Mountain Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Guntersville, Alabama
United States
Team Magic
74F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 32m 41s
Overall Rank = 78/252
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 2/6
Pre-race routine:

The usual - get up, eat oatmeal and PB, drink a G2 and plenty of water up until 30 min pre-race. Poop - a lot (still nerves, I guess). Get to the race in plenty of time, set up transition. Hang out and talk to my cheering section. Poop several more times. Take a GU about 7:10.

(Note: If I had raced AG, I would have been 12 out of 22.)
Event warmup:

Stretching. No space at all for swim warm up. Had to be out of the water like 20 min before the race started and I was number 316 so I didn't want to be standing around cold and wet for 45 min before the race. So just the dynamic stretching.
Swim
  • 12m 59s
  • 600 yards
  • 02m 10s / 100 yards
Comments:

(Note: If I had raced AG, I would have been 13 out of 22.)

Goggles filled up with water twice, buoys were difficult to see, especially coming back in (all you could see is sun). I drifted off course several times. I was getting pretty frustrated especially since I consider swimming to be my strong suite. Also, I got kicked several times and twice those kicks landed on the burn on my elbow, reopening that wound. Ugh.
What would you do differently?:

First, get new goggles!

Second, I've got to start making swimming a priority again. If I ever need to skip a work out because of time restraints, swimming is the first thing to go. I've got to stop doing that and just make time for all my work outs.
Transition 1
  • 02m 15s
Comments:

I felt pretty good going through transition and everything went smoothly, but looking back at the actual time of 2:15 seems too slow.

My huge group of fans cheered loudly as I came out of the water and headed up towards transition. :)
What would you do differently?:

Since I'm starting to focus on some longer distance tris, the transition times seem less important, but I'm still going to be doing some shorter distance tris so maybe I should just practice the transitions more.
Bike
  • 50m 1s
  • 16.2 miles
  • 19.43 mile/hr
Comments:

(Note: If I had raced AG, I would have been 10 out of 22.)

Good bike ride. 19.4 MPH is great. Still coming up just shy of the 20 MPH mark, but I'm getting there. I was pleased with my ride and the new aerobars did great. Although, they did make my wrists hurt a pretty good bit. Thinking about exchanging them for some more comfortable ones. New shorts did great as well. Took a bit of a risk wearing these shorts for the first time in the race. (They didn't get in until Thurs night.) But the risk turned out great. The DeSoto 400 mile shorts did as great as others told me they would.

I first saw my competition in the bike ride - a 50 year old Athena. She passed me, I passed her, she passed me. She wound up ahead of me coming off the bike, but I was hoping I could make up the time on the run.

I took a GU about mile 6 and another about mile 15. Only drank water.

The cheering section broke up and cheered me on at a few different spots along the last little bit of the bike section. :)
What would you do differently?:

Just gotta keep working it on the bike. I have steadily improved on the bike since the first time I got on it. I plan to keep it going.
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

Very smooth very fast T2. My husband and brother were standing right next to the partition dividing transition from the spectators yelling "Yeah go Rachael!!" Then my brother yells "Yeah! Change those shoes!" and I just started cracking up big time. I guess it is kinda funny to people that aren't familiar to the sport that changing your shoes quickly really is an important skill. Haha!
What would you do differently?:

It was a good transition. I feel good about it. I used my new shoe changing technique and I was very speedy.
Run
  • 26m 27s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

(Note: If I had raced AG, I would have been 15 out of 22.)

Oh wow, such a great run! This is a new PR for me and it really just felt great too. I pushed it exactly right. I think working with this HRM has helped me learn how to feel my limits a little bit better. I wasn't wearing it in the race, but the practice runs with it have really helped I think. I know exactly how hard I can handle. I ran fast.

I think keeping cool is a big part of it too. Most of the run was in the shade and I kept dumping water over me. At every aid station I would get 2 waters and take a sip out of 1 and dump the rest over my head/back/chest/shoulders.

I passed my 50 year old Athena friend very early in the run and tried to leave her behind in the dust but she kept up until the last mile huffing and puffing like a freight train. We exchanged a few lines of conversation. I guess that was nice. Then in the last mile, she just couldn't keep up. In about the last half mile or so I really turned it on and then in the last little stretch I gave it every last bit of energy I had. I was gasping through the last 100 yards or so.

More cheering from the cheering section along the run and finish line.

I've gotta say, that finish line is still worth it. Such an awesome feeling. I know I've worked hard and accomplished my goal one more time. :)
What would you do differently?:

Awesome run. Couldn't have been better. :)
Post race
Warm down:

Gasp and walk around a bit. Haha. Chatted with the fam. Stretched out really well. Drank, ate. Went to the awards ceremony which was the best awards ceremony that I've been to so far. I got a $30 gift card to Cahaba Cycles and some other pretty sweet swag. Nice!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The swim, the goggles. Always need more practice at everything. :) Still working on the weight loss.

Event comments:

Great race. Well run. I look forward to doing it next year.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-04-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:59 | 600 yards | 02m 10s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/6
Overall: 85/252
Performance: Below average
Suit: none
Course: Out and back away from the shore.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:15
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:50:01 | 16.2 miles | 19.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/6
Overall: 83/252
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Circular. All right hand turns. Fairly flat. Some rolling hills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:27 | 03 miles | 08m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/6
Overall: 106/252
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back. Pretty flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5