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Auburn International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Auburn, California
United States
Bradventures
94F / 34C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 37m 23s
Overall Rank = 119/175
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 7/12
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4am. Ate yogurt and cereal with cup of coffee. Put together 2 bottles of cytomax mixed with lots of ice. Kathy drove me to the swim start and we got there nice and early at 6:15. In this race there were 2 separate transition areas so I decided to just set up my area and give her my pack so I could just stick my wetsuit and towel in the plastic bag provided. Sounded smart, yes? NO. Because I forgot to take the WETSUIT OUT and I noticed after she had driven off! I FREAKED, and started running to the exit. Luckily, there was a logjam of cars trying to come in and she was stuck in traffic when I ran over to see if I could catch her. HR through the roof,omg. Deep breathing....Saw a few friends from last year's tri training group so that was nice.
Met a really nice woman racked nearby who had done IMAZ! We chatted and she asked me if I needed any endurolytes, because of the heat, she brought extra. I said no, I'd never tried or needed them. She gave me a few for just in case. And later it would help a lot! Thanks Catherine! Ate one gu and a few shot blocks before heading off to the swim.
Event warmup:

Running to catch up to my wetsuit!
100 yds out to the swim start.
Swim
  • 51m 52s
  • 1640 yards
  • 03m 10s / 100 yards
Comments:

Hmmm. Where do I start? Pretty much zigzagged the whole way. Since no one was near me because I was sooo far behind, I could backstroke without worrying about bothering anyone. This may have been part of the problem, because it was easy to just flip over whenever I started to get nervous. Could not sight without doing that Tarzan thing and that just tired me out. All the sighting drills I practiced in the pool went way out the window as soon as I got in that lake. I became quite friendly with the support boats! It's a shame, because the water temperature was perfect, it was calm and not crowded. It just seemed like the longest swim ever, when zigzagging. I probably swam an extra 500 yds with all that! When I finally came to the last buoy, I could see the dock and I was so happy, I knew I was not going to DNF, and I started swimming freestyle all the way in and sighting, too! WTF? I was feeling pretty upset with myself, but decided to get over it and think positively for the rest of the race.
What would you do differently?:

Practice open water swims. Duh. Regularly, with other swimmers, not by myself! I worked so hard to get my swimming endurance up to par that I was in total denial that my difficulties with ows could possibly be due in part to my uncomfortable feeling in ows, and my inability to swim in a straight line was because I never properly learned to sight in ows! Arrgh!
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

The times were not broken down, so I think the estimate would be about 4 minutes because I think my bike was about 1:42...anyhow it was okay, I took some extra time to slather more sunscreen over arms and legs because it was already hot. Jammed the gus and endurolyte tabs in my back pockets.
Walked bike up the small hill to mount and go!
What would you do differently?:

Take the stupid toe warmers off my beautifully ventilated bike shoes! Didn't realize they were even on there til my feet started to feel like chicken wings on the grill!
Bike
  • 1h 46m 23s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 14.02 mile/hr
Comments:

I was so happy to be on my bike after that miserable swim, that I took it for granted that nothing could possibly go wrong. WRONG. Less than 3 minutes into my ride, I hit a sandy patch on a right turn and lost control of the bike. As I careened across the road (no traffic, thankfully, and no other bikers since I was so far behind everyone!), my mind quickly went into damage control mode...so I somehow managed to bounce my left leg off the brush on the side of that road, while simultaneously clipping out of the right foot, and didn't even fall over! Other than my chain falling off and my left handbrake being skewed, my bike and I were okay. So it took a few minutes to get the chain back on and then my Garmin just seemed stuck. I didn't worry about that too much, but it kind of sucked not knowing the mileage traveled, however the speed was still being displayed. Anyhow, after this little mishap, the bike actually went really well. Course was very hilly as advertised and unfortunately it was hotter than he&& because Auburn was in the middle of a heatwave. It was about 94 when I finished the run, so bike must have been in the high 80's. I felt strong on the bike and passed some folks. Drank my Cytomax every 15 minutes or so. By the end, I had gone through 1 1/2 bottles and 2 gus.
What would you do differently?:

The only thing would be not crash at the beginning? Oh and figured out at about mile 14, that the Garmin was working again, so that might have been nice to know, but not all that important. I hit 40 mph going down Lemond Walked hill, and actually did really well coming back up after the turnaround, so that was very positive. Oh, and pray for weather in the 70's as advertised? I know, the weather is hit or miss, but dang, that was tough for a san francisco girl with TOE WARMERS ON!!!
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Once again this was combined with the run total time, my estimate is about 3-4 minutes because I was trying to tie my shoelaces, I really could've used those yanks laces but oh well. I took some time to stretch and drink some cyto with another gu. Saw Kathy and someone she met there cheering for me coming into transition so that was a nice lift. Stretched briefly then took off.
What would you do differently?:

not much, at this point time was not really going to make or break me, I was way past hoping for a good time, so it was fine. Oh, I would've left the Garmin on the bike not fiddled with it at the beg of the run.
Run
  • 59m 33s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out down a rocky trail and they handed us an ice cold bottle of water. NICE. So took some sips and poured some on my head and back. Felt kind of odd, because usually after this much fluid intake on my bricks I have an urge to pee at the beg of the run. So, as I sort of ran and sort of tried to get my Garmin into the run mode, I started to worry that I was really feeling the heat. I dug around in my jersey pocket for that endurolyte and resolved to take it at the first aid station. The other one had bounced out of my pocket somewhere along the way so I held tight to this little pill. Started to cramp a little and walked a bit, but saw an aid stn up ahead. Took the pill with water and moments later, I felt great! I took a cold sponge and stuck it in my sports bra! Wow, that felt good too! I pretty much ran at a good pace after that up and down several hills. Only stopped to walk when coming through aid stations and to take water and a new sponge. I passed lots of folks at this point, because a lot were walking. Got passed by some guys doing the first lap of the HIM and knew at that point, if it was a long day for me, it was going to be a long day for the rest of the pack doing the HIM run part in 90+ heat. Anyhow, I felt really good on the run after that one little magic pill. Thanks to my mate at T1!
What would you do differently?:

Carry endurolytes for the bike and run in weather like that! I should've taken one at the beginning of the run and left the dang Garmin behind!
Train cross country in 90 degree heat! I could've done it down the peninsula middays during the spring, but I love running in the cool fog here in the city. Overall, a really good run for me given the blistering conditions. Wonder if the bike took a bit out of me, too.
Post race
Warm down:

Saw Kathy at the finish, and she took a great photo of me, with two sponges popping out of my sports bra! LOL Anyhow, ate some oranges, strawberries, a hot dog and drank water and yes, another cytomax. It was actually a pretty good spread. Looked for my bag in the great big pile of bags, that was not too orderly, my own tri bag would've probably been better. Should've stretched but I was dying to get out of the heat, so we took off.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Overall, my swimming in OWS just plain sucked. I have a huge mental block about OWS and I just need to start going regularly with a group to get over it. I wouldn't complain much about the heat, because it is what it is, but it did limit my speed. Running was a little tentative because I'm recovering from plantar fasciatis, but it turned out to be my strongest event.

Event comments:

I'm really proud of myself for sticking with it after coming out of the water second to DFL! And then nearly crashing my bike. Mentally, it was a challenge, knowing I was behind pretty much everyone, but I put together a decent bike and run on a really tough course on a very hot day, so for a first time Olympic distance, finishing was a definite win for me. I needed one day of rest and reoovery to say that yes, I would like to try this race again in the future.




Last updated: 2008-02-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:51:52 | 1640 yards | 03m 10s / 100yards
Age Group: 12/12
Overall: 173/175
Performance: Below average
Suit: full wetsuit
Course: diamond shaped course with 3 bouys and then back to land
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:46:23 | 24.85 miles | 14.02 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/12
Overall: 111/175
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Very hilly course, some bumpy areas to get through, but smooth for the most part. Most of it that was not near the freeway was actually very scenic, but the sun was strong and beating down mercilessly on us and that made it hard to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Very good traffic control and no major incidents that I noticed, but what did I know, I was soooo far behind!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:59:33 | 06.21 miles | 09m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 81/175
Performance: Good
Course: About 1/3 were trails and the rest hot baking asphalt. Lot's of up and downs on the trails and then on the roads, lot's of stretches of down then up. Lots of aid stations so that was great.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-05-20 1:48 AM

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Elite
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san francisco
Subject: Auburn International Triathlon


2008-05-20 4:54 AM
in reply to: #1412780

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Sneaky Slow
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Herndon, VA,
Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon

Congrats on finishing your first Oly and getting through that swim!!  Wow, it sounds like you had a lot to deal with between the swim, bike chain, and chicken wing feet.  Oh, and you absolutely NEED to get Yankz! or SpeedLaces or something.   Nice job.  And BTW, um, you don't need toe warmers in 94 degree heat.  Just sayin'. 

Great job. 

2008-05-20 8:23 AM
in reply to: #1412780

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Veteran
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Washington , MO
Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon

  "my feet started to feel like chicken wings on the grill!"  OMG that's too funny! but i bet it sucked. I feel your pain about the swim part, but i can guarantee you , you will get better  Give yourself a big pat on the back, you deserve it. You went a heckuva long ways in water, on bike and on foot! Congrats on finishing a tough race in tough conditions. Thanks for sharing with us all.

---John--- 

2008-05-20 9:44 AM
in reply to: #1412780

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon
Kim,
That was hard core! Major kudos on a job well done!! You sucked it up big time, and you deserve to be proud of your accomplishment. It's easy when things go as planned, but it's a different story when things seem to be spiraling out of control. You reeled it in and did an amazing job. Again, congrats!

2008-05-20 12:30 PM
in reply to: #1412780

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Champion
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Northridge, California
Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon
Wow, Kim...great job! I talked to a buddy of mine last night who is an top AG duathlete who finished third in his AG in the du and he ended up in the medical tent from the heat and his time was way off of last year. So those were very tough conditions...for any race, but esp. for that course. For you to run the whole 10K and in sub-1 hour, no less, is really outstanding! And your bike pace with those hills is excellent. Your swim will come around and you clearly know what to do to make that happen--it's all there in your report.

Congratulations!
2008-05-20 1:24 PM
in reply to: #1412780

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Member
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Minneapolis, MN
Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon
Nice work Kim! Your race report was fun to read and I'm super impressed by your great attitude. You definitely gutted it out and finished strong.
Way to go - Sarah


2008-05-20 5:05 PM
in reply to: #1412780

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2008-05-21 6:17 PM
in reply to: #1412780

Master
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portland, or
Subject: RE: Auburn International Triathlon
Congratulations!

It was a tough day out there. The combination of heat and hills were relentless.

scott
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