am almost certain I can finish the distance, but I have been training to race. I have done speed work and tabatas in swimming, biking, and running. It is going to hurt...my legs, my lungs. I have to pace myself so I don't go too fast on the bike and have nothing left for the run. I need to fuel properly so I don't run out of steam, but so that I don't get stomach cramps either. There is so much to think about.

I think at this point, more than a month out for this race, I am in a good place thanks to my coach. She has told me what to do and I have done it. She keeps telling me that I am faster than I think I am. I hope she is right! LOL

I am so excited as racing season starts. I am SO excited as my friends who have also been training hard get to race their races. Let the season begin!!!!!