Showing posts with label Philly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philly. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Philadelphia OLY Triathlon 2009
I traveled down to South Jersey on Friday afternoon with a good friend. We stayed at her parent's house about 20 minutes outside of Philly and had a lovely chain-restaurant eating, Target- and Wegman's shopping suburbs filled few days. When my (super talented, Kona-qualifying, 3rd in Age Group this weekend) friend asked me my goals for the race, I replied "I think on a perfect day, if all goes well, a super-amazing yet realistic goal would be to break 2:30."
I had broken it down in my head as follows, knowing both the bike and run times were a stretch, but do-able: 21-22 min swim, 1:15 bike, 45-46 run, plus transition= sub 2:30. Looking at the results from the last few years, that would also put me right around 5th or 6th in my age group.
Short Version:
Swim: 20:24 (142/1921 overall)
T1: 2:28
Bike: 1:15:28 (19.7mph)
T2: 1:33
Run: 49:53 (8:02)
Total Time: 2:29:48
13/132 AG
54th Overall Female
I am SO SO ecstatic about achieving my goal and breaking 2:30. Even though it didn't happen the way I had hoped (grr that damn 10k run), and my age group was HELLA faster this year, none of it mattered and it was a great day.
Long Version:
I was feeling really good going into the weekend. I have had some lingering soreness/tightness in one of my hamstrings, but it hasn't really bothered me when running, just went stretching, etc. We left the city on Friday afternoon and had an easy drive down to the Philly area. There were severe thunderstorms warnings for the entire area, so my worries of a canceled swim were still heavy on my mind. I tried to let it go, not stress over it because there was nothing I could do. A big storm passed through the area late Friday night, but we woke up Saturday to clear, blue skies and warm weather (FINALLY!!).
We put our bikes together, my friend forced me to do a check and clean my tires (result: lots of glass shards pulled and I really need to get new tires ASAP!) and we did an easy 40 minute spin and transition run. I felt good on the bike, my run felt fresh, and I was excited to go!! We sat in loads of traffic to get to the expo/packet pick up, where I may or may not have had to relieve my bladder in an inappropriate location on the highway, but packet pick-up was easy, the expo wasn't that impressive, and we were back to the strip-mall heaven by early evening. We made a lovely summer spinach, walnut and strawberry salad, shrimp and pea pasta and ate too much ice cream.
I stayed up too late catching up on the Real Housewives of New Jersey (damn Bravo marathons!) but finally got to bed.
Race morning we were up by 4:30 and out of the house by 4:45. Had a salt bagel with PB, a banana and OJ en route. We were in the 4th wave, and with a point-to-point swim that you had to get bussed to the start, I didn't want to take any chances cutting it close with bus-craziness. Race morning went really smoothly and were at the swim start with time to spare. They were announcing the water as "75 degrees and the current is STONG." I had one gu about 15 minutes before my swim wave.
Swim - 20:24
Although 75 is quite warm, I didn't really debate not wearing my wetsuit, and once in the water, it was a comfortable temperature with wetsuit. Waiting for our wave to start you could definitely feel the current.
The swim went off with no real hustle and bustle. I had placed myself in the front line, all the way right. I quickly settled into a comfortable pace, probably too comfortable, but with how little swimming I have been doing, I wasn't sure what a 20 minute effort was going to feel like. Ironically, in a wave of 200+, I found myself on the feet of my best friend. I stayed there for awhile, but going towards the last buoys I started to swim a bit right and around her. I knew I must be having a good swim if I was swimming with her (even though she had forgotten her wetsuit and was swimming without one!). It is a straight swim, with a quick right turn to swim exit. Due to the strong current, the last bit 'across' to swim exit was quite interesting, as the current pushed you a bit wide on the turn and you had to swim 'back' toward the exit. I didn't wear a watch, but felt strong and had a cramp, so I probably pushed it about has hard as I should have.
T1
It was a bit of a run from swim exit to T1, and I struggled a bit with my wetsuit over my feet/ankles (that's what happens when you wear your wetsuit 1/year). Felt like I had a quick transition, and exited T1 right with my friend. I believe I exited transition around 7 or 8th in my age group.
Bike - 1:15:28 (19.7mph)
I am not sure how I got the 1:15 goal in my head. I wasn't sure if it was realistic, but averaging 20mph just seemed like a good, concrete time to shoot for. My bike computer stopped reading mph/total time after about 10 minutes (but thankfully the cadence sensor kept working as I really rely on that). So I was riding 'blind' but I felt great. It is a 2-loop course. About halfway through the first loop I was passed by the overall male pro winner and then constantly by the other male pros. It was pretty cool, but a bit freaky as they were passing on both sides, etc, even though I was trying to ride as far right as possible.
I REALLY liked this bike course. It has a few short steep climbs, lots of downhills where you can get your speed up and keep it going into flats. I was constantly reminding myself NOT to use the brakes going into turns and to work the downhills. The 2nd loop of the bike was CRAZY with the amount of bikers on the course, as well as the CLEAR lack of knowledge about where people should be riding (read: on the right), which made some parts of the course that were narrow a bit scary. But I was lucky to be in an early wave and have a pretty wide open 1st loop of the bike.
My back and hamstring started to ache a bit by the end, which is understandable with the amount of riding I do, especially the lack of time trial/fast efforts I have under my belt. I believe I was passed by 4 girls in my AG during the bike- one almost right away, one after 1 loop, and two (riding together definitely closer than legal) around mile 15-16. On the bike, I had 1 Gu around mile 18-19, and drank 1 bottle with water an 1 Nuun tablet. I was going to take in more calories, but decided race morning I didn't feel like I didn't to add Carbo Pro to my bottle, but I knew I needed the water and electrolytes bc it was turning into a hot and sunny day. I knew there was no way I could go through 2 bottles (water in 1, carbo+pro plus nuun in other, which is how I train), so I opted for water+nuun.
T2
I almost took a tumble dismounting as I couldn't decide about the flying dismount, ended up unclipping both shoes and sort of froze up. I figured it out, smashed my finger racking my bike, but had a comfortable transition.
Run - 49:52 (8:02/mile)
I decided to wear my Garmin for this run to keep my pace honest. Thinking back to other OLY tris I have done, the run has hurt (clearly), which I take in my mind as = running slow, and then mentally giving up a bit. But then looking back, my pace hasn't been that slow, so there has been no need to give up (not sure if that makes sense). But the same thing happened yesterday, even when seeing my miles splits with my Garmin.
My first mile was 7:25, which is exactly where I wanted to be. I felt fine and comfortable and was trying to get my breathing under control. In the first mile, a girl in my AG flew by. Oh well. Mile 2 was 7:41, still on pace. During the third mile, my legs left like they were loosening up a bit and I was trying to latch on to shoulders of the super speedy men that were constantly flying by me. Then you run about 4/10 of a mile on grass, which due to the rain and being the swim exit, was basically a muddy mess covered in hay. I think this is where I lost it. My hamstring began to ache a bit, my lower calf tightened up in the grass, and mile 3 was a 7:54. It's so funny, because looking back, this is still totally a fine pace, and I had hoped to be able to pick it up a bit the final three miles.
Mentally, I was done. The last 3 miles are a long, flat open out-and-back with little shade. It was hot and sunny, and right at Mile 3 another girl from my AG passed me. I tried to jump on her shoulder, and looking back, I can't figure out why I didn't try harder to stay with her. I just didn't have it in me- mentally (her run ended up being about a minute faster than mine).
So I struggled to keep it together the last three miles. I didn't have any clue what I had swam/biked, but knew my run goal was slipping away, I just tried to put one foot in front of the other. I walked a bit at mile 5 to get a good drink of water, as I was getting goose bumps and knew I needed to hydrate. As soon as I stopped, DC Mayor Fenty ran past (hello, so cute!). I just wanted to be done. I rounded the last little turn and could see the chute but still couldn't see the clock. I heard my friend scream out my name, and finally saw the clock and realized I had about :20 second to get over the mat to break 2:30. I was ecstatic, so so happy, but also had to pee so badly it was just about all I could think about :)
My Garmin had the run as 6.3, with each mile getting slower :) Fabulous.
I had a lot of team mates at the race and just about everyone seemed to have a great race. I really liked the course (esp the bike) and think I will definitely sign up again for next year. I was a bit surprised to hear that I was 13th in my age group, but I honestly didn't care because looking at the results I realized not only had I broken 2:30, but I had also biked a 1:15.
I am still learning how to get the mental aspect of a 10k (especially off the bike) under control. I think I could have had one more gu at some point which may help, and I think I probably pushed the bike a bit more than my fitness right now, which made my run suffer. BUT seeing that my first 3 miles of my run are were I want them to be, I think it's mental toughness.
I have four weeks until the NYC Tri. Two of those weeks will be spent in France/South Africa sans bike. The next 10 days until I leave will be focused on doing all I can to improve my bike fitness to let my run improve in NYC. Lots and lots of riding, with high intensity, and high intensity bricks are what I am thinking.
Marathon training also officially starts July 13th, in Paris of all places :)
I had broken it down in my head as follows, knowing both the bike and run times were a stretch, but do-able: 21-22 min swim, 1:15 bike, 45-46 run, plus transition= sub 2:30. Looking at the results from the last few years, that would also put me right around 5th or 6th in my age group.
Short Version:
Swim: 20:24 (142/1921 overall)
T1: 2:28
Bike: 1:15:28 (19.7mph)
T2: 1:33
Run: 49:53 (8:02)
Total Time: 2:29:48
13/132 AG
54th Overall Female
I am SO SO ecstatic about achieving my goal and breaking 2:30. Even though it didn't happen the way I had hoped (grr that damn 10k run), and my age group was HELLA faster this year, none of it mattered and it was a great day.
Long Version:
I was feeling really good going into the weekend. I have had some lingering soreness/tightness in one of my hamstrings, but it hasn't really bothered me when running, just went stretching, etc. We left the city on Friday afternoon and had an easy drive down to the Philly area. There were severe thunderstorms warnings for the entire area, so my worries of a canceled swim were still heavy on my mind. I tried to let it go, not stress over it because there was nothing I could do. A big storm passed through the area late Friday night, but we woke up Saturday to clear, blue skies and warm weather (FINALLY!!).
We put our bikes together, my friend forced me to do a check and clean my tires (result: lots of glass shards pulled and I really need to get new tires ASAP!) and we did an easy 40 minute spin and transition run. I felt good on the bike, my run felt fresh, and I was excited to go!! We sat in loads of traffic to get to the expo/packet pick up, where I may or may not have had to relieve my bladder in an inappropriate location on the highway, but packet pick-up was easy, the expo wasn't that impressive, and we were back to the strip-mall heaven by early evening. We made a lovely summer spinach, walnut and strawberry salad, shrimp and pea pasta and ate too much ice cream.
I stayed up too late catching up on the Real Housewives of New Jersey (damn Bravo marathons!) but finally got to bed.
Race morning we were up by 4:30 and out of the house by 4:45. Had a salt bagel with PB, a banana and OJ en route. We were in the 4th wave, and with a point-to-point swim that you had to get bussed to the start, I didn't want to take any chances cutting it close with bus-craziness. Race morning went really smoothly and were at the swim start with time to spare. They were announcing the water as "75 degrees and the current is STONG." I had one gu about 15 minutes before my swim wave.
Swim - 20:24
Although 75 is quite warm, I didn't really debate not wearing my wetsuit, and once in the water, it was a comfortable temperature with wetsuit. Waiting for our wave to start you could definitely feel the current.
The swim went off with no real hustle and bustle. I had placed myself in the front line, all the way right. I quickly settled into a comfortable pace, probably too comfortable, but with how little swimming I have been doing, I wasn't sure what a 20 minute effort was going to feel like. Ironically, in a wave of 200+, I found myself on the feet of my best friend. I stayed there for awhile, but going towards the last buoys I started to swim a bit right and around her. I knew I must be having a good swim if I was swimming with her (even though she had forgotten her wetsuit and was swimming without one!). It is a straight swim, with a quick right turn to swim exit. Due to the strong current, the last bit 'across' to swim exit was quite interesting, as the current pushed you a bit wide on the turn and you had to swim 'back' toward the exit. I didn't wear a watch, but felt strong and had a cramp, so I probably pushed it about has hard as I should have.
T1
It was a bit of a run from swim exit to T1, and I struggled a bit with my wetsuit over my feet/ankles (that's what happens when you wear your wetsuit 1/year). Felt like I had a quick transition, and exited T1 right with my friend. I believe I exited transition around 7 or 8th in my age group.
Bike - 1:15:28 (19.7mph)
I am not sure how I got the 1:15 goal in my head. I wasn't sure if it was realistic, but averaging 20mph just seemed like a good, concrete time to shoot for. My bike computer stopped reading mph/total time after about 10 minutes (but thankfully the cadence sensor kept working as I really rely on that). So I was riding 'blind' but I felt great. It is a 2-loop course. About halfway through the first loop I was passed by the overall male pro winner and then constantly by the other male pros. It was pretty cool, but a bit freaky as they were passing on both sides, etc, even though I was trying to ride as far right as possible.
I REALLY liked this bike course. It has a few short steep climbs, lots of downhills where you can get your speed up and keep it going into flats. I was constantly reminding myself NOT to use the brakes going into turns and to work the downhills. The 2nd loop of the bike was CRAZY with the amount of bikers on the course, as well as the CLEAR lack of knowledge about where people should be riding (read: on the right), which made some parts of the course that were narrow a bit scary. But I was lucky to be in an early wave and have a pretty wide open 1st loop of the bike.
My back and hamstring started to ache a bit by the end, which is understandable with the amount of riding I do, especially the lack of time trial/fast efforts I have under my belt. I believe I was passed by 4 girls in my AG during the bike- one almost right away, one after 1 loop, and two (riding together definitely closer than legal) around mile 15-16. On the bike, I had 1 Gu around mile 18-19, and drank 1 bottle with water an 1 Nuun tablet. I was going to take in more calories, but decided race morning I didn't feel like I didn't to add Carbo Pro to my bottle, but I knew I needed the water and electrolytes bc it was turning into a hot and sunny day. I knew there was no way I could go through 2 bottles (water in 1, carbo+pro plus nuun in other, which is how I train), so I opted for water+nuun.
T2
I almost took a tumble dismounting as I couldn't decide about the flying dismount, ended up unclipping both shoes and sort of froze up. I figured it out, smashed my finger racking my bike, but had a comfortable transition.
Run - 49:52 (8:02/mile)
I decided to wear my Garmin for this run to keep my pace honest. Thinking back to other OLY tris I have done, the run has hurt (clearly), which I take in my mind as = running slow, and then mentally giving up a bit. But then looking back, my pace hasn't been that slow, so there has been no need to give up (not sure if that makes sense). But the same thing happened yesterday, even when seeing my miles splits with my Garmin.
My first mile was 7:25, which is exactly where I wanted to be. I felt fine and comfortable and was trying to get my breathing under control. In the first mile, a girl in my AG flew by. Oh well. Mile 2 was 7:41, still on pace. During the third mile, my legs left like they were loosening up a bit and I was trying to latch on to shoulders of the super speedy men that were constantly flying by me. Then you run about 4/10 of a mile on grass, which due to the rain and being the swim exit, was basically a muddy mess covered in hay. I think this is where I lost it. My hamstring began to ache a bit, my lower calf tightened up in the grass, and mile 3 was a 7:54. It's so funny, because looking back, this is still totally a fine pace, and I had hoped to be able to pick it up a bit the final three miles.
Mentally, I was done. The last 3 miles are a long, flat open out-and-back with little shade. It was hot and sunny, and right at Mile 3 another girl from my AG passed me. I tried to jump on her shoulder, and looking back, I can't figure out why I didn't try harder to stay with her. I just didn't have it in me- mentally (her run ended up being about a minute faster than mine).
So I struggled to keep it together the last three miles. I didn't have any clue what I had swam/biked, but knew my run goal was slipping away, I just tried to put one foot in front of the other. I walked a bit at mile 5 to get a good drink of water, as I was getting goose bumps and knew I needed to hydrate. As soon as I stopped, DC Mayor Fenty ran past (hello, so cute!). I just wanted to be done. I rounded the last little turn and could see the chute but still couldn't see the clock. I heard my friend scream out my name, and finally saw the clock and realized I had about :20 second to get over the mat to break 2:30. I was ecstatic, so so happy, but also had to pee so badly it was just about all I could think about :)
My Garmin had the run as 6.3, with each mile getting slower :) Fabulous.
I had a lot of team mates at the race and just about everyone seemed to have a great race. I really liked the course (esp the bike) and think I will definitely sign up again for next year. I was a bit surprised to hear that I was 13th in my age group, but I honestly didn't care because looking at the results I realized not only had I broken 2:30, but I had also biked a 1:15.
I am still learning how to get the mental aspect of a 10k (especially off the bike) under control. I think I could have had one more gu at some point which may help, and I think I probably pushed the bike a bit more than my fitness right now, which made my run suffer. BUT seeing that my first 3 miles of my run are were I want them to be, I think it's mental toughness.
I have four weeks until the NYC Tri. Two of those weeks will be spent in France/South Africa sans bike. The next 10 days until I leave will be focused on doing all I can to improve my bike fitness to let my run improve in NYC. Lots and lots of riding, with high intensity, and high intensity bricks are what I am thinking.
Marathon training also officially starts July 13th, in Paris of all places :)
Friday, June 26, 2009
Grrrrr.
As it is STILL raining in NYC and up and down the East Coast, if the swim is canceled this weekend I will be throwing a very loud, obnoxious temper-tantrum.
But I am so excited for my first OLY in almost two years. Goals for the race:
Hammer the swim.
Stay focused on the bike- make it hurt.
PR the 10k run.
But I am so excited for my first OLY in almost two years. Goals for the race:
Hammer the swim.
Stay focused on the bike- make it hurt.
PR the 10k run.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The fear of planning...
As you may have guessed from my last post, I am trying to start planning my race schedule for next season. In a perfect world, this would be my schedule next year:
March 11 Global Dolphin Beach
April Two Oceans Half Marathon
January 2009- South Africa 70.3
(regardless of my physical living location, I am going to try to plan work trips around any or all of the three above):
HOWEVER, being more realistic as to where things stand right now (and where I currently live:) , here is what I am leaning towards:
Early Season Half Iron- Tupper Lake (late June) or Black Bear (late May)
Gold Coast Sprint- Early June, already registered, love this race
Mid Season OLY- Philly(late June) or NYC* (late July)
Philadelphia Women's Sprint- Early July (did this year- flat, fast course, nicely organized)
Late Season OLY- Mighty Hamptons/Westchester/The Nation's Triathlon in DC
(Also NYRR races all year, and possibly a fall marathon)
The snags:
1. Philly OLY is the same date as Tupper Lake HIM
2. NYC is overpriced in my opinion (however, Philly would cost more once you factor in hotel and travel to the race)
*I also still have a bone to pick with the NYC course, as in, I want to kick it's ass like it kicked mine in 2007.
3. I really wanted to go up and watch Lake Placid this year
4. Early HIM = Finally need to invest in a bike trainer (which I am OK with)
Most of the registrations for these races are currently open or open Nov 1. ie, I need to decide.
Oh, and I also need to find some extra cash laying around to pay for the registration
AND the new bike I want.
Sweet.
Honestly, I think the thing that scares me most about this planning, more than breaking out the credit card to pay for it, is that I had a great season planned out last year too. Two Oceans, St. Anthony's, Eagleman...and it all came crashing down. I know I have done all I can (OK, well not ALL I can, but a lot) to prevent another injury, but the fear is still there that when I try to ramp up the intensity again to train for a 10k run, or add in the biking mileage on top of the running miles, old or new injuries will set me back again. I think/HOPE that completing the marathon takes some of these fears away, proves that I am OK and not broken and can move forward, but the fear still lingers....
Ugh, I just need to go out and run.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Philly photos
Stealing these from Brightroom, obviously, so I'm not sure how they will turn out. Its the first time I think I have gotten race photos that I didn't cringe at. PS- I am holding a cup of water in the run pic, and am probably in mid-gulp, so it's a bit silly looking. I have better run form than that, I swear!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Philadelphia Women's Sprint Triathlon 2008
Short Version:
Swim (1/2 mile): 10:41 (20 overall)
T1: 1:20
Bike (17 miles): 51:20 (19.9mph, 71 overall)
T2: 0:59
Run (5k): 24:27 (7:54, 98 overall)
Total Time: 1:28:45
15/97 F25-29 Age Group, 40/723 overall
Long Version:
I wasn't in the best mental state going into this race. I had a rough few weeks of workouts, both because of travel and in terms of being honest with myself about how my leg has been feeling. I realize now that in the two weeks before the race, I was on my bike a total of 3 times. I haven't been upping the miles as much as I would have liked with running either,so I wasn't quite sure what to expect in terms of fitness.
Being a sprint, I thought I could fake my way through an hour and a half and have a good day. I wasn't kidding myself that any speed would be there, but I thought I had enough of a base to enjoy the race. I should have learned last year from my miserable experience at the NYC Tri that not being at a place were I want to be fitness-wise will NOT lead to an enjoyable day of racing. My times and splits for the day are fine, especially with the amount of effort I have been putting in over the past few weeks, but regardless of times, for me, being FIT enough to RACE is the only way to enjoy a race. Lesson learned (hopefully).
Saturday
Went down to Philly with a good friend from college and was able to stay at her parents place about 20 minutes outside the city in New Jersey. Packet pick up was a breeze on Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed the suburbs on Saturday night, including some nice chocolate-dipped frozen custard. Stopped at Panera to pick up some bagels for the morning, and I had also brought a Peanut Butter sandwich from home. Got to bed early, and had no trouble falling and staying asleep.
Sunday, pre-race
Woke up at 5:10, had plans to leave by 5:30 as transition opened at 6am. We were in the 2nd triathlon wave and the race started at 8am, and I like to have ample time to get to the race, not stress about parking, stretch and warm up. My friend is the OPPOSITE, she would roll into transition at 7:50 for an 8am start, so she graciously agreed to calm my nerves and get to the race early. It also had looked like transition wasn't assigned when we picked our packets up, so I wanted to get there early to get a good spot in transition. On the drive to the race, I had a plain bagel and about 20 ounces of water. I wasn't nervous at all, and my friend and I were having a great time.
Got to transition, turned out transition racks were assigned, but our age group got a great spot and we were down in transition with LOADS of time to spare. Went on a quick warm up jog and stretched, went to the bathroom, and at this time it was still only about 7:15am. It was then that I realized I had only had a bagel and water to eat. I pulled out my peanut butter and debated- I KNEW if I ate it then, I would be tasting it during the swim and bike, but I also knew a bagel wasn't enough calories, even for a sprint. Decided to suck it up and ate the PB sandwich. Also had a Gu about 20 minutes before our swim wave.
Swim, 1/2 mile, 10:41
The swim was in the Schuylkill River, which felt about 100 degrees. It apparently didn't hit the temp were wetsuits weren't allowed, and there were quite a few women who did wear wetsuits, but I felt like I was hot just in my tri shorts and top, I couldn't imagine how hot it would have been in a wetsuit. It was a deep-water start, and there were about 100 people per wave. I had thought by looking at the wave assignments that we were in the first triathlon wave (2nd wave overall, the first being the Du wave), but I was incorrect. There was a wave before ours that consisted of 'bosom buddies' (whatever that meant), mother-daughter races (very cool!), and 'survivors' (breast cancer, I would assume?). However, once on the course I realized somehow some of the elite athletes (I believe the overall 1-2 finishers) were also in this wave. No biggie.
Our wave started without incident, the Under-19 age group was also in this wave, and this cutie 11 year old I had chatted with in transition lined up right next to me. She was very cute, and could tell was a little swimmer, and at that moment my ONLY goal for the entire race was to not let her beat me out of the water**. Now, think what you will about me wanting to beat an 11 year old, but this was a legitimate fear, because I know MY 11-year old self would kick my current 25-year old self's ASS in a 1/2 mile swim :)
Only about 100 meters into the swim, I looked up to sight and my hand and then promptely my FACE ran SMACK, STRAIGHT into a kayak. The kayak was sitting perpendicular to the swim course, in the direct line between the swim start and the first turn-buoy. After running into her, she yelled at me to look out. Hmmm...sort of think SHE was the one who should have been looking out, as she was in the MIDDLE of the swim course, but whatevs. Had to sort of doggy-paddle around her and get my speed up again, figure it cost about 10-20 seconds.
Felt fine in the water, not great, but not as sluggish as my Saturday swim, so all was fine. I could tell already I was missing that extra gear, and I wouldn't find it the entire race. I tried to pick it up a few times, but my body just wasn't responding.
T1, 1:20
I think my heart rate was the highest it was the entire race in my run from swim exit to my bike. No joke. Nothing of interest to note during T1. Had a bit of trouble clipping in/mounting my my bike, think about 2 women in my age group passed me as I fumbled with my clips.
Bike, 17 miles, 51:20 (19.9 mph average)
The bike course was a 2 loop, flat course along the river. You crossed over 2 bridges on the loop. I did not feel good on the bike from the start. Just didn't' feel comfortable- my ass hurt, my groin felt crampy, my legs had no power. Couldn't get my head in the race, and a few times I just downshifted and had to spin my legs and talk myself back into racing.
I am totally OK with people passing me on the bike. As a strong swimmer, and a not so-strong (weak?) cyclist, this will be a fact of my triathlon career regardless of how much time I spend improving my bike. But on this ride, it just felt like EVERYONE that passed was in my age group. Where were the 35-39 women who started in my wave? Where were the 30-34 speed demons from the wave behind? I tried not to let it get to me, but it definitely got a bit discouraging to be working as hard as I was, not getting the speed out of my legs I wanted, and be passed by women FLYING by (some in packs...grrr) at 25+ mph like I was standing still (and I was still going about 20 mph!).
Took in one bottle during the ride, 20 ounces of water with 1 Nuun tablet. This equals ZERO calories. I know that nutrition shouldn't be TOO important for a sprint, but it was plain silly of me to take in no calories on the bike. I have no idea what i was thinking. Apparently, I wasn't.
T2, 0:59
As I was riding to the dismount line for the bike, some race officiall yelled at my that I need new brakes (yes, my brakes are very loose and I actually like them like that...safest thing? No.). But, really buddy, how is telling me that in the middle of a race going to be helpful? Felt like I had a good transition, looking back, I would say this is the highlight of the race :)
Run, 5k, 24:27 (7:54 pace)
I don't want to dwell on the run. It was hot. I was hungry. I felt like I was standing still. I really tried to push the pace a few times (at the turn-around, at the 2 mile marker, at the '1 mile left' sign), but it just wasn't there. Like I said, T1 was the highest my heart rate got all day.
I felt EXACTLY the same as I did during the run of the NYC tri last summer. And I think all the same factors contributed: Lack of speed/run base miles. Lack of proper nutrition pre-race and on the bike. Bad mental attitude. Once I get down on myself on the run, no matter how fast I may be running, that's it. Towards the end of the run, my hip/butt/lower back on my injured side began to hurt and I was just VERY glad it was only a 5k run.
The aftermath:
Got some ice on my hip immediately after finishing. Got some yummy treats and hung around to see the results. Was back to the Jersey suburbs, laying in a pool by 11am :)
I think every race is a learning experience, and in the 5 races I have now done, two have been very similar experiences (this and the NYC tri last year), and I can only learn from them:
For me, RACING is what makes triathlon fun. This doesn't mean winning my age group, or even being 'competitive' in my age group, whatever that means. It means being able to respond when someone passes you on the bike or the run. Or to see someone ahead and be able to at least attempt to run them down. It means going into the swim wanting to be the first out of your wave and having it be a LEGITIMATE goal. I learned yesterday, the same way I learned in NYC last year (my first OLY), that a bit more effort is necessary to allow this to happen. I put the effort in after I got back to working out after my injury/trip, and I had the results I was looking for in Gold Coast.
So all in all, not a great race. But overall, I think I learned a lot. This experience is also going to force some major reflections as I plan the rest of my race schedule this year.
**Just in case you're wondering, which I am SURE you are... I beat the 11 year old out of the water....by 25 seconds! My life is complete.
Swim (1/2 mile): 10:41 (20 overall)
T1: 1:20
Bike (17 miles): 51:20 (19.9mph, 71 overall)
T2: 0:59
Run (5k): 24:27 (7:54, 98 overall)
Total Time: 1:28:45
15/97 F25-29 Age Group, 40/723 overall
Long Version:
I wasn't in the best mental state going into this race. I had a rough few weeks of workouts, both because of travel and in terms of being honest with myself about how my leg has been feeling. I realize now that in the two weeks before the race, I was on my bike a total of 3 times. I haven't been upping the miles as much as I would have liked with running either,so I wasn't quite sure what to expect in terms of fitness.
Being a sprint, I thought I could fake my way through an hour and a half and have a good day. I wasn't kidding myself that any speed would be there, but I thought I had enough of a base to enjoy the race. I should have learned last year from my miserable experience at the NYC Tri that not being at a place were I want to be fitness-wise will NOT lead to an enjoyable day of racing. My times and splits for the day are fine, especially with the amount of effort I have been putting in over the past few weeks, but regardless of times, for me, being FIT enough to RACE is the only way to enjoy a race. Lesson learned (hopefully).
Saturday
Went down to Philly with a good friend from college and was able to stay at her parents place about 20 minutes outside the city in New Jersey. Packet pick up was a breeze on Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed the suburbs on Saturday night, including some nice chocolate-dipped frozen custard. Stopped at Panera to pick up some bagels for the morning, and I had also brought a Peanut Butter sandwich from home. Got to bed early, and had no trouble falling and staying asleep.
Sunday, pre-race
Woke up at 5:10, had plans to leave by 5:30 as transition opened at 6am. We were in the 2nd triathlon wave and the race started at 8am, and I like to have ample time to get to the race, not stress about parking, stretch and warm up. My friend is the OPPOSITE, she would roll into transition at 7:50 for an 8am start, so she graciously agreed to calm my nerves and get to the race early. It also had looked like transition wasn't assigned when we picked our packets up, so I wanted to get there early to get a good spot in transition. On the drive to the race, I had a plain bagel and about 20 ounces of water. I wasn't nervous at all, and my friend and I were having a great time.
Got to transition, turned out transition racks were assigned, but our age group got a great spot and we were down in transition with LOADS of time to spare. Went on a quick warm up jog and stretched, went to the bathroom, and at this time it was still only about 7:15am. It was then that I realized I had only had a bagel and water to eat. I pulled out my peanut butter and debated- I KNEW if I ate it then, I would be tasting it during the swim and bike, but I also knew a bagel wasn't enough calories, even for a sprint. Decided to suck it up and ate the PB sandwich. Also had a Gu about 20 minutes before our swim wave.
Swim, 1/2 mile, 10:41
The swim was in the Schuylkill River, which felt about 100 degrees. It apparently didn't hit the temp were wetsuits weren't allowed, and there were quite a few women who did wear wetsuits, but I felt like I was hot just in my tri shorts and top, I couldn't imagine how hot it would have been in a wetsuit. It was a deep-water start, and there were about 100 people per wave. I had thought by looking at the wave assignments that we were in the first triathlon wave (2nd wave overall, the first being the Du wave), but I was incorrect. There was a wave before ours that consisted of 'bosom buddies' (whatever that meant), mother-daughter races (very cool!), and 'survivors' (breast cancer, I would assume?). However, once on the course I realized somehow some of the elite athletes (I believe the overall 1-2 finishers) were also in this wave. No biggie.
Our wave started without incident, the Under-19 age group was also in this wave, and this cutie 11 year old I had chatted with in transition lined up right next to me. She was very cute, and could tell was a little swimmer, and at that moment my ONLY goal for the entire race was to not let her beat me out of the water**. Now, think what you will about me wanting to beat an 11 year old, but this was a legitimate fear, because I know MY 11-year old self would kick my current 25-year old self's ASS in a 1/2 mile swim :)
Only about 100 meters into the swim, I looked up to sight and my hand and then promptely my FACE ran SMACK, STRAIGHT into a kayak. The kayak was sitting perpendicular to the swim course, in the direct line between the swim start and the first turn-buoy. After running into her, she yelled at me to look out. Hmmm...sort of think SHE was the one who should have been looking out, as she was in the MIDDLE of the swim course, but whatevs. Had to sort of doggy-paddle around her and get my speed up again, figure it cost about 10-20 seconds.
Felt fine in the water, not great, but not as sluggish as my Saturday swim, so all was fine. I could tell already I was missing that extra gear, and I wouldn't find it the entire race. I tried to pick it up a few times, but my body just wasn't responding.
T1, 1:20
I think my heart rate was the highest it was the entire race in my run from swim exit to my bike. No joke. Nothing of interest to note during T1. Had a bit of trouble clipping in/mounting my my bike, think about 2 women in my age group passed me as I fumbled with my clips.
Bike, 17 miles, 51:20 (19.9 mph average)
The bike course was a 2 loop, flat course along the river. You crossed over 2 bridges on the loop. I did not feel good on the bike from the start. Just didn't' feel comfortable- my ass hurt, my groin felt crampy, my legs had no power. Couldn't get my head in the race, and a few times I just downshifted and had to spin my legs and talk myself back into racing.
I am totally OK with people passing me on the bike. As a strong swimmer, and a not so-strong (weak?) cyclist, this will be a fact of my triathlon career regardless of how much time I spend improving my bike. But on this ride, it just felt like EVERYONE that passed was in my age group. Where were the 35-39 women who started in my wave? Where were the 30-34 speed demons from the wave behind? I tried not to let it get to me, but it definitely got a bit discouraging to be working as hard as I was, not getting the speed out of my legs I wanted, and be passed by women FLYING by (some in packs...grrr) at 25+ mph like I was standing still (and I was still going about 20 mph!).
Took in one bottle during the ride, 20 ounces of water with 1 Nuun tablet. This equals ZERO calories. I know that nutrition shouldn't be TOO important for a sprint, but it was plain silly of me to take in no calories on the bike. I have no idea what i was thinking. Apparently, I wasn't.
T2, 0:59
As I was riding to the dismount line for the bike, some race officiall yelled at my that I need new brakes (yes, my brakes are very loose and I actually like them like that...safest thing? No.). But, really buddy, how is telling me that in the middle of a race going to be helpful? Felt like I had a good transition, looking back, I would say this is the highlight of the race :)
Run, 5k, 24:27 (7:54 pace)
I don't want to dwell on the run. It was hot. I was hungry. I felt like I was standing still. I really tried to push the pace a few times (at the turn-around, at the 2 mile marker, at the '1 mile left' sign), but it just wasn't there. Like I said, T1 was the highest my heart rate got all day.
I felt EXACTLY the same as I did during the run of the NYC tri last summer. And I think all the same factors contributed: Lack of speed/run base miles. Lack of proper nutrition pre-race and on the bike. Bad mental attitude. Once I get down on myself on the run, no matter how fast I may be running, that's it. Towards the end of the run, my hip/butt/lower back on my injured side began to hurt and I was just VERY glad it was only a 5k run.
The aftermath:
Got some ice on my hip immediately after finishing. Got some yummy treats and hung around to see the results. Was back to the Jersey suburbs, laying in a pool by 11am :)
I think every race is a learning experience, and in the 5 races I have now done, two have been very similar experiences (this and the NYC tri last year), and I can only learn from them:
- I need to be on the bike more. I always have the best intentions when it comes to this, but I need to follow through.
- I need to run more/get more base miles under my belt. I am really working on this.
- Nutrition is key. Not just during the race.
- MENTAL ATTITUDE. Once I get down on myself, or if I am 'feeling' bad, I'm done. This is not OK
For me, RACING is what makes triathlon fun. This doesn't mean winning my age group, or even being 'competitive' in my age group, whatever that means. It means being able to respond when someone passes you on the bike or the run. Or to see someone ahead and be able to at least attempt to run them down. It means going into the swim wanting to be the first out of your wave and having it be a LEGITIMATE goal. I learned yesterday, the same way I learned in NYC last year (my first OLY), that a bit more effort is necessary to allow this to happen. I put the effort in after I got back to working out after my injury/trip, and I had the results I was looking for in Gold Coast.
So all in all, not a great race. But overall, I think I learned a lot. This experience is also going to force some major reflections as I plan the rest of my race schedule this year.
**Just in case you're wondering, which I am SURE you are... I beat the 11 year old out of the water....by 25 seconds! My life is complete.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Second Sighting...
I saw my old friend the Spandex-Scrunchee Man on the 1 train this morning. Last time I saw him, he was wearing this:
This morning, he was sporting white spandex shorts, with black polka dots, a variation on the above tank top, and a white scrunchee. Unlike the picture above, which I took over my shoulder, I was able to get a better look, and he had some fabulous jewelery as well.
Swam easy for 30 minutes this morning, hoping to get me a bit excited for my race this weekend. Sorry to say, it didn't help. I felt sluggish and sore. Did few fast 50s descend that were OK in terms of time, so that was good at least. This hasn't been the best week in terms of work-out quality or mental attitude for me, so I am in a bit of a rough place going into tomorrow. On top of that, I am having a bit of trouble managing my expectations after the results of my last race. Last year, I went into every race with NO expectations, and am trying to keep that attitude for this weekend. I don't want to be disappointed in myself and my performance based on the outcome of the race. So my goals for tomorrow:
1. HAMMER the swim- this should be interesting considering I haven't had a really quality swim work-out in a few weeks, but I think I can suck it up for 10 minutes. Doing the race with an old college swimming teammate, so this should help motivate a quality swim.
2. LISTEN to my body. My hip has been 'talking' to me this week, and I need to listen. If I feel at all funny or not right during the race, I need to be honest with myself about the best thing to do.
3. HAVE FUN. This is an all female race, there are mimosas at the finish line, and I am in the first tri wave- all these things should combine for a FUN race and I need to keep the focus on that.
Ok, off to Philly, have a great weekend!
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