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El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course
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El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint
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 Swim
Comments: This was going to be my weakest leg, I thought, but for me this ended up near perfect. I anticipated being last by 100 yards or more, and I wasn't last, and in fact, finished at the back of the pack -- the key term being "pack." I wasn't alone. I felt great. I was side-stroking, so I was very careful to stay out of everyone's way, and I was successful, I didn't kick anyone. I even passed a guy who started in the men's wave three minutes before me. He looked so sad when he saw me pass him, I almost apologized. What would you do differently?: Well, learn to swim. Seriously. Tomorrow I begin again with the crawl, 25 yards at a time. I'm glad I was able to make this work -- I worked really hard at getting a smooth, drag-free side stroke, and I think I was successful for the most part. But I'm ready to let it go and do it right next time. I'm sure I could take 5-6 minutes off this time with a strong freestyle. I'm still ranking this leg "good" because I exceeded my own expectations (which were obviously very low.)  Transition 1
Comments: I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I remember telling myself "Come on, move faster." Shoes/socks took forever, and maybe I need to think about running without socks. I grabbed a couple bites of my Clif bar because swimming always makes me starving. What would you do differently?: Just move. My transition was organized well enough, I just couldn't move fast enough.  Bike
Comments: This was most disappointing. I knew I wasn't going as fast as I wanted. I had decided to spend everything on the bike and do the best I could on the run, and that ended up being a joke. The winds were bad -- tailwind, headwind, crosswind -- and the course was very hilly -- and the road had these ridge things in them every ten yards or so -- not really pot holes because they extended all across the road. I don't know if they are water/ice damage or if they were put there on purpose, but they were distracting and annoying. Enough whining. Actually I loved the course and I thought it was a blast to ride. I never get to ride hills, so I loved soaring down as fast as I could, but the hills take a toll climbing. There just is really no good reason why my performance was so dismal. What would you do differently?: Obviously I need to really train on the bike. I have been riding and doing some interval work, but it didn't pay off when it mattered. My LBS guy tried to talk me into wearing my clipped shoes, and I didn't listen to him. I should have. I didn't want to take the time to change my shoes in transition, but I should have. Maybe that would have helped my time. Transition 2
Comments: I was a little unfocused because of the bad ride. But I remembered my race number and got the bike racked okay. Stopped to go back and take another drink, which I didn't need to do. What would you do differently?: Just get the bike up on the rack and run. Don't stop for drink or food.  Run
Comments: Well, I did better on the run -- almost just where I wanted. This time beat my first 5k time on April 2, so I'm pretty happy about that, but it is still 1:30 slower than my last stand alone 5k. I could have gone faster. My husband and 4 year old were on the route, so I stopped to give my little boy a hug and a kiss. He wanted to run with him (which we do together sometimes), and I had to tell him to stay with daddy. I walked through the water stations, and at the last one, even stopped to talk to the volunteer for a few seconds. There was one hill, not very hard, but I just didn't want to run it, so I walked for about 20 seconds. Other than that, I ran it just like I wanted to. I ran the first mile I little slow (okay -- I know the whole thing was slow, but it's a relative term in my case). By the beginning of the second mile, I felt like I had my legs back and picked it up a bit. The volunteer at the 2 mile point let me know that's where I was, so I kicked it into as a high a gear as I had at the time. I had enough energy at the end to kick through the finish. I actually felt too good after the run -- so I could have either spent more on the bike (grrr) or picked up the pace of the run quicker and faster than I did. What would you do differently?: Faster pace, a notch or two, throughout. But I think my overall plan was good. Post race
Warm down: Walked. Stretched a little. Found my oldest son, who had stayed with the race the whole time. (His facebook updates about the race are a hoot to read.) Took a cold shower at the beach, and then collected my stuff from transition (which included a banana I'd forgotten about). Packed up the RV and headed for home. What limited your ability to perform faster: Bike Bike Bike. I can't believe it was so horrible. I think I'm going to have nightmares about it. Seriously. I have trained way faster than this. I can't believe I let the wind and the hills get to me like that. Event comments: Maybe I missed the food, etc. But I had my own banana, so I was fine. That's all I like after racing anyway. I will definitely do this race again. I think it was a great first race. And with all my complaining about my bike performance, I loved the bike course. It was a lot of fun. Last updated: 2011-06-26 12:00 AM
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 2011-06-26 6:28 PM |
Master  2770     Central Kansas |  Subject: El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course |
| 2011-06-26 10:34 PM in reply to: #3568085 |
Veteran 178 | Subject: RE: El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course Awesome Race! I came up from Wichita and hadnt even thought of camping right there by the course, that must have been pretty great. way to persevere on the chip-sealed roads and that crazy wind on top of the dam. Neways great job today!
(also there weren't any wetsuits out there today, a few people had speedsuits on, which are kinda like wetsuits, but just dont have any neoprene, and those are legal to wear no matter the h2o temp.) |
| 2011-06-27 3:45 PM in reply to: #3568391 |
Master 2770 Central Kansas | Subject: RE: El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course Thanks for the information about the speed suits. As a newbie, I was a little confused, especially since the water was so warm. Camping was great, but the insects were horrible -- I think I mentioned the icky tick. |
| 2011-06-27 5:05 PM in reply to: #3568085 |
Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member | Subject: RE: El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course Great job out there! YES I heard from people all over the place that the wind was a major factor in slower bike times. Even the fasty-fast-fast people, so don't be too hard on yourself about that. Glad you had fun! When's the next one? |
| 2011-06-27 10:27 PM in reply to: #3569889 |
Master 2770 Central Kansas | Subject: RE: El Dorado Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course lisac957 - 2011-06-27 5:05 PM Great job out there! YES I heard from people all over the place that the wind was a major factor in slower bike times. Even the fasty-fast-fast people, so don't be too hard on yourself about that. Glad you had fun! When's the next one? I'm thinking about doing the one in Derby. I'd love to do the one at Lake Afton, but I've got to work on my husband, and I think that one comes too quickly. Sunday evening on the way home, he said, "Well, that's done. Now we can get back to a normal life." I remained very silent. I had so much fun. It still seems kind of surreal. But I know I didn't push myself. Except for a little soreness from the swim in my arms, I feel amazing -- even better than before the event. And my 15 minute swim at lunch today loosened up my arms. My mantra on the bike was "dig, dig, dig," but I'm not digging deep enough yet. I'm always saving something in reserve. Thanks for the encouragement! |
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United States
Oz Endurance LLC.
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 93/101
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 7/7
Friday night I ran 4-5 miles, off and on the race course (I wasn't sure what the course was). It was an enchanting run -- at about 10:00 p.m. with hubby riding his bike, providing light (and some security). The fireflies twinkled like fairies and the stars were bright. It was a great way to kick off the weekend. Saturday morning, I swam the course and felt strong. About 15 minutes later, I rode the bike course. The course was hilly, and I made a note of that. I began really relaxing and doing nothing but family/camping stuff from 11:30 a.m. on. The only glitch was that I found a tick on me just before I was going to bed. That set me off. I don't like creepy, crawly things, especially of the blood sucking kind. But I recovered and went to bed at about 11:00. I didn't eat any special foods, but I did focus on hydrating throughout the day.
Alarm went off at 5:00, and I snoozed it until 5:30, and then I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I didn't leave the RV until 6:00 a.m. Still made it to the race start in plenty of time to set up transition, body marking, etc. I just walked around and stood around until all of the Olympic swimmers were out of the lake, and then I swam in the water for 10 minutes or so. Excited, but not really nervous. Number 1 son surprised me by getting to the start before I began swimming. So I was able to get a pre-race hug and "good luck" from someone other than a stranger.