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Valley Girl Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Liberty Lake, Washington
United States
Emde Sports, LLC.
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 18m 5s
Overall Rank = 60/480
Age Group = 40+ Athena
Age Group Rank = 2/22
Pre-race routine:

Ok fine, fersure fersure, she's a Valley Girl and there ain't no cure. Nicholas Cage as a young hood...remember?

Up early, oatmeal and bottled frappaccino - gotta stop that habit. Everything was loaded in the car, so headed out, stopped at Starbuck's and then to pick up my brother for the ride out.

Met the club girls early, got a team photo then rode down to the transition zone. Travelled light today, smaller (lighter) backpack, didn't bring the kitchen sink for once. I'm liking this trend. Left my flipflops at the car (in the interest of travelling light)...big mistake - it meant that once I set up transition I had to walk around the gravel in bare feet until the start. Setup didn't take long, and I had the most primo spot minus one in the whole race I think. Last rack, second from the end. A really fast-looking skinny chick came up in her aero helmet and asked if she could put her bike between mine and the one on the end even though there was lots of space on the other side of mine...c'mon, what was she thinking? I'M thinking she was on the wrong rack - Athena my a$$. :) J/K, I do hope she had a great race.

Hung around with the cool kids before the race, finally sat down in the grass - I don't really need to mill around for an hour before the start. Nice relaxing time watching the people. Had a Hammergel about 30 minutes before the start.
Event warmup:

Decided to go sans wetsuit...in hindsight it was a mistake, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I got in the water and swam a hundred yards or so, swam to the 'out' to see what it looked like, looked at all the weeds on the bottom - my, what a HEALTHY lake.

Goggles were seated perfectly (note this point) and the warmup felt really good once I got over the initial shock of the water. My team tritop is great for swimming. I felt smooth, swam straight, and was really comfortable in the water. During the warmup.
Swim
  • 12m 45s
  • 528 yards
  • 02m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

Huh. Since I had some time to wait, I had removed my goggles then put them back on before the start... bad move.

I waded in at the back of the pack and started swimming. Right away I was short of breath and kind of frantic from the contact. So weird - the warmup was great, and it hasn't been bothering me at all the last year or so, but without the wetsuit it was a lot different. Then, within the first 25 yards my goggles started to leak which started another round of freakishness. 25 yards after that I had to reseat them again, and when I put my head out of the water I heard someone yelling for help. She wasn't sinking and a kayak was on it's way, but NOT a relaxing swim at all.

FINALLY got clear water before the first buoy and started feeling better, but got squeezed out 100 yards or so from the end and was immediately panicky and out of breath again.

Only saw the end buoys for most of the swim and had trouble seeing the exit.

Not a stellar performance for me.
What would you do differently?:

Practice practice practice without my wetsuit, or swim in it.

Not whine so much in my RR. :)
Transition 1
  • 02m 12s
Comments:

Ran from the swim out to my bike (a first) but kept tipping over trying to get my shoes on. My spot was on dirt and gravel so every time I stepped off my towel to catch my balance, I stepped in the sand and had to clean my foot off again. Finally got my shoes on, helmet and glasses went on quick, and off the races.

Ranked 108/480 overall and 2/22 in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing - I kicked during the last bit of the swim but was still dizzy.
Bike
  • 33m 27s
  • 10.5 miles
  • 18.83 mile/hr
Comments:

This is my favorite part of this race. While the out-and-back turnarounds are a little crazy with so many women, I'm a fairly strong cyclist in this group, so I get to say a lot of "onyerleft's." No one passed me this year - of course I DID start in the last wave and my swim wasn't too speedy, but hey....

My prime rack location meant that I didn't have to run as far with my bike as most people. My first foot clipped in quickly but it took a couple of revolutions before I got my second one in. Once my second one clipped in I felt like I accelerated fast and was off. It is an uphill start and I did remember to put my bike in the right gear, so all in all the start was pretty smooth.

You get almost 500 cyclists on a 10 mile course and there's gonna be congestion. Once again, very few people were riding in the bike lane. I could've passed a lot of people on the inside, but being against the rules I swung out and around. Yeah, I color inside the lines, too.

Twice I got passed by a truck that then got hung up behind cyclists in the road. Since there was room in the bike lane, both times I got to zoom by the truck and make up some good time.

This felt like a good strong ride. I rode hard but didn't blow up. The cornering went well and I got to say a 'good job' a lot. Looking back, maybe I could've ridden a little harder, especially on the flats, but overall it felt good.
What would you do differently?:

More bike time - a late spring and no trainer motivation kept me off my bike early this year.
Transition 2
  • 00m 53s
Comments:

Good transition - ran in to my rack, got a little hung up racking my bike (water bottle got in the way) but everything went off and on quickly. Hat and number belt went on after I was moving.

Ranked 60/480 overall and 3/22 in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 28m 46s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt like a good solid run. I almost never pass anyone while running, so this was a big confidence booster for me.

This run starts out uphill which was kind of a drag, but the run training over the last couple of years has really helped. I remember my first time when I had to walk all the hills, and especially this first one. This time I kept running and could joke around with the other racers laboring up it.

I'm not sure what else to say (shocking, I know) but it was over before I thought it should be.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Got a bottle of water and recovered really quickly which made me second guess my effort level - surely I could've gone harder?

Cheered the rest of our club members in (so much fun to watch all the ladies doing the finishing kick - totally inspiring!

Then pizza and hanging around, went to get my bike, hung around some more...

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training and extra weight - as usual. I think I went about as fast as I could have today, and I'm very happy with my performance.

Event comments:

This is one of my favorite races to do - it is organized, well-run, has plenty of volunteers and spectators, and is pretty much just a big party. This race caters to first-times and experienced women alike. Overall I would recommend it to just about anyone.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-04-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:45 | 528 yards | 02m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/22
Overall: 108/480
Performance: Below average
Suit: none
Course: Single counterclockwise loop around the dock. Well marked, lots of support out there.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:12
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:33:27 | 10.5 miles | 18.83 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/22
Overall: 27/480
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Lots of out-and-backs, lots of cornering.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:53
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:28:46 | 03 miles | 09m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/22
Overall: 145/480
Performance: Good
Course: Net uphill with one out-and-back and water every mile.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-07-15 10:03 AM

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Expert
783
500100100252525
Spokane, Washington
Subject: Valley Girl Triathlon


2008-07-15 1:10 PM
in reply to: #1530644

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Expert
1207
1000100100
Liberty Lake, WA
Subject: RE: Valley Girl Triathlon
Great job.  My daughter did her first tri this weekend at Valley Girl.  You flew past her somewhere on the bike. 
2008-07-15 3:00 PM
in reply to: #1530644

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Master
1397
1000100100100252525
Granvile, Ohio
Subject: RE: Valley Girl Triathlon
You did so great!  Your bike and run absolutely ROCKED and how bad can the swim have been?  You finished 7th in your AG.    Nice job Colleen!
2008-07-15 6:08 PM
in reply to: #1530644

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Regular
98
252525
Spokane, Washington
Subject: RE: Valley Girl Triathlon
Enjoyed your race report. I just did mine for Valley Girl too! (after I figured out how to post it) It's encouraging to see how far you can come in a few years. Keep up the good work.
2008-07-16 3:27 AM
in reply to: #1530644

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Expert
1535
100050025
Coeur D'alene, ID
Subject: RE: Valley Girl Triathlon
Fantastic race!  Congratulations of getting some bling too!  You did great!
2008-07-16 10:41 PM
in reply to: #1530644

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Member
90
252525
Spokane
Subject: RE: Valley Girl Triathlon
WOOT!!  You rocked!! and brought home some hardware too!!!  Way to go!!!  Great RR too.


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