Swim
Comments: What the heck happened here!? Swimming has always been my weak spot but this was at least 5 mins above where I expected to be... I think it was 90% sighting… Swimming felt strong and comfortable. I found some toes to draft off of first lap but seemed to be leading a small group second lap. Could feel someone riding my toes. Maybe if he had taken the lead we would have swum straighter... Forgot to hit start on the Garmin but I hit it when I got out of the lake and rounded the bouy to go back for my second lap. It shows me all over the place… Need to work on this. What would you do differently?: Turn Garmin on when race begins and practise swimming straight… I know I need more swim work but don't know where to begin. I do the workouts and drills. I'm swimming sub 2min/100's in the pool… think a training group or coach might be beneficial, but when do I fit that in right now? Transition 1
Comments: First of all let me say I LOVE WETSUIT STRIPPERS!!! My first time using them and they saved me so much stress on this one. I've been struggling with my wetsuit lately and was worried. I made a rookie error in T1 and didn't listen to some advice I had been given. I was told "Don't make decisions in transition"… and here I was standing there trying to decide jacket on or off… tried to put it on and couldn't zip it up so took it off… in general a waste of time. What would you do differently?: No thinking and travel light! Bike
Comments: This time includes both transitions… my bike computer shows a average riding speed of 32km/hr. My ride went perfectly! As good as I could have hoped for being my first shot at this distance and wanting to save something for the run. The way out was COLD. I lost feeling in my hands and feet for a while but just focused on keeping the cadence in a nice range. Passed so many people… people that if I knew how to swim I wouldn't have been behind in the first place, but this was my chance to prove I DID belong here. I like the out and back… got to see the super fast guys flying back, awesome to see and so motivating. Climbing was good, first time I've done this course where I haven't had to stand for some of the hills… just kept it spinning. Used every gear I have. Over all, once I got out and going I was happy. Good news is it warmed up substantially on the way back in time for me to defrost and regain feeling in my limbs. Looking over the data I had the fastest bike time for all women in the race… Awesome! What would you do differently?: Not sure if the way I ride affected my knee later on but I tried to keep it comfortable and relaxed. Wishing T1 had gone better and I could have shaved another minute or so off here. Transition 2
Comments: This was better. Everything was where it needed to be and went as expected. Rack the bike, lose the helmet. Socks, shoes, water bottle… good. Except I hit stop instead of lap on the garmin and turned any data I had collected to garbage. What would you do differently?: Use the watch properly! This was my first time racing with it and I just need to figure it out. Also had an issue with my shoelaces coming undone during the run and wound up double knotting them both. May go back to the elastic laces. Run
Comments: This fell apart on me a bit. I knew going in that I was undertrained for the run, but it was feeling good until about 7km. I have done something to my left knee. Ripping pain when I bend and straighten it… Not sure what's going on, just knew I wasn't going to stop. You can't come this far and quit… Was glad this was a 2 loop and I got to see my kids and family in the middle. I talked myself through it by breaking it up in my head… let myself walk the aid stations and the big hill coming out of the valley. Stopping felt good but starting up again hurt. This was my worst half-marathon time ever, but I knew I could take it easy and still make my goal of finishing my first HIM under 6hrs. What would you do differently?: NO WALKING! Need so much more run training, especially hills… once I figure out what's going on with this knee. Post race
Warm down: Lay on the ground and tried not to move… not the best thing to do I know, but I couldn't bend or straighten my leg at all. Am disappointed. At the post-race ceremony I was called up and given the award for 3rd in my age group. Now, looking over all the results I find out I was fourth and don't deserve the trophy I got. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of run training and open water experience. This is why I wanted to do this race before Calgary 70.3. Need the practice. Event comments: This race is fabulous! The course is stunning and challenging… There was some confusion regarding timing at the awards but the weather was so beautiful we just enjoyed our time in the sunshine hanging out with the family. Last updated: 2012-03-29 12:00 AM
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Canada
Chinook Triathlon Festival
Overall Rank = 35/77
Age Group = F30-39
Age Group Rank = 4/7
A little coconut water, some oats and the mandatory cup of coffee for breakfast. Couldn't eat much, REALLY wasn't hungry. Could have been nerves… being my first HIM this was a big deal.
Got to Midnapore in plenty of time to set up, get body marked and take it all in. Beautiful setting.
Kept telling myself that I did belong there… Everyone seems to know everyone else and they were all talking about other races they had done and were sporting training team gear and IM tattoos… Felt WAY out of my league.
Warm up consisted of stuffing myself into my wetsuit with the help of the guys from Tri-It… Made sure I had plenty of Body Glide, Chamois Cream and Sunscreen. It was chilly out but they were calling for sunny and 18…
Went down to the water and checked out the course and got acclimatized a little.