Triathlon Season Coming To An End
It's been a great ride, but the local triathlon season is coming to an end. With no more races scheduled within short driving distance my "Summer of Tri" has come to a close. The last two, the Holcomb Du/Tri and the Lake Scott Triathlon, have been a challenge both mentally and physically. To say I didn't train properly for them is an understatement. We had our granddaughters, age 6 and 3 for the week before the Holcomb race and went on a short vacation the week before the Scott race. I wouldn't change a thing but it did affect my readiness and mind set for both those races.
Holcomb Du/Tri
Running after two little girls can wear anybody out and I'm no exception. A neighbor girl came down a few mornings so I could get a few workouts in, but nothing at the level that I had been working out before the Big Pool Tri. I wasn't excited about this race even though it is run by my very good friends at the Holcomb Rec. They do a super job of bringing newbies along and there were a lot of rookies in the race. I performed as well as I could and set a nice time but finished in the lower part of the pack. It's frustrating to get beat by someone who on a whim decided to try a triathlon. It's not as if she was a couch potato and way out of shape, but still.
Lake Scott Trathlon
It's been hot here. Darn hot. So for the first time ever I was able to talk my hubby into a short getaway to somewhere cool. It was a wonderful cool four days, but it didn't allow any time for training. I did run one morning but again, not up to the level that I had been training before the Big Pool. So when race day rolled around I knew it would not be my best effort. On top of that, we learned that part of the ride would be over gravel roads. The reports were that it was very rough with washboard bumps through most of the 1 1/2 of dirt. We had to ride two loops of this so that meant 3 miles of rough tough road. Add to that lots of hills and I was not looking forward to it. The swim was posted at 300 meters but the time they posted for my swim was ridiculous so I stepped it off on my own and it was actually a 400 meter swim. I was not planning on that either. The run was again over the rough dirt road and I ended up running the flat and downhills and walking the uphills. Add all that together and I finished just under my target at 1:38:58. My shoulders are aching from holding onto my handlebars so tight but at least my teeth have stopped rattling.
Wrap Up
I'm proud of what I've accomplished this summer. I'm a triathlete. I'm still not fast and never will be, but I will always be able to claim that title. The turtle is now my mascot and just like the turtle, I know I'll get there eventually no matter what. A few 5K races are coming up and I'll work on my run to try and build my stamina. I want to keep swimming and riding at lest once a week so I'll keep busy. Claudia B. wants me to do a triathlon in September but I think I'm done for the year. My body is tired and so is my mind. I start back to work next week and life will settle back into routine. Will I do tri's next year? Probably. But as my friend Traci W. told me, there is only one first. Turtle Power!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Can a Triathlon Be Too Short?
I think it can, especially when you have to change shoes between the bike and run and everyone else just kicks off their bike and hits the road. This was a really short very relaxed triathlon designed more for experience then competition. A 200 meter swim, 3 mile bike ride, and a 1 mile run added up to a lesson on transitions and a medal for my friend Kate.
Let's start with the swim. At 200 meters you would think most could manage it with some rest at the ends. But as I was swimming along I looked to the sides and EVERYONE ELSE WAS RUNNING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL! I was the only adult lady (there were only 7 of us) that swam the entire distance. Kate has been working on her swim but she too abandoned her stroke in favor of faster feet. I still exited the pool near the front of the pack but was way more winded then the others. Oh well, it was for fun, right?
The ride was tough. The wind was blowing about 20 mph by then and one mile of the course was on dirt road. It was washboard rough most of the way and hard to pick up speed. I was on my road bike and had to wear my clip-in shoes so I was able to make up some time on the ride, but it was way to short to really make a difference. I passed a few ladies but it was not a fun ride.
The next transition killed me. I had to change shoes while everyone else, and I mean everyone else since I was the only rider with clip-in shoes, just kicked out, dumped their bike and hit the road. Once again, my lack of stamina in the run did me in. No one passed me but I wasn't able to pick up any ground. And one of the riders I passed on the bike slipped ahead of me in the transition. It was not an impressive time for me but even if I had run well it wouldn't have moved me up to the medals.
Kate on the other hand did awesome! She swam/walked her way out of the pool and had a pretty good ride. She made up some ground on the front runner but just couldn't chase her down in the run. She finished second in her first Mini Sprint Triathlon! She is just learning how to swim correctly and appreciated the irony of receiving a "swimming" medal as the event was put on by the local swim team.
What I learned was that with my slow run, I need a decent length swim/bike to make up any time I'm going to lose on the run. And having to change shoes in a really short race wastes too much time. I had a great time with the ladies and actually know all 7 that participated. Kate was thrilled and proudly put her triathlon sticker on her car. I need to get me one of those!
Next up, the Holcomb Mini Sprint Triathlon - 200 meter swim (no walking allowed!), 9 mile ride, 2.5 mile run. Turtle Power!
I think it can, especially when you have to change shoes between the bike and run and everyone else just kicks off their bike and hits the road. This was a really short very relaxed triathlon designed more for experience then competition. A 200 meter swim, 3 mile bike ride, and a 1 mile run added up to a lesson on transitions and a medal for my friend Kate.
Let's start with the swim. At 200 meters you would think most could manage it with some rest at the ends. But as I was swimming along I looked to the sides and EVERYONE ELSE WAS RUNNING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL! I was the only adult lady (there were only 7 of us) that swam the entire distance. Kate has been working on her swim but she too abandoned her stroke in favor of faster feet. I still exited the pool near the front of the pack but was way more winded then the others. Oh well, it was for fun, right?
The ride was tough. The wind was blowing about 20 mph by then and one mile of the course was on dirt road. It was washboard rough most of the way and hard to pick up speed. I was on my road bike and had to wear my clip-in shoes so I was able to make up some time on the ride, but it was way to short to really make a difference. I passed a few ladies but it was not a fun ride.
The next transition killed me. I had to change shoes while everyone else, and I mean everyone else since I was the only rider with clip-in shoes, just kicked out, dumped their bike and hit the road. Once again, my lack of stamina in the run did me in. No one passed me but I wasn't able to pick up any ground. And one of the riders I passed on the bike slipped ahead of me in the transition. It was not an impressive time for me but even if I had run well it wouldn't have moved me up to the medals.
Kate on the other hand did awesome! She swam/walked her way out of the pool and had a pretty good ride. She made up some ground on the front runner but just couldn't chase her down in the run. She finished second in her first Mini Sprint Triathlon! She is just learning how to swim correctly and appreciated the irony of receiving a "swimming" medal as the event was put on by the local swim team.
What I learned was that with my slow run, I need a decent length swim/bike to make up any time I'm going to lose on the run. And having to change shoes in a really short race wastes too much time. I had a great time with the ladies and actually know all 7 that participated. Kate was thrilled and proudly put her triathlon sticker on her car. I need to get me one of those!
Next up, the Holcomb Mini Sprint Triathlon - 200 meter swim (no walking allowed!), 9 mile ride, 2.5 mile run. Turtle Power!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Results - 2nd Place!
Yup, that's right. I placed second in my age division. They don't have everyone's age listed so I don't know if there were more then two or not. I'm going to think there were and leave it at that. My official time was 1:37:22, way ahead of my 1:50 projection. I'm so proud of that! I won't tell you how far behind #1 I was because it doesn't matter. Now I know what I am capable of and have a better idea of what time I should be shooting for in the future. My friend Casey A. finished second overall and way ahead of me. This was not a big race but to me it might as well have been the Olympics.
Wednesday I'm going to participate in a mini sprint tri with my friend Kate H. so she can get her feet wet in a small environment. She's just learning how to swim and this should be great practice for her. I'll post our results when I have them.
For now, I'm signing off. It's been fun keeping this journal of my training. When I go back and read it years from now I will most likely laugh at how naive I sounded. But we learn and grow and that's what life is about. I'll post when I have results from other races. So long for now.
Yup, that's right. I placed second in my age division. They don't have everyone's age listed so I don't know if there were more then two or not. I'm going to think there were and leave it at that. My official time was 1:37:22, way ahead of my 1:50 projection. I'm so proud of that! I won't tell you how far behind #1 I was because it doesn't matter. Now I know what I am capable of and have a better idea of what time I should be shooting for in the future. My friend Casey A. finished second overall and way ahead of me. This was not a big race but to me it might as well have been the Olympics.
Wednesday I'm going to participate in a mini sprint tri with my friend Kate H. so she can get her feet wet in a small environment. She's just learning how to swim and this should be great practice for her. I'll post our results when I have them.
For now, I'm signing off. It's been fun keeping this journal of my training. When I go back and read it years from now I will most likely laugh at how naive I sounded. But we learn and grow and that's what life is about. I'll post when I have results from other races. So long for now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)