2007 Austin Triathlon
This morning at The Austin Triathlon I had a great race. I exceeded my expectations, inexplicably set a 10k PR on the run portion of the race and best of all, I had a really good time!
This was technically my first olympic distance triathlon. Lone Star Triathlon in April was sort of olympic - it was a quarter Ironman, which is close, but not technically, specifically olympic (aka "international") distance. CapTexTri in May was to be my first olympic, but alas, it was cancelled due to weather. (Something I'm still bummed about - almost more so after having such a good time today.)
So there was the three of us, first, second, and third in our age groups (I was in the number three slot, brining up the rear). I happily drafted for nearly the entire swim. The pace was perfect. I pulled out to pass a couple of times but her pace was actually just right so I just sat on her feet. Textbook drafting. It was great. I thought I might make a move after the last turn buoy, but I think she knew I was there and sped up and I didn't make it past. Oh well, third out of the water in my age group (of 56 women) is just fine with me.
I was actually smiling for a lot of the bike, I was having such a good time. At one point, suddenly and inexplicably, I got a Ricky Martin song stuck in my head. I knew exactly 1 line in the song and it was on repeat. Annoying! I finally got rid of it but I couldn't figure what the heck that was all about.
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Roger, Dad and Kip had staked out a spot on one of the out and back sections of the course so I saw them twice on each loop of the bike (6 times total). I really enjoyed the first loop, so much so that I didn't really apply that much more pressure on the second loop. I seemed to be making good time and I was having a really good time. The flat course was helpful. There was just one slight, gradual uphill that we turned around and headed back down (which was super fun). There was another short little somewhat steep hill. Otherwise, it was flat or slight false flats - but nearly everything was out and back so we got to go back down whatever we went up. For the third loop, I tried to push it a little more, but not overly much. I paced myself to be ready for a good strong 10k run.
I was waiting for that horrible sensation to happen in my legs, but it didn't and I ran with a great cadence, feeling really good. I took some water on the course but I wasn't particularly thirsty. About halfway through the first loop, my guts started feeling weird and crampy/bloaty. But I just kept running and the feeling went away after about 15 minutes.
And so I just kept running and soon I was heading out for the second loop (we did two 5k loops). I looked at my watch and saw that I did the first half in under 30 minutes. Whoa! If I kept on pace, I could be close to my 10k PR time. The nice flat course and overcast day was really helping me out.
Roger, Dad and Kip were in the same spot as on the bike because the run went past there too (also out and back) so I saw them twice on my first loop. As I ran past them on the second loop, I figured I had a little over a mile so I told them to head to the finish line so see me finish. Coach Karen was also out on the course and I saw her on the bike and the run. Seeing her on the run was great because I became hyper aware of my form (since she had the most input in sculpting my form last year). She called out "Keep it nice and relaxed!" when I was heading out on the first loop of the run. It was a good reminder. On my second loop she called out "You are looking so strong today!" and I could tell she wasn't just saying that. I hollered back "I'm having a really good day!" and I grinned.
As I approached the finish, with about a quarter mile to go, a girl in my age group passed me (our age is written on our calves). I realized I had a little more energy so I picked it up and passed her back. Then I needed to hold her off so I picked it up more and I just kept pushing. I wasn't sure how long I could keep it up, but I kept pushing hard to the finish. "Dig deep. Dig deep. Dig deep." I chanted to myself and pushed as hard as I could.
At the finish I felt tired but excited. I looked at my watch and was really happy about my final time. I tried to find Roger, Dad and Kip but didn't see them, and didn't see them as I was finishing either. Finally, I spotted them. They were heading over to where the spectators were cheering on the finishers. I called them, but they didn't hear, I kept calling. "Guys! Hey! Roger! Kip! Dad!" I was right behind them, but they were clearly on a mission to get over to the finish. I felt invisible and it was really surreal. Finally Kip heard me and turned around. They had missed me. I was so fast that they didn't realize that I had already come in! (They had stopped on their way over and used the port-o-potties and talked to Emily.)
In the end, I'm really happy with my overall time. My goal was 3 hours. I came in nearly 6 minutes under that and I'm ecstatic about that. I had a crazy fast run. Was the course short? :P It's a 10k PR for me (not by much - really by seconds, but still). Maybe I could have gone harder on the bike, but I really enjoyed myself and that's what it's really all about in the end, so I'm happy with that. Plus, I liked feeling good and fresh for the run (instead of tortured which is how I normally feel).
Final stats:
Swim - 26:45 1:47/M 3 out of 56 in age group, 52 out of 695 overall
T1 - 3:42
Bike - 1:23:15 17.9 mph 28 out of 56 in age group, 510 out of 695 overall
T2 - 2:25
Run - 58:06 9:22/mi 32 out of 56 in age group, 458 out of 695 overall
Total time - 2:54:16 17 out of 56 in age group, 91 out of 245 women, 370 out of 695 overall
This was technically my first olympic distance triathlon. Lone Star Triathlon in April was sort of olympic - it was a quarter Ironman, which is close, but not technically, specifically olympic (aka "international") distance. CapTexTri in May was to be my first olympic, but alas, it was cancelled due to weather. (Something I'm still bummed about - almost more so after having such a good time today.)
Pre-Race
Roger was volunteering so he headed down early. I left about an hour later with Dad and Kip in tow. This was the first time anyone in my family had seen me race. We arrived at the site where I was bodymarked by Cam, then I set up my stuff. They decided to shorten the distance between waves so I started a little after 7:20 instead of 7:35. At around 7, made my final potty stop and choked down a Stinger gel (not at the same time).Swim
The swim was wetsuit legal (77 degree water temperature). It was a little warm, but it felt good to have that buoyancy. The gun went off and I kept with the head of the pack, then things started thinning out and I began looking for someone who seemed to be going a similar pace. I saw someone just ahead of me and tried to catch her. She was too far up and someone already seemed to be getting on her feet so I just jumped onto the end of the pack.So there was the three of us, first, second, and third in our age groups (I was in the number three slot, brining up the rear). I happily drafted for nearly the entire swim. The pace was perfect. I pulled out to pass a couple of times but her pace was actually just right so I just sat on her feet. Textbook drafting. It was great. I thought I might make a move after the last turn buoy, but I think she knew I was there and sped up and I didn't make it past. Oh well, third out of the water in my age group (of 56 women) is just fine with me.
T1
The run to transition felt long and the run through transition and out of transition also felt long. Add to that the time to get out of my wetsuit and it made for a little longer transition than I wanted. (Though I did use my feet to take off my wetsuit while putting on my helmet and sunglasses.)Bike
The bike course was three loops. I decided I would take it conservatively on the first loop and get a feel for the course. I knew what to expect for the most part (since I knew all the roads), but I still just wanted to see how it felt to ride the loop and what gears were best and what obstacles/road conditions there might be. So while I wasn't going easy, I wasn't killing myself either. The weather was great - overcast and cool (maybe low 80's?) with a slight breeze. No killer wind and no killer sun. It was maybe a little humid, but not too bad. There were a few raindrops during the bike, but that was literally all - just a few and they were gone.I was actually smiling for a lot of the bike, I was having such a good time. At one point, suddenly and inexplicably, I got a Ricky Martin song stuck in my head. I knew exactly 1 line in the song and it was on repeat. Annoying! I finally got rid of it but I couldn't figure what the heck that was all about.
.jpeg)
Roger, Dad and Kip had staked out a spot on one of the out and back sections of the course so I saw them twice on each loop of the bike (6 times total). I really enjoyed the first loop, so much so that I didn't really apply that much more pressure on the second loop. I seemed to be making good time and I was having a really good time. The flat course was helpful. There was just one slight, gradual uphill that we turned around and headed back down (which was super fun). There was another short little somewhat steep hill. Otherwise, it was flat or slight false flats - but nearly everything was out and back so we got to go back down whatever we went up. For the third loop, I tried to push it a little more, but not overly much. I paced myself to be ready for a good strong 10k run.
T2
I had a good transition. Once again, it felt like I had to go a long way, but that's just the way this site is set up.Run
I headed out on the run feeling GREAT. I had hydrated quite a bit (24 oz of Gatorade/Ultima mix, 20 oz Gatorade Endurance Formula and around 10 oz of water) and although I didn't eat everything I planned to on the bike (I ended up having 3 Clif Shot Blocks, 1/4 of a Luna bar, the gel I had just before the race plus whatever sugars were in the Gatorade which is around 450 calories total), I didn't really feel like I needed anything else (I think I planned to eat too much). I took a Stinger gel with me out onto the run (stuffing it into the pocket on my tri shorts) in case I felt like I needed it.I was waiting for that horrible sensation to happen in my legs, but it didn't and I ran with a great cadence, feeling really good. I took some water on the course but I wasn't particularly thirsty. About halfway through the first loop, my guts started feeling weird and crampy/bloaty. But I just kept running and the feeling went away after about 15 minutes.
And so I just kept running and soon I was heading out for the second loop (we did two 5k loops). I looked at my watch and saw that I did the first half in under 30 minutes. Whoa! If I kept on pace, I could be close to my 10k PR time. The nice flat course and overcast day was really helping me out.
Roger, Dad and Kip were in the same spot as on the bike because the run went past there too (also out and back) so I saw them twice on my first loop. As I ran past them on the second loop, I figured I had a little over a mile so I told them to head to the finish line so see me finish. Coach Karen was also out on the course and I saw her on the bike and the run. Seeing her on the run was great because I became hyper aware of my form (since she had the most input in sculpting my form last year). She called out "Keep it nice and relaxed!" when I was heading out on the first loop of the run. It was a good reminder. On my second loop she called out "You are looking so strong today!" and I could tell she wasn't just saying that. I hollered back "I'm having a really good day!" and I grinned.
As I approached the finish, with about a quarter mile to go, a girl in my age group passed me (our age is written on our calves). I realized I had a little more energy so I picked it up and passed her back. Then I needed to hold her off so I picked it up more and I just kept pushing. I wasn't sure how long I could keep it up, but I kept pushing hard to the finish. "Dig deep. Dig deep. Dig deep." I chanted to myself and pushed as hard as I could.
At the finish I felt tired but excited. I looked at my watch and was really happy about my final time. I tried to find Roger, Dad and Kip but didn't see them, and didn't see them as I was finishing either. Finally, I spotted them. They were heading over to where the spectators were cheering on the finishers. I called them, but they didn't hear, I kept calling. "Guys! Hey! Roger! Kip! Dad!" I was right behind them, but they were clearly on a mission to get over to the finish. I felt invisible and it was really surreal. Finally Kip heard me and turned around. They had missed me. I was so fast that they didn't realize that I had already come in! (They had stopped on their way over and used the port-o-potties and talked to Emily.)
In the end, I'm really happy with my overall time. My goal was 3 hours. I came in nearly 6 minutes under that and I'm ecstatic about that. I had a crazy fast run. Was the course short? :P It's a 10k PR for me (not by much - really by seconds, but still). Maybe I could have gone harder on the bike, but I really enjoyed myself and that's what it's really all about in the end, so I'm happy with that. Plus, I liked feeling good and fresh for the run (instead of tortured which is how I normally feel).
Final stats:
Swim - 26:45 1:47/M 3 out of 56 in age group, 52 out of 695 overall
T1 - 3:42
Bike - 1:23:15 17.9 mph 28 out of 56 in age group, 510 out of 695 overall
T2 - 2:25
Run - 58:06 9:22/mi 32 out of 56 in age group, 458 out of 695 overall
Total time - 2:54:16 17 out of 56 in age group, 91 out of 245 women, 370 out of 695 overall
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