Loveland Lake to Lake
Swim
Started on the front line and went out hard. I was right in the mix of the first pack rounding the first buoy, but then got left in their wake shortly thereafter. I stayed within 20ft for the first 1/3 of the swim, and then got separated once we caught the first wave. Unfortunately couldn't put the drafting practice from Wednesday night to use, but felt I swam pretty solidly. As usual I got passed by 5 or 6 people between the swim exit and T1...how are these people running so fast??
As a sidenote, that lake is a lot nicer than I remember it from watching Jordan do this race in 2006, but there is a ton of lake weed (can't be sea weed so...) in there that would gross me out beyond belief in any non-race situation. I'm getting more used to being landlocked, but give me an ocean any day.
Bike
My legs are knackered and I know it, but I keep telling myself once I get going it'll fade. I go out decently hard trying to get things moving, but I'm getting passed left and right by guys with aero helmets and full disk wheels. Not 800m into the bike some geezer pulls up along side and says, "You're supposed to fall back." I have no idea what the hell he was talking about b/c I was riding in the gutter, up hill, in a 1/4 mile long string of riders staying as far off to the side as possible so people could pass -- there was no way I was drafting. Meanwhile, Geezer is riding along side of me. I pull around him and retort, "Well then, you can fall back." to which Old Geezer replies, "Yea, I will. See you on the run, honey." HONEY?! What the hell is that?! NO ONE calls me honey. So now I am all fired up and probably rode the next several miles a bit harder than I should have. Anger is good in the 800m, but not so much for a 2 and a half hour race. I spent more energy than I should have planning the post race fisticuffs. I guess I have a bit of a temper.
So yea, the bike was a slow going affair that seemed never ending. 30 miles is a very long way. I thought for sure I had a flat again, but nope, just me. Somewhere along Wilson Ave I got passed by Tyler, then Steve, then Sonja. I tried to pick it up, and managed to a bit but the legs didn't want to go.
Run
Went out easy and tried to stay relaxed. I was surprised by how many girls were in sight so I just focused on their backs and caught them one by one, staying nice and patient. I could see Sonja far ahead, cruising along and looking strong. She seemed to be the only person that I wasn't making ground on. I finally caught her with a little more than a mile left and ran the rest of the way knowing she was right behind me and could pounce at any moment. I was working really hard and my breathing was totally out of control, on more than one occasion I thought I might not make it to the finish. When I thought we had 50m to go, we actually had 500m, which is pretty much the equivalent of being punched in the gut. As much as I didn't want to go any further, I was able to pass one more girl so I guess it worked to my advantage. Crossing the line I was totally spent, just absolutely wrecked. The last four weeks have definitely caught up with me.
End result
11th overall, 1st 20-24
Definitely can't be disappointed with that, as it's my best finish in an Olympic distance. More than anything though I'm just glad I didn't through in the towel somewhere out on the bike and dog it the rest of the way -- I didn't feel great, but I still was able to work the run as hard as I could, something I was never able to do for running races on their own when I wasn't feeling it =)
Point of Interest
In the last 8 weeks I've more than tripled the amount of triathlons I've done in my life: from 2 to 7 (plus a Stroke & Stride)! It's safe to say I am hooked. Time for a few easy days...
Started on the front line and went out hard. I was right in the mix of the first pack rounding the first buoy, but then got left in their wake shortly thereafter. I stayed within 20ft for the first 1/3 of the swim, and then got separated once we caught the first wave. Unfortunately couldn't put the drafting practice from Wednesday night to use, but felt I swam pretty solidly. As usual I got passed by 5 or 6 people between the swim exit and T1...how are these people running so fast??
As a sidenote, that lake is a lot nicer than I remember it from watching Jordan do this race in 2006, but there is a ton of lake weed (can't be sea weed so...) in there that would gross me out beyond belief in any non-race situation. I'm getting more used to being landlocked, but give me an ocean any day.
Bike
My legs are knackered and I know it, but I keep telling myself once I get going it'll fade. I go out decently hard trying to get things moving, but I'm getting passed left and right by guys with aero helmets and full disk wheels. Not 800m into the bike some geezer pulls up along side and says, "You're supposed to fall back." I have no idea what the hell he was talking about b/c I was riding in the gutter, up hill, in a 1/4 mile long string of riders staying as far off to the side as possible so people could pass -- there was no way I was drafting. Meanwhile, Geezer is riding along side of me. I pull around him and retort, "Well then, you can fall back." to which Old Geezer replies, "Yea, I will. See you on the run, honey." HONEY?! What the hell is that?! NO ONE calls me honey. So now I am all fired up and probably rode the next several miles a bit harder than I should have. Anger is good in the 800m, but not so much for a 2 and a half hour race. I spent more energy than I should have planning the post race fisticuffs. I guess I have a bit of a temper.
So yea, the bike was a slow going affair that seemed never ending. 30 miles is a very long way. I thought for sure I had a flat again, but nope, just me. Somewhere along Wilson Ave I got passed by Tyler, then Steve, then Sonja. I tried to pick it up, and managed to a bit but the legs didn't want to go.
Run
Went out easy and tried to stay relaxed. I was surprised by how many girls were in sight so I just focused on their backs and caught them one by one, staying nice and patient. I could see Sonja far ahead, cruising along and looking strong. She seemed to be the only person that I wasn't making ground on. I finally caught her with a little more than a mile left and ran the rest of the way knowing she was right behind me and could pounce at any moment. I was working really hard and my breathing was totally out of control, on more than one occasion I thought I might not make it to the finish. When I thought we had 50m to go, we actually had 500m, which is pretty much the equivalent of being punched in the gut. As much as I didn't want to go any further, I was able to pass one more girl so I guess it worked to my advantage. Crossing the line I was totally spent, just absolutely wrecked. The last four weeks have definitely caught up with me.
End result
11th overall, 1st 20-24
Definitely can't be disappointed with that, as it's my best finish in an Olympic distance. More than anything though I'm just glad I didn't through in the towel somewhere out on the bike and dog it the rest of the way -- I didn't feel great, but I still was able to work the run as hard as I could, something I was never able to do for running races on their own when I wasn't feeling it =)
Point of Interest
In the last 8 weeks I've more than tripled the amount of triathlons I've done in my life: from 2 to 7 (plus a Stroke & Stride)! It's safe to say I am hooked. Time for a few easy days...
posted by Amy at
9:20 PM
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