Randolph Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My wave was all women 39 and under. Started in the middle of the pack, which maybe wasn't the best spot. My first instinct was to start towards the front of the pack, but I was nervous about getting swum over if I wasn't strong enough. In hindsight I could have handled it here. The first 100-200 meters I was a traffic jam. As I was pulling myself ahead of the pack I caught a fist pretty hard to the eye/upper cheek bone. We're talking the kind of punch that creates black eyes. I forced myself to not think about it, keep going strong and pull ahead of that girl. I passed a few men from the waves ahead of me, but I more or less there was no one around me for the majority of the swim.

Start more towards the front, so I don't have to fight my way through the crowd. Swim faster!

My T1 goal was 2:00 and I hit it dead on! Got my suit down to my waist coming out of the water, goggles and cap off as I ran into the TA and the rest of the suit came off my ankles/feet fairly easily. (73/379 OA)

Nothing

My goal for the bike to keep it under 1 hour, and try to hold an avg of 17 mph. The bike is my limiter, especially climbing. To make up for my slow climbs I pushed the flats and descents as I hard as I could. I tried to hold at least 20 mph on the flats, which I think I did a great job of. I spent most of the bike riding with men (from the waves before mine) and was passed by a couple super-speedy 40+ y/o women (from the wave after mine). About half way through the course I realized that I seen any women in my AG, and hadn't been passed by any women that were in my swim wave. My mind started going into overdrive and I wondered how many women in my AG were ahead of me and if any of them were close behind me. From then on all I could think was PUSH HARDER, CYCLE FASTER, GO GO GO. I cruised up the final climb and started picking off more men as we ahead back into the TA.


I still have a lot of work to do here, but I really happy with how I did here. I pushed harder on the bike today than I've EVER pushed before, and it felt great. I can of course use more time in the saddle and more hill repeats. Spend more time in aero & get more comfortable with this.

I was the first one back to my rack and there were hardly any bikes in the racks around mine....we were racked my AG. Threw my bike on the rack, bike shoes off, sneakers on, grabbed my race belt & visor and took off. (59/379 OA)

Nothing

My plan was to take it easy on the first trail portion (about .5 mi) and slowly pick up the pace as I got going. Usually by a mile into the run I can get into a good rhythm and get "in the zone". Waiting, waiting, waiting and it never seemed like it was coming. My body felt like it just did not want to move any faster, no matter how hard I tried to push. Some days my legs feel heavy & like I'm not moving fast, although I know I'm holding a solid pace. Not today....I realy felt like I had a slow pace. By the halfway point my mouth was dry and I was thirsty, but I was worried if I stopped for water it would throw me off and I don't usually take anything on 5k runs. So, I just kept telling myself to push a little harder and the sooner I finish, the sooner I can have a drink. Going back into the woods (about a mile to go) I could hear a couple people behind me. I had no idea if they were men or women and didn't have the energy to turn around and look. All I knew was that I did not want them getting ahead of me.

Apparently those speed workouts that I hate are paying off. Keep doing what I'm doing.....and get faster.

After I crossed the finish I had to hold onto the volunteer who took off my timing chip....I had a hard time steadying myself and catching my breathe. Grabbed a couple bottles of water, found my friends and family, ate some fruit.


Experience. I've come a long way in one year, so I have no doubt next year with see more amazing gains.


Happy triathlon anniversary to me :) This is a great race....it's very well organized, there were so many fantastic volunteers (thank you all!!) and a fun raffle (with bike give-away) post-race.

This was a great day all around and filled with some realy great people. It reminded me of why I do this and why I love this sport so much!! Once again I also had the best support crew ever!! Some of which showed with wearing "GO KELLI" t-shirts and toting signs!

Without a doubt I met my goals for today, and beat last year's time by 15 minutes.