Meulen's 'Let's tri this Thing!' beginner mentor group-CLOSED (Page 54)

Hi!!!! Not sure if anyone is still checking this since it's been pretty quiet the last few weeks but I just did another triathlon this morning---the Pittsburgh Olympic and I CRUSHED IT!!!!!

I felt absolutely amazing the whole time and finished in 3:12:00 (vs. 3:34:56 last time!!!!!!!!!!!) AND I placed 4th in my age group. I have never been so proud before. I don't even know where my legs and my energy came from but I pulled it out and had an outstanding race. I am already dreaming of the 3:00 mark next season!

Thank you guys for all your support along the way. Honestly, if I had not stumbled across this site and this group back in the winter I don't think I would have been as motivated as I have been. I am officially addicted and can't wait for more!

4th!!  *bows in awe*

Very nice result.  

Here they are.... my Cannondale Six Road Bike and my Felt B16 Triathlon Bike. I love them both so much!

Don't you worry....I will! I have some BIG plans for 2012...

Any chance you want to do Rev 3 Cedar Point HIM with me???

I am still here as well...

Sarah - Excellent job in the Pittsburgh Tri!  That is on my to do list, but did not work into my schedule with vacation or injuries.  I am impressed because I know the bike course well and it has always intimidated me.  I would love if you were able to practice it before the race, but seeing as how it is a highway and all....    Also, great bike!  Please let me know how the transition from road bike to tri bike goes.  I am very curious since I would like to make the switch in the future.

I am getting very excited for my race on Sept. 18. I am completely at ease with running this race just to see what this distance is like.  Next year I can start focusing on my finishing time.  I am getting very excited though, and know I wil get even more motivated after watching Erin's race this weekend. 

So far I am loving the tri bike...it really is faster (at least on flats)...I took it down to a flat trail where I was averaging 16mph on my road bike and I just did 18mph on my tri bike and that was riding easy...my HR never even broke the 150s. I can't wait for when I'm comfortable on the aero bars and can REALLY push it...I'm gonna FLY!

So what race are you doing the 18th???!! Portage Lakes by any chance?? Because I'm doing that one! 

Is Erin doing North Park tomorrow? I'm not racing but I will be there cheering. I'm going to be at the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club Tent wearing my PTC tshirt. Stop by and say hi! I would love to meet you and Erin in person!!

Ok, so last post I mentioned that 2012 will be a BIG year...well here is what is planned. Yes, I know this is insane but I know I can do it. I have a coach here in Pittsburgh who I've been working with for a few months and she is awesome and believes I can do it. I figure now is a great time to do all this because I know training will take over my life and I don't have any other commitments (like husband or kids) to take up my time...

So 2012:

June- Olympic Tri, TBD

July- Musselman Half Ironman

Sept- Rev 3 Cedar Point Half Ironman

Nov- Ironman Arizona ---AHHHHHH! This is so scary but I am so excited! I hope everyone sticks around to hear about my crazy journey 

Sarah - That is a crazy schedule, but best of luck!  You definitely need that bike!  September 18th is Portage Lakes.  I am not positive now if I am going to do it, but I have developed yet another plan.  I am going to to Presque Isle on the 28th.  If I feel comfortable then I will sign up for Portage.  I know that I have been talking about it so much, but in two weeks it will be a year since I have developed the shin splints.  Last year I had incredible workouts and moved so quickly.  This year I was not able to sustain the same level of intensity and lost so much, even in the swimming and biking, because I became really frustrated.  I do wish I could go back and change my training, but oh well. I want to e realistic, especially with the open water swim.  Oh, by the way, Portage Lakes may not be wet suit legal due to the high temps this year (I got that from the race director).  Hopefully I will see you at Portage, but I do not want to get in over my head and become more frustrated.

As for Erin, she asked me to post this because she has been unable to get onto BT due to technical issues.  She was in the North Park race today.  I did look towards the PTC tent a couple times but didn't see anyone there.  Unfortunately I didn't see your post until after the race or  we wold have made sure to find you.  I do want to find out more about the club so I will message you about the details later.

Erin had trained quite hard for the race and went into the race with a lot of confidence.  The first length went great and then great and then something went wrong. I could tell she was having issues because she was putting her head up and started the breast stroke.  It was so bizarre because swimming should have been no problem and she even trained in this pool for the past two weeks since we are use to a 25m pool at the YMCA.  She doesn't know if it was race anxiety or what, but she had begun hyperventilating and couldn't breath. I was impressed because she stuck with it and finished in under 17 minutes.  Not a great time, but not shabby considering it was half freestyle and half breast stroke (and even some strange version of a backstroke).

She was not looking forward to the bike because it was not her forte, but she did rather well.  I am not sure of her exact split because the results are not in yet, but I think it was somewhere around 50 minutes.  Considering the big hill in the course that had to be done 4 times, and that she was on an old mountain bike, I was impressed.  She really pushed through the hills and didn;'t let them phase her.  Also, her transition from the swim was incredible. She was out of there in an instant.

As soon as her biking was finished, the sky opened up and it began pouring!  It made for a very muddy run since it is all a dirt trail in the woods. Again,I don't know her split, but she finished the race with an unofficial time of 1:43.  She wanted to finish under 1:50, so her goal was well accomplished!  She is now sleeping very soundly after we went out and celebrated our 12th anniversary tonight. 

As for me, I had an incredible time watching Erin race.  It was a lot of fun to see it from the outside, so to speak.  Also, I loved looking at all of that bike porn in person!  I was truly drooling....

AWESOME job Erin! Seriously, way to go! I completely understand the panicking in the water. The swim is always overwhelming because of all the people and worrying about pacing yourself for the rest and just thinking how much further you have to go. You just kept going and that is what matters! I'm really impressed  That was definitely a tough course...I have run that trail before and it seems like it is always up or down! never flat!

Yes and definitely message me any questions about the PTC, I cannot say enough good things about the club. Oh, and PTC members took top 3 guys and 2 of 3 girls so we have a lot to learn from those speedy people! Actually, 7 members have already qualified for Kona this year! There must be something in that river water that makes people fast!

I'm doing Presque Isle too! We definitely should look for each other there!

As for tri tops...Brian can probably help more from a guys perspective but I have a Zoot tri top that I love a lot...it dries incredibly fast, doesn't ride up, and is tight to not let water in. Also every time I wear my zoot tri suit I sing the "zoot suit riot" song to myself and it makes me happy

Thanks for the advice Brian.  I found a Zoot top really cheap on Amazon, so I am going to try that, and I think that I found some Desoto shorts that I am going to go with.

I have officially registered for the Presque Isle tri on August 27th!  This is a sprint tri but I am very excited because it will be my first open water swim.  The rest of the course is flat, but I am assuming that there could be some amazing winds coming off of Lake Erie, so I know that flat does not equal easy. 

Sarah - Did you race this one last year?  I wanted to last year but it didn't work into my work schedule.  We will have to make plans to meet up at this race.  Good Luck!

Meulen - 2011-08-14 5:00 PM My sprint results are up if anyone wants to have a read http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp... Pretty much, my bad race luck continues. However, my head is held high right now. I had fun with my wife and my family that came to watch, and did the best I could. I can't complain about a thing!

I know that only you can gauge how you did in the race, I must say that 1:08 is quite impressive.  What did you get last year?  I also cannot imagine doing that while sick and having asthma issues.  Nonetheless, I am impressed with the performance.  I must say that your hard work obviously pays off, but I know that this time you did fall short of your goal of hitting the podium.  I hope you feel better soon....