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Pinehurst Triathlon
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Pinehurst Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic
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 Swim
Comments: There was fog over the water. From the shore, I couldn't even see the first buoy! I lined up towards the back. I started off feeling alright. Just tried to get into a groove. But sighting was very difficult because I couldn't see where to go! I just kept watching for the heads in front of me. I got run into, punch and kicked several times. I don't know if it was the fog that caused it, but this swim felt much longer to me. I didn't think I would ever get to the first turn (then felt the same way about the second and finish). Just before the first turn, I had to stop for a second to figure out which direction I was supposed to be going. Another lady stopped too and asked me which way? I saw a man in a kayak (or on a surf board - I couldn't tell) to my right. The lady saw a buoy to the left and took off in that direction. I swam to the right (the lady went towards the second buoy - I wonder if anyone sent her back or if she just cut several hundred yards off her swim). Once I made the second turn I could see a lot better and just kept swimming for the "giant orange man". I just really hate the swim portion of triathlons. It's not like I felt like I couldn't finish it, or that I couldn't breath or felt scared or nervous at all. I can't explain it. I don't have any trouble when I do OW swims either. I just don't like this portion of the race. I kept thinking to myself that if this is so hard for me, why would I ever want to do an ironman?? I kept swimming, but the shore never seemed to get any closer! I was tired of swimming and just wanted to be done. And my calves kept cramping up. I finally saw sand under me! I took a couple more strokes and then stood up and looked at my watch. 32:00! Wow, actually 3 minutes faster than last year. That was a bit of a surprise. I was hoping to be faster, but I was having such a crappy swim I thought it was going to be slower. What would you do differently?: I really need to find a way to enjoy the swim portion of the race!!  Transition 1
Comments: It was a very long run from the lake to my spot in transition. I think I was as far from the swim entrance as you could get! :) I had all sorts of issues with my wetsuit too. First I couldn't get my quick-release zipper to release. My swim photo will probably look like I am trying to hang myself - I was pulling that string to hard! Once I finally got it to release, I pulled off my right sleeve (no problem). Then I tried to pull of my left sleeve. It got stuck on my watch! I managed to keep running (sort of) while I worked the wetsuit over the watch. When I finally got back to my rack, I tried to pull the wetsuit the rest of the way off. I got one leg off fairly easily, but had to struggle a bit with the other! Once I got the wetsuit off, the rest went smoothly. Slipped my shoes on and put on my helmet and glasses and started to run with my bike. What would you do differently?: Get my wetsuit off faster (I have never had that much trouble with it before).  Bike
Comments: The bike portion of this race was the only time I was happy. I just wanted to finish the swim and I fell apart on the run. But during the bike, I was content with how I was doing. I was worried about how cold I would be on the bike. I was just wearing a tank top and tri shorts. It was still cool when I got out of the water. But I didn't even think about it for the first 5 miles. Then I realized my hands and feet were freezing! But by the halfway point, I was completely warm. This was a fairly large race and there was a lot of people on the course. There was a lot of drafting going on. I was careful not to draft, but that actually slowed me down a few times. There were times when there would be a group of people (2 or 3 across), so I couldn't easily pass. So I had to slow down and wait until I could. I did very well on the flat portions of the bike (and the downhills). But the uphills really hurt my average. There were several hills that I slowed to 10mph!! I did manage to pass a lot of people on the bike. And I did as well as I could have expected since I trained on flat roads. I had a bottle of Infinit on my bike and my aerobottle had water. I still had some left at the halfway point, so I skipped the one water bottle handoff. I didn't pay much attention to my HR during the bike. I knew it was high, but I just tried to keep a pace that I thought I could hold. What would you do differently?: Before I do this race again, I will definitely train on some hills! Transition 2
Comments: Nothing unusual happened during T2. I ran back to my corner and re-racked my bike. Took off my helmet and took off my bike shoes. Then put on my socks and running shoes (with Yanktz). Then I grabbed my hat, race belt and Garmin off the bike. I put these on as I ran out of transition. What would you do differently?: Nothing  Run
Comments: I really wanted to run 8:00 to 8:10 per mile. I started off fine and feeling good. That didn't last long though. I made it to the first water station and grabbed a cup of water. I drank it while I ran. My stomach started to cramp almost immediately. I continued to run, but slowed down a little. I still felt like I was doing alright and then the hills started. I did the first few alright, but with each hill my HR would go way up and after the hill I couldn't get it to go back down. So I started to walk the water stops to let my HR slow a bit. That worked for a little while. But by mile 4, my stomach was still cramping and my HR was still racing. At this point all I wanted was for the run to be over. I mentally gave up at this point and knew I wasn't going to get the time I wanted on the run today. I ended up walking portions of a couple of hills towards the end. However, the last hill at mile 6 I did run up. I knew I was at the end and I just wanted it to be over! What would you do differently?: I used to be able to mentally push myself through a race no matter how badly I felt. But for some reason, I have not been as successful with that this season. I need to get that ability back! It is really frustrating to fall apart on what is supposed to be my strength!! :( Post race
Warm down: Once I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a water and a banana from the food tent. Then I headed down to the lake and walked back in to soak my legs. The water had felt fairly warm before the race when the air temp was lower. Now the water felt cold (but really good on my legs). I soaked in the lake for a little while. Then I packed up my transition area and walked back to my car and went home. What limited your ability to perform faster: There were two things with this race. The first is that I didn't train on hills. I really need to do that before I attempt this race again. The second is my mental game. I need to work on getting that back (especially before I do IMFL next year). Last updated: 2008-02-09 12:00 AM
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 2008-10-05 6:14 PM |
Veteran  205  Fayetteville, NC |  Subject: Pinehurst Triathlon |
| 2008-10-06 8:10 AM in reply to: #1719553 |
Master 1741   Chapel Hill, NC | Subject: RE: Pinehurst Triathlon You really put in a great swim time, esp with that fog. I ended up just following the heads in front too and that worked. In fact, it made me wonder if I should just always do that, cuz it's easier than looking for the buoys. Wish I knew a tip to tell you how to enjoy the swim more. I count strokes in between sighting. Four, five or six, depending on how straight I'm going: one, two, three, four - sight (repeat). Maybe that helps keep my mind from thinking of how much farther I have to go. Sorry you had a bad run (tho I think your time was good!). I've had races like that too. You didn't taper either, so that could be the reason. You'll get your groove back for B2B. You will, because I am Neo and I control the Matrix, okay? |
| 2008-10-06 4:35 PM in reply to: #1719553 |
Veteran 264 Wilmington, NC Gold member | Subject: RE: Pinehurst Triathlon Nice race, just think that without the fog, your swim sould have been even better! That run course is tough, it always gets me because there are very few spots to recover, mentally and physically. I heard that next year the run course is going to be reversed, so you will start on the hill and finish on the flat section, yeah! |
| 2008-10-06 8:58 PM in reply to: #1719553 |
Veteran 290 Kinston, NC | Subject: RE: Pinehurst Triathlon that was a good race! Like Keyone, I'm not sure what to tell you that will make the swim better. It has just gotten better over the years for me. not real fast, but not as bad as that first 1/2 mile open water swim The bike was good. Sounds like the body wasn't happy on the run and that run course is tough with the quick up and down the first 1/2 of it. good job. sorry I didn't run into you. maybe next time |
| 2008-10-09 5:44 PM in reply to: #1719553 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: Pinehurst Triathlon Carol, what an interesting race for you. It sounds like it was more a mental endurance task than physical since you even PR'd! Way to stick it out through the rough/less enjoyable patches and congrats on your PR! |
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Sunny
Overall Rank = 99/183F
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 16/29
I woke up at 4:30am. I got dressed and ate my breakfast. I had packed the car the night before, so I just jumped in the car and took off. This was my first solo tri race. David didn't go with me for the first time. I was both happy and sad about this. It was sad to not have anyone there cheering for me, but I also know that it can be very boring for a spectator. I recently bought a navigation system for my car, so I used it this morning. It was very dark out and the navigation system was a huge help, especially since I was alone (I wouldn't have been able to read a map).
We have to park about a half mile from the race site. Once I parked, I pulled my bike off the rack and pumped up the tires. It was then that I realized that I was parked right next to NickInNC!! It was hard to pump up my tires because it was so dark. I finally managed, then grabbed my pack and started the long walk. I thought about riding my bike, but I didn't have a light with me and it was way too dark. Once I got to the race site, I got my race number, racked my bike and picked up my race packet. I had a really crappy rack spot (way over in a corner). Once I got my transition area set up, I got in line for the porta-potties. I had arrived pretty early, so I was done and waiting long before the start of the race. So, I spent the rest of the time trying to stay warm. It was freezing! I was wearing my tri-suit with a sweat shirt over it (no pants). I saw a few people I knew and stopped to talk to them. Just before the start, I put on my wetsuit and headed down to the lake. I was in the second to last wave, so I still had 20 minutes after the start until I was going to swim. The water temp was 68.5*, so I was concerned it would feel really cold. I got in to do a little warmup and the water actually felt warm! It was warmer than the air, that's for sure. So after I warmed up, I didn't want to get back out because it was too cold to get out. So me and most of my wave just hung out in the water until it was our time to go.