Race Report!

I got up at 5 this morning and drove down to Quarry Lakes in Fremont so that I could do the Mermaid Sprint Triathlon. This is the same race that I did for my first triathlon last year, so it was exciting to see what has changed since then!

My times:
1/4 mile Swim: 10:04 (last year 13:38)
11 mile Bike: 36:38 (41:07)
2.5 mile Run: 34:34 (38:31)
Total: 1:27:55 (1:39:03)

More than 11 minutes faster! That makes me really excited, anyway.

I got a pretty good kick to the chest at the beginning of the swim. I don't care if people want to breaststroke as long as they stay to the sides/back of the pack, but swimming in a huge tangle is difficult enough when it's freestyle and there are no explosive kicks involved! I managed not to suck up any water, though, so it was more of an annoyance than anything.

The bike was awesome. I maintained 16.4 mph the whole time, which is not amazing considering it's a relatively flat course, but there are a lot of turns and one overpass that isn't so bad until you realize that it's a looped course and you have to cross it 3 times in each direction!

The run... always the run is difficult. At this point, it has to be psychological. I know I can run 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I do it all the time. But I walked a little, which slowed me down considerably.

But it didn't slow me down too much! Much to my own shock and amazement, I placed 3rd among the Athena group 29 and younger (Athenas are women over 150 lbs--you can opt into this group instead of the regular age groups, which are in increments of 5 years. Athena isn't necessarily less competitive, but it's usually a smaller field).

I really had a great day, and now I'm going to do a bunch of cooking and some laundry so I'm ready for the week ahead...

Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Hidey-Ho Blogging Neighbors!

So yesterday I raced. It was an exciting day, and a really hard day--some of those things combined.

It actually started on Saturday with packet pickup, then hanging out with Melissa the rest of the day. She was the best sister-in-law anyone could ask for, as she made dinner, soothed my nerves with good conversation and a Veronica Mars marathon, and even let me have the bed so that Jemma wouldn't be trying to roust the intruder from the air mattress at all hours of the night. I was really nervous about the heat, but by 9 we had eaten a light dinner and drank enough water to ensure many midnight bathroom trips, if not a perfectly hydrated race the next day.

We were up bright and early and arrived at the course by 5:30 a.m. I futzed around with my stuff for a while and was just settling in to chatting with the other Mermaids (some of whom were even earlier than we were and saved us a great spot in transition!) when they announced that everyone would have to leave transition and be race-ready when the first wave started. Our wave was the last of 12, so I had mentally planned to be lounging and pondering putting on my wetsuit for at least another 20 minutes! But of course we'd been there for hours by then, so I pulled on my wetsuit and headed down to warm up in the water and take photos until our wave started. By the time our wave started, I had scoped out that there was very little competition in the Athena category and was feeling pretty good in the water.

The swim was LONG but actually quite enjoyable! The longest open water swim I'd done previous was only 400 meters, and this was about 3 times that (3/4 mi). But I just concentrated on sighting the next buoy and didn't get too off-course. While I was definitely in the back of the pack for my wave, I did pass at least one person from the wave ahead of me. I told myself I was slower than everyone else because my wave was full of relay racers (including Melissa, who totally killed her personal goal time!) and therefore better-than-average swimmers.

Knowing that I was not the last one out of the water made the next leg all the more confusing. I headed out on the bike, nearly taking out Chris "Macca" McCormick (Molly would have been so upset!) as he turned right in front of me into the chute to finish his race. Don't worry though, he won. I headed out on the bike and pep talked myself into a nice 12-15 mph pace on the flats, climbing the small hills steadily and racing downhill as fast as I dared, given that most of the downhills ended in sharp turns. I ate my moons and didn't freak out too much when my favorite water bottle bounced right off the bike, despite the fact that I had opted for a cage inside my frame and not a back-mounted cage to avoid bounce-outs. I got to the nasty hill at mile 11 and felt decent. My goal was to stop once. I made it about half way, stopped and recovered, then headed up some more.

That's when things got weird. A motorcycle cop rode up behind me, and I was flustered and decided to stop and catch my breath again. He asked if I was okay, and I said yes, and he said something about me being last out. I couldn't believe it, and said that was impossible. He said "you will be soon, there's one lady coming up the hill right now." Sure enough, another woman gritted her way past us, swearing her way up the hill. I tried to get back on, but I was distracted. It didn't help that when I tried to go back down to a flatter part of the hill to get a little momentum, there was a full-size police car in the way. I walked the last hundred or so feet to the top of the hill, where I stood wheezing for a full minute or more. Note: I don't have asthma. I do, however, have panic attacks. I wanted to cry and yell at the cops to go away. Instead, I did some yogic breathing, thanked the awesome people who were cheering for me at the top of the hill, accepted a full bottle of water from a non-racing biker who was stopped at the top and offered when he saw I was out, and got back on the damn bike. I managed to pull it together and when the motorcycle officer who followed me for the last 5 miles joked about throwing me a rope to get us back faster, I did not swear at him. I gritted my teeth, smiled, and said "No thanks, I think that would get me DQ'd."

At transition Melissa was great--she could tell I was upset but she just yelled (cheerfully!) to get my shoes on and spritzed me with more sunscreen. They were announcing over the loudspeakers, "The last cyclist has come into transition! Look out for number 808, our last racer headed out on the run!" Oh, great, thanks. Just what I needed. I mean, I love the spotlight--I'll play just about anything for attention and laughs--but I felt more like they were saying "thank god, that slowpoke is finally getting somewhere" than cheering me on. It didn't help that I could see them breaking down the bike course behind me.

I started out jogging, but by then it was almost 10 a.m. and it was really hot. My breathing went ragged and wheezy again, and I walked most of the first 2 miles. I saw my friends heading in and they all yelled encouragement. Paige gave me the best advice of the day, which was "I'm running two cones and walking one, and it's working! Find a strategy!" But there was also a new motorcycle cop following me. When I let out an exasperated "are you going to follow me the whole run?!" he gave a kind but misguided reply of "yep, I'm your guardian angel!" I was distraught, and I could feel tears (a little hotter than the sweat, but otherwise indistinguishable) rolling down as I thought, "This is a stupid waste of hydration. Stop crying and run." Every time I started to run though, it reminded me that I needed to pee and my stomach was churning in a scary, might have an accident kind of way. Mercifully, the cop leapfrogged ahead of me and then pulled over for a few minutes at a time, so he wasn't directly behind me the whole way, but there was no way I could relieve myself roadside with the cop following me.

Finally, as I passed the second water table at mile 2, I was bored with feeling sorry for myself and the stomach churning had passed. I looked at my watch and decided to set a new goal. I thought I could maybe make it in by 11 if I started following Paige's advice. Once I turned around, I saw a blue blob up a head that seemed to be getting closer. I ran one cone and walked one, throwing in an extra cone-length of running when I could. As I passed a guy who looked more miserably hot than I was, the cop called out to me "I can't follow you anymore! Good job!" Along the way back I started to feel stronger, and I passed two more hot, tired guys. I spied an older woman (I think she was in her 70s) up ahead as I reached the last half-mile and decided to pass her before the finish. She didn't let up--I'm pretty sure she ran the entire 5 miles--but my legs were a lot fresher, or at least younger, and I passed her as we crossed the parking area and headed toward the finishing chute. Melissa was out on the road to run me in, and I sprinted as best I could across the finish at 11:03 a.m. I was not last, and as stupid and petty as it sounds, that was all that mattered at that moment.

As it turns out, I took third in the Athena division (in a field of three, but I get prizes regardless!) and had okay times except for the run:

• 3/4 mi Swim and T1 0:38:38 (stupid broken sensors!)
• 16 mi Bike 1:15:15
• T2 0:03:02
• 5 mi Run 1:12:50
• Total 3:09:45

And Melissa managed to get a good picture of me racking my bike in T2, despite my foul mood:

After waiting around for awards and collecting our gear, Melissa and I hit her place for showers, then quelled the gnawing hunger with Sonoma Chicken Coop (mmm, rotisserie chicken and grilled artichoke!) and Baskin Robbins. I dragged myself the rest of the way home and veged out while sipping ice water, but didn't end up napping. I guess the hydration and sunscreen strategy worked well, because normally I'd be zonked after 3+ hours laying around in the sun, much less doing relatively intense exercise.

I learned a lot about myself and about racing this weekend. I definitely need to work on letting it be about my own race and not how I'm doing versus others, especially since in the end I wasn't nearly the slowest overall--it's just that I was in the last wave. I also need to trust my training and push harder. While I did push on the bike, I think I could have gone faster in the swim and I definitely could have run more. Hell, I'm not even sore today. But don't tell Coach Heidi that. :P

Big Sur 5k 2009

A story in pictures.

Warming up with the children of a photographer involves more posing than stretching:


At the starting line. Smile, Jack!


Was I leaping for joy or wincing in pain? I don't even remember.


We run for the view:


Coming across the finish, where C beat me in and was waiting with the camera:

Lessons learned for next time:

• Wake up 30 min earlier so you don't have to pee 5 min into the race
• Don't try out a session with a personal trainer the day before a run, and if you do, flat out refuse to do that second set of lunges. My quads are killing me!
  
• Wear shorts that don't slide down and create a belly overhang. I swear that doesn't exist except in those shorts. Well, at least my other shorts hide it better.

We had a great time!

Mermaid 10k Race Report!

I am fried! But happy.

This morning was COLD and WINDY. Yes, that requires shouting. But I was out there at 7:30 a.m. to meet M and the Smofit crew, plus MK, the Team Mermaid folks, and the other 900-odd women who were planning to run, walk, wog, or otherwise make their way through the 5k, 10k, and half-marathon courses. We prayed it would not rain during the race, and for me that was mercifully true. The half-marathoners were not so lucky.

So MK and I set out to hit 80 minutes or fewer, since we managed the practice run at 85. I thought going in that it would either be a breeze, because I'd be running so fast to keep my toes from falling off, or it would be miserable and slow. It ended up somewhere in the middle--my toes finally defrosted as we passed the 2-mile marker, but I can't say it was a fun race as these things go. What was fun was all the company we had out there! Most of them are people I've met through M, but have now become my friends. It was great to cheer as Heather, Molly, Chris, and Justine blew by me on their way in, as I was nearing the turnaround. Once MK and I hit the turnaround, we got to cheer for M--she was right on our heels!

MK is really hitting her groove these days and honestly is much faster than I am, but she insisted on keeping our 8 min/2 min interval and waiting for me to catch up on the walking intervals. Once we got to the 5k turnaround--3/4 through our race--I insisted she should go as fast as was comfortable and finish strong. She had a great last mile and a half and finished at 74:32. I came in not too long after, at 78:07, which means we both hit our time goal! M also blew hers out of the water, by quite a large margin. Yay all of us!

I thought I was going to Sonoma for a much-deserved wine tasting adventure, but last night my friend E, an old buddy from my camp counselor days, called and said he was in town for one day only. A graciously offered to postpone the drinking trip, and so C and I met E and his girlfriend to wander around North Beach and catch up. Hopefully all the walking (from Washington park to St. Mary's Park in Chinatown and back) stretched out my legs well enough that I won't be hurting tomorrow.

Want pictures? Go see Molly's race report and Facebook.

You may notice that I updated my list of races--it's an ambitious schedule, but it should keep me on-track all summer. I haven't signed up for anything past UVAS, just because circumstances can change so quickly, but I hope to complete them all.

Happy Sunday! I'm going to collapse now. :P