Tejas Triathlon Race Report

Triathlon Post Race Report
*questionnaire format sent to me by my coach

Race Name:

Tejas Triathlon (Sprint)

Date:

June 5, 2011

Weather:

All week we have had record breaking temps surpassing 100 but the morning started out in the high 70's and progressively grew warmer. No rain this morning.

Time Start: 

7:30am

Course description:   

In a subdivision of Sugarland, Texas called New Territory.  Pecan Park.                                            

Start type:

Wave

Personal Information:

Age group:    

35-39 Year Old                                         

What did you wear?     

Tri Tank/Tri Shorts                                       

Would you wear it again?

Oh yeah.  Super comfortable. 

What would you change about your gear?

Nothing.  Except fix a malfunctioning shoe lace.

What was your pre-race routine?

I try to have everything prepared the night before.  So all I have to do is get up and get dressed.  A friend texted me with an unexpected situation and this threw me off schedule.  My coffee maker did not brew so I skipped the coffee. Then the dog decided he had to friggin' poop before I walked out the door. And since it was 4am, it was a slow motion groggy search for the perfect place for him to take his dump.  I wanted to scream.  In the end, I had to eat a quick protein bar for breakfast instead of the oatmeal I had planned.

Event warm up:

A few arm stretches

What did you eat and drink before your race?

Water and  NUGO Dark Chocolate Protein Bar.  2 Endourolytes

 Swim- describe your swim: 

The swim was in a man-made lake and it was out and back.  I tend to start near the back of the pack to avoid all the feet and elbows to the face.  We were the last wave to start and I could not keep up with the pack.  I started my freestyle and I felt pretty calm and happy, but then my goggles started leaking and I kept having to stop to fix them. Everytime I stopped, I would get further away from the group.  So I started speeding up to catch up.  Then my breathing became heavy.  So I started to breaststroke. Everytime I tried to go back to the freestyle, my plastic eyeballs would fill up with water.  My group pulled farther away and this is when I had a come-to-Jesus moment with myself.  

What am I doing here?  Why am I doing this?  Just when I think I am getting better, here I am last again.  Last out of the water.  And I want to do a Half Ironman?  Shouldn't you at least master a SPRINT TRIATHLON first before you tackle an Half Ironman? 

Seriously, what are you thinking?  

I must be crazy.  Yes, insane.  I wish they gave refunds for those who are not mentally sane. 

Why, oh why, did I sign up again?  It sure looked good on paper.  

That's it.  I am done.  I'm retiring from triathlons forever.

But I blogged to the whole world about it and I hired a coach.

Think they will notice if I just hide and pretend like this Half Ironman idea never happened.   

Sigh. (Shaking head)

Oh Lord, help me.                                                              

What was your swim distance and time:

600 yards; 16:34; placed 23 of 23

 What would you do the same /differently?

Buy new goggles.  Swim more.  Much more.  Work on my drills.

T1: comments: 

Uneventful.  Grass covered feet was icky.  Not fun to put sock and shoes on. 

What was your T1 time?

2:37

What would you do the same or different?

I'm slow.  Need to practice more. I would like to knock my T1 time to under 2 minutes.

Bike:- describe your bike ride:

Bike was 2 loops.  This is typically my strongest event.  Except the second loop was poorly marked and I missed the turnoff and was headed toward the finish.  

Yikes!  I had to U-turn.  

Thankfully I did not kill any one in the process.  

Took a little wind out of my sail as I was making up some time out of being in last place.  

What would you do the same/ different? 

I would study the bike map ahead of time instead of relying on volunteers.  After all, it is my responsibility.  I do not want to sound like I am coming down too hard on the volunteers, as they were only trying to help.  And I am just grateful they are willing to wake up early on a Sunday morning just to make the event happen.                                  

What was your bike distance and time?

37:50.1/11 miles/17.4 mph/placed 14 out of 23

 T2 comments:

Went pretty smoothly.  Garmin was already on, race number did not tear off.  I ate a Hammer Gel on my way out.

What would you do the same/ different?   

Keeping my running gear simple is working.  No changes needed to my T2.                        

What was your T2 time?

1:11.1 (Oooh...love cool numbers!)

Run comments: describe your run-                                                                 

The run was my favorite.  It was in a neighborhood shaded with Pecan tress around mini man-made lakes.  I felt good although it was starting to get quite warm.  I sped up slowly and I finished strong.  I was happy with my 9:53 pace.  I was able to run the entire time except for mini walks the water stations. This was a breakthrough for me since I have taken more walk breaks in the past.

What was the run distance, time?

3 miles/29:53:5/placed 20 out of 23
(Can you tell I was in a competitive group?  Only 3 runners after me had greater than a 10 minute pace-sheesh!)

What would you do different?

Eliminate walk breaks, period.  Not even through water stations.  Every second counts!

Do you think you had any limiters today? (Things that prevented you from doing your best?)

Leaking googles and taking the wrong turn.  Yes, definitely my limiters.

Do you think there was anything that made your day superior?

Supportive friends at the start and finish line.  Loved that!!!

Are you remembering to celebrate YOUR success?! 

Total time: 1:28:06.9

I have recovered from my swimming meltdown.  After analyzing my times, I have come to peace with my slow swim.  Yes, I was a little over dramatic with being the last one out of the water. I need to look at the big picture.  I did not come in last place overall.  I placed 326 out of 389.  It was just a mental obstacle for me to overcome being the last one out of the water due to our age group starting last.  This happens.  Someone has to be last.  I need to build a bridge and get over it. 

No, I am not hiding and I am not quitting on my Half Ironman race.  

Instead, I will focus working on my weak areas.  There is still plenty of time to improve as long as I stick to my training program.  After all, I have to remind myself that this is an initial assessment.

These initial tests have to be taken, but they don't have to be pretty.  It is all part of my "You are here and want to go there" master plan. 

The moment will only be sweeter when I see how far I have come, right?  

Agreed. Pushing on.