Title 9 Women Only Massachusetts State Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I pushed harder today than in my first Oly, didn't sight as well though, and didn't find someone going my speed to draft behind. My goal was 30 mins, so I'm satisfied with this.

more careful sighting; go faster as soon as I stood up in the water. A sleeveless wetsuit - not as hot?

Had to sit down to put on socks and shoes, otherwise I would've fallen down. Took a moment to spray on sunscreen quickly.

I'm so glad I rode the course a few weeks ago at the pre-race clinic! My goal was 1:30, so I'm very happy with this. I pushed myself much more than in the first Oly but constantly wondered if I should slow to spare my legs ("should I be going faster? slower? faster? should I pass this woman? slow down??"). Concentrated on using my quads and staying as low/aero as possible. I expected to be passed by lots of people but only 13 passed me, so I was really pleased. I remembered especially Uncle Mike saying, "You will be surprised how much endurance you have!" and telling me not to worry about getting through the distance. Also thought about my brother and felt especially grateful for being able to participate in this event.
My front shifter/derailleur really sucked today; twice I had to unclip and kick it with my heel to get the chain to drop into the small ring. I expected this to happen, and it's my own fault for not taking the bike into the shop sooner. I rode in the big chain ring most of the time.
My HR was high at the beginning, 160, which I thought was not sustainable, but I hated to go too slowly. Reached max HR 169 (yikes!) on a hill but usually it was in Z3.
Took one gel early in the bike and one at the end; drained both my bottles. The breeze was great! Very nice roads.
Thanked every volunteer and police officer.

Get my bike tuned up and the chain/cassette/cables replaced a month before the race! And I need to find out how high my tires should really be inflated; have had conflicting advice.

pretty tired; paused to gab with the lady in charge of TA for a moment -- I can't remember her name but she is so encouraging!

No breeze, super sweaty, my HR was 150-160 a lot, which I didn't think was sustainable. I walked many times trying to get it down. Passed 5 women and was passed by 14 - not as bad as I expected. Everyone looked unhappy - even the leaders had grim expressions. Icy sponges at the aid stations were wonderful. I thanked every volunteer and police officer, and really made a fuss over the awesome brownie troop who were cheering us on with kazoos and cymbals!!

Did the best I could under the circumstances. Despite how slow my time was, I felt pretty good for the first three miles, then legs complained. I tried hard to pick up the pace for the last 2 miles UGH.

Kind volunteer sat me down in the med tent - with dozens of other women, drenched me with cold water, put my feet in a cold water bucket. EMTs got my pulse at 120 and BP at 110 over something, so they let me have some watermelon and then let me go. Visited with family then sat in the grass next to my bike, just breathing.


It was a hot and humid day, for us, and I'm not fully acclimated to it. Probably could bike/run this better after another month of training in summer weather. But mostly - just me, still new to this distance and still a BOP runner.


MaxPerformance always puts on a great race. This was a super course. Friendly crowd of women today for their first Title 9 Oly. I hope they run this event again next year!!