Natchez Trace Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I started off with the Northface jacket on because I was so so cold. I knew I was in trouble when the race started, and people just took off in front of me like I was standing still. Having a race that was predominantly collegiate was a different experience. There were a lot of really good triathletes there and I felt out of my league pretty much right from the start of the race. I ran fast and tried to warm up. It worked. By the time I was done with the run, I was feeling fairly warmed up. Plus the jacket was getting heavy so I made a game time decision at the end of the run to ditch the jacket in T1.

There's always the need for more miles. I did good for what I expected from myself. Just not that great compared to all the college kids. :) I would have been 4 of 6 if I had raced age group (F 25-29).

Changed shoes and ditched the belt and jacket. Put on the helmet. Too dark to wear sunglasses. No need to grab GU. I started with it in my back pocket. Tried to put on some gloves, but with everything being so wet, I struggled with them for like 5 seconds and said screw it because I didn't want to waste any more time. It was a pretty good transition. Much faster than a swim - bike transition. I was 10 of 21 in collegiate and 13 overall in T1. And I would have been 2 of 6 if I had raced AG.

Nothing.

I struggled to get clipped in because the clips were so slippery from being wet. I wasted probably 10 seconds just attempting to get clipped in. I need to practice this before the HIM. I have a crazy BRICK coming up that is aimed at practicing transitions so that should help.

The bike was very wet, very cold. Still had on my long sleeved under armor, but the wind was brutal since I was drenched. At some point in the race, I realized that I was just as wet and cold as if we had had a swim. Hubby made me promise that I would not push it hard on the bike because it was just really dangerous conditions and my HIM is in 4 weeks. Not worth risking it. So I pushed hard on up hills and took it easy on down hills. I actually used my brakes quite a bit which is really really rare for me in races. My chain popped off around mile 9 I think. That was annoying. Took a GU around mile 14.

I'm not sorry that I didn't push it more on the bike. It was a dangerous course in the rain, and I felt pretty good with my performance. I actually did a lot better on the hills than I expected after so much time on the trainer over the winter. If I had raced AG, I would have been 3 of 6.

My hands were so cold that I was fumbling with everything. It was difficult to get the bike shoes off, and really hard to get the helmet off. I still managed a pretty good time though. I was 6 of 21 in collegiate and 9th overall in T2. And I would have been 1 of 6 if I had raced AG.

Nothing.

Muddy! Probably the first 1.5-2 miles was trail run which meant mud run in that weather. I actually lost a shoe in the first really muddy section! I was much more careful after that. The mud was seriously ankle deep in a lot of places. One place was very steep and muddy. I was using tree trunks to get up. A very nice guy in front of my reached the top, and turned and gave me a hand up. What a gentleman! It was a slow and technical run. I've never done a trail run before at all so it was new. Pretty fun, but definitely slower than I'm used to. The last part was road running, but mostly up hill so still slow.

The run continues to be my weakness. I guess I just have to keep working on it and lose some more weight. If I had raced AG, I would have been 4 of 6.

Packed up transition then changed out of my soaking wet race clothes and got dry. Stretched a little. Then proceed to stuff my face at the free buffet. YUM!


Cold, rain, and weight. I need to get down to 145. -sigh-