Cranberry Country Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I started at the back of the purple caps which were Clydes, Athenas, under 20, over 50s...so mostly guys, just because there was no choice or room..saw Monica at swim start. I walked over the timing mat and started about 10 seconds later and didn't get my goggles on well. Joanne and I started next to each jumped around and waved to everyone before the start (good way to get rid of stress & remember this is for fun) and kept together until the first bouy. I kept getting water in my goggles...adjusted them twice finally just sucked it up and lived with it as it was just fresh water.

I felt great on the swim, my mind was in good spot, I enjoyed myself...kept up with the group I was swimming with...but at the back of the purple caps. Someone I used to play soccer with was near me, but I pulled away about second bouy.

I sited well and I was able to cut the corners some to make the distance shorter mainly swimming closer to the point and then remembered what Joe said about the swim when he did it the day before...last two bouys are finish not one then the other...so was able to angle better and ended up at the exit...lots of folks swam to the right to much.

The next wave didn't catch me until the final leg back to the swim exit after the cove...pretty happy with that. About 3 cluster of young guys passed me...man those guys are fast...I'd love to swim like them.

Mooseman 2:25/100yds in June, today 1:49/100yds...nice improvement...distance may be off, but I was faster!

I'm still BOP for swimming, but my confidence and ability to swim long is much improved. Plus now I like it which really is the best thing. I didn't feel tired or winded at all at the end...I think I need to work at pushing a bit harder in ows. I'm going to take swim lessons this off season and hope to make some improvements.

I came into tranisition with 2 bikes left in the Athenas with Ellen exiting T1 just before I did..I figured I was 3rd from last out of the water.

2/16th in my AG for T1 time.

First time in a race I did the math as to placement as I raced...it got better:)

I'm pretty quick in T1, and did great...

I was excited to be on the bike....as I excel here. As I mounted my bike there were throngs of people...lots of BTers & family yelling like crazy...was super motivating! I passed Ellen just out of transtion about .5 mile out on the course. The weird thing for me is that we were racing with Clydes and over 50's mostly men, plus the 20-34 guys were behind us...zipping by frequently.

Felt super right away, passing some guys, getting passed by young guys, feeling comfortable. I love the bike portion of tris, said thanks to all the volunteers, go to mile 6, felt great, picked it up a bit.

New part of the course was very bumpy and more hilly than the original course. Kept up with the men I was riding with...felt good. Slowed on drinking as I felt I might have to pee...mistake. I also wondered if I went a bit to fast for the first half of the course. Good news back didn't bother me much....felt in the good push hard bike zone.

Saw a very frightening sight..if you are a bit overweight, don't wear a tri suit with white/cream over the top of your butt...oh...one Clyde needs to ask his wife about his trisuit and she needs to be honest.

At about 6 miles left, my legs did something very strange...they just felt dead in my thighs both in my quads and hamstrings just felt out of energy....took it a little easy for a maybe a couple minutes, but pushed on as I caught some many more Athenas in the last few miles...very thrilled. It feels good to be able push through the pain and continue.

Last 2 miles passed two more Athena, Frank, JPCan, saw Mark catch me and said some positive encouragement. Great to be cheered in by the throngs again..I yelled something silly like 2 down 1 more to go.

MOP overall.....how cool is that for a 44 year old women!!

Remember I left T1 in 3rd to last in my AG, guess what I came into T2 in 3rd in my AG...I passed 10 Athenas on the bike course!! It was the strangest thing....going out on the run in what I thought was 3rd & turned out to be true...geez my first Int'l distance race just 15 months ago, I was DFL of everyone the whole race...progress:)

Missed being 1st in my AG on the bike by 13 seconds!

Mooseman pace in June 15.11, today 19.47 mph, on less hilly course...still MOP overall! Fastest bike pace ever even compared to my last two sprints.

64/246 of women on the bike

Drank about 30 oz of straight Gatorade

Drink more, talk with my coach Will to see if I pushed to much on the bike causing my run to be less than I could do.

Out on the run course in 3rd...how cool is that?

6/16 in T2

Change shoes faster

As I exited transtion, saw Emily cheering me on and yelling loudly along with my friends...thanks everyone! Feeling good, thinking quick & light...started positive self talk...said something like I feel good, my left hamstring cramps up...ouch...not sure what to do as this is new for me..kept running hoping I could continue running....goes away ...whew....get to miles one feeling good. Seriously people fly by me on the run...but look who they are..guys under 35..skinny young women....it didn't bother me...mental strength growth here.

A athena passes me here...crude...but she talked to me...and asked me if I was KathyG from BT? Yep...she read all my posts and said some amazingly kind things...good for my soul...she was I hope remember right Kelly. I wonder if I can work hard and catch her sometime in the run.

Get to about mile 1.4 and another hamstring cramp on right side...not good...keep going.This is where I had decided I would try to pick up the pace. Conflicted here as cramps kept coming, not really sure what to do..so I tried to run as fast as I could, with positive self talk.

Every time I'd say self talk like you are doing great and feel good, I'd get a cramp so I deleted I'm feeling good from my self talk. A bright spot for me was I wasn't counting down how long until I finished like normal. I was in the moment doing the best I could at that place. I used the positive image of me running from the old fat me to the new healthy, fit me as motivation to go faster...I welled up with emotions with that thought.

At about 2 miles, I started cramping in different places, some stange places on my legs. The inside of my thigh above my knee was the worst...then my quads, then my hamstrings. Kept quick and light and kept going. Glad to see Joanne pass me with a smile...encouraging me as she went at about mile 2.

Just before mile 4, my former soccer teammate (an Athena) passed me...now I'm in 5th...she was nice and encouraging and looked great. This is the point I thought Aaron & Rob could catch me ...so with every foot steps behind me I wondered if I'd hear hey Kathy...but it was good motivation to keep pushing.

It was tough in that my legs didn't want to go...but my desire to push hard was there. Once I got to mile 5 after a long uphill, my legs hurt so much I wanted to cry....crap! I kept pushing and thankfully the cramps went away on the downhill....was able to keep going...run to the park, through the fences and down the long finish area....great motivation here as many of my BT friends were cheering me on....I was stunned to see the finish clock (didn't follow one of my pre-race goals of not checking)...clicking 3:04....holy smokes...3 hours for me? I was stunned...pushed hard...finished 3:01:15....far exceeding my expectation. I asked someone if the clock was the time that the elites started to make sure I really finished that fast.

I felt very proud of how I did...I hit my race goals, pushed through pain that I haven't had before in a tri, and wow I did very good for me...and you know what best of all I had a blast!

Drank 14 oz of Gatorade

Mooseman: 11:17 m/m, today 10:39 m/m :)

I didn't add Nuuns to my Gatorade which is why I think I cramped up on the run. I was stupid as I always train with Nuuns with Gatorade, why did I not for race day? I thought it was cooler...and I was drinking straight Gatorade where normally I dilute it a bit just goofed here...distracted or not thinking well last night when I made it up. I ended up the race with salt cyrstals on my face...so I'm pretty sure lack of extra salt from skipping the Nuuns was the issue that caused cramping and/or it could be I pushed hard on the bike. I did the run with my Fuel Belt and I had endurolytes in the pouch but it didn't cross my mind to take some.

For me this was an awesome run...I was mentally tough, upbeat, and did great. Plus Rob and Aaron didn't catch me:)

Felt crappy afterwards...walked around, my legs were still crampy, but within a couple minutes improved. Watched other BTers finish and cheered loudly for each one. Drank water, banana, put on a fleece as it had cooled down. Didn't get my post race yogurt for maybe 40 minutes as it was chaotic. Did have Marthon sports help stretch my legs which I hope will help them feel better tomorrow.

My coach Will has helped me so much in designing my training, helping me become mentally stronger at racing, enjoying racing & training more, and wow I have gotten a lot faster too...thanks Will!

6 minutes from 2nd place..stunned!

If I had raced in my AG I would have placed 13/31..Front of MOP. Of all women I placed 131/246. Never imagined that would ever be possible...but I guess it is and last year I was to afraid to do this race after being DFL at Mooseman.

Part of my motivation is seeing where I have come from...here are my paces starting from my 1st tri and my three International distances...all in 23 months. I'm still slow but getting better.

Swim Bike Run
Sep-04 First Tri 3:37/100 yds 12.6 mph 13:08 m/m
Jun-05 1st Int'l 4:07/100 yds 13.97 mph 15:10 m/m
Jun-06 2nd Int'l 2:25/100 yds 15.11 mph 11:17 m/m
Aug-06 3rd Int'l 1:52/100 yds 19.21 mph 10:39 m/m

As proud as I am on my bike split, the biggest improvement is on my swim. I was 10 minutes faster on this swim compared to my last Int'l distance just 2.5 months ago...that is huge. I was just 4 minutes from MOP on the swim.

My dream goal was to finish at around 3:03 that was before I knew the swim and bike course were longer. Doing the triathlon calculator it had me finishing at 3:04 and in the past I have been about 4 minutes over the estimate so I figured 3:07 was be an awesome finish for me...so finishing at 3:01:15 surprised me in a very good way.

Goal for next year after discussing with Will...race in the moment and 2:49-2:51 & stretch goal 2:46...this assumes that I make good progress at running faster..may need to adjust it later though. Most important goal is to focus on each moment and have fun.

Oh my legs hurt..going down stairs is tough...we'll see what tomorrow brings.



I didn't drink enough on the bike, didn't take in enough salt, so cramped on the run. All in all, I hit my goals other than not looking at finish time but hard to avoid seeing it, was thrilled with my results, raced mentally strong and had fun all day long.

Seriously in 2003 I used to weigh over 250 pounds and couldn't climb stairs without being out of breath...today some 85 pounds lighter, I feel like a different person..someone stronger, more upbeat, in control, fitter, and enjoying this tri lifestyle.


This tri. is amazing...everything is so well organized from registration, body marking, volunteers on the course, to the meal afterwards...just great! The volunteers are super! I can't say enough good things about this race...it was made even better by racing with 25+ BTers who encouraged, and supported each other...and we had so fun before and after the race. If you live in NE do this race!