Cutting Edge Mid August Meltdown - Triathlon

Well gee, it never occurred to me that this race would be wetsuit legal in August. I mean it is called the Mid August MELTDOWN for goodness sake. But as I am standing at the start I see lots of wetsuits so I knew I was going to be dropped. Fine, I got it out of my head and focused on my goals of completing the distance and enjoying my day. My plan for the swim was to go at my comfortable pace so I could conserve as much effort as possible for the run. The swim is a non issue for me when paced properly. Raced too hard and I will be in a hole from the start.
We took off and this was a small field so I think everyone had a clear line. I got on some guys feet and I was so excited to be drafting. Then I looked up to site and he was gone. Pretty much from there on out I was alone. No one passing me, no one to pass. I just went into my comfy I can swim like this forever mode and focused on staying on course. It went like this - 1,2,3 stroke, 1,2,3 site, rinse, repeat. The only issue I had was as we turned to the beach the sun was right in our eyes and I could not see anything. At that moment my heart rate increased rapidly, almost like it skipped a beat then started pounding. I have had this happen before so I know what to expect but I had to slow down more until it settled.

Wear my wetsuit even though I hate it! Swim more and put some effort into my swims. I've been enjoying my swims instead of busting my rump. I takes so much hard effort to make up any time swimming and I just have not been motivated this year. We also sold our boat earlier this summer so I have not been in open water much. I need more work siting as I think I lift my head up too far to see which slows me down a lot over a distance like this. This time was about what I expected out of the day though.

No big deal, take off my stuff, put on my sunglasses, grab my bike and off I went.
Although I did kind of stroll out of the water. This would have been time ticking away on my swim time though not transition. I could have tried a little harder to pick up the pace as I exited the water. I started jogging through the transition after I was off the beach.

We could not have asked for better weather for this bike ride, it was a gorgeous day out and very still! I hopped on my bike, hit start on my Garmin and settled in for the ride. My legs had that usual cramped up race day feeling that I HATE but I have learned to expect. Again, I saw no one around me. I keep looking down at my Garmin but the data is not making sense. Finally I realize I had not reset from my last ride - GRRR. So I slowed a little during this little episode to figure out what was going on and reset the data. After that it was smooth sailing. I was only passed by one guy (of course they all left me during the swim) and I passed a couple of people. The course has a few rolling ant hills but is mostly flat. The road is not smooth asphalt but very bumpy chip & seal. No pot holes or anything but near the end of the ride that was getting to me. Part of me wanted to kill this bike but I knew the worst was yet to come with the run so I had to keep it under control. I constantly monitored my HR and adjusted my pace as needed. I also had to really concentrate on remembering to drink from my aero bottle, sounds strange but I routinely go for rides of this distance without so much as a drink of water. I know that is not a good idea but it happens. Thanks for the great advice all - gatorade in my aero bottle was perfect and I didn't even make a mess :). I learned pretty quick that I had to take tiny sips. My stomach couldn't handle a regular drink and I would burp for the next minute or so if I took too big of a drink. Tiny sips were fine though. So that was my ride, look at the corn, get pissed at my legs, listen to my HR, take a drink, watch my pace. You know how it goes.

I'm coming into transition feeling really good about my ride and start the process of slowing into transition when I see a pick up truck breaking to make a left hand turn right in the middle of the transition area directly in front of me. So I shift to my little ring and that is when hear my chain slip off, not only did it slip but the master link came off! Leave it to me. I have to slam the breaks because moron in the pick up truck does not even seem to realize there is race going on and turns left in front of me and a runner coming out out transition. Now I've lost all momentum and can't pedal because my broken chain is dangling behind me so I have to hop off the bike and run up the road to even get to the transition area. I may have cussed at this point..... and my husband has it all on video.

Not be such an airhead with my Garmin. Check my bike before the race like I usually do. Train.

This was a little jumbled after the chain breaking pick up truck incident. There were also some people who had finished the sprint standing around chatting at the bike box I was in and it was a little distracting. They were very nice and encouraging but I just lost focus. I also put on socks this time. I forgot to grab my Garmin which exasperated me but I don't think it would have made much difference on my run.

Meh, this is kinda just me so I've learned to except it. Even when I plan well my head gets a little jumbled in T2 in distances beyond a sprint.

So here we go, I have paced myself all day for this run. This run is 2 laps. My legs took a little longer than normal to shake out after the bike. About 3/4 of a mile I would guess and during this time I also had a small issue with my left glute cramping up so I slowed the pace down and it settled. I was a little worried though because I've never had anything cramp and didn't know what to expect. I set my mind at that moment that I was finishing even if I had to walk the whole darn thing so forget about. I took water at every water stop except 1 and my nutrition felt just fine. Finished the first lap and felt ok then Tiff joined me for the second lap. She had raced the sprint but stuck around to run with me. Now things started to get rough. She chatted away while I huffed and puffed. My legs felt fine but my lungs were working hard and I just wanted this to be over. At the turn around we saw a young girl closing in and of course this gets Tiff going but I stopped to walk ha ha ha. I needed a sec to catch my breath. After that I felt much better. Slogged the rest of way, could not pick up the pace as hard as I tried. The last mile my heel started to hurt, my legs were burning, I was struggling but the girl did not pass me. Crossed the finish line and I must I looked beat because everyone was asking me if I was o.k..

TRAIN! My running has been limited due to some last minute foot issues brought on by a new pair of Birkenstocks but when is my running NOT limited by feet? Never, so this is just normal.

Sat in the shade, hobbled to the food area, grabbed a coke and a piece of pizza but my kids quickly took that out of my hands :). Props to my husband for bringing them out to watch, cheering for me, taking video and being a very supportive spouse!


Lack of training and a blase' attitude this summer.


Cutting Edge always puts on a great race!