Loveland Lake to Lake - TriathlonOlympic


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Loveland, Colorado
United States
USA Triathlon
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 26m 21s
Overall Rank = 487/595
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 41/58
Pre-race routine:

Boyfriend and I drove up to Denver to stay with Sister the night before. Sis made some Pad Thai (yum), giggled at a few episodes of Season 2 of Arrested Development. Went to bed fairly early only to wake up at oh-dark-thirty. Drove and hour to Loveland, picked up race packet and set up my transition.
Event warmup:

Walked around a bit, rode bike to make sure it was in an appropriate gear. Walked down to the lake and thought "Good God those buoys are far away." Boyfriend actually said that out loud. Put wetsuit on, waded out into the water.
Swim
  • 41m 26s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

Can you say PANIC in the water? I have no idea what my problem was. I can swim the distance. I didn't feel like I was going to drown. I just could not get my breathing/HR under control. And I didn't get kicked or punched or jostled much either. All I can tell you is that I would think I had it under control, then I'd put my face underwater and then start hyperventilating. Crazy! I probably spent most of the swim on my back, doing some modified backstroke. At one point I thought that my wetsuit was going to choke me, resulting in even more panicky feeling. Considered swimming to the peeps in the kayaks to quit the race, but then was like "I did not drive 2 hours and pay 80 bucks to f*ing quit!" Honestly though, I had no idea what my time would be, so when I finally came out of the water and saw 37 min on my watch, I was thinking "eh, not too bad!" The time above includes the LONG run up to the transition. Boyfriend was great, cheering and running next to me saying nice things all the way to T1.
What would you do differently?:

Um, really? Practice open water swimming at least once before a race :) I hadn't swam open water since 2002!
Transition 1
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

I bodyglided my ankles which made taking off the wetsuit easy.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 1h 42m 16s
  • 30 miles
  • 17.60 mile/hr
Comments:

I realized that my computer wasn't registering any speed/distance, so I hopped off real quick, and adjusted the sensor. All good from that point on. It took me a bit longer than I thought to calm myself down after the swim... HR was way too high for the first 15 mins or so. Once I settled into a rhythm I was good. Passed a few people on the big steep hill near Horsetooth Resevoir, but then was passed on the downhills. When I'm going 40+ mph, I tend to get scared! The last 10 miles were on a nice, paved road. I was able to get in big gear and average 19+mph.
What would you do differently?:

Carry only 1 water bottle as the aid stations would hand you bottles of water or gatorade. I should have eaten more on the bike. I only took in 3 GU packets.
Transition 2
  • 02m
Comments:

I pulled my yanks the wrong way and ended up getting the elastic string stuck in the plastic top thingie. Quite annoying. Ended up tying a knot. Spent too much time f*ing with it! Ah!
Run
  • 58m 56s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

Coming off the bike, I felt a little shaky but that feeling left after a few hundred meters. I need to get my bike fit checked because my left knee was killing me, though after 1/2 a mile the pain went away. Both feet were numb the first mile or so. I skipped the first water point but then walked through the rest of them. I was feeling great - I could have pushed a lot faster, but just didn't feel like it. I was enjoying the race. I felt strong the entire time. Boyfriend hollered out "You're doing great! Only 400 meters to go!" If I were any closer, I'd have punched him. "only 400 meters" my a**. It felt like 400 miles.
What would you do differently?:

I didn't do one single brick workout in prep for this race. I will incorporate those into my 1/2 IM training the rest of the summer.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank water and gatorade. Walked around. Hugged my race support! Yay for Sister! Yay for Boyfriend!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I could easily have taken 15 mins off my swim time had I not completely freaked out. I also had all good intentions of following a training plan specific to this race. That went out the window because I focused more on my prep for my running races. I don't need to run more! I need to swim and bike more!

Event comments:

I really really enjoyed this race (once I was out of the water). Its very very organized, lots and lots of awesome volunteers. Great course. This was a nice "welcome back" race after a few years off due to injury and a deployment. The post race meal was amazing - burritos, brownies yum.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-04-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:26 | 1640 yards | 02m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 562/58
Overall: 0/595
Performance: Bad
Suit: Sleeveless
Course: Counterclockwise loop.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:41
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:42:16 | 30 miles | 17.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/58
Overall: 447/595
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: Loop course, about 1500 ft of climbing. Lots of volunteers and police to watch traffic and make sure we stayed on course. It was a very scenic course. 2 aid areas.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:58:56 | 06.21 miles | 09m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/58
Overall: 448/595
Performance:
Course: Flat out and back through neighborhoods and along the lake. The finish is a teaser. You think you are right there because you can see the transition area. But no. You have to run about 1/4 mile around the park. Then you think you are finished because you can see the end. But no. You have to run about 1/4 mile around this little pond to the end.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5