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Tri for the Cure - TriathlonSprint


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Max Muscle McCormick Ranch
103F / 39C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 33m 11s
Overall Rank = 156/399
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 28/47
Pre-race routine:

NOTE: This is going to be wordy (1) because I AM wordy, as Tanya (StandsWithFist) has already figured out and (2) it was my first EVER tri so I want to remember it in all its glory!

The lovely dog had woken me up at 1:30 AM to go wander the backyard. Suppose this was not a bad thing as I had forgotten to put my timing chip on my shoe. Getting your gear together for a tri is a whole new ballgame. I have done bike races and foot races, but not both in the same day coupled with a swim. It took me probably an hour to get everything together the night before, check and recheck it and trust that I had not forgotten anything. I went back to bed only to get back up at 4:45, take the dog for a nice long walk and choke down some carbs and lots of fluids. Speaking of fluids I began mixing my “fuel” as it was supposed to be a very hot day - 105 - to be exact and I knew this was perhaps the most important aspect of my gear.

We left the house at 6AM to head to Tempe. The race was held at the same venue as Ironman a few weeks previously so we knew exactly where we were going. We got there about 6:25 and surprisingly parked right next to Sally (RioRio), so we went to transition together and found our racks. I was not as nervous as I thought I would be, I am not the nervous type but this whole tri thing had definitely been stirring up some nerves I did not know I had in the past week or so. I got harped on TWICE in transition, one lady asked if I even knew how to rack a bike (because I did not want to use my brake levers as my shifters are behind my brake levers) and the second actually re-racked my bike for me! HA HA! I took it all with a grain of salt though, I was a noob. But then thankfully Tanya showed up so I didn’t have to look like such a ‘tard anymore and she set up my transition for me. Chris (Cordova61) showed up right before we headed to the water, coffee in hand. I foudn myself commenting on how the 750 swim looked “a lot father than I thought” and how the supposedly Tempe Town Lake did not look or smell as skuzzy as I expected. It was time for another bathroom break, some sun block and the dreaded wait. It was nice having friends there though to keep the nerves at bay.

Event warmup:

Does standing around with BT buds count as warm-up? OH yes, I also made about 3 trips to the "honey huts" so that was some good cardio there too. I did WIN the race out of the bathrooms though, I am very fast at that.
Swim
  • 16m 50s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 14s / 100 meters
Comments:

At about 7:50 ish (for an 8:00AM) start we made our way to the swim platform. I would call it bleachers but it really was not. They were 2-3 foot stairs into the water, rickety ol’ plywood. Eh, we’d figure it out. After hugs and kisses from Josh (no one else unfortunately) we got to the top of the platform and realized a ton of people were already in the water. Who the heck wants to tread water for 10 minutes? NOT ME! Especially since we decided to go wetsuitless.

Once I got to the buoy it was pure chaos, apparently a lot of people want to be on the inside. One girl kept going under and we yanked her up a few times and told her to hang on to the green floaty buoy, sheesh! Stress, but it kept my mind off of the race! I was about 3 back and off to the side. We were so crammed it was hard to tread water and some girls got a little freaked and started shouted for people to spread out. The chaos made me laugh. All I heard was a countdown then we started swimming, apparently there was an airhorn to begin the race.

It was VERY jumbled at the start but I found a decent stroke and sighted really well all the way out to the first turn (we swam a big rectangle). Some people would cut right in front of you and you would find yourself grabbing their butt, legs, head, it was great. I got kicked hard once and swallowed a nice gulp of recalimed water - YUM! I passed a few people at the start but then found myself in pretty open water for a while. I knew I was probably in the middle of the pack. I rounded the first buoy and made it quickly to the turn around where the sun was in my eyes. This is where I got off course for a bit, I realized the orange marker buoy for swim line was about 30 feet to my right now whereas they had been 3-5 on the way in so I did what I hated everyone else doing and sort of started cutting in. That’s really the only problem I had and I am sure that slowed me down a bit.

Once rounding the last buoy I swam to the platform where they yelled at us to give them our arms where they would pull us “straight up and out of the water” I was like “uh uh no way, you ain’t hauling me out of the water.” So I sat my butt on the platform and stood up myself. Then I took on a 150-200 yard run to the transition where I saw Josh! HOORAY! He was so cute, shouting encouragement. There were a lot of spectators at this part. I had so much fun during the swim!




What would you do differently?:

I should have worn the wetsuit, everyone who got out before my had on a suit. Also should have taken the time to sight better at the turn around.
Transition 1
  • 02m
Comments:

I got into transition and things went smoothly, I took one big swig of water and threw my stuff on, said “HI” to my honey and ran with my bike to the mount line. TRAFFIC JAM! I did chat with the hubby a little bit more than I normally would have in a RACE RACE but I was out to have a good time.
What would you do differently?:

SHUT UP!
Bike
  • 39m 30s
  • 12 miles
  • 18.23 mile/hr
Comments:

Once I was on the bike the course wasn’t too packed. I rode in an easy gear for a little bit, I should have picked it up right away since I was feeling really good on the bike but I wanted to be sure to save myself “just in case.” I suppose this is where experience comes in. There was a bit of a climb about 2 miles out of transition and then a bigger hill on the backside that I just got FLYING down. The bike was awesome. Smooth streets, wide turns, and good fellowship – lots of ladies shouting encouragement. I was thrilled. I saw Josh coming in from my first lap…again he said some nice things and I shouted HI! I loved seeing him so much - hooray for fans! Then I dropped it into big ring and really cranked the second lap. That is, until my chain fell off…damn. I had to get off and put it back on, spin the wheel make sure all was well and get back on and climb the hill over Papago. I was not frustrated at all, just having a good time. I wish it would not have happened but of all bike mechanical problems, this one I could easily handle. But wow were my hands GREASY after that – it ended up ALL OVER ME!

What would you do differently?:

Not lose my chain before a climb, lost some time there. Ride harder on the first lap.
Transition 2
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

Got off the bike and back into transition for the run feeling fine, I was sure to spin out the legs the last half-mile. Changed quick, saw Josh and the dismount line AND at transition (he was speedy). I was talking with him and I think even at one point he told me to “get going!” HA HA! But it was lingering in the back of my mind, the last few miles on the bike I thought, “hmm, it’s getting hot.” The forecast for the day was 105 and with the race not even starting until 8:00 we all had our worries.

What would you do differently?:

SHUT UP! :) Take COLD water from the aid station on the way out of transition as there was only ONE on the course at mile 1.5.
Run
  • 32m 30s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

The first five minutes were spent trying to get my heart rate down. I got it under control but I was just SO HOT. This is where the fun stopped for me. Therun part of the race was so secluded, no fans or spectators and SO exposed – no shade. Now I have a policy in a race: NEVER EVER WALK, not even aid stations. But after about 10 minutes I walked through one of the 5 whole shaded spots on the course. And then a few minutes later walked up a hill to the bridge, I was feeling pretty defeated. I got passed so much on the run. My head was feeling swirly and breathing in was awful because of the heat. My water was not used for drinking but kept going over my head, I was so hot. I got to the aid station at 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. I was on pace for a 30 minute 5K which would have been just dandy considering the walk breaks and heat. PLUS that would have put me in sub 1:30. But after taking on Gatorade and another cold cup of water over my head I was still struggling. I ran through the marina and saw my pace slipping away as I got passed and passed. At this point I stopped caring, I wanted this to be FUN! So I had to walk some more, any shade I started walking through. I was still doing okay, until the last big hill to Mill Ave Bridge. I had to walk the ENTIRE thing. But I was proud after it to say NO MORE WALKING and picked it up. Then there was the finish, I rounded the corner and felt so much better – who wouldn’t? I saw Josh and gave him thumbs up as I was thinking he may have been worried with my 32 minute 5K…then I just got my butt OVER the finish and practically pushed someone out of the way to get my COLD water.

So that was it…my race was over. My first – NEVER to be done again. But that’s okay because it was AWESOME! I never want things to be easy, and it wasn’t. The swim and bike was too damn fun so I had to pay somewhere right? All-in-all good fun, friends and a definite drive to continue doing tri’s! What more can you ask for?

What would you do differently?:

Not sure, I just was not prepared for the heat and it kind of freaked me out as I had just had heat stroke training at work the day before! :)
Post race
Warm down:

Not much of a warm-down, got some water, tried to choke down some saw dust bar that someone gave me, oh that was a SoyJoy bar? Ugh that was awful. The after race refreshment was severely lacking.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

THE HEAT! And the fact that I had only trained for this race for 6 weeks.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-05-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:50 | 750 meters | 02m 14s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/47
Overall: 0/399
Performance: Average
This is where I am a little annoyed as they did not do split times. My watch read 17:15 but that was when I got into transition. I had a really good swim other than after I rounded the second buoy and swam out too far (hey the sun was in my eyes, and oh yeah I SUCK at sighting). So my time is an estimate based off of my watch and assumed transition times - bummer.
Suit: None baby, I mean tri top and shorts
Course: Rectangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:39:30 | 12 miles | 18.23 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/47
Overall: 0/399
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: 2 laps
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:11
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:32:30 | 03.11 miles | 10m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/47
Overall: 0/399
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2007-05-13 6:06 PM

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Elite
3602
20001000500100
Mesa, AZ
Subject: Tri for the Cure


2007-05-13 7:06 PM
in reply to: #798895

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Expert
748
50010010025
Big Bear City, California
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure
You did awesome! It was fun to watch you as much as possible too during the tri. I only hope I can do half as good next weekend. The swim and bike times were amazing and the run was damn good considering the heat. Good Job!
2007-05-13 9:06 PM
in reply to: #798895

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Master
2411
2000100100100100
Goodyear, AZ
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure

WooHoo you did it and did awesome! You have to be so proud.

It's too bad we didn't get splits

 That is a great race report, you will always be able to come back and read about your first tri

2007-05-13 11:06 PM
in reply to: #798895

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Master
2216
2000100100
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure
That was a great time yesterday getting to root you and RioRio on!! You got out of the water FAST. I see great triathloning in your future.

Josh has a lot of hustling to do if he wants to do as well next weekend. Excellent report, and you kept it down to 3,000 words. hehe Good Job!!

Edited by cordova61 2007-05-13 11:06 PM
2007-05-14 10:49 AM
in reply to: #798895

Pro
3715
20001000500100100
AZ
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure
WOOOO HOOOOO!!  Tri Virgin NO MORE!!! You ARE a Triathlete!!! How cool is that???  You did awesome!  Come fall/winter when the heat is not a factor, you will see just how fast and hard you can go when you are actually TRYING to produce heat and stay warm!!  I am so glad your first race was an overall good experience, and that we got to be there to share it with you!  YOU ROCK!
2007-05-14 3:15 PM
in reply to: #798895

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Master
1696
1000500100252525
Surprise, Arizona
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure
That was a great first race - and race report. You should be very proud. Now that you have experienced one and know what a race day is like, you'll be able to just focus on your racing in the next one. Good job!!


2007-05-14 4:35 PM
in reply to: #798895

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Elite
2796
2000500100100252525
Texas
Subject: RE: Tri for the Cure
Hey GREAT job on your first tri!! Awesome!
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