The Lowell Mill City Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My swim was weak for someone who "swims" regularly/has been a longtime swimmer. I'm just whimping out a little bit taking too many breathes and surely my navigation worries are a big part of it-I see nothing with my head in the water and worry if I don't keep looking up I will be in the wrong direction. I was also getting way too comfortable on the swim back-doing breastroke (yes-the slowest stroke) in between strokes to come up and see my position.

Get a better grasp for the swim route/buoys. I have to bare down and swim some real distance-long strokes and fewer breathes.

Forgot my watch-didn't time my splits/transitions.

Transition was pretty good.

I actually remembered and put on my gloves

I'm still a bit way to slow with my clipping in once I get on my bike. Run with the bike well, but have to clip in get going faster.

I saw I need to have an extra towel-because I wet my feet with water to wash off the sand but then really don't dry my feet at all and put my socks right on just wetting them (but I have to say the wet socks luckily don't bother me or cause blisters).

Work on the clipping in...I wasted time stopped trying to clip in, and I finally rode off unclipped in and then clipped in while moving which is for sure a better move than just stopping all together-though yes I do have to be weary of my foot slipping off.

The bike was good.

SO MUCH more manageable than the super hilly Webster Tri. There were plenty of potholes/rough road spots for me to dodge but all in all a steady good course. Never saw my speed get too, too low. And the one hill that really needed a out of saddle climb-I climbed really well and hard.

Only a few big turns and most I managed well, except for the last one-where there wasn't a whole of room for the turn and I really slowed down.

Those aerobars-I just see people really able to power into the flats with those. I'm thinking those will really help. I also have to get my gear changing down better. I really wanted to shift down even lower on the downhills/flats with a tad of downhill and I tried it once but couldn't get my gears to go so well.

I really have to get to my bike shop and have them help me through the gears and also just practice the gears on more rides, plus I REALLY need to learn how to change a flat and carry a tube/pump etc (which the guys at my shop have offered to show me) because I am way paranoid of that dreaded flat-I can't even imagine.

The volunteers/officials and my boyfriend (his advice was the best as usual :-) as if he knows though-hehe) all yelling at once at the dismount and where to do it was a bit confusing/stirring and of course some girl right in the transition area confused the f- out of me by telling me I had to run all the way down to the end of the racks when my rack was up front-all confused-had to stop in place.

I was quick with the shoe change, got my helmet on, my gloves were a bit tricky-my nails-maybe a bit too long right now-were getting caught in the gloves.

My gatorade that I took a swig of was so hot from just basking in the sun (should have covered it or something)

I put my strawberry/banana gu in the back of my tri suit and I took just a tad at the start at the race-hoping it might give me a jolt. I was weary though-I'd never had any.

Cover my gatorade. Fit my race belt MUCH better.

Try and eat plenty of powerbar gu so I know what it will do/how it will help.

BAD-BAD! Seriously this was poor. I walked almost the whole way I let the run really defeat me a bit too much. I have to work up my stamina for this. I knew the 4 miles as opposed to 3 would be a challenge but this run smoked me. Everyone passed me. I'd jog and say I could keep going and then stop. The water stations were especially my excuse to stop and walk. I skipped the first water station just past the transition because I said I just wanted to get going-but was thinking of water the next second.

And my darn race belt-I remembered to put it on this time-but this thing was so mispositioned-I moved it all around-had it around my hips by the end. Not so sure I had a nice fit.

I'm thinking a fuel belt may be the answer-it may fit better than my race belt-serve as my race belt-and hold my water so I don't use water stations as excuses to walk. And I have to not walk-no walked-jog as slow as need be at points-but not walk! Speed walking whatever-the walking is bad! I've never been a runner-but its time to become one.

I'm glad I finished the run in that heat-not mad at myself for walking so much-I just have to train much better for that.

I drank crazy water at the water station just past the finish-did the sprint to the ladies room too. But I just walked slow and over to the transition area to pack my things up. Once I was packed up we just headed to the car and headed out. The olympic competers were still going


Just wasn't trained enough I feel. Really needed to do more running beforehand to be ready for that run.

The heat was a factor during the run-but I could have worked even harder through it.


Day of Race just after race:
To be continued since I didn't really stick around for my official times (and forgot my watch at home). I guess I was spoiled by FIRM racing who posted the results within hours of the finish of the Webster Tri and thought Active.com would do the same and definitely haven't as of yet and doesn't seem they will for a while.

I'm seem to remember seeing something like 1:53 when I crossed the finishline but I'll have to wait and actually see.


Anyhow, it was a pretty good race but the run (predominantly walk) was soooooo slow! I so have to work on the running and I knew the extra mile to make the run 4 miles was going to be tough, but sadly I must have walked a good 70% of the walk. I'm so not a runner-and that's what I really have to work on.

The swim, while murky and not very strong for me as a so-called seasoned swimmer-moved along. The upstream swim wasn't really affecting me, but I think I was just to busy trying to get some sort of form to realize the current was probably holding me back some. The bike was great-and SO much easier than Webster-sans the multiple mega hills. I climbed the sole big hill with serious power and really moved along on the downhills-but have to work my even lower gears better for those. And I keep thinking some aerobars will really help. The run-not much I can say-it was just weak-all the time I'd made up was beyond lost there.

I saw BTer Celeb_ithil early in the run-and hated to have to fall back-our conversation was getting good-hehe-but she was really running well-and was way ahead of me by the time I saw her on the other side of the loop. Go her haven't started in the heat 3 minutes behind me. Was really looking good out there-and quite the inspiration. Fun, to actually recognize a BTer.

So as I said-I will so update soon as I get the official results. Now to grab a rest day tomorrow and then get a few days decent training in before Newburyport Saturday. My training is definitely lacking given the past week of being way sick with sinus-unfun-ness last week and the laziest week of vacation ever the week before that.

Onward and Upward! :-)

Next Day: got my results-I was WAY down there in rankings especially with the really small pack-but I see where and why the most-that run-just horrid-it was a walk for me-not a run. And the bike-I can push it so much harder and really make up more time-and same goes for the swim.

I have more in me. So off I go...more training and I have Newburyport Saturday-so lets see how that comes along. Now off to bed-its way too late and I have to wake up to swim!