Iron Girl Las Vegas - TriathlonSprint


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Henderson, Nevada
United States
Iron Girl
HOT!F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 54m 35s
Overall Rank = 268/529
Age Group = 30-35
Age Group Rank = 73/115
Pre-race routine:

I was the one who posted the thread "Is it okay to Intentionally DNF" two weeks ago on the main forum, thinking I would obey my Dr.'s orders and not complete this race....I'm two weeks out from a hopeful meniscus repair, and I have a very, very conservative surgeon. So suffice it to say my serious race prep ended two months ago when the meniscus started to act up, and so I was really only doing this race so that I actually HAD a race on the books for the 2009 season. I was seriously planning to just wing it out there. No kicking in the swim. Absolutely no running at all. And no standing and climbing on the bike. All these things cause pain, and presumably, pain = more damage and less likeliehood of a repair. (Sorry, just had to give a little background here)

I rolled out of bed at 4:30am and had a cup of coffee. Got into transition, dumped my stuff, and then choked down 2 mini-bagels and a few swigs of some expired Gatorade. (I didn't know it was expired until my husband pointed it out before the swim start!) Spent most of my time chatting with my old pals...no pressure!
Event warmup:

Walked the 1/3 mile down the road to the swim start. Jumped into the water and did a quick 5-minute warmup to make sure I could swim in my wetsuit without kicking.
Swim
  • 15m 54s
  • 800 meters
  • 01m 59s / 100 meters
Comments:

Well, I've been swimming with a pull buoy for 2 months now and was a little worried about how I would feel in the water with my wetsuit. The temptation to kick was a big one, but I found myself free of the pack pretty quickly and never really needed my legs at all. I gave one girl on my toes one heck of a beautiful trip, if I may say so myself. I was dead straight to the first buoy, where I caught up to the wave in front of me. By the second buoy, I'd caught some of the Olympians from the last wave who had gone off 18 minutes before my swim start. It was a hodge podge of caps coming in to the swim finish, but I felt strong and refreshed. I looked down at my watch in shock, though.....15:30 for 800 meters?? So disappointing!! I thought I'd rocked it, but this was definitely off my usual pace. (But now that I look at the results, I really think the course was long)
What would you do differently?:

Swim harder....but of course, it's really hard to swim hard when you can't kick!
Transition 1
  • 05m 53s
Comments:

.27 mile hike from the swim out to the transition area. Since I couldn't run, I got passed by tons of people going up this hill. I started to get the "almost there, you can do it!" from people at this point and it began to do my head in. Trust me, I would dearly love to continue up this hill and beat you to the transition area....but I'd love to have my original knees in 15 years.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Once I actually got TO my bike, things were very quick. Sunglasses on, helmet on, shoes on, and get the heck outta there!
Bike
  • 37m 13s
  • 10 miles
  • 16.12 mile/hr
Comments:

My plan was to hammer the bike, since I wasn't going to run, but I was a little leg-weary climbing out of the resort. I had a few sharp pains in my knee when I tried to get out of the saddle at some points, so I just threw it in an easier gear and sat down until I got to the tops of the hills. Not how I would have done it were I healthy, but it was as good as it could get at this point. On the downhills, I threw it into the hardest gear I could push without pain and passed as many people as I could. This course definitely left me wishing I could have trained harder, but I was still thankful to be healthy enough to just be out there.
What would you do differently?:

Not be hurt?!
Transition 2
  • 02m 47s
Comments:

Ouch. Getting off the bike hurt and I limped my way over the mats and into transition. At this point, I was scared to continue on to the run course because my knee was really screaming. But I wanted the medal, so I put on my socks and shoes, grabbed my bundle of goodies (arm coolers, hat, and race belt), and away I went.
What would you do differently?:

Again, not be hurt. RUN.
Run
  • 52m 48s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 16m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

No laughing! I was damn lucky to even be able to limp my way through this course, so I am pretty proud of my long and solitary walk through the desert. I got more of those, "come on, you can do it!" comments and by the end I was really, really over it. Yes, I know I can do it. Stop making me feel bad! I desperately wanted to run, and running actually hurts less than walking for some reason, but I knew it would have crippled me for weeks. So I behaved....cautiously ascended and descended the steeper hills....and chatted up whoever wanted to stop and talk to me. It was really disheartening to get passed by all the people you ordinarily would have beaten. In fact, it became pretty clear to me that I'd actually put together a pretty solid race up until the run, even with the slow transitions! So this gave me something to be proud of, and I walked that course with a smile on my face, knowing I was going to get my finisher's medal.

The chute was after a fairly steep descent, so I limped my way down it and then did a little jog across the finish line. I have done many races at this point in my tri career, but I have to say, this one was the most emotional for me. I've always taken finishing for granted... But after getting injured and hearing that I wouldn't even be allowed to start, I just felt so relieved and thankful that I was there and able to participate. It's such an amazing sport!
What would you do differently?:

Need I go there?
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed a water and then strolled up the hill to cheer on the Olympic finishers. No need to cool down....I'd had a 53-minute walk to accomplish that! Enjoyed the awards ceremony afterwards, then hit up the Strip.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hmmmm...torn meniscus? :)

Event comments:

A much better job this year than last! Race went off on time, and the course was well-marked. Not a huge fan of the desert run, but it's part of racing at Lake Las Vegas. Still love the host hotel. Gorgeous swim. Nice job improving the post-race buffet and awards ceremony. Would have loved to have had a bigger Expo and maybe a race t-shirt with the actual race and not just the generic Iron Girl logo, but that's just being nit-picky.




Last updated: 2009-05-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:54 | 800 meters | 01m 59s / 100meters
Age Group: 8/115
Overall: 30/529
Performance: Good
Suit: full wetsuit
Course: Easy course...swim out of Reflection Bay, parallel the golf course, then turn in at the bridge.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:53
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:37:13 | 10 miles | 16.12 mile/hr
Age Group: 18/115
Overall: 54/529
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back out of the Lake Las Vegas Resort and down Lake Mead Parkway to a turnaround.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:47
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:52:48 | 03.11 miles | 16m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 111/115
Overall: 479/529
Performance: Bad
Course: Desert hills. Up down up down up down. Looped course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4