5430 Sprint
I've heard about and/or watched this race since 2005, so this morning I was excited to finally be a part of it. It was the first time I got the pre-race excitement/slight nervousness for a triathlon
I picked my spot on the starting line with more care than usual, going up toward the front and in the middle. Usually I am off on the right side, 5-6 rows back, silly right? When the horn went off arms and legs and rubbery bodies flailed around me wildly. There was no way I could put my face down and swim! I swam the first 200m or so with my head out of the water, my breathing frantic, and trying to find someone to draft off of. Girls began to fall back and I worked my way up, swimming alone until I caught a draft off a not-too-appreciative-girl after the last buoy. It was the first time I drafted off of someone, and now I definitely see what all the hubbub is about! I stuck with her until about 1/2 way to shore then went for it on my own. The swim flew by so I succumbed to the temptation to look at my watch upon exiting: 11:xx! Woohoo! ...then I managed to get passed by a handful of girls on the run to transition.
After clumsily mounting my bike, I turned onto 51st Street and saw an endless line of racers making their ways to Jay Road. I started passing some, and then more, and was constantly passing people until around mile 5 on Rt 36 when I got passed for the first time. Never before have I passed people on the bike, so it was a really weird, confusing feeling that made me think I was going much faster than I actually was. This false shot of confidence didn't bode well for my overall bike time, but it's a huge improvement over my past races (I think it's the first time I've averaged over 20mph), so I'll take it.
I was ready to tear it up on the run, since lately my runs in training have really been coming around. I couldn't get it moving though, and my turnover was a shuffle. Every time I do a tri I really look forward to the run and think it will finally be something easy and natural for me, but it never is. Running at the end of a tri is completely different than going out and running a stand-alone 5k. Once I am stronger on the bike, I think my run will benefit since I won't be quite as spent. Right now, even though my bike is getting faster it's still a big effort for me that wipes me out.
In the end I finished 2nd in my age group (actually 3rd, but the first 20-24 year old came in 2nd overall, so it bumped me up) and 21st overall. After watching so many of the 5430 post-race award ceremonies over the past few years, I was really pumped to carry home one of Jodee Siff's awesome handmade trophies myself.
I picked my spot on the starting line with more care than usual, going up toward the front and in the middle. Usually I am off on the right side, 5-6 rows back, silly right? When the horn went off arms and legs and rubbery bodies flailed around me wildly. There was no way I could put my face down and swim! I swam the first 200m or so with my head out of the water, my breathing frantic, and trying to find someone to draft off of. Girls began to fall back and I worked my way up, swimming alone until I caught a draft off a not-too-appreciative-girl after the last buoy. It was the first time I drafted off of someone, and now I definitely see what all the hubbub is about! I stuck with her until about 1/2 way to shore then went for it on my own. The swim flew by so I succumbed to the temptation to look at my watch upon exiting: 11:xx! Woohoo! ...then I managed to get passed by a handful of girls on the run to transition.
After clumsily mounting my bike, I turned onto 51st Street and saw an endless line of racers making their ways to Jay Road. I started passing some, and then more, and was constantly passing people until around mile 5 on Rt 36 when I got passed for the first time. Never before have I passed people on the bike, so it was a really weird, confusing feeling that made me think I was going much faster than I actually was. This false shot of confidence didn't bode well for my overall bike time, but it's a huge improvement over my past races (I think it's the first time I've averaged over 20mph), so I'll take it.
I was ready to tear it up on the run, since lately my runs in training have really been coming around. I couldn't get it moving though, and my turnover was a shuffle. Every time I do a tri I really look forward to the run and think it will finally be something easy and natural for me, but it never is. Running at the end of a tri is completely different than going out and running a stand-alone 5k. Once I am stronger on the bike, I think my run will benefit since I won't be quite as spent. Right now, even though my bike is getting faster it's still a big effort for me that wipes me out.
In the end I finished 2nd in my age group (actually 3rd, but the first 20-24 year old came in 2nd overall, so it bumped me up) and 21st overall. After watching so many of the 5430 post-race award ceremonies over the past few years, I was really pumped to carry home one of Jodee Siff's awesome handmade trophies myself.
posted by Amy at
10:05 PM
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