Ashtabula Triathlon
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Ashtabula Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
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Swim
Comments: I am slow so I stayed to the outside and back of the group. What really amazed me though was that I was thinking to myself how I am kind of liking this open water swim thing. I was really worried about freaking out if I got kicked and punched, but since I am slow, no one was very close. At one point I had to zig zag around the rescue kayak as they were going to help someone. Did some breaststroke here so as not to run into the kayak. Got into somewhat of a rhythm where I would freestyle 9-12 strokes then 2-3 strokes breaststroke to sight. With a little more practice, I should be able to cut out some of the breaststroking. I was amazed at how quickly I seemed to reach the turnaround buoy. On the way back to shore, my goggles fogged up and now was looking into the sun. I could hardly see anything except out of one corner of my eyes. Almost thought I was going to get run over by a guy from the wave behind me, but he managed to avoid running into me. Thank you for being a good swimmer whoever you were! I did a LOT more breaststroke on the way back mostly because I couldn't see to sight while doing freestyle. I was very fortunate not to run into or be run into by anyone. The swim went really well. No freaking out. Felt great! What would you do differently?: Nothing. Just couldn't believe I was actually swimming in a triathlon and feeling good about it! Transition 1
Comments: I had planned to walk most of the way up the beach, but after I got out of the water I felt so good that I just had to jog. Heard some of my co-workers and Sue's husband and son cheering. I saw my swim intructor from last November at the bike racks. She was part of relay team (she was biking) and waiting for her swim teammate to get to T1 (the relay teams were in the wave behind mine). Anyway, I was so excited that I ran into T1 shouting, "I didn't drown, I didn't drown!". LOL! She said she knew I wouldn't. Sue was at her bike already getting ready. Everything seemed to go smoothly. No problem getting my socks and shoes on. I took a few seconds to down a half bottle of Gatorade. Sue pulled out of the transition with me right behind. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Just grinning from being in a triathlon. Bike
Comments: Passed Sue at the beginning, but knew she wouldn't be far behind me. There was a very slight headwind on the way out, but not bad. I passed about 5-6 women and one guy on a moutain bike. One of the women I passed had a fancy bike with aerobars. Just goes to show that looking good doesn't necessarily make you fast. I got passed a few times too. Mostly by the relay team people who were in the wave behind mine. I think only one woman passed me. I still have trouble drinking and riding (and keeping up my pace) at the same time. I only drank 1/2 of my water bottle, but would have liked to have drank a little more. I was working kind of hard, but felt good. I was worried about how this would play out on the run. Didn't know it at the time, but I had my fastest pace for a ride ever. I've never even broke 16mph pace on a training ride. Adrenalin is a wonderful thing. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I was still smiling about being in a triathlon. Transition 2
Comments: I ride with toe clips on my bike so I wore my running shoes. Pulled into transition, helmet off, race belt/number on, sunglasses on, hat on and off I went. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Still smiling about being in a triathlon. Run
Comments: I had done several bricks prior to today's race and in every one of them, I felt horrible on the run, but could still run a decent pace. This run was no different. Felt all choppy and legs of lead off the bike. I knew it would be like this though so I just tried to keep my leg turnover consistant. Was very happy when I saw I did the first mile in 9:18. I carried a water bottle with me like I do on my training runs. It was nice to be able to take a small sip of water every few minutes. I ran through every water station, grabbed a cup of water and threw it on the back of my neck. This really helped keep me cool as the temps were climbing into the 80's at this point. At one water station, I made a point to get my water from the cutest little girl who couldn't have been more than about 5 or 6 years old. She was thrilled to have someone take the water cup from her. At the last water station, all the volunteers were cheering "good job" so I gave them a big grin, both thumbs up and said "good job" to them too. That made them laugh. During the second mile, I got a few minor stomach cramps, but I kept on drinking water and they went away. I passed maybe 4-5 women on the run. I had a couple of guys from the relay teams pass me along the way and then one woman passed me during the final 1/2 mile. Maybe relay team too? I don't know for sure. I was a little surprised that I fell off the pace the last mile as I didn't feel any different. I had enough left for a little sprint to the finish although there was no one close to me to make a difference. So even though my legs felt like bricks and oh yeah, my achilles tendon could be felt the whole run, I was having the time of my life. I think I said something to about every volunteer I passed. It was so much fun! What would you do differently?: Nothing. Still grinning from ear to ear about COMPLETING a triathlon. Post race
Warm down: Walked over to my co-workers and we waited to cheer on Sue who was only about a minute behind me. Then we walked over to where they had Gatorade and bananas. Took some pictures. Waited for the awards ceremony and I was VERY shocked to get second in my age group. There were at least three, but there must not have been very many. I'll find out later when the official results are posted. What limited your ability to perform faster: Being a total newbie. Riding a heavy touring bike. Not really knowing how to swim well. Injuring my achilles tendon two weeks before the race. Oh heck, who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was all good.!!!!!!!!!!! Event comments: A small local race without a lot of extras, but seemed well run with lots of volunteers. Last updated: 2006-06-10 12:00 AM
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2006-07-16 10:00 PM |
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United States
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79F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 72/85
Age Group = F 45-49
Age Group Rank = 2/3
Got up at 4:30am to feed chickens (yeesh it's getting earlier every race I do, LOL). Last week, I had a really good swim in the lake right after lunch. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a caffeine free Pepsi. Seemed to promote good karma for that swim, so that's what I ate for breakfast today. Picked up Sue at her house and we were off to the event.
Got there early and were able to secure a really nice spot for our bikes along a fence on the road out of transition. They had some racks set up but we knew there wouldn't be enough rack room for everyone so we took one of the spots along the fence. This was a MUCH better spot than where the racks were anyway. We then had to walk up the hill to a school parking lot that would serve as T2. Dropped off my hat, a water bottle and race belt/number. Walked back down the hill and got body marked. Oh, my first time with numbers written on my body. How cool is that!
Went down to the lake about 30 minutes before the start and swam for about 10 minutes or a little less. Lake water felt good. Just a little choppy, but not bad. Talked to the Masters class instructor for a few minutes who said I should get a wetsuit. I thought to myself that I really enjoy swimming without one and I only am going to be in the water for around 10 minutes. Why should I wear a wetsuit? I was kind of surprised at the number of people who wore them for such a short swim in warm conditions. On the other hand, there were a lot of people who didn't have a wetsuit on too.
Times are now official. However the way they timed the race, the bike time includes both T1 and T2, so I left my watch splits for those times. Swim, run and total times are from the official posting.