Race Report: Huntington Sprint Triathlon, 2011

As I explained in my previous post...I was very excited for this race.

It's a mile from my house. How cool is that? So I still didn't sleep well the night before (standard), but at least it was easy to get to! Plus, a lot of my local tri buddies were going to be there, and that rocks.

I felt like I needed to redeem myself a bit from Lifetime--I know that I did the best I could there, but I felt like it just wasn't good enough. I could do more. But I never know what sprints can bring. I sort of have one speed, and it's 70.3. I can dial that speed in, no problem. But a sprint? It should hurt. You should be gasping for air at the end. And that's not a race pace I'm really used to.

So I decided it was time to dial it up a notch.

I wanted this to hurt.

Despite crazy nasty storms, the lake was NOT choppy! I was pretty stoked about that. It was pretty warm and I wanted to go hard, but not totally blow it. I definitely felt like I needed to push it, though, especially after my pretty rotten swim at Lifetime. So push I did. I found a few legs, drafted for a bit, passed, and went comfortably hard. I knew I could have gone a little harder, but I didn't feel like I dogged it like I did at Lifetime. I was happy with my effort.

Swim Time 9:57

Place 6/19 AG

Got out and ran the almost 1/4 mile up to transition--sheesh! Tried to stay calm and collected and remember that I was about to embark on what's become my best leg. My buddy Ken was there and told me there were some girls to catch. I had a rough time getting my right leg clipped in but then I was off.

One of my former students and I leaving T1! She was doing her very first tri and finished 2nd in her age group--yay, Megan!

OFF OFF OFF.

Long story short--I killed it. I felt FABULOUS on this ride and my watts were high but I felt good. I picked people off left and right and got especially excited when I saw a leg that had a "U" on it, as that was my age group. I passed 4 or 5 girls with U's, and didn't see any U's pass me, so I was excited. I knew I was near the front of the age group and felt awesome.

And then I took a wrong turn.

About 1/2 mile from transition. SO STUPID. I even knew it was wrong. I knew we were supposed to go straight, but the police officer was waving right. Turns out, he was waving the cars and not us, but I saw a fast chick turn and stupidly I followed like a lemming. She really let the police officer have it and yelled, "I was winning this!" at him, but I silently turned and chalked it up to not trusting my gut and knowing the course better. I knew better than making that mistake and turning, and was mad at myself for doing it.

I probably lost 30-45 seconds.

But I hoped that I had built up a big enough cushion to still hang onto an age group place. I was not sure what this run would bring as my hamstring has been much better, but I haven't really tried to go that hard on it. I put on my brand new birthday racing flats, Saucony Mirages, that are obnoxious blue, grabbed my visor, and took off hoping for the best.

I was kind of being the Chris Leito of the average-Jane 30-34 females in NEO. I took his strategy of hammer the hell out of the bike and pray you can hold on. I felt a bit like a hunted/wounded animal, but I tried to just focus on the run ahead.

Bike: 36:19

1/19 AG

20.2 mph

I felt SOOOO slow. The first mile, I expected U's to pass me left and right. I certainly must have been running 10 minute miles.

Except I wasn't.

My pre-race dream goal was to hold 8s, and it appeared that I was doing relatively close to that. I don't know because my little Nike kid's watch doesn't take lap splits, but I did time my 2nd mile and it was just under 8. Could this be true? One of the volunteers told me at about 2.5 miles that I was "the fourth female, and you can catch those other ones if you hurry." I knew that wasn't true because of the wave starts--I knew for SURE there were some SMOKIN' fast 40+ masters females behind me that were actually "ahead" time-wise. But if there were only 4 ahead of me, and I knew two of them I knew for sure were masters, then that meant maybe one more that was possibly in my age group.

Or not.

Or it was me, in first place.

I knew then, with about .6 miles to go, that this was going to be my race to lose. And I sure as hell was NOT about to lose it then. There would be NO U's passing me, and if one did, and this turned into a Raelert-Macca thing, then I WOULD BE MACCA.

(*of course, both Raelert and Macca could beat me while running backwards wearing stilettos blindfolded, but you get the point, right?)

This was a huge mental victory for me, because usually at this point in a race, I am talking to myself and saying things like, "Hey, 3rd place is pretty good" or "well, I had a great bike today," but there was NONE OF THAT in this race. I knew coming off the bike that I was probably in first, and I made up my mind throughout most of the run that it was going to stay like that. End of story.

I knew those girls behind me might be fabulous runners, and I was hoping for maybe a 25 minute 5K at best, and can I really win this thing with a 25+ minute 5K?

The answer today was YES.

I dashed up the hill, kicked it into high gear just in case, and finished in 1:16.47, just 10 seconds ahead of the 2nd place girl in my age group.

Thanks to my awesome friend, Anne, for taking these pics for me!

She almost got me, but I was NOT going to have that today. No way. I finished the way I wanted to--gasping, almost puking, and smiling.

Run 26:05

Pace 8:25/mile

5/19 AG

Met my two kiddies and Matt afterwards and got to hug them lots and lots.

1/19: 30-34 Females

9/115: Overall Females

72/292: Total Finishers

And THAT is how I rang in my next decade of triathlons.

Evotri2: Race Day!

Congratulations to our new triathletes, Samm, Maureen, Maddie, and Megan!

I am so proud of all four of these ladies. They had a rough day to race but didn't let it get them down! Every time I saw them they had BIG smiles on their faces, and they absolutely ROCKED the Huntington Sprint Triathlon on Sunday!

Maureen, Samm, and Megan pre-race

As part of my commitment to Team Evotri, I organize training for area high school girls to prepare for a sprint triathlon. This is my third year, and I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to do this with the baby's arrival in February. However, my friends Anne and Danielle were super awesome about letting me work with their cross country girls. We did weekly bricks and also did an open water swim to prepare for the race. The girls worked really hard all summer, and it was so fun to see their progress!

Fast forward to this weekend...some pretty big storms blew through on Saturday, so I was a little worried about how the lake would look. Sure enough, it had some pretty big chop. I knew that the stronger swimmers would be a little slower, but fine. However, this race attracts a great deal of newbies, and I could imagine how nervous they would be when they saw the water.

These four girls were so much fun to work with this summer. Maureen is an accomplished swimmer and runner, and has a great attitude. Her biggest fear during the race? "Fish...I'm afraid of seeing fish!" I told her that the fish would all be scared away from the earlier waves, and not to worry!

Maureen and Samm getting ready!

Samm is also a strong runner, but was very nervous with the swim. She was afraid she'd be "the last blue cap." I promised her that wouldn't be the case, and sure enough, it wasn't! Samm, I swear I saw several blue caps after you. :) Not that it mattered, anyway--I told her she'd catch them all on the run!

Our own little version of the Monona Terrace

Megan was on vacation last week, and wasn't even sure if she was going to race until about the day before. Boy am I glad she did--holy smokes, that girl is fast! She had a fantastic race, and even took 3rd in her age group! Way to go, Megan!

Maureen, Megan, and Samm show off their body marking

And Maddie deserves some major kudos for her efforts! She's not even in HIGH SCHOOL yet! She just has been doing the summer training with the high school girls because she's super motivated and has a lot of talent. She did a fantastic job in the triathlon, too! Nice job, Maddie! I know you'll have lots of great seasons ahead of you.

Maureen, Samm, Maddie and Megan...and some random guy giving a thumbs up.

The girls stood nervously on the beach. Secretly, I was a little nervous for them, too. This was not the calm-as-glass lake they got last year. This was going to be pretty tough.

But luckily, these chicks were FIERCE.

Once they were off, I ran up to volunteer at the aid station. Since I couldn't race due to my shin, Rick, the RD, has a policy that you can take a rain check for up to a year. Pretty awesome, huh? Not only that, but if you volunteer at one of his races, you get a voucher good for any other race he runs! You just can't beat that. So I manned the water station. I figured it would be a great place to help out, but also to see everyone come in! I got to see TriEric, his wife Aimee, and lots of other tri friends. Eric and Aimee both had great days and placed in their age group. Way to kill it, guys! I was pretty bummed to sit this out, but volunteering and cheering was definitely the next best thing to actually racing.

TriEric on his way to a 2nd place AG finish! He also helped out with our Open Water Swim 2 weeks ago. Thanks, Eric!

All four girls were out of the water, and I breathed a sigh of relief! I was a little worried about the chop...it was bad enough that they had to delay the last wave about 15 minutes. Seeing all four girls enter T1 with big smiles was the best!

Ominous black clouds in the sky...check.

While on their bikes, the HEAVENS opened up. It absolutely poured. By this time, I moved to T2 and directed runners exiting transition. Again, I knew it would be a place that needed a volunteer, and selfishly I wanted to see all the girls come in and make sure they were okay! I worried about them a bit out in that rain, but was so happy to see them all come in and take off on the run.

Samm and Maureen leaving T2!

All four girls had solid runs and finished the race strong, with lots of smiles! I am so proud of them. Great job, girls! I am already bouncing around ideas to make this program even bigger and better in Year 4. Just wait to see what I have up my sleeves...I have big plans, I tell you! BIG plans.

I do want to take a moment and direct some good thoughts, vibes, and prayers towards a good tri friend, Laura Jones. I cheered my head off for Laura as she ran into T1 with a big smile on her face. I figured she'd be well on her way to another age group finish. Instead, she was hit by a car while at mile 3 of the bike. She remembers nothing except waking up in the hospital. Her bike was totaled. Here's what she posted on facebook last night:

"Keep the energy flowing in: Fractured: right wrist, c6 vertebra, possibly torn left acl, bike in bits and pieces, concussion, staples in the head, driver sited. I'm going to be ok, just not today. Peace."

Laura, you're a great competitor and friend. I am so grateful that you will be okay, and so sorry you're in such pain right now. I know you'll be back out there soon. Hugs to you. And to everyone else, please, please be careful out there.