The Race Is On
I thought it would be canceled, but like the race director said during the pre-race meeting, "You know it's race day when the weather turns bad!" This small annual race is usually held in the early spring (it was held a month earlier last year) and I have a feeling that they often deal with poor weather. This day would be no different.
I awoke to a torrential downpour, which would subside some, and then pour down again. Because of the rain, I added my cycling jacket, bike gloves and a second pair of socks to my transition gear. I also brought along cold weather tights and an extra towel, even though I knew I would not take the time to use them, regardless of the temperature. Being a Virgo, I would have been a good Boy Scout. Always prepared, and over-pack whenever space allows!
I had planned on riding my bike up to the race, since the start was only a mile from the house, but I figured why get soaking wet before I ever even got into the pool. The transition area was in the "field house" of the school. This big windowless building is nondescript gray concrete. Inside is a beautiful rubberized quarter mile track circling five or six tennis courts. Very nice!
The bike ride was to commence through a roll up door on the East side of the building and the run started through a roll up door directly opposite on the West side of the building. I chose to set up my transition area directly in between the two doors, with the handlebar of my bike hooked over the tennis net. That done, I proceeded to the pool for the pre-race meeting.
The swim was divided into heats with 16 people per heat, 2 per lane. The swim was 500 meters/20 lengths with a maximum time limit of 15 minutes. I was in heat 4, which gave me lots of time to practice being calm and finish my bottle of Gu2o sports drink. Ten minutes before my heat, I ate a Gu packet and washed it down with the last of the Gu2o, then wandered over to my lane.
My lane mate looked fast, and in my age group... that being the old lady group. (Where do the SLOW old lady's race? That's the group I want!) She asked me if I was going to swim the crawl. I almost said no, I'm going to swim under water, but since she looked like she was going to woop my ass, I figured I'd better not start off the relationship being a smart mouth. We both thought we'd finish our swims in about 11 minutes. Our lane opened up, and we both got in and started warming up.
So, our time to start finally came, and off we went. This was the first time I had swum 500 meters really pushing it. In fact, I haven't ever really pushed myself for speed in the pool, I've always just worked on endurance. It had been a couple of weeks since I was last in the pool, but I think I had pretty decent form. I thought about "gorilla arms" as I swam, because when I had the arm bend correct, I could really feel my forearm "catching" the water. I'm hoping this form has become somewhat habitual, because I'm sure I move faster through the water when I use it.
In the end, my lane mate beat me by a length. There were still 10 people in the pool when I got out, so that put me 6th out of the pool. I didn't look at the clock and decided against wearing a watch, but the fact that I beat ten people told me that I was doing ok.
T1: Out of the pool, walk across the pool deck and through the ladies locker room. Then down a carpeted hall (so I started running) then through a door into the Field House. T1 is always kind of slow. It's difficult to put clothing over wet bodies, which is why someone invented tri suits. I had worn my swimsuit with tri shorts over the top for the swim, and they were very comfortable.
Goggles off, rolled on my socks and slid into my bike shoes. Even being rolled up, the socks still kind of hung up on my wet feet, but they went on fairly quickly and without me losing my balance. Next came a sleeveless jersey which hung up a little on my wet back, sun glasses, helmet, bike jacket and gloves. I had a little difficulty getting my wet hands into the leather gloves and getting the jacket zipped up. Everywhere I lost seconds or had difficulty was due to added clothing that would not normally be necessary on a normal summer race. Plus, the addition of a tri suit, or just racing in my swimsuit would make T1 truly fast!
The bike: It was a short 10 mile course, fairly flat with one short steep hill at the end. The course was an out and back down a two lane highway with a decent shoulder. It was still raining pretty good, but that just added to the fun of it. I could see when cars would go by that they were kicking up a lot of water off the road, but I was already so wet I didn't even feel it. I was hoping that the rookies had worn eye protection.
At about mile 2 or three, I passed my lane mate, who was on a mountain bike! I didn't realize it was her until I passed and looked back and told her she was moving really fast. We recognized each other and started laughing. She said she didn't feel like she was going fast anymore!
Besides crossing the finish line, the bike is my favorite part of the race. I think it's because I can really push myself without totally exhausting myself. My average for the bike was 20.5 mph! Ahh... Adrenalin and aerobars are a wonderful combination!
T2: Fast, fast, fast! Helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes with speed laces on, grab racebelt with number, off I went! I wish they timed the transitions, cuz I'd like to know how fast that one was! It was pretty cold out, and I decide to leave my coat and gloves on, a decision I immediately regretted.
The run: This was not an easy 5k run. After exiting the roll up door, the run proceeded onto a muddy dirt access road and up two short but steep hills. This immediately drove my heart rate through the ceiling and heated up my body. About 200 yards ahead, I could see my personal course photographer, waiting to capture action shots, so I decided to ditch the coat and gloves with her. The run proceeded out onto the street which had a nice wide bike lane. Next came a very long down hill and a short flat section to the turn around.
At one point, I wanted to walk, but I thought about how I had just posted here days ago how much stronger I was mentally, and now was when I had to prove it. On I went to the turn around.
The water station at the turn around was pretty comical. It was still raining pretty hard, but the volunteer had found a way to do his job and remain dry. He was sitting in his truck, parked at the side of the road and had the water cups filled and lining his dashboard. As I ran by, he stuck his hand with the cup out the open window of his truck. Hey, whatever works.
Not long after I hit the turn around, I was met by my lane mate running the opposite direction. When I saw her I yelled, "You're gonna catch me!" Off I went back up that freaking long hill! It didn't take her long to run me down, and I tried to pace off her, but she was too strong. She passed me at about mile 2, and beat me by just under a minute, so she was probably running just under 9 minute miles. (I think she was a ringer!) :)
Up the hill, across the parking lot, down the muddy access road and across the finish line. This year, I had a sprint left in me, which is a nice way to finish.
Ok, here's the down and dirty:
Time: 1:19:03
2nd place in my age group
Overall: 24 out of 70
Being the analytical type, I wish now I had worn a watch so I could have recorded my own splits and transition times. But, next weekend is another race, and it'll be chipped, so I'll get good times off of that.
My time last year was 1:24. My goal next weekend is to beat 1:15. Since it only has a 400 meter swim, I think that's very doable!
(Blogger is not allowing my pictures to post, so I'll post them later this week)
I awoke to a torrential downpour, which would subside some, and then pour down again. Because of the rain, I added my cycling jacket, bike gloves and a second pair of socks to my transition gear. I also brought along cold weather tights and an extra towel, even though I knew I would not take the time to use them, regardless of the temperature. Being a Virgo, I would have been a good Boy Scout. Always prepared, and over-pack whenever space allows!
I had planned on riding my bike up to the race, since the start was only a mile from the house, but I figured why get soaking wet before I ever even got into the pool. The transition area was in the "field house" of the school. This big windowless building is nondescript gray concrete. Inside is a beautiful rubberized quarter mile track circling five or six tennis courts. Very nice!
The bike ride was to commence through a roll up door on the East side of the building and the run started through a roll up door directly opposite on the West side of the building. I chose to set up my transition area directly in between the two doors, with the handlebar of my bike hooked over the tennis net. That done, I proceeded to the pool for the pre-race meeting.
The swim was divided into heats with 16 people per heat, 2 per lane. The swim was 500 meters/20 lengths with a maximum time limit of 15 minutes. I was in heat 4, which gave me lots of time to practice being calm and finish my bottle of Gu2o sports drink. Ten minutes before my heat, I ate a Gu packet and washed it down with the last of the Gu2o, then wandered over to my lane.
My lane mate looked fast, and in my age group... that being the old lady group. (Where do the SLOW old lady's race? That's the group I want!) She asked me if I was going to swim the crawl. I almost said no, I'm going to swim under water, but since she looked like she was going to woop my ass, I figured I'd better not start off the relationship being a smart mouth. We both thought we'd finish our swims in about 11 minutes. Our lane opened up, and we both got in and started warming up.
So, our time to start finally came, and off we went. This was the first time I had swum 500 meters really pushing it. In fact, I haven't ever really pushed myself for speed in the pool, I've always just worked on endurance. It had been a couple of weeks since I was last in the pool, but I think I had pretty decent form. I thought about "gorilla arms" as I swam, because when I had the arm bend correct, I could really feel my forearm "catching" the water. I'm hoping this form has become somewhat habitual, because I'm sure I move faster through the water when I use it.
In the end, my lane mate beat me by a length. There were still 10 people in the pool when I got out, so that put me 6th out of the pool. I didn't look at the clock and decided against wearing a watch, but the fact that I beat ten people told me that I was doing ok.
T1: Out of the pool, walk across the pool deck and through the ladies locker room. Then down a carpeted hall (so I started running) then through a door into the Field House. T1 is always kind of slow. It's difficult to put clothing over wet bodies, which is why someone invented tri suits. I had worn my swimsuit with tri shorts over the top for the swim, and they were very comfortable.
Goggles off, rolled on my socks and slid into my bike shoes. Even being rolled up, the socks still kind of hung up on my wet feet, but they went on fairly quickly and without me losing my balance. Next came a sleeveless jersey which hung up a little on my wet back, sun glasses, helmet, bike jacket and gloves. I had a little difficulty getting my wet hands into the leather gloves and getting the jacket zipped up. Everywhere I lost seconds or had difficulty was due to added clothing that would not normally be necessary on a normal summer race. Plus, the addition of a tri suit, or just racing in my swimsuit would make T1 truly fast!
The bike: It was a short 10 mile course, fairly flat with one short steep hill at the end. The course was an out and back down a two lane highway with a decent shoulder. It was still raining pretty good, but that just added to the fun of it. I could see when cars would go by that they were kicking up a lot of water off the road, but I was already so wet I didn't even feel it. I was hoping that the rookies had worn eye protection.
At about mile 2 or three, I passed my lane mate, who was on a mountain bike! I didn't realize it was her until I passed and looked back and told her she was moving really fast. We recognized each other and started laughing. She said she didn't feel like she was going fast anymore!
Besides crossing the finish line, the bike is my favorite part of the race. I think it's because I can really push myself without totally exhausting myself. My average for the bike was 20.5 mph! Ahh... Adrenalin and aerobars are a wonderful combination!
T2: Fast, fast, fast! Helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes with speed laces on, grab racebelt with number, off I went! I wish they timed the transitions, cuz I'd like to know how fast that one was! It was pretty cold out, and I decide to leave my coat and gloves on, a decision I immediately regretted.
The run: This was not an easy 5k run. After exiting the roll up door, the run proceeded onto a muddy dirt access road and up two short but steep hills. This immediately drove my heart rate through the ceiling and heated up my body. About 200 yards ahead, I could see my personal course photographer, waiting to capture action shots, so I decided to ditch the coat and gloves with her. The run proceeded out onto the street which had a nice wide bike lane. Next came a very long down hill and a short flat section to the turn around.
At one point, I wanted to walk, but I thought about how I had just posted here days ago how much stronger I was mentally, and now was when I had to prove it. On I went to the turn around.
The water station at the turn around was pretty comical. It was still raining pretty hard, but the volunteer had found a way to do his job and remain dry. He was sitting in his truck, parked at the side of the road and had the water cups filled and lining his dashboard. As I ran by, he stuck his hand with the cup out the open window of his truck. Hey, whatever works.
Not long after I hit the turn around, I was met by my lane mate running the opposite direction. When I saw her I yelled, "You're gonna catch me!" Off I went back up that freaking long hill! It didn't take her long to run me down, and I tried to pace off her, but she was too strong. She passed me at about mile 2, and beat me by just under a minute, so she was probably running just under 9 minute miles. (I think she was a ringer!) :)
Up the hill, across the parking lot, down the muddy access road and across the finish line. This year, I had a sprint left in me, which is a nice way to finish.
Ok, here's the down and dirty:
Time: 1:19:03
2nd place in my age group
Overall: 24 out of 70
Being the analytical type, I wish now I had worn a watch so I could have recorded my own splits and transition times. But, next weekend is another race, and it'll be chipped, so I'll get good times off of that.
My time last year was 1:24. My goal next weekend is to beat 1:15. Since it only has a 400 meter swim, I think that's very doable!
(Blogger is not allowing my pictures to post, so I'll post them later this week)
posted by Barb at 7:12 PM
3 Comments:
WAY TO GO BARB!!!!
Awesome work on the race. You shaved off alot of time!! Hot damn. I'm gonna aim to beat your 1:19:03 this weekend. Ha. We can keep up our healthy little Virgo competition. ;)
Great race and race report! You did so awesome! Only your 2nd one? And such adverse weather conditions! Way to go! I love the comment (you should have said it) about swimming (underwater). I love it when people can break the ice and help me relax before a race.
EXCELLENT RACE!!! You kicked some butt... 2nd in your age group is amazing!!! I love when there's someone out there playing leap frog with you... you feel like you have a chance to catch them because you never know what their strengths/weaknesses are... very fun. And things are going pretty smoothly for it only being your second tri!!! Keep up the good work!
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