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LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125 - TriathlonOther


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Life Time Fitness
68F / 20C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 43m 37s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Kids stayed with my parents so was able to take care of last minute stuff, organize my gear and got to bed around 9:30. Sleep was spotty but was able to get a few hours.
Woke up at 4, felt hungry so had coffee, water, banana and almond butter.
Husband and I drove to the start, set up transition, chatted with some other athletes and started to get wetsuit on.
Event warmup:

Getting my wetsuit on is warm up enough. Chose not to do the pre-race swim so just waited for my wave to start.
Swim
  • 58m 37s
  • 2734 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

Having swam at the Splash and Dash Thursday night, was VERY apprehensive since that practice swim did not go well. But, once I got in the water, I headed to the outside back of my wave and dunked my head a few times, got water in my wetsuit, was happy the water felt good. Chose to go with the full sleeved suit which was a good decision! But, my goggles didn't seem to be sealing well on the right side. Gun went off and I tried my best to stay controled but goggles kept leaking so had to stop multiple times to empty, fix and try again. Even held onto a paddle boarder so I could figure it out. Just decided to deal and keep going. I typically bi-lateral breathe but figured I would just breath every 4 strokes on my left so I didn't have to sight using my right eye. After the second turn I finally got them semi-sealed so found a little rhythm and was able to pass a few people and stay consistent. Very frustrating since I think I could have had a good swim if I didn't have goggle issues. OWS is NOT my favorite and always need more practice! Just happy I finished in under 1 hour!
What would you do differently?:

More OWS practice, double check goggles sealed properly. The goggles are fairly new but I have swam in them multiple times so not sure why I had issues.
MORE swim training. My swim training was NOT consistent over the winter/spring due to my entire family being sick on and off for weeks, along with missed workouts and vacations.
Transition 1
  • 03m 48s
Comments:

Thank goodness for wetsuit strippers. I chose to put on a jersey so I had additional pockets to hold stuff and keep more sun of me. choose not to wear arm coolers, which turned out to be a bad decision. Put on additional sunscreen and walked bike to mount line, which seemed very far away. Said hi to my husband and away I went.
What would you do differently?:

MORE sunscreen, put on arm coolers.
Bike
  • 3h 42m 21s
  • 69.28 miles
  • 18.69 mile/hr
Comments:

Biking is my strongest leg. I teach spin 4x/week and 2 classes of those use power meters, so my biking has improved greatly in the last year. I love riding my bike, so even with the 4 loop course, I was able to stay on pace, eat and stay hydrated. Stopped 1x to pee on the 2nd loop. The first loop was calm and I just wanted to warm up and find a good pace. 2nd loop is when all the crazy fast Olympic and Sprint bikers started passing and flying by. USAT rules or not, there was some dangerous passing going on and I just held my line and stayed to the right. There was a LOT of car traffic on the restricted lanes next to us and saw 1 accident and 2 near accidents. 4 U turns and multiple tight turns meant you had to really keep control of your bike but I had no issues. I kept telling myself to hold steady because I really wanted to run most of the trail run, so didn't want to over-do the effort on the bike. My husband said it's easy to look for me because I stay pretty consistent.
The wind was blowing on occasion, but with so many direction changes, you didn't have to deal with it for long.
The 3rd loop I developed a side cramp/pain on my right side that didn't go away no matter what I did - breathing, stretching, drink more water, drink less water, salt tab. Nothing worked.
What would you do differently?:

Put on more sunscreen. Maybe eat a little less but not sure if that was my issue...never experienced this during training. My legs felt strong despite teaching 6 classes the week leading up to the race. Probably not the best idea but a girl's gotta make money!
Transition 2
  • 05m 12s
Comments:

Chose to change clothes again - into a t-shirt and running shorts over my tri shorts. Everything went smooth but I couldn't find my sunglasses so that ate up some time. I had put them on my bike - duh. quick sunscreen application (not enough) and walked out of transition because my side was hurting so bad. Stopped to see my family on the way out and hug my kids.
What would you do differently?:

Not lose my sunglasses, more sunscreen.
Run
  • 1h 53m
  • 8.07 miles
  • 14m  min/mile
Comments:

After seeing my family, I tried to run across the bridge to N. side of TTL, but the side cramp hurt so bad that all I could do was walk. Stopped to stretch and breathe multiple times, but nothing helped so figured I would keep walking. Walked the 1.5 miles to the start of the trail. Tried running multiple times but could only manage 30 sec or so. Any movement in my core made the pain worse and it felt like I had a knife in my side. I had my hand held water bottle so just kept drinking and decided against eating anything else. It was hot, but the heat didn't bother me...I think I was so focused on just moving forward and not breaking down into tears because of the pain. Walked/hikes most of the technical stuff and made it to the canal path. Managed a few more jogging seconds here and there but not much. Wanted to stop and stretch more but figured as long as I was walking, I was moving forward and didn't want my family worried that I was taking so long. My husband said he got an update text on his phone when I was at the 1/2 way point so he had an idea that I was going WAY slower that expected. Figured I could still walk the darn thing in 2 hours so kept moving. I think drinking more water was helping and at each aid station (volunteers were amazing BTW - LOTS of ice and cold water!) would try to drink. There were quite a few walkers at this point since it was SO hot out so at least I wasn't alone! Changed up my breathing pattern since exhaling hurt worse and things started to get a little better. Was able to run a few sections and it felt so good to just be moving a little faster! Finally made it to the sidewalk section, up a big hill and down to Mill ave. I just wanted to be able to run the section where my family was and into the finishers chute. Mustered up whatever pain tolerance I had and ran around the corner where my kids and family were waiting. I had the whole finishers chute to myself which was fun and finished as strong as I could! It felt like the longest 8 miles EVER and I was so happy to be done. I had really looked forward to the run part of this course so this was all very disappointing.
What would you do differently?:

maybe I ate too much on the bike, not enough water - I don't know. Never had this happen in training and have never experienced this much pain on a course. I think my run training was average for this race, considering I did only 1 trail run before the race. I can always improve in this area!
Post race
Warm down:

got more water, medal and met my family over in a shaded tent area. Place was pretty cleared out by this point so there was lots of room. Laid down on the ground and stretched. Ab cramp was starting to go away and I started to realize how sun burnt I really was...crap. had a few orange slices but didn't eat much else. Walked back to transition, gathered everything up and headed for the car. Stopped by In N Out on the way home which was the best post race food EVER. I think part of what kept me going was knowing I was getting a double burger and fries when I finished :-)!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swim fitness/practice, severe cramps and pain on the bike and run.

Event comments:

I would do this race again. Not sure I will sign up for another longer race in the Spring though. My family had so many issues this Winter/Spring with illnesses, kids home from school, vacations etc etc...so I did maybe 75% of the training I should have. Doing longer course racing after a winter of issues is very stressful and not sure I want to go through that again. BUT, the race itself was great. I really hoped it wouldn't be a multiple loop course with so many turns, but didn't mind it. I've raced in Tempe so many times that riding this course is like second nature.
I think Lifetime did a GREAT job with what they had to work with. Everything started on time, plenty of course markings, plenty of cold ice and water (even for the later finishers) and volunteer support was fantastic! Maybe not scheduling it on the same weekend as another HUGE event, but I think it all worked out.




Last updated: 2013-04-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:58:37 | 2734 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Suit: Blue Seventy Fusion
Course: Rectangle course, same as usual in Tempe Town Lake.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Average Navigation:
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:48
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:42:21 | 69.28 miles | 18.69 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: 4 loop course with so many turns and U-turns...the downside to Tempe courses. This was not the course many athletes expected for this race, so when it was announced there was lots of disappointment. I considered downgrading to the Olympic, but was looking forward to the trail run so choose to stay with the 125. I do well on loop courses though, it helps with pacing and gave many opportunities to change direction depending on how the wind was blowing.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:12
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:53:00 | 08.07 miles | 14m  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: run on a bike path to the Papago Trail system. Part technical single track, part canal path. Then back on sidewalk to the finish. I had pre-run the trail part of the course the week before and was looking forward to it.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
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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2013-04-15 10:40 AM

Member
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Scottsdale, AZ
Subject: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125


2013-04-15 11:00 AM
in reply to: #4700618

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Veteran
416
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Queen Creek, AZ
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125

Awesome job!  Way to stick with the big course...despite the loops, hills, and dust. 

Nothing is more irritating than goofy goggles.  And your swim time was still most excellent. 

Maybe next year they'll be In-n-0ut at the aid stations. 

2013-04-15 11:26 AM
in reply to: #4700618

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Master
1696
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Surprise, Arizona
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125
Great job!!  You did an awesome job considering the challenges over the winter.  I got scorched, too - no amount of sunscreen was adequate, and there was no where to hide from the sun on that run course.  You may have seen me walking on the other side of the canal path on my way out as you were coming back - I was about 30 minutes behind you.  Super race!!
2013-04-15 11:29 AM
in reply to: #4700764

Member
1487
1000100100100100252525
Scottsdale, AZ
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125
BHannahs - 2013-04-15 11:26 AM

Great job!!  You did an awesome job considering the challenges over the winter.  I got scorched, too - no amount of sunscreen was adequate, and there was no where to hide from the sun on that run course.  You may have seen me walking on the other side of the canal path on my way out as you were coming back - I was about 30 minutes behind you.  Super race!!


Thanks! I probably did see you as we were frying out there. Congrats to you too!
2013-04-15 2:59 PM
in reply to: #4700618

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Extreme Veteran
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Ajo
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125

Good job, things were like you mentioned on the bike course... the run was tough.

You're right on though with cars way too close to the bikers, too many bikers sometimes 3 wide, passing difficult, different abilities, and some parts less than a single lane to ride in... on one of my loops, there was a policeman escorting a family of 5 across the street at rural and I'm coming up fast on 2 or 3 wide and we all have to scrunch up since this family was taking their time and blocking about 1/4 the lane.

 

2013-04-15 8:28 PM
in reply to: #4700618

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Extreme Veteran
611
500100
Casa Grande, Az.
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125
Awesome job and awesome bike split!!! ANYONE fighting thru the elements yesterday gets mad respect....That wasn't the easiest race!


2013-04-16 11:35 AM
in reply to: #4700618

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Extreme Veteran
648
50010025
Scottsdale
Subject: RE: LeadmanTri Marquee Epic 125
Congrats with pushing through, especially considering your cramping on the run (I can relate to run pain this weekend)!!
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