Hammerfest Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Goal time:20-22 minutes

This was my longest open water swim in the ocean..which is tough for me.

As I waited for wave five to start the water was getting more and more rough. Didn't dwell on it...jut noticed it. It was great to wait at the start with Joanne who helped me with chit chat and talking strategy as we waited. It kept my mind from wandering into negative thoughts. We saw Rob come in on the swim...cool he was in wave 1...must of had about a 15 minute swim.

I was trying to be a racer not a tourist someone who stops and looks around. I swam for maybe a couple minutes and looked up and everyone but two were gone. I pushed all negative thoughts out of my mind and kept on going. The waves were difficult, but breathing on the right kept them out of my mouth. I started counting stroke cycles...every right I would count. I made it to 30 and stopped looked up and kept on going. This counting was working well. Made it to the first bouy and two were about 20 yds in front of me and one was from the wave before. Swam out directly into the waves and tried to catch them....kept counting and was doing okay. Waves made it difficult and I did get water up my nose and mouth a couple times on this leg. Around the last bouy...and going back with the waves. Started counting stroke cylces and made it to 100 and started over again without stopping...major victory!! Lost the two in front of me...watched for the kayaks. But swam all the way home and felt great about it. It was fun riding with the waves and I tried to reach and glide. Ah the joy of being last out of the water...get lots of cheers and all the race officials breath a sigh of relief....safe swim.

I was able to high five Libby on the long run uphill to where timing mat was...took me about 1:30 minutes so swim time was really somewhat faster. Swim time off HRM 24:49

I need to continue to learn to swim faster and breath bilaterally. Today I did the best I could and I felt I made great strides in ows especially in the ocean.

I find it strange that I swim so much faster in the pool than in ows in races. Not sure why?

I was 192 out of 350 in T1...MOP baby...nice to know I'm average on something!!

In looking at race times most of the people finishing in bottom 10% of race have very high T1 and T2 and often that is how I beat many of them...not out on the course, but faster transitons and I find great joy in being good at something relative to my group that I compete against.

I was late racking my bike and I knew I was in the wrong gear, but no time to ride it. I should have lifted rear tire and changed gears...but didn't think of that. I had hard time clipping in on the bike. As I rode out onto the course enjoyed talking with the crowd and told them I was last out of the water but I wouldn't be last back to transtion.

Start in the right gear, get to race course earlier so I could be more ready.

Goal 47-49 minutes

So glad to be on the bike. I pushed to hard first and it was nice to see others on the bike. I was doing well with keeping my cadence up. At about 4 miles my legs were getting tired. I think it was the first effects of being sick before the race. Slowed down and kept cadence. Great spectators along the course cheering everyone on. I enjoyed catching and passing bikers as I went around the course. Not to many mountain bikes in this race and lots of young people...saw college teams. At one point the fast women kept passing me...but they were all under 30...it was great to see such awesome women atheletes....and to be able to stay with them for a time. I didn't see any BTers on the course.

Put more water in my aerobar water bottle. Not start so fast but keep it easy first 3-4 miles which was in my plan but I didn't do it. Get stronger in my legs so I can climb hills better.

Glad to be back in transtion and I passed many people on the bike which I enjoy. Goofing with the crowd just prior to going over timing mat and dropped my bike....not a very smart move. Ended up hurting my foot even though I didn't know it at the time.

The crowded transtion area made it harder to get sock/shoes on and pick up and go...had to much in my hands with my had, two small water bottles, and race belt .so I stopped to get my race belt on....lost time here...but does 15 second really matter?

Hold onto my bike better.

Goal 44-46 minutes

My hope was that my run time min/mile would improve over my last couple tris as my training run times have been improving. This was a longer run than normal sprints.

About 5 minutes into the run I saw Max coming back to the finish...ran across the road to give him a high five!! I thought I saw Joanne, but it was someone else.

Run seemed very long...played mental game...don't look at HRM...don't think about how much longer I have to go. Know when I get to 22 minutes I'll be about half way.

I was passed by about 4 people in the first 3/4 of a mile...and then by no one...wondered if I was last, but knew a couple people I passed on the bike hadn't passed me yet. I just was off and didn't run well. I think the cold I got earlier in the week and tried to shake off effected me. My HR was lower than normal on the sprint, but my body didn't want to go any faster. I did walk up 3 short hills.

Ended up with a blister on my left toe. I seem to get blisters at every tri but never when I train. Why?

There were a group of HS girls cheering about .25 of a mile from the finish. As I came up to make the turn into the finish area, I saw my husband and daughter and all the BTers cheering me on. Wow...what motivation to run faster...I high fived them all....Kevin, Libby, Glen, Max, Joanne, Rob, Mark and some people I didn't know. Joanne ran around the corner and ran beside me to the finish. It was the best...so encouraging, so motivating and it was a fantastic way to finish the race and season!!! BTers are fabulous!!!

I'm not sure if I need a more competitive spirit or something? This off season I will be working on building my base so hopefully I will be running faster on my tris next season. I am working hard to lose the last 30 pounds of my goal of 100 and I hope that will help me be able to run faster.

Talked with all the BTers, Kevin and Libby, and took some pictures. My f-i-l came with his wife and they were in the facilities as I crossed the finish line. Ate some cookies, chatted with everyone and had to leave as my relatives were cold and have medical issues. It was great fun to see everyone...who we had seen most of at Cranberry the month before. I look forward to a fun '06 seeing everyone again.


The normal...being overweight, 43, slow, not competitive enough, sick during the week.

I did feel a bit disappointed that my times hadn't really improved since July. I'm dawg slow so it should be easy to get better. I train hard and put the hours in, not sure why I'm not improving during races.

Best Part of the race for me was mentally I did so much better than last race. I kept positive, embraced the situation, accepted how I was doing, and enjoyed the race...which were all goals for the tri. I even figured I had more fun per dollar of my entrance fee than most people since I was on the course longer.


Fun race to do! Great to do with other BTers!! Competitive group of triathletes and lots of under 30 competitors.