Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed (Page 27)

Ok, I don't post here regularly; I'm more of "Dominion's Sprint Group" Groupie. I hadn't planned to race any this year (this is my second year of sprint tri's), and just work on rebuilding baselines, etc after a winter and spring of no training due to life, etc. Well, training has been going exceptionally well for the past couple of weeks and at the end of last week I thought, Oh, what the heck? I'll do a tri at the end of August on a really flat course and just see what happens.
And then it hit. Sunday I felt achy and Monday I could barely get out of bed. Ankles, knees, hands, neck in pain, blinding headache and nausea. I went to the doctor and I've been diagnosed with not exactly full blown Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but with all indications that it is in my system and we've caught it early. Yay.
I have done nothing all week but rest and try not to move too much. The drugs are kicking in and I'm feeling MUCH better (gotta keep the headaches under control: they're a killer). And now I'm trying to figure out what to do about this race on August 22. I want to do it realllllly bad!!!!! If any of you guys have RMSF or Lyme's or any other auto-immune issues that you deal with in your training, I would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions!!! I'm planning to get in the pool later today; mostly just to move my body in a supportive space and see what it feels like. if it feels ok, I may bike tomorrow and run on Sunday.
So there's my little tale of woe. Any and all thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Cass and Randy congrats on another solid effort and furthering your education in triathlon. The race (run, bike or swim also) is the experience in an of itself. We do them not to get to the end but to learn more about ourselves and for the joy of doing it. Racing is fun, but sometimes it doesn't come together. Cass I'm positive this won't deter you one bit.

MTPG, no clue how long it takes to get over RMSF

I raced this weekend. i did this race last year, but I think it was a month earlier. When I planned my season this was an important race to see my overall improvement. Last year I missed placing in my age group at this race by 1 spot. My goals this season was to do better on this race and to podium my age group. I had this race in mind for both but got on the podium last month.

Although this was an important race for me me, I decided to change my race plan. I haven't been able to get my run numbers up do to my on going foot problems so I decided treat this as an aquabike with a immediate cool down run. Thinking that my best possible run around 27-28 minutes if I went easier on the bike. If I pounded the bike I may save a couple minutes. May even out.

last year I posted a 1:31:19 for the 750m/12.5/3.1 course with a 20:47/39:39/27;35

This year the both the olympic and sprint did the same swim course, but the olympic swam twice. This was odd. Don't know if I caught any of the olympic folks who had a 6 minute head start. The swim direction was reversed from last year. Last years top male were about a minute faster than this year, and this may have been related to the swimming against the current twice in the river. I felt my sighting was excellent. I took a good line and never deviated much. I did feel like I was dragging a bit. Maybe it was the current. I think I put my goggles on my cap a little and water leaked in my goggles throughout the swim. I emptied them a couple times. My time was 16:52. Shaved almost 4 minutes. Second in my AG and 28th overall of 83.

T1 went fine. I didn't rush an was in there for 1:17. Decent for me, and a few people passed me in transition and mounting. 43rd of 83 in T1.

Hit the bike and realized my sensor for my computer was turned out and not reading. Had to go by feel. Could passed the folks who got me on the mount line (2), and then set my sights on the next target and the next. Got about 5 miles in a got passed and went with that person. We caught 3 or 4 other guys and went into a 1/4 to 1/2 mile turn loop lots of position changes in here. Coming out of this loop the 5 or 6 of us keep leap frogging. It was fun. We were definitely racing. Sometimes swinging out three wide to pass. We did this for about two miles and then I think the woman and I broke off and I didn't see the guys again. We changed positions a couple times but I pushed at the top of a small hill and didn't see her again. Finished the bike in 36:47. Shaving nearly 3 minutes from last year. 2nd in AG and 21 of 83.

Took my time in t2. Actually started to leave but turned back to get more water. It was hot and getting hotter. 1:27. 65th of 83.
Started on on the run and cramped at the 0.25 mile mark and so I stopped to stretch. After that my legs felt better. At the halfway turn I got water and so there after I saw John. He was the one that bumped me off the podium last year. I guessed he was less than 0.25 behind me and moving a lot faster. I resigned myself to see him go by, but hey my goal was just to get thru the run, no big deal. But at the two mile I hadn't seen him, and I realized my legs were felling okay. So I speed up a little. At about 0.1miles a guy passed me and we sprinted into finish together. Time 29:07. 1:30 slower than last year. 4th in AG and 55 of 83. My splits were 9:44, 9:35, and 9:05

Overall time 1:25:32. Almost a 6 minute improvement. Took 3rd in my AG and 35th overall. My award a selfie stick. Seriously?

Overall very happy with this race. I learned that if I take the first mile easy my legs will loosen. Maybe stretch in T2. Will work on starting easy in my transition runs and then maybe running half a mile harder. It was nice to see the improvement since last year. Would have to shave 6 minutes to get the guy ahead of me in my age group. Maybe next year.

Nate

Great race Nate!

I not have two races this week. One is the aquathon 2nd edition Thursday night followed by a sprint try 500m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run on Saturday. Friday looks to be a recovery slash carb reloading day! My triathlon I was originally signed up for in 2 weeks I had to back out of due to some family matters that just weren't gonna wok out for to still attend so I signed up for this one that's still close by this weekend instead. Should be a good fun time if nothing else!

Scott

A 6 minute improvement overall and 3rd in your AG is great! Not sure what to say about the selfie stick for the reward. Maybe the race director had a teenager pick the prizes?! LOL Maybe for the younger groups, but for your age group and higher the competitors probably aren't that interested in taking a bunch of selfies. I guess you could always put it up for sale on eBay or something.

I know where you're coming from with the cramps off the bike. I've only ever done one bike/run transition (in training or racing!) where I didn't get a cramp in my calves. It sucks to lose 20-30 seconds just so you can stop and stretch, regardless of whether it is in T2 or during the run.

Hey, at least you got your negative split!!

Glad to hear you had a good time. That's important. I had to do a double take on your race report. For a minute, I thought it was saying that you averaged close to 28 mph on the bike! LOL Then I realized it was km/hr. I was going to ask for your secret. Congrats on your second intermediate distance. I'm going for my first in less than two weeks. Yikes!

I don't have experience with RMSF, but I've been injured/sick many times before a race. What works for me is to really pay attention to my body and my fatigue levels. If I feel tired I'll skip a workout. I won't do a workout unless I feel fresh. You have a few weeks until the race and it's a sprint after all, so I'd say continue to train. Start out lightly and pay attention to how you feel. Make sure you add more rest than you would if you were not coming off an illness. I'd also check with your doctor to make sure he/she agrees with the plan.

Good luck.

Enrique

Yeah, not every race outcome will be what we hope for, but we can race another day, right? The pictures are great. It looks like a nice venue and a beautiful day for a race.

Thank you, Enrique! So far, I'm doing ok. My times are kinda slow, but I'm getting the workouts in. This week, I'm focusing on just finishing the workouts. Next week, if all is still going well, I'll start looking at them a bit more critically, assessing expectations of time, etc.

I've always feared while riding my bike that I could take a bug to my face. A big bug with a stinger finally confirmed my fears! Uhg, I was only about 1/4 mile from home at the tail end of my ride so it could have been much worse. Fortunately I'm not allergic to bee stings yet. Rotten bugger got me just underneath my helmet and above my sunglasses. Resting up today. Have the second of 3 aquathons tomorrow night and then my 3rd Tri of the season on Saturday. Weather is looking spectacular for both events. (maybe a touch warm) Bee safe out there and fun!

Scott

Hi there everyone I haven't been on here very much. BUT Hey I DID IT! I COMPLETED my FIRST SPRINT TRIATHLON. It's a dream come true for me I'm so happy!

I wrote an article for a website about it here: http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/health-and-beauty/fitness/t...

I loved training for it so much - though my weight remained a problem - I ost 21lbs, then I gained another 7about 2 weeks before the race!
HM. I'm 150lbs I need to lose about 14 at least - lord knows how I'm always exercising.

I also have fibromyalgia, this may factor in.

My transitions were very very very slow ha ha ha like 7 mins! I must have had a nap or something - but hey I did it with no stopping and I have my medal so I'm very proud! Now for the next one, and I might join a club.

x

That sucks, Scott. Glad you're not allergic. I had a close call maybe 2 weeks ago. I was in the middle of a ride when something fairly large (too small to just be a fly or something like a japanese beetle) hit my helmet and then started buzzing around in between the helmet and my head. I don't know what it was, but I do know that it was pissed! LOL I whipped that helmet off as fast as I could before it could bite/sting me and without falling off my bike. By the time I could flip my helmet over to look to see what it was, the mystery bug was gone. My gut tells me it was a bee, but I don't know for sure.

Congrats on finishing your first triathlon! It really is a great feeling of accomplishment. So when's the next one? LOL

Way to go triathlete!

Did my swim workout with a swim cap on today. Mostly because my hair is getting trashed from the pool. Anyway it shaved 5 sec/100 yards on my 400TT. Has anyone else experienced this?

Nate

I shave my head pretty regularly and almost never have hair more than about 1/4 inch long, so cap vs. no cap is about the same for me on most days. ;-) But that sounds like a lot just from a cap unless you have hair past the middle of your back! Maybe you just had a "good day"?

Left my trip top in my bag wet and it got ruined. I have been thinking about getting a speeds it but wasn't sure if that was wise for Olympic distance races. My next race is a sprint in NH on August 15th and wetsuit legal so it wouldn't matter for that one. After that I have planned an Oly planeed in September. I was worried about no pockets for the longer distance

I've never tried the swim cap in the pool. Something seems to be clicking on more cylinders as far as my swimming goes. I'm looking forward to tonight's aquathon and triathlon on Saturday to put it to the test and see if it's all in my head or if I'm really starting to figure out this thing called swimming!

Scott

Maria! Ha ha ha! Great race report! I can totally relate! Yes, I've shown up to meetings straight out of the lake, with pond weeds and frogs in my hair, having to sit on a towel so I don't leak too much on the conference chairs. Or smelled like chlorine from the pool for months on end, no matter how many showers. And I try to talk my friends into joining me by telling them "the view is great, especially if you're in the middle or back of the pack." Ha ha ha! And it's funny, after reading your article, I realized I DON'T HURT ANYMORE! I used to hurt all the time, even up to a few months ago, but now I don't!

You rock! Way to go!

Thank you!

Thanks you all for the congratulations! I reckon I need to get signed up to a club, good luck with all your own triathlons! I want to try some more and longer distances now.