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Reston Sprint Triathlon
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Reston Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
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 Swim
Comments: My plan was so start slow and build some speed in the back half. Unfortunately, I ran into the usual pool swim logjam. My first 100 was clear water, and I passed someone. Then I got boxed in and had to hold my pace for another 100 meters. At the wall one of the guys wouldn't let me pass, so I had to try to push past. Sadly, the three of us were all so close in place that we just couldn't break free of each other. During all of this my stroke strayed nice and relaxed, my breathing was under control, and it never felt like a big deal. I even got to do a fair bit of sighting to make sure I didn't smack into anyone! Hoisting myself out of the pool wasn't the prettiest, but I felt fine coming out of the water and heading into T1. What would you do differently?: Nothing. While I could have put on a strong kick and left those guys in the dust, I think that would have come back to haunt me later in the race. It was nice to have a good pace and feel relaxed in the water.  Transition 1
Comments: I felt good coming out of the water, but definitely a bit ruffled trying to sort things out for the bike. I didn't forget anything! Getting my bike off the rack actually hurt my lower back a bit. :( What would you do differently?: Press start on my watch. Yeah, I did a "pause" thing instead of switching to bike mode, and as a result wound up with pretty much no splits.  Bike
Comments: The mount line is immediately followed by a small climb, and for a second there I thought I was going to eat it two feet into the bike. But I didn't, and I headed out for the three loop course. The first straight away is all big ring and excellent for getting up to speed. There's a more than 90 degree turn, and then we're into some rollers. There was nothing super tough, but to keep my cadence I did find myself shifting into the granny gear. One more turn, and then we've got a nice downhill followed by "the hill." This hill was getting everyone hot and bothered, being mentioned in the pre race briefing and race reports. I was nervous. And while it got me out of breath and had me working, I never once thought it was too hard. In fact, it felt pretty similar to the hills I climb to get to the trail I train on. It was nice on the second and third loops to know what I was doing. Overall I passed a few people, most notably someone on a very nice looking bike with clipless pedals one the hill. But mostly I got passed like I was standing still. I know where I need to put the work in, but I also feel confident that I can get stronger on the bike. Brought it into T2. What would you do differently?: I wish I could have been able to drink on the bike, but with my higher speed and the wet roads, I didn't feel comfortable even giving it a try. I didn't feel like I pushed to hard, but I felt pretty drained for the run, so I'm not sure if I maybe did? Transition 2
Comments: Considering I don't wear bike shoes, I was actually disappointed with this transition. I should have been able to run better since I was in my running shoes already. My bike rack space was all the way at the end, so I did have to run a long way, but sheesh. The humidity and overcast conditions made me decide to ditch the sunglasses. I grabbed my cap and race belt and headed out. I snagged a water heading out of T2 and had a mouthful. What would you do differently?: Hustle more!  Run
Comments: My bricks had let me know that by the time I got to mile 1, but legs would be waking up. Except, that didn't really happen. I never got rid of my jelly legs, and the humidity was making me gasp. There were some hills that I found pretty challenging, but I do wonder if I would have felt that way if I was fresh. Still, the prettiness of this course couldn't be beat. If I lived in Reston I would run on these paths nonstop! My shoes were a squishy mess. Like, sloshy, feet moving, Rocktape peeling off, disgusting squishy mess. I had been hoping I'd be able to kick it into gear for the last bit, but it never came together. I never walked, and kept putting one foot in front of the other, but even when I turned the final corner, I couldn't muster up any kind of sprint finish. Even still, I was feeling strong and smiling big! What would you do differently?: I'm not sure. Maybe bike a little easier? I don't know why the run felt so hard. I train on hills here at home, so I'm not sure why they felt so hard today. It must have been the humidity. Post race
Warm down: I crossed the finish line and some cute kids handed me water, my medal, and took my chip. As soon as I finished I started to feel tingly. I was breathing very heavy and all I wanted to do was drink a bunch of water and sit down. And sit down I did! Also, rather disgustingly, as soon as I sat down I peed myself, right onto the grass. Ewww. I managed to feel a bit better after I got some water in me, drank some chocolate milk, and kept walking around until I felt better. Then off to do the parking lot changing dance and out to breakfast with my family. What limited your ability to perform faster: Bike handling, aerobic base and weather. I wish I had more confidence on the bike, so I could have taken the corners a bit better. My heart rate felt quite high when running, so I do need to make an effort to do some heart rate training next season. And I wish DC summer had arrived earlier so I could have acclimated to it better. As it stands, I'm quite happy with my performance. Event comments: I loved this race! The RD was so communicative with regard to the sketchy weather. We had some race day magic, though, and managed to only have wet roads and no rain. There were so many volunteers, and I never wondered where I should go. It was supportive and wonderful for new athletes. I just wish the post race food selection had been better. Bagels and pizza, that's fine. But no bananas? Last updated: 2016-01-07 12:00 AM
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 2016-06-05 3:14 PM |
Master  2429    Falls Church, Virginia |  Subject: Reston Sprint Triathlon |
| 2016-06-05 4:26 PM in reply to: #5185409 |
Royal(PITA) 14270 West Chester, Ohio | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Well done!! Good work on the bike! Handling and drinking on wet roads will come with more work. You did great on that hill!! Good run, the jelly legs can be tough and yes--being under hydrated didn't help the run. |
| 2016-06-06 9:07 AM in reply to: #5185409 |
| Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon I'm so glad the weather held off and all 3 legs could be held as expected. Don't beat yourself up too much over the bike and the run. Being a bit conservative on the wet roads and especially the corners on the bike is better than biffing it and getting hurt. As for the run: yup, heat and humidity can make breathing tough especially when it came on so suddenly as it did without much time to acclimate and adjust. Congrats on feeling strong at the end and for a good race, keep up the good work! Yay chocolate milk! |
| 2016-06-06 9:37 AM in reply to: #5185409 |
Master 6834  Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Congratulations on a job well done. It is really cool that you are both happy with your race and have found that you can make improvements. That is the sign of a VERY good day! |
| 2016-06-06 9:44 AM in reply to: #5185409 |
| 143 | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Well done on the race and you did a great job! Pleased that the rain stayed away for you and you got to race! Now on to the next one  |
| 2016-06-06 11:29 AM in reply to: #5185409 |
Master 2346 Dayton, Minnesota Bronze member | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Awesome race! Congratulations!!! Humidity is always a HUGE factor for me when running. I just don't do humidity well, so it really feel it when I run. It's entirely possible that was part of the reason the run felt tough. And, as someone else mentioned, you may have been dehydrated too. What a great race overall, though! You did the work, were prepared, and rocked it! Woo hoo! |
| 2016-06-06 12:23 PM in reply to: kelpeng |
Master 4119 Toronto Bronze member | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon What a comeback! Nice work out there -you've been putting in A LOT of work and it shows! :D |
| 2016-06-06 1:25 PM in reply to: juniperjen |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Nice effort out there! Great job running your own race too! Congratulations on a successful comeback! |
| 2016-06-06 9:45 PM in reply to: #5185409 |
| 1731 Denver, Colorado | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Congrats!! Fantastic job, I'm so happy for you )) I am very proud of your swim: I remember the day when you crossed the magic 2-minutes pace I think you did awesome. I also love that feeling when you pass someone on the fancy-shmancy bike haha Best.motivation.ever  Fantastic comeback, Laura! |
| 2016-06-07 1:09 PM in reply to: marysia83 |
Master 2429 Falls Church, Virginia | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Thanks everyone so much for the kind remarks. It was a long time working my way back from the couch, but it really felt like the best race every! Also....I think this was a PR? I need to check. |
| 2016-06-09 5:36 PM in reply to: Atlantia |
Veteran 416 | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Solid Race! Impressed with no walking on the run even with jelly legs and humid heat! |
| 2016-06-20 8:51 AM in reply to: InnerAthlete |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Reston Sprint Triathlon Nice come back race!! I've never done a pool tri and everytime I read about one am convinced I never will!! Great job keeping your swim under control despite the log jam. Humidity can be a real killer, especially if you haven't acclimated to it, so I have no doubt it played a big part in the way you felt on the run. Congrats!! |
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United States
CORE Foundation
72F / 22C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 359/559
Age Group = F 35-39
Age Group Rank = 19/28
Peanut butter and banana sandwich 5 hours before go time with some water. I then went back to sleep. Kind of. There really wasn't much sleeping the night before. Up and out of bed 3 hours before go time and into the shower to attempt to wake up. I also had a cup of green tea and more water. I was hoping to....ahem....clear out the pipes, as it were, but my stomach decided to play coy.
Double checked the gear and bags, packed up the car, and got to the venue around 5:30am. Transition setup, body marking, waiting.
The pool opened up at 6am, and I was the second person in the water to get some laps in. The water was like bathwater! Over 84 degrees! I did an nice easy 200m of freestyle, then walked through transition areas to make sure I knew where bike out and run out were. I double checked my transition area, hydrated a bit, and then played the waiting game again.