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Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville - TriathlonSprint


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Naperville, Illinois
United States
US Women's Triathlon Series
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 33m 6s
Overall Rank = 355/1919
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 86/410
Pre-race routine:

Followed the same timing as last year, since it had worked so well. Up a bit before 4am and out the door by 4:30am. Realized as we were putting my bike in the car that I still had the trainer skewer in and it doesn't have quick release, so if I flatted I wouldn't be able to get the wheel off. Decided to run back upstairs and get my other skewer and this took a while because he couldn't find it. So...we got a much later start than I intended and was pretty stressed out. As it turned out, we got there just on time. Had a Hammer Bar (220 cals) on the way to Naperville and sipped on some water. Once we met up with Laura (Startingtotri) and her friends Ellen and Kim, my awesome jockstrapper (jowisc) took off to do his 1 1/2 hour training run. We headed to transition and got set up pretty quick. No worries. Very easy. About 6:15am, I headed to the beach with Ellen and Kim. At 6:30am, they opened the water for warm-up and I knew that I had to get in...this is something I just do for all of my races. It gives me peace of mind that I still remember how to swim. :) After swimming, I parked out a picnic table (another reason to get there early!) with Laura, Ellen and Kim. We got ready to watch the elite women take off when BOOM! Thunder...and then lightening....and a DOWNPOUR. Bummer. Around 7:10, more thunder and lightening. And then 7:20, more. Finally, at 8am, the race was able to begin. But since we were one hour delayed, my start time wouldn't be until 9:15am. Ugh. The whole time we waited, I was freezing cold since I had been in the water. I also didn't have nearly enough to eat. I had been up since 3:55am (four hours by race start, five+ hours until my start) and had only had about 350 cals. This definitely came back to bite me later. When will I learn that I can't race on ZERO?
Event warmup:

Swam one lap out and back by myself and was strangely panicky. I don't know why. It was my first "open water" swim of the year, but it shouldn't have been enough to give me anxiety. I typically feel great during my swim warm up, but I didn't. I sort of knew this was going to be an off day for me. When I got back I saw Laura getting in to do her warm-up, so I took off and did another lap. So, all in all, about 400M of warm-up swim.
Swim
  • 13m 42s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

I remember that I didn't like this swim last year, and I didn't like it again. You get this weird mix of good swimmers and women who just aren't going to swim at all. Somehow I once again got stuck right in the middle and had trouble getting a rhythm. I even stayed to the outside and STILL couldn't get clear water. I was really panicky the first lap out-and-back. Even had to stand to get my bearings for a moment and then started dolphin diving in the shallow end. Finally started to feel better on the last lap and just swam as fast as I possibly could. My sighting was also HORRIBLE. I was all over the place and bringing my head very far out of the water to sight. I was just off. Felt like I was flailing. With that said, I was still about 11" faster than last year. Not sure how that happened, when my training has all seemed slower! So, I at least feel good that I had a rough swim but still picked up some time. :)
What would you do differently?:

Stop worrying and just do my own thing. Also need more practice sighting. Need to remember that I know how to swim and am not going to suddenly start drowning for no reason. That Grand Haven race last year really messed with my head and I still haven't been able to clear the demons despite several OWS since then.
Transition 1
  • 03m 31s
Comments:

I had absolutely awful placing in the transition area (you rack with your wave). The transition area is HUGE and I was about as far away as you can get from the "BIKE OUT." There's also a really long run from the swim. I kept up a good pace running from the swim and also did a good job running out with my bike. Even with my horrible placing, I was still a few seconds faster than last year, so feel really good about my effort here.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really.
Bike
  • 45m 33s
  • 13.8 miles
  • 18.18 mile/hr
Comments:

Came out of transition BLAZING. Was probably around 21-22mph for the first part of that lap. Then somewhere along the way, it all started going downhill. I was getting really hot and I had a pounding headache (which is weird for me). I was starting to feel a little nauseous and knew I had to take it back a notch. I was still passing the whole time, because there were so many first-timers at this race. Near the end of the ride I was pushing, pushing, pushing as hard as I could and just had nothing left in the legs. Very disappointed in my performance here.
What would you do differently?:

I think nutrition was much of the problem here.
Transition 2
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

Wheels really coming off here. It was really tough having to run so far back in with my bike. My HR was sky high and I really just wanted to be done.
What would you do differently?:

Focus.
Run
  • 28m 19s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

Ugh. Terrible performance here. Had to walk almost right off the bat, because I was feeling really dizzy and nauseous. Once I got going, I started feeling a little better and really picked it up. When I got to about 2 miles I was really done though. Just had nothing left to give. I walked a couple of the last aid stations and tried to stay wrong when I was running. I am capable of so much more than this, but again, I think nutrition (or lack thereof) played a big role here.
What would you do differently?:

Eat more in the morning? I also need to get my mental toughness back. Quickly. I'm finding it so hard to stay mentally tough. I was almost in tears out there because I wanted to power through but really, really felt like I had nothing to give. I was just exhausted.
Post race
Warm down:

Laura, Kim, Jonathan and Laura's parents were all waiting right at the finish for me. It's a good thing they were there or else I probably would have had a complete meltdown. Stood around and waited for Ellen, then headed to transition to wait in a long-ass line for our bikes. This is the worst part about this race and I'm not sure I'll be back next year for this reason alone!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I've got to be smarter about nutrition. I also need to get my stress under control and start getting more rest. Physically, I've got some work to do on all three disciplines. It's frustrating because I feel like I've been doing a lot of hard work on the run and bike, and I'm not seeing the results in races. Last year I had a lot more miles under my belt though and maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know. It just wasn't my day.

Event comments:

This is still a great race for beginners and it's fun to be out there with so many women. However, it's incredibly crowded and a bit frustrating to really try to race (unless you're really out there in front). If I do this race again, it will be because I've convinced some friends to do their first triathlons. And it will be for fun and only for fun. :)




Last updated: 2008-05-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:42 | 820 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/410
Overall: 0/1919
Performance: Below average
AVG HR 141
Suit:
Course: A big pool-looking swim. We swam out-and-back three times. The water is about 15' on the deep end and 4' on the shallow end where many women walk.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:31
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:45:33 | 13.8 miles | 18.18 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/410
Overall: 0/1919
Performance: Below average
AVG HR 164
Wind: Some
Course: Pretty decent little two-loop course. Roads were much rougher than I remember and were still a little wet. There was one section where you had to cross a timing mat and they took you down to single file (it was also at the bottom of an incline). Saw a pretty bad accident there. It was dangerous.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:04
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:28:19 | 03.11 miles | 09m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/410
Overall: 0/1919
Performance: Bad
AVG HR 168
Course: Nice long looped course. Not much shade however. Didn't remember this because last year it was really cloudy.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-06-22 5:50 PM

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Veteran
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Oak Park, IL
Bronze member
Subject: Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville


2008-06-22 7:36 PM
in reply to: #1481617

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Expert
968
5001001001001002525
Wellington, North Island
Subject: RE: Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville
I'm sorry the race didn't go how you hoped. For some tough conditions, you still turned in some good times. Don't beat yourself up. You've worked hard and you're a great athlete. Just let it go because it must mean that something better is in store for you later.
2008-06-23 6:25 AM
in reply to: #1481617

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Master
1477
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Southwest Chicago 'burbs
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville

Try not to beat yourself up too much!  The conditions were not perfect for that perfect race -- for whatever reason, we all seemed to have trouble out there.  You really did a great job considering everything we had to deal with!!  It's hard to plan for being delayed for an hour, nutrition-wise...

Talked to my coach afterwards and I'll echo what she told me ... that as long as you can walk away from a race having learned something that will help you next time, then it's not a bad race.  Take what you can and then move forward, knowing you're a better racer for having gone through it.

And - great times this weekend!  So glad we got to hang out so much!! 

(and now, can I copy your race report and present it as my own, since that's basically how my day went as well?!  )

2008-06-23 9:12 AM
in reply to: #1481617

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Extreme Veteran
444
10010010010025
Olathe, KS
Subject: RE: Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville
It might not have gone exactly as planned, but you still put up some great times! And you can't control the weather - I'm sure if you could have predicted that, you'd have taken in some more nutrition. Sorry that the race was a disappointment to you, but I think you still did very well, and should be proud of the accomplishment.
2008-06-23 1:33 PM
in reply to: #1481617

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Expert
1148
100010025
NW Suburbs, Illinois
Subject: RE: Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series - Naperville

Good race.  I know you expected better, but you did what you could.  Laura's advice above is good.  Acknowlege.....and move on. 

Sounds like Jonathan is in line to take Jock strapping to a new level.  However, I still think Holly could take him

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