Luna Triathalon Race Report

So today was the 2nd of two Tri's that I planned to race this month. It was almost the same course as the Tri for fun except that the bike and run was a bit longer. Also it was a women's only race.

The day started very early. I carpooled with a few friends (and first time triathletes) and they wanted to get there early. If I had gone by myself, I would have probably left an hour later, but it was fun to go with some other people. This meant I got up extra early (4:45) and was out of the house about 5:20. Picked them up and we were off to the race. The weather outlook seemed like it may be a little cool (especially for August), but for a race it would be pretty much perfect.

I normally have no tummy issues, but for some reason today, I was a bit unsettled. I did not even finish all of my usual breakfast before leaving the house (but did take it with me and finished it about an hour before the race). It probably wasn't too smart to also have some coffee - although I only drank about half the cup. As it turned out, once I was underway, my tummy seemed to be fine.

My race plan was to go out a little harder on the bike - I felt like maybe I could have pushed a little more the last time, so I thought I could pick up a few minutes on the bike leg. Since I haven't had much time to dial in my training, I figured that there really wasn't much else I could improve upon from the last race. So how did it go? (note that the "results" are based on my garmin time, official results aren't yet posted)

1/2 mile Swim: The water felt pretty warm and I was in the 3rd wave of swimmers. I thought last time that I may have slowed myself down too much by looking up and sighting the buoys. Of course there is a balance between sighting and staying on course and veering of course because you aren't aware of where you are headed. I did get close to the buoys - if fact I pretty much swam under one. I was also excited to see how my garmin would work for the swim. I had downloaded a software update that was supposed to improve the swim tracking. Per my garmin, I did 0.51 miles, so I must have stayed on course pretty well. Result: 15:48 T1: 2:15

20 mile bike: The course is rolling, somewhat downhill on the way out which means slightly up on the way back. The course was 4 miles longer than the Tri for Fun. There was a lot more wind today. As planned, I tried to push a little more on the bike. About 4 miles into the bike I passed another woman in my age group, then she passed me back after a few more miles. I thought we were going to keep chasing each other, but she didn't catch back up again. I was only passed by one woman in my age group during the bike - she was moving pretty good and although she was in sight for a bit, there was no way I was going to catch her - I was close enough to my limit that I didn't want to try to chase her down. Result: 1:04:44, avg speed 18.4 MPH. T2: 1:26

4 mile run: From the last race, I knew to expect the dead leg feeling off the bike. I didn't even look at my watch until my first mile was done. Unfortunately it was a bit slower than expected and slower than I wanted. The run was also a mile longer, so this was not good. I wasn't getting passed too much - although 2 women in my age group and 3 women in the 40-44 age group did pass me. I tried to keep the negative thoughts at bay and tried to not over analyze why I wasn't running how I wanted. At the last Tri, I met a woman (and fellow mom), Denise. I caught her in the last 1/2 mile or so in the last race and we finished at nearly the same time, with her edging me out. I hadn't seen her since the start as we were waiting for our swim wave to start. With about half a mile to go I saw her up ahead, so I guess our paces are pretty similar for all legs of the race. This time I just couldn't catch her and she again finished ahead of me, this time about 10 yards ahead. Result: 39:13:47 avg pace 9:21 min/mile.

Compared to last time, my swim and T2 was pretty much the same. The bike was a little slower pace, but I think that mostly was due to the wind. My T1 was about 20 seconds faster. My run unfortunately was a slower pace and really was where I "lost" the most time. Unofficially I think I got 7th place. The fastest finisher overall was in my age group and there were 3 others who finished about 15 places (overall) ahead of me, so I will be interested to see their times and see where they were faster than me. I am pretty happy with the results although I was hoping that I could have gotten another top 5 finish. I still must say that for not having any real triathalon training plan, I did decent.

My friends did well - they both are new to swimming and were pretty nervous about the swim portion of the race. They made their way through it and both seemed pleased with how they did. One of them can't wait to do another Tri, the other says she prefers running still..... Although there are plenty of serious triathletes out there, I like that Tris are very welcoming and encouraging to newbies.

Now I just need to figure out how to wash off the body marking.....

Ready to Tri again

After my last Tri - I was all excited to do more. Unfortunately, Zach got sick and my training got a bit sidetracked. I had already signed up for my next race, The LUNA bar festival. The bike and run are slightly longer, but it still is a sprint distance Tri. My training has picked up a little, but I really haven't been very systematic about training for a triathalon.

Swim: Since my last Tri - I have done one very short swim workout - but at least it was an open water swim. I also found out that Garmin has an update that is supposed to make the swim tracking more accurate - so I guess I will get to test that out this weekend.

Bike: Just a few weekend rides - no speed work. But overall I still feel pretty good about my bike ability. My goal is to keep the same (or better?) average pace for the slightly longer bike course (20 vs 16 miles).

Run: My running has been consistent but not sure that the run training really fits well with doing a race. For example, my longest run since May (11 miles) was last Saturday. I did take an extra "rest" day this week. I did speedwork tonight, but it was a pretty short workout (3x800s), so I don't think recovering from that will be an issue before Sunday's race.

I also have to make a decision about some new gear - I got 2 new tri-tops and have to decide if I want to do the race in an untested piece of clothing. Also, I have a new rear cassette on my bike - but may use the old gearing. With the new gearing, I need to be more carefull to not cross my chain and I don't know that I will be aware enough during the race not to make this kind of mistake.

I am carpooling to the race with some friends who are doing this as their 1st ever Tri. It will be nice to be there to cheer them on as they finish their race. Who knows if the TRI-bug might get to them. It has gotten me lately - I may sign up for another this fall (like maybe this?) I am also thinking of doing a half iron man distance next summer..... we'll see.....

Priorities vs juggling

Normally it is just juggling things - being mom, athlete, work (cause we haven't won the lottery yet). But with Zach in the hospital it isn't juggling - it is just deciding on the priority, very obvious in this case, and forgetting about juggling the rest. It is still hard because you can't just ignore everything and if you do then it feels like you are being neglectful. Of course there is Jake and what he needs - but he isn't getting everything he needs or wants - like tonight when he asked if Daddy was home, but no, Daddy is with Zach. And I do feel like I am just completely flaking out on work. You would think that even with Zach, we could swap duties between the hospital and work, but somehow there is not time or mental energy for me to even do more than flip thorugh my blackberry. Training has also taken a back seat - a little disappointing given I was so excited about Tri's after my performance on Saturday. I did get a run in tonight (with Jake), but it wasn't a completely quality run - I haven't been doing all the things you need to do to run well (like eat well, hydrate, sleep). I am certainly not complaining about not doing these other things - more than anything I want Zach to feel better. I didn't expect it to be so draining to take care of him because it seem like you aren't "doing" a lot - mostly it is sitting with him and entertaining him when you can. Also, I am sure it must be scary to him, so he needs to have Mom or Dad there just to have some comfort and security. Things like this make me think of other parents who have had much more difficult health issues with their kids and how they handle it, especially when they are dealing with chronic issues vs a relatively short term illness. Not that I didn't respect those parents, before, but now I have just a small taste of what they are faced with.

What happened to my Superhero?

Driving home tonight it seemed like it had been days since I have been home, bur really it was less than 36 hours. It is odd how time can fly sometimes and other times it crawls.

Zach has barely ever been sick - no ear infections, no flu, I can count the number of times he has had a fever on one hand, so it is shocking to see him end up not just sick, but in the hospital. After several days of bad fever and complaints that his "whole body hurt" we had a few ER visits, then finally ended up being admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia. He has been such an excellent patient. I was surprised that he cooperated as well as he did to get IV's put in, drink a yucky barium drink, get scanned and x-rays. He hasn't done it totally without complaint, but really what can you expect for a 4 yr old. Then to make matters worse, he had to have surgery to clear fluid around his lungs.

He really did not want to have the surgery - understandably he was a little scared. It is so hard to not cry when he is so upset having to go into surgery. Hopefully he will not remember it. I don't know why they look so much more fragile sleeping after surgery than just normal sleeping - I guess it is all the cords and tubes all over.

And it isn't just the sick one that needs Mom and Dad, his brother who feels just fine needs you too. It is great having Grandma and Grandpa around who are always willing to help, but after a few nights away he was missing his fire truck bed and missing Mommy and Daddy who have been so tied up with Zach.

It is hard to not be there when your child is sick. As much as I don't want to sleep either cramped and sharing the little hospital bed with Zach (and somehow he manages to hog the space) or on the stupid folding chair in the hospital room, I do feel like I should be there. As a parent you want to be there when they call out for you and to comfort them.

Can't wait to get Zippy back

TRI for Fun - Race Report

If you read the previous post, then you would know that I was not feeling super well prepared for the race. But I surprisingly did well - even managed to get 4th place in my age group. Here is the blow-by-blow detail.....

As predicted, I did not get tons of sleep. I didn't go to bed all that early - I forgot how much stuff you need to prepare when you are doing 3 different sports. Unfortunately Zach was still feeling pretty bad (he has been sick since Thursday morning) and he woke a few times - a few times I went to comfort him and a few times J did, but either way, it disrupted my sleep a bit. I woke at 5:15 planning to leave about 5:50. I did hit the snooze alarm, but I had everything pretty well laid out and ready for a streamlined morning routine. I was actually out the door on time. I did have a moment of panic as I drove out of the driveway and had to stop and recheck my bag.

Although I am not a morning person, I did kind of enjoy the quiet of the morning (since most people are not awake that early on a Saturday) and it seemed so peaceful heading out as the sun was just coming up. The drive was about 1:20 - I debated stopping for coffee, but since coffee is not usually a pre-race beverage for me, I opted to not have one. I didn't want to chance any issues during the race. I arrived at the park with plenty of time to pick up my registration stuff and get my transition area set up. I realized that I had not done a dry run of the transition layout- but I think I ended up doing OK with the transition.

The water felt warm at the swim start and I waited for about 10 minutes in the water before my wave started so I could get used to the water. I am really more of a pool swimmer and was glad there wasn't too much vegetation floating around in the water. Open water is definitely harder to stay on course - I felt like I was looking up a lot which of course slows you down, but I didn't want to just follow someone off course. About 1/3 of the way into the swim, I felt like I got a bit of a rhythm going and sort of "settled" down. I also have no concept of pace or time when I am in the water. I wore my garmin so I could get my split times. When I stepped onto the beach I hit the lap timer and saw I was at 15+ minutes. (calculated pace = 1:47/100 yds)

You have to run from the beach, through the grass and into the transition zone. I got through T1 in about 2:39 (this included everything from exiting the water - not sure if T1 is officially supposed to be just time in the actual transition zone). I got on the bike and realized that my auto multisport option was not working as intended (need to figure that out for next time....), but that was ok i just kept going. I felt strong on the bike and was only passed by a few people (and no one in my age group - I was sure to check the calf of any women to make sure). The course is sort of rolling and an out and back. My garmin had the autolap going, so each mile it was giving me a split - each one was around 3 minutes. It was hard for me to see what my average pace was, but I was being pretty consistent in lap times (2:52-3:30). My fear is getting a flat because I almost never change these myself and it would just ruin any chance of having a good time. My bike split was just under 51 minutes for the 16 miles, so average of 18.8 MPH.

Back to transition where I missed my spot and had to back up a few rows. My T2 was 1:22. My legs felt dead starting out on the run. I was afraid maybe I went too hard on the bike, but I just felt slow, when I checked my pace, I was doing OK. Overall the weather was great - not too hot, but the run course is out in the full sun so it felt hot. There are only a few minor ups and downs on the gravel road and I was passing more people than were passing me. I think only a handful of people passed me. As I came into the last 1/2 mile or so, I saw a woman with 36 on her calf - I was feeling pretty spent, but pushed a little to catch and eventually pass her. Then I came up to another woman in my age group and I caught her, but just couldn't quite squeak past her. I think she probably finished only a few arms lengths in front of me. I found her after the finish chute to tell her it was a good race and we talked for a bit. Turns out she is the mom of 2 boys - the baby being only 5 months old. She will be at the next TRI so I guess I know at least who some of my competition is. My run split was 25:44 and I was happy to see I had negative split - each mile a little faster than the last.

My unofficial time (via my garmin) was 1:35:21. I was pleased with the time. I felt I was not as well trained as I was when I did this race last year where my time was about 1:32. I was also surprised to see that I managed to be 4th in my age group. So, since I did well, it makes me excited to do the next one- the Luna Women's TRI in 3 weeks.

Jake keeps asking me about the numbers written on my arms and why I have them. I hope that they come off before I have to go to work on Monday.

Ready to TRI....

Well, as much as I will be when race time is less than 12 hours away.... It is 'only' a sprint distance (0.5 mi swim, 16 mi bike, 3 mi run) so I am not too worried about getting through it, just not sure how fast I will be. Let's review my preparation...

Swim Training: 1 open water swim and 1 pool swim in the past 3 weeks. Before that -nada since last summer. So, what does that mean? Means that I know I can do it, but probably not set any speed records.

Bike Training: Consistently riding a long weekend ride of 35+ miles. No speed work on the bike, but I think I have enough bike fitness for a decent 16 miles.

Run Training: Recently been ramping my miles and consistency back up. My last long run was 8 miles, and just started doing some speed work. Although my last speed workout was Thursday, which probably isn't recommended when approaching a race, but I am training for a 1/2 Marathon in Oct, so my run workouts are dictated by that training plan. I have been feeling "slow", but am going to try not to let that get into my head and create too much negativity out on the course.

And other pre-race prep:
Hydration: today - not so good - a grande latte, a 20 oz diet coke and maybe 30 oz of water for the day.
Nutrition: today - not bad - oatmeal, fruits, Jamba juice yogurt smoothie, pasta and veggies for dinner.
Rest: last night only about 6-7 hrs, tonight, well it is already less than 12 hrs to race time and less than 8 hrs until I need to wake up - so I am guessing somewhere between 6-7 depending on how much pre-race restlessness creeps in.

so I guess that sums it up. This isn't really a race that I targeted, so it isn't like I just blew my training plan. I did sign up for another TRI at the end of the month, so this race will let me gauge my ability and what I need to work on in the next 3 weeks (although not sure how much improvement I can get in 3 weeks). Tomorrow I just want to have fun and feel like I raced a good race.