I've missed posting a race report for my last couple of races. To bring everyone up to speed, I completed the Beach Blast Olympic Distance Triathlon in Mexico Beach and had a great time. I also did the Montgomery Half Marathon and set a PR of 2:04. This afternoon, I'm relaxing at the Seascape Condo in Destin and have no reason not to post a race report.
The day started early. Transition opened at 5 am so I got to the transition area around 5:30 to ensure a good place on the bike rack. Lesson Learned: Bring a headlamp. The other tri's I've done were either well lit or the sun was already coming up. Fumbling around in the dark to set up everything is no fun. Also, when in doubt, bring a light jacket. It didn't seem that cool when I walked out on the balcony this morning but that's because I couldn't feel the wind. It was definitely a bit brisk.
7:00 Start time. I was in the second wave to go out. The water was relatively calm but there was a definite current. I could be wrong but I could swear (and everyone I talked to said this too) the swim was longer than 400 yds. My stroke was off and I just couldn't settle into a good rhythm. Once or twice, a couple of the Clydesdales attempted to drown me by swimming over the top of me. I didn't freak. I just kept on swimming. On a happy note, NO jellyfish!
T1. I'm never as quick in my transitions as I'd like but this one went smoothly. Rinsed feet with my water bottle to get the sand off. Lesson Learned: Bring a small plastic tub for water to rinse feet. I saw a lot of people with them and thought "what a great idea".
Bike: I would like to personally thank every "fat tire" riders because you have no idea how much of a boost I get by passing someone on the bike. I don't mean that as a joke. Major props to those guys and gals. The bike course was great. Flat and fun. I purposely didn't wear my Garmin today on the recommendation of my good friend, Walter, to just go out and have fun and not worry so much about my time. So I have no idea what my avg mph was and they didn't have the breakout of it posted at the end. I am definitely not the strongest on the bike but I enjoy riding and that's how I took this portion of the race.
T2. Racked bike. Bike shoes off, running shoes on (sans socks) and was a little worried about the amount of sand on my feet. It didn't give me a problem during the run.
Run: By far, my strongest portion of a triathlon. No idea on pace or time for the 5k run but it didn't take too long for my legs to loosen up and I felt pretty good. Nice out and back course with a turn at the end that took me up a couple of hills I never saw coming.
Finishing time: 1:21. A PR for a sprint triathlon. Way better than my 1:50 time at Oak Mountain.
Post race party was great. There was a sandwich truck there making three kinds of paninis. YUM! Lots of awards were given out and there were a lot of winners from Montgomery. Montgomery had a large showing for this race. I'm definitely glad I decided to come down and do it and I'm already planning to do it again next year.
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Race Report – Alabama Sports Festival Triathlon
I am officially a triathlete!!!!!! If anyone had told me a few months ago I would do a triathlon, I would have laughed in their face. But when I went to the Gulf Coast Triathlon and had so much fun, I knew I had to try it out myself. Six weeks of training led me to today! My friend Keith told me that he would do my first triathlon with me and I held him to it. Below is our pic after the race. Chris rode up with him and helped cheer us on and take pictures. My Montgomery peeps, Allison and Justin, also came up and I really am so very, very blessed to have such great friends. I love you all! Now to the race!
The venue was Oak Mountain State Park. Remind me not to do my first triathlon up the side of a mountain. Oh wait. Nevermind. I already did! Packet pick-up started at 6:30. We got there a little late but it was no big deal because the youth race was first. Let me start by saying those little kids are awesome! I was so impressed with their determination! And they were so darned cute! Once the kids were finished, the adult racers were called in to hear the rules and course directions. By this time, it was already past 8:30 and it was HOT!
The Swim—I think I’ve mentioned that I’m not a great swimmer. And today was no different. We started single file in 5 second intervals and I felt pretty good at first. As soon as people started passing me, I got psyched out and it fell apart from there. One of my objectives for this race was to learn what to expect. I learned that 1) I need to seriously focus on my swimming. It is by far my weak point. 2) I need to mentally prepare for the swim. I really just got messed up about it. 3) I need to get out of the pool and practice more open water swimming. I’ve been somewhat joking when I said I would be the last one out of the lake. Well, I wasn’t last but I was definitely slow and there weren’t a whole lot of people behind me. However, I reached the shore (exhausted) and proceeded to transition 1. I did manage to have a smile and I'm sure it was from something Chris had said as he was motivating me after the swim. See below.
T1—Not bad. Rinsed my feet, put on shoes and helmet, and was on my way.
The Bike—Holy Moly. I’m not quite sure why I thought that this course would have minimal rolling hills. The state park is called “Oak Mountain” for a reason. I’ve only had my bike for a couple of months so I don’t have a lot of experience but that was the hardest bike ride EVER. It literally went uphill for what seemed like an eternity. At one point, I thought I might have to dismount and push the bike up the hill. On the flipside of that, the downhills were great. I coasted most of them because I was easily going 30mph and, once, I was actually a little scared. Don’t let me confuse you, though, thinking that it was uphill the first half and down the second. Oh no. There were a lot of steep hills in each direction. Made it back a little under an hour which was what I was kind of thinking so I felt pretty good about that. It also helped a lot to see my friends again all cheering me on through transition 2. And I manage to dismount my bike without falling so props to me for that!
T2—Racked my bike, pulled off bike shoes, slipped into running shoes (sans socks for both), pulled off helmet, slipped on sunglasses, visor, race belt, ate a Gu, and I was off on the run.
The Run—I’ve done the bike to run a couple of times so I knew to expect my legs to feel like blocks of lead…and they did. I kind of jogged with short steps and was certain I was probably barely moving. I didn’t wear my Garmin and just had a watch on but the first few minutes seemed to go by pretty quickly so I thought “I’ve got this!” I also knew that there were still some people behind me and, if I wanted to keep it that way, I was going to have to perform on the run. It was encouraging to hear the other runners that were headed back saying “good job” and “keep going”. I don’t know if everyone is like this but I feed on that. When I think there is no way I can take another step, a positive word will give me strength. Okay, so the first half of the run was uphill. Come on! Seriously? But I knew the second half would be down so I just kept running. When I got to the turnaround, the volunteer said “You run looks strong.” I said “Thanks. I’ve been running for awhile but swimming and biking is new to me. He said “You should be proud of yourself. This is a tough course.” And with that, I smiled and ran a little faster on the way back. The run was definitely the strongest leg of the race for me. I felt really good after the first five minutes or so and even better after mile 1. By the time I got to the finish line, I was beaming from ear to ear. I threw my arms up and basked in my finish. I finished a triathlon. I FINISHED A TRIATHLON! And my awesome friends were there supporting me.
In typical Shannon fashion, I had a hard time just accepting “You did great” and “Good job”. I said “Yeah, but…” I’m really working on that. After awhile, the disappointment about the swim went away and I started appreciating that I set a goal and I followed through with it. I’m not sure of my chip times yet but the gun time was 1:52 so I finished under 2 hours. I could not be more thrilled. I have a new goal in mind but I’m not going to blog about it yet. As Allison advised, I’m just going to “enjoy today and this race and don’t think about tomorrow.” Until tomorrow.
NOTE: I will be posting more pics and video later.
The venue was Oak Mountain State Park. Remind me not to do my first triathlon up the side of a mountain. Oh wait. Nevermind. I already did! Packet pick-up started at 6:30. We got there a little late but it was no big deal because the youth race was first. Let me start by saying those little kids are awesome! I was so impressed with their determination! And they were so darned cute! Once the kids were finished, the adult racers were called in to hear the rules and course directions. By this time, it was already past 8:30 and it was HOT! The Swim—I think I’ve mentioned that I’m not a great swimmer. And today was no different. We started single file in 5 second intervals and I felt pretty good at first. As soon as people started passing me, I got psyched out and it fell apart from there. One of my objectives for this race was to learn what to expect. I learned that 1) I need to seriously focus on my swimming. It is by far my weak point. 2) I need to mentally prepare for the swim. I really just got messed up about it. 3) I need to get out of the pool and practice more open water swimming. I’ve been somewhat joking when I said I would be the last one out of the lake. Well, I wasn’t last but I was definitely slow and there weren’t a whole lot of people behind me. However, I reached the shore (exhausted) and proceeded to transition 1. I did manage to have a smile and I'm sure it was from something Chris had said as he was motivating me after the swim. See below.
The Run—I’ve done the bike to run a couple of times so I knew to expect my legs to feel like blocks of lead…and they did. I kind of jogged with short steps and was certain I was probably barely moving. I didn’t wear my Garmin and just had a watch on but the first few minutes seemed to go by pretty quickly so I thought “I’ve got this!” I also knew that there were still some people behind me and, if I wanted to keep it that way, I was going to have to perform on the run. It was encouraging to hear the other runners that were headed back saying “good job” and “keep going”. I don’t know if everyone is like this but I feed on that. When I think there is no way I can take another step, a positive word will give me strength. Okay, so the first half of the run was uphill. Come on! Seriously? But I knew the second half would be down so I just kept running. When I got to the turnaround, the volunteer said “You run looks strong.” I said “Thanks. I’ve been running for awhile but swimming and biking is new to me. He said “You should be proud of yourself. This is a tough course.” And with that, I smiled and ran a little faster on the way back. The run was definitely the strongest leg of the race for me. I felt really good after the first five minutes or so and even better after mile 1. By the time I got to the finish line, I was beaming from ear to ear. I threw my arms up and basked in my finish. I finished a triathlon. I FINISHED A TRIATHLON! And my awesome friends were there supporting me.
NOTE: I will be posting more pics and video later.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
T Minus 11 Days til Triathlon!
I’m about a week and a half out from my first sprint triathlon and I’m starting to think “Do I even have a clue what I’m doing?” First of all, I didn’t follow a training plan like I would with a running race. That’s probably because I decided to do this well under any training plan timeframe. Most were 12 weeks and I think I decided about 6 weeks out. So I’m pretty much winging it but, hey, it’s not like I’m going couch to triathlon or something. Right? I hope. Don’t mind that I signed up THEN bought a bike and THEN got some swim lessons. Whatever. I’ve got this! Right?
I got the first spill on my bike out of the way a few days ago. On about mile 30 of a 34.5 mile bike ride, we pulled up to a traffic signal and (just like I’d been warned I would do at some point) I clipped out on one side of the bike and leaned to the other. Luckily, I landed on the meaty part of my leg and nothing was hurt to include my bike. A friend of mine told me later “Falling is funny, crashing is scary”. Yikes!
My swimming has really come together from when I started. I’m pretty darned proud of myself even though when I got out of the pool last night at the Y, a guy I just met said “swimming is my weak point too”. I was like “What? Did I look weak?” He recovered by saying “Not at all but I can tell you’re a runner.” Hmmm. Okay. I feel good about my bike rides except that I haven’t seemed to pick up any speed! That’s okay. Practice Practice Practice. The run I’m not too worried about but I know it is going to be crazy hot on the 19th and around 10 am by the time I start that portion. That brings me to another thing I’ve learned recently. Hydration!
Over-hydrating is always a concern when I’m running. I definitely don’t want to dehydrate but can’t stand that sloshy feeling in my tummy either. A lot of times, I’ll just swish water and spit it out. On the bike, that’s not an issue but it seems that on really long rides, I can’t keep enough fluids ON the bike. I go through my water bottle in a hurry. So I’m going to mount another bottle cage or get one of those large water reservoirs that attaches at the handlebars.
So, again, I’m still not sure I have any idea what I am doing or what to expect at the triathlon. I asked one friend for advice on the transitions and he just said “Don’t forget to put your shoes on.” Okay, easy enough. Everything seems to take me a long time to do. I’m planning to go very minimalist on this. No gloves, no socks, etc. Just the basics. That’s the latest. Will keep you posted. I’m starting to get nervous. Eeek!
I got the first spill on my bike out of the way a few days ago. On about mile 30 of a 34.5 mile bike ride, we pulled up to a traffic signal and (just like I’d been warned I would do at some point) I clipped out on one side of the bike and leaned to the other. Luckily, I landed on the meaty part of my leg and nothing was hurt to include my bike. A friend of mine told me later “Falling is funny, crashing is scary”. Yikes!
My swimming has really come together from when I started. I’m pretty darned proud of myself even though when I got out of the pool last night at the Y, a guy I just met said “swimming is my weak point too”. I was like “What? Did I look weak?” He recovered by saying “Not at all but I can tell you’re a runner.” Hmmm. Okay. I feel good about my bike rides except that I haven’t seemed to pick up any speed! That’s okay. Practice Practice Practice. The run I’m not too worried about but I know it is going to be crazy hot on the 19th and around 10 am by the time I start that portion. That brings me to another thing I’ve learned recently. Hydration!
Over-hydrating is always a concern when I’m running. I definitely don’t want to dehydrate but can’t stand that sloshy feeling in my tummy either. A lot of times, I’ll just swish water and spit it out. On the bike, that’s not an issue but it seems that on really long rides, I can’t keep enough fluids ON the bike. I go through my water bottle in a hurry. So I’m going to mount another bottle cage or get one of those large water reservoirs that attaches at the handlebars.
So, again, I’m still not sure I have any idea what I am doing or what to expect at the triathlon. I asked one friend for advice on the transitions and he just said “Don’t forget to put your shoes on.” Okay, easy enough. Everything seems to take me a long time to do. I’m planning to go very minimalist on this. No gloves, no socks, etc. Just the basics. That’s the latest. Will keep you posted. I’m starting to get nervous. Eeek!
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