Dear Team OnPoint,
Thanks to Cory for kicking off the race reports. Here is my reflection on the day:
Lloyd and I arrived at the race site just before 7am. Transition was open from 6-7:45 so I lined up for bodymarking and then headed in to get set up. Shortly after getting into transition, I found Cory, Maria and Carla (or maybe they found me). I set up my stuff and then checked out their racks. We pumped our tires and made sure that everything was laid out properly. Cory, Maria and Carla (CMC) gave me a great tour of the transition area - showing where the swim, bike and run would begin and end. The transition area was laid out in a fairly straightforward way, but it's always good to know where your bike and gear are relative to each entrance and exit since I'm not always thinking straight after the swim :-) Like Cory said, some people mark the ends of the rows, but that's not always the case.
Transition closed at 7:45 so we all grabbed our caps and goggles and headed to the swim corral to wait for our wave. You could feel the excitement in the air. Lloyd was around taking pictures and it was cool seeing all of the other participants. Because our waves were 45-56 minutes after the race start, we saw the pros go out and come in from the swim. The excitement was infectious, with the age group athletes cheering on the racers who were making the transition to the bike. CMC's wave was right before mine, so I hung out with them until they got into the water and then waited for my wave.
Thanks to Cory for kicking off the race reports. Here is my reflection on the day:
Lloyd and I arrived at the race site just before 7am. Transition was open from 6-7:45 so I lined up for bodymarking and then headed in to get set up. Shortly after getting into transition, I found Cory, Maria and Carla (or maybe they found me). I set up my stuff and then checked out their racks. We pumped our tires and made sure that everything was laid out properly. Cory, Maria and Carla (CMC) gave me a great tour of the transition area - showing where the swim, bike and run would begin and end. The transition area was laid out in a fairly straightforward way, but it's always good to know where your bike and gear are relative to each entrance and exit since I'm not always thinking straight after the swim :-) Like Cory said, some people mark the ends of the rows, but that's not always the case.
Transition closed at 7:45 so we all grabbed our caps and goggles and headed to the swim corral to wait for our wave. You could feel the excitement in the air. Lloyd was around taking pictures and it was cool seeing all of the other participants. Because our waves were 45-56 minutes after the race start, we saw the pros go out and come in from the swim. The excitement was infectious, with the age group athletes cheering on the racers who were making the transition to the bike. CMC's wave was right before mine, so I hung out with them until they got into the water and then waited for my wave.
SWIM:
I'd done my first open water practice on Friday in Columbia for Irongirl and spent most of Friday and Saturday working out my mental jitters. I only learned to swim 2-ish years ago, so the swim is both very challenging and rewarding for me. I've been swimming alot this season, but open water is definitely different.
When my wave was called, I got in the water about 2 minutes before it was time to start. I just put my face in the water and blew bubbles. This allowed me to get oriented and helped me calm down. Then, I chilled out in back balance until it was time to go. When the gun went off, I felt relaxed and the swim was really comfortable. Every 10 strokes or so, I'd look up and sight. In the future, I might sight a bit more often because I veered away from the buoys and my turns were really wide. But, luckily I was able to correct that and swim close to the last buoy. When I made the turn at the final buoy and saw the swim finish ahead, I felt really good. Honestly, I felt like sprinting it out, but reigned myself in per Lloyd's instructions. There are plenty of fast swimmers out there, but for me I'm psyched at the incremental improvements. It was my best race swim to date!
I'd done my first open water practice on Friday in Columbia for Irongirl and spent most of Friday and Saturday working out my mental jitters. I only learned to swim 2-ish years ago, so the swim is both very challenging and rewarding for me. I've been swimming alot this season, but open water is definitely different.
When my wave was called, I got in the water about 2 minutes before it was time to start. I just put my face in the water and blew bubbles. This allowed me to get oriented and helped me calm down. Then, I chilled out in back balance until it was time to go. When the gun went off, I felt relaxed and the swim was really comfortable. Every 10 strokes or so, I'd look up and sight. In the future, I might sight a bit more often because I veered away from the buoys and my turns were really wide. But, luckily I was able to correct that and swim close to the last buoy. When I made the turn at the final buoy and saw the swim finish ahead, I felt really good. Honestly, I felt like sprinting it out, but reigned myself in per Lloyd's instructions. There are plenty of fast swimmers out there, but for me I'm psyched at the incremental improvements. It was my best race swim to date!
TRANSITION 1: The transition was fine. My feet were covered in grass from running to the bike from the swim so I stopped to clean them off before putting on my socks and bike shoes. Some folks go sockless, but I'm willing to sacrifice 30 seconds in order to avoid a blister. Helmet on and clipped and I was off! I actually forgot my cycling gloves, but didn't miss them too much.BIKE:The bike course was really enjoyable. It was a 2 loop course that crossed over a bridge and ran through a park. It was mostly flat with a few hills. None of the hills even registered on the "hospital hill" and "7-11 hill" meter. I saw Maria and Cory on the bike and they looked like they were doing well. The first loop flew by and I ate a gel on the second loop to add a little fuel for the run. Mine tasted like raspberry donut filling (mmmm, donuts. . .) and really I was mostly thinking about lunch. It was getting hot by that time so constant hydration was the name of the game. I drank 1.5 bottles of fluid on the bike. I chatted with lots of folks on the bike and enjoyed the race vibe. The cool thing about women's races is that most of the participants are encouraging each other ("way to go", "looking good," "you go girl"). The energy is just great! As I was finishing the 2nd loop, I snuck up on Lloyd. I don't think he was expecting to see me that soon. But he saw me just in time to start ringing his cowbell like a nut! I started spinning down and headed into transition.
TRANSITION 2:Fairly quick transition since I just had to throw on my shoes and hat. In the future, I'll probably invest in some quick-tie laces instead of dealing with the normal laces. I grabbed a bottle of hydration and headed out.RUN:My goal for the run was to just keep turning the legs over and not walk. I started out at a fairly steady pace and just held it. Though it was only 1.5 miles out, I felt like the turnaround would never come. A girl that I met in the swim corral passed me and I just tried to keep her within 5-6 feet. We played leapfrog for a mile or so and then ran together up until the 2.5 mile mark. She was running with 7 other women from her family, including her Granny who was 73 years young. (Granny did the walking portion of a relay). Finally, there was a guy announcing the last half mile. The last part of any running race is my favorite part! Just before the finish chute I saw Lloyd again. He started hollering at me to pick up the pace and to pass the girl in front of me. I passed her and broke out in a full sprint, passing 4-5 other girls before hitting the line. As a result, I may not be smiling in my finish picture - but I think our fearless leader will forgive me for that :-)
All in all, the race was great! Personally, I had a PR and improved my times in all 3 sports. But my favorite part was hanging out with Carla, Maria and Cory. After finishing, I went back out to the run and helped cheered them all in. Seeing them finish and finish well made me very proud of their accomplishments over the past 8-9 weeks. I was really glad to share the day with them and help introduce them to the sport of triathlon.
Of course, thanks go to Lloyd for always encouraging me and providing guidance in training. And thanks to you guys for being great training partners and teammates!
See you this weekend,
Keanne
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