Xterra Portland - Triathlon


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Forest Grove, Oregon
United States
Energy Events
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 38m 37s
Overall Rank = 138/163
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 8/12
Pre-race routine:

Black coffee at the hotel and a chocolate Ensure. I was freaking out man - I just couldn't eat any real food. I did have a handful of granola and 2 Excedrin too.

I was sooooo intimidated. This is my mind race morning - "I am the biggest girl here w/ the crappiest bike - good lord - look at her calves!!!!! And look at that bike - it is solid titanium - oh my gosh that is a badwater sticker on his 2010 Jeep - I am soooo dead!!!!"
Event warmup:

Pacing - freaking out - nervous talking - pacing - freaking out - drank some water - freaking out - set up transition - pacing - talked to some dude w/ his pro card - ahhhhh - freaking out.... etc.
Swim
  • 25m 25s
  • 1000 meters
  • 02m 32s / 100 meters
Comments:

In the pre race breifing the director said that since the water was 69 degrees wetsuits were mandatory - pshaw yah right - he insisted on his point for about 2 minutes before he got schooled. There were some very sad people for about 2 minutes.

Walked down to the shore. Nasty gravely beach and SUPER slippery slime after walking into the water. I overheard a couple of ladys talking about last years Xterra race in HI.

OMG I almost drowned. I have never been so freaked out in the water. I grew up on a lake and have never been affraid of the water.

2 minutes into the wave start of the swim I get kicked and I panic! I mean full scale gasping panic. I didn't wave my arms or start screaming but I was close. Then I looked around and realized there were no boats. No kayaks, dudes on surfboards, spotters - nothing. I just sucked it up and breast stroked for a minute or two until I could calm my breathing. I was not the only one freaking out - I looked behind me and there were at least 10-15 people struggling. The water was really choppy and dark and it was very hard to get a breath.

I will NEVER dis on people swimming breaststroke again!!!!

I am still really surprised and disappointed in my swim because for the last 2 months all I have been doing is open water swims in a choppy lake. I think I was just so mentally psyched out for the bike I didn't focus on the swim. I remember thinking while I was standing in the water "wait a minute I haven't thought this through at all".


What would you do differently?:

Visualize the swim the day of the race. All I could think about was how brutal the bike course was and how I was the only one in transition with a 11 year old hybrid "mountain" bike.

But I came out of the water with a big smile on my face - NO WHINING!!!
Transition 1
  • 03m 29s
Comments:

Had to run up the ROCKY - ouch - ouch - ouch beach - up a little ledge and up a little hill to the parking lot where the transition area was. As soon as I hit T1 my suit was half off.

I was worried about getting my left ankle out of my suit because that is the one that had the timing chip on it, but my right ankle got good and stuck.....and I had to sit down to get it off :( booooo - FAIL

Decided to wear socks - 15 miles of mountain biking produces a lot of dirt/mud/rocks/weeds/thorns etc. The Yanx worked great. They took some getting use to - they felt a little tight - but they worked very well.


What would you do differently?:

Not have a panic attack in the water :)
And more Body Glide on my ankles.
Bike
  • 2h 04m 28s
  • 15.53 miles
  • 7.49 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a Gu as soon as I got on the bike. My plan was to hydrate really good on the ride so that I could just hammer the run course. That worked out really well. I didn't go fast on the run by other people's standards but I felt great. I didn't have to worry about being passed - I got out of the water so late that everyone who was gonna pass me was well on their way!

I did pass a few people. I had a guy stop right in front of me in a section of the course that had a deep rut right in the middle of it - I saw him slowing down and I said "you can do it" then he stopped and I had to fly off my bike to keep from goin in the hole! I also had a girl stop right in front of me and I had to jump off my bike in a mud hole - fun!

There were 3 seperate occasions where my gears got messed up and I had to flip my bike over and make an adjustment.
What would you do differently?:

Practice a race pace in the woods. Riding in the woods is a lot different than racing in the woods.
Transition 2
  • 01m 44s
Comments:

Not nearly as fast as I would have liked - but I had a nice big gulp of Gatorade..mmm....
What would you do differently?:

Take off my bike gloves :) I started running out of T2 w/ them on luckily I just threw them behind me and my little sis collected them for me.
Run
  • 1h 03m 31s
  • 5.25 miles
  • 12m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

I am an awfull runner - just slow, slow, slow. But I do enjoy it and I have been making a little progress. My plan was to run (jog) everything escept the big hills. Thats what I did, I took it easy up the hills because my right knee was talking back a little. Nothing eventfull happened - except a 15 year old passed me - punk!!! :)
What would you do differently?:

Run more.
Post race
Warm down:

Run away from killer beeees! There were hornets attacking everyone. I grabbed my stuff and ran to the car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being wimpy :) I have a ton of respect for people who go all out on the bike portion of these Xterras. Good grief that takes a lot of skill and a small dose of......well....lets just say skill.

I probably should eaten something more substantial in the morning.

Other than more training I think my mind was playing tricks on me and I let myself get too worked up. Honestly though this was really fun and I would do it again.

Event comments:

I didn't come in last!!!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-04-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:25 | 1000 meters | 02m 32s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/12
Overall: 150/163
Performance: Bad
Suit: Zoot
Course: 2 triangular buoys - it was super dark out - very overcast
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Bad Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:29
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:04:28 | 15.53 miles | 7.49 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 138/163
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! This course was intense - but not overly difficult if that makes sense. Beautiful course along the lake - 1 loop - 15 miles. Single track with roots and loose rocks. Several fast downhills and steep climbs. At least one mandatory hike a bike. There were some sections barely wide enough for your bike tires along some tall grassy areas. Some sections were deeply rutted and filled with mud. There were several holes that you would see just as you came around a corner. There was one drop where people who were alot better than me caught air I am sure. There were also several logs across the course and several drainage pipes that you had to hop. They even made us jump the curb in the parking lot coming into transition. And then there was the fun obstacle. We were told in our briefing that there was one mandatory dismount area acorss a washed out bridge, and that was it - no further details. So..... I come up a steep hill turn a corner get ready to bomb down when I see two cute girls whispering "dismount". I was like What? They whispered a little louder "dismount". I was looking at them then I looked down and sure enough there was a washed out area with big sharp rocks - a 5-10 foot drop (I didn't look too close it could have been more) and two boards with chicken wire nailed to them set up to cross. I was like cool - thats easy - so I started walking - AHHHH my back tire was not on the board - not good - picked up bike - started walking - that was easy......Wait a minute - why is there a 10 foot wall of mud in front of me with foot holds dug out and a dirty rope hanging down the middle of it? Ooooohhhhh I need to get up there. With maybe a 2 second pause I pushed my wheels up against the face of the mud wall and started climbing up. At this point I was thinking (this is the coolest thing ever ......wait a second I am climbing a wet slippery wall of mud with my bike, if I slip I am gonna be in a world of hurt - oh well) Got to the top and took off - ahhh Xterra - great job! That was an awesome course! I was covered in mud and a little blood from being smacked by branches and sticker bushes, but I was really proud I made it over all of the obstacles with out getting off my bike and only had to push my bike up a few hills.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:44
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
01:03:31 | 05.25 miles | 12m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/12
Overall: 156/163
Performance: Below average
Course: Before the briefing everyone thought they were doing a 4.25 mile trail run. During the briefing we were made aware that the course was LENGTHENED TO 5.25 Because "the course was too fast". Really?? Really??!! Fun course partially along the bike route - 2 loops. The only part I didn't like was a large area overgrown with grass. The grass was mowed down but it was very very uneven and it was hard to run through it with out twisting an ankle. I know I ran really slow - but it felt good - it really did not feel like 5.25 miles at all.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %0
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3