2007 Couple’s Triathlon
I raced the Couple's Triathlon this morning. In this event, teams of two both complete the race, then the two times are added together for a cumulative time. Awards are given based on combined times and ages. They had female friends, male friends, mixed, etc.
I raced with a friend I met in Texas Iron named Emily and we won our age group (females with a combined age of 59 and under)! I really have to largely credit Emily because she's really fast, but it was a great race and fun to be out there with friends. (There were a lot of Texas Iron folks out there today, including Coaches Jamie and Andrea.)
I actually didn't feel totally fabulous about my race when I finished. I had difficulties finding a good rhythm on the swim and the run was hideously hard. But I did meet my goal. I wanted to come in under or around 1:30 and I came in at 1:30:08 so that was good.
I don't have it in me to do a full race report. I'm physically and mentally a bit drained and exhausted and I need to pack to leave town tonight.
I'll just provide a few bullet points and some stats and that should do it:
- Roger was volunteering and had to be there at 5:30. Oh joy. I rested in the car until around 6:10, when I started getting my stuff set up.
- As I mentioned, I had a hard time on the swim (for me). I should have been able to swim this course faster, but the field of women I started in just didn't spread out. They were everywhere and I was battling it out with several other women. It was tough to find my pace and I just couldn't seem to really focus in and have a good steady swim.
- The bike was variously reported as 11.2 miles and 12 miles. My bike computer says a little over 12 and I'm pretty sure it is really 12 miles because it's the same bike course Danskin uses and I think they advertise that as 12. The final results say 11.2. I biked faster than 17.1 mph. So nah.
- The run course was brutal. First of all, it's pretty much all on grass except for the last half mile or so (maybe less). That means your constantly thinking about watching your footing so you don't turn an ankle. It also has a couple of nasty hills. One in particular near the end is brutal. It was getting really hot out there and I was so so tired on the run. I normally don't take water on such a short run, but I did today. I drank half the cup and poured the other half on my neck.
- Near the end, I didn't think I had much left in me, but Emily ran out (she finished about 10 minutes earlier) and told me to kick it up and run it in and ran with me for a very short bit just before the finish line. It's amazing how mental this triathlon thing is, because suddenly I had some reserves for a bit of a finishing kick.
- The same kind of thing happened when I was on the run course. Jamie and Andrea were at the top of a hill cheering. They saw me and upped the ante, cheering and screaming my name. Andrea shouted "Go Summer! You're a rock star...literally!!" I laughed and ran hard up that hill.
- I didn't stay for the awards ceremony because I didn't think we had placed. Oops! Emily called me excitedly to tell me that we had placed first in our age group. Yay! We each received a pint glass that says "Couples Triathlon" on it.
- My T1 time is extra long because there was a really long run up from the swim to transition. My T2 time is sorta long because I had grass all over my feet that I was trying to get off before stuffing them into my running shoes.
- Looking at my final ranking in my 30-34 age group and women, I'm ranking lower than I have been lately. These Texas Tri Series events seem to bring out a bit more seasoned athletes than some other events (like Pflugerville and Rogue).
Here are some stats. The age group statistics in the top section are for real age groups (women 30-34) and not the weird combined thingy (that stuff is below).
800 meter swim - 15:49 1:59/M
7 out of 72 in age group, 33 out of 344 women, 85 out of 706 overall
T1 2:39
11.2 mile bike - 39:19 17.1 mph
34 out of 72 in age group, 127 out of 344 women, 375 out of 706 overall
T2 1:29
3.1 mile run - 30:50 9:57/mi
39 out of 72 in age group, 167 out of 344 women, 408 out of 706 overall
total time 1:30:08
27 out of 72 in age group, 96 out of 344 women, 284 out of 706 overall
Emily's time - 1:19:57
combined time - 2:50:05
1 out of 13 in "Female Friends" 59 and under category
(The female friends were broken into cumulative ages of 59 and under, 60-79, 80-99 and 100+)
I raced with a friend I met in Texas Iron named Emily and we won our age group (females with a combined age of 59 and under)! I really have to largely credit Emily because she's really fast, but it was a great race and fun to be out there with friends. (There were a lot of Texas Iron folks out there today, including Coaches Jamie and Andrea.)
I actually didn't feel totally fabulous about my race when I finished. I had difficulties finding a good rhythm on the swim and the run was hideously hard. But I did meet my goal. I wanted to come in under or around 1:30 and I came in at 1:30:08 so that was good.
I don't have it in me to do a full race report. I'm physically and mentally a bit drained and exhausted and I need to pack to leave town tonight.
I'll just provide a few bullet points and some stats and that should do it:
- Roger was volunteering and had to be there at 5:30. Oh joy. I rested in the car until around 6:10, when I started getting my stuff set up.
- As I mentioned, I had a hard time on the swim (for me). I should have been able to swim this course faster, but the field of women I started in just didn't spread out. They were everywhere and I was battling it out with several other women. It was tough to find my pace and I just couldn't seem to really focus in and have a good steady swim.
- The bike was variously reported as 11.2 miles and 12 miles. My bike computer says a little over 12 and I'm pretty sure it is really 12 miles because it's the same bike course Danskin uses and I think they advertise that as 12. The final results say 11.2. I biked faster than 17.1 mph. So nah.
- The run course was brutal. First of all, it's pretty much all on grass except for the last half mile or so (maybe less). That means your constantly thinking about watching your footing so you don't turn an ankle. It also has a couple of nasty hills. One in particular near the end is brutal. It was getting really hot out there and I was so so tired on the run. I normally don't take water on such a short run, but I did today. I drank half the cup and poured the other half on my neck.
- Near the end, I didn't think I had much left in me, but Emily ran out (she finished about 10 minutes earlier) and told me to kick it up and run it in and ran with me for a very short bit just before the finish line. It's amazing how mental this triathlon thing is, because suddenly I had some reserves for a bit of a finishing kick.
- The same kind of thing happened when I was on the run course. Jamie and Andrea were at the top of a hill cheering. They saw me and upped the ante, cheering and screaming my name. Andrea shouted "Go Summer! You're a rock star...literally!!" I laughed and ran hard up that hill.
- I didn't stay for the awards ceremony because I didn't think we had placed. Oops! Emily called me excitedly to tell me that we had placed first in our age group. Yay! We each received a pint glass that says "Couples Triathlon" on it.
- My T1 time is extra long because there was a really long run up from the swim to transition. My T2 time is sorta long because I had grass all over my feet that I was trying to get off before stuffing them into my running shoes.
- Looking at my final ranking in my 30-34 age group and women, I'm ranking lower than I have been lately. These Texas Tri Series events seem to bring out a bit more seasoned athletes than some other events (like Pflugerville and Rogue).
Here are some stats. The age group statistics in the top section are for real age groups (women 30-34) and not the weird combined thingy (that stuff is below).
800 meter swim - 15:49 1:59/M
7 out of 72 in age group, 33 out of 344 women, 85 out of 706 overall
T1 2:39
11.2 mile bike - 39:19 17.1 mph
34 out of 72 in age group, 127 out of 344 women, 375 out of 706 overall
T2 1:29
3.1 mile run - 30:50 9:57/mi
39 out of 72 in age group, 167 out of 344 women, 408 out of 706 overall
total time 1:30:08
27 out of 72 in age group, 96 out of 344 women, 284 out of 706 overall
Emily's time - 1:19:57
combined time - 2:50:05
1 out of 13 in "Female Friends" 59 and under category
(The female friends were broken into cumulative ages of 59 and under, 60-79, 80-99 and 100+)
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