6 days after running a half marathon we went to Cedarville, New Jersey to compete in this triathlon. 0.4 mile swim, 20.5 mile bike, 4 mile run.
3am wake up call, on the road by 3:30am. It was just under a 2 hour drive to Cedarville. This course is advertised as being extremely flat. My kind of race!!!
We got there just before 5:30am and walked to find the packet pick-up tent. I couldn't figure out why I was being eaten alive by gnats? More like a heavy swarm of gnats! They were everywhere. Unless you kept moving they were stuck to you. We couldn't do anything that morning without trying to swat them away. The people that parked next to us went to the nearest store and got bug spray. They were kind enough share with us. Yeah, it made no difference. I was in transition trying to set up and couldn't concentrate. Come to find out later, we were pretty much in swamp land and gnats are common.
Swim: The worst swim I have ever had. Short but terrible. Everyone was talking about the water temperature and how cold it was. That didn't bother me, especially with a wet suit on. Everyone walked on a platform and down a set of stairs to get into the water. I was expecting to get into the water and not be able to touch the bottom. Wrong. My feet hit the bottom and it was complete mush/muck. I did a few warm up strokes to get used to the feel and then lined up next to the buoy. The announcer kept yelling for a group of about 5-10 women to move back behind the yellow buoy, they were attempting to get a head start. By the time the gun went off, they never moved back, so a head start it was. When the gun went off I found myself swimming over top of girls and not being able to see where I was going. The water was pitch black. I spent most of the swim sighting every stroke because you couldn't even see the swimmer's bubbles right in front of you. Imagine swimming with your eyes closed, that's how dark the water was. I also realized that I don't swim well in a wet suit. I felt like I was being choked the entire swim. With all of that said, I didn't come out of the water in a terrible position, however I was held up at the stairs to exit. A few of the men in the waves before me took their time getting out.
Bike: The race director wasn't lying when advertising the race as "flat." There were a few false flats and definitely no declines. I think I enjoy a hilly course better because at least with hills you can somewhat rest your legs on the declines. This course you had to continue to push forward the entire 20.5 miles. I didn't want to push beyond my limits though because I knew I still had a 4 mile run ahead of me. I was happy that I passed the few girls that exited the water before me, but at the same time I was surprised to see how many 40+ women passed me on the bike. I give them much respect, 40+ years old and pounding it out on the bike like that. I can only hope that when I'm 40 I can be as competitive. Something to work for. About 2 miles from T-2 I was trapped between the side of the road and a tractor trailer. I was hoping he would have accelerated a little bit so that I could have drafted off him, but instead, he was going too slow.
Run: Not my best run off the bike but certainly not my worst. It was better than the 4 mile run at South Beach where I was passed 3 times by girls in my age group. This time, I was not passed by anyone in my age group at all. I was passed only once by a 15 year old female who I later found about .3 away from the finish on the side of the road puking. Too many chocolate gels I think.
All in all, good enough for 1st place in my AG. I was about 4 minutes faster than the 2nd and 3rd place females. Once again, an accomplishment.
Next up, Black Bear, Sprint Triathlon, 6/3/12 and I'm coming back for redemption!
I wasn't too sure how this race was going to go being that I just finished my first triathlon of the season. I spent a lot of time after the Miami Marathon training for South Beach, which meant less running miles. After we returned home from South Beach we increased our mileage in the pool, on the bike and running. However with the time that I had left before the half marathon I was only able to get in a 10, 12 and 8 mile distance run. Last year I ran this race and it was my first half marathon ever. I finished in 2:01. This year, after completing 2 half marathons and a full marathon my goal was to finish in under 2 hours.
Matt and I decided that I would benefit by running with one of the pace groups. We couldn't decide if I should run with the 2:00 pacer and then pick up the speed at the end or run with the 1:55 pacer and try to hold on. He told me to go with how I felt.
I ran 3 miles 2 days out of race day and they were the worst 3 miles of my life! I felt terrible! So I went into this half with no expectations.
The race started and I felt great. I found the 1:55 pacer right from the start and ran with him. For those of you who don't know 1:55 is a 8:47 pace. This felt extremely easy and I wasn't expending any energy. This pacer was great too, always cheering and chanting and really motivating the group. I know why marathoners run in groups now. The whole group seemed to swallow me up and pull me along. Almost effortless.
A few days before the race, St. Luke's sent an email stating that the course was changed due to falling rock in the parkway. The change of course meant a decent hill at mile 7 followed by the hills in the parkway.
I stayed right by the 1:55 pacer until the hill at mile 7. I fell off pace slightly but he was still in my sight. On the downhill going into the parkway I was able to catch back up and a stay with the pace group, until the next hill after mile 8. At that point I fell slightly off pace and I wasn't able to catch back up. It came to the point where I decided I had to run my own race and bring it home.
At mile 10 I knew I was still under the 2 hour mark and I didn't feel like I was cracking. I made sure to grab water and gatorade at each water stop and took my gels every 45 minutes.
The last 3.1 miles I gave it everything I had left in the tank. The climb into the stadium was a walk in the park compared to last year. I remember feeling like I was dying going into the stadium and barely being able to make it around the track. This year I dug deep to the finish line.
1:58, 4 minutes faster than last year.
Runner's high for the rest of the day.
I call that an accomplishment.
First TRI of the year. Matt did this race last year and loved it so once I got the TRI fever we agreed that we would go back to South Beach so I could do it this year. I studied the results from last year and realized that I had a very good chance of making the podium based on last year's results. Podium was top 5 at this race. I wasn't sure how I would adjust to the warmer weather being that I trained in the cold up until this race. But I did what I could beforehand to acclimate myself to the weather. We bought a room heater and turned up the heat when we did our indoor trainer rides and during treadmill runs I wore extra clothes in the gym to make it even hotter.
We arrived in Miami the Friday before the race. The evening we took our bikes out on the bike course to test them out and so that I could see what the course was like.
The day before: We took a nice long swim in the ocean around 10am in the morning. What a mistake! The waves were horrendous. I remember thinking, I hope it's not like this tomorrow morning!
Race morning: I have never seen so many triathletes before! What a great atmosphere. This was the biggest race I have been to this far. I set up my transition area, ate breakfast and then we went to the beach and relaxed until the start. Matt started about 30 minutes ahead of me, so while I was waiting I relaxed in the ocean, occassionally swimming to keep lose.
The Swim: .5 mile. I stood in the front line of my wave. The gun went off, I sprinted towards the water. I trampled over quite a few girls. I will never understand why people who struggle in the swim start at the front of the wave? It is an inconvenience to the better swimmers. I spent a good couple of minutes passing the slower swimmers, hitting them, swimming over them, you name it. Eventually I was able to get away and had a great spot. The swim was quick from that point on, I passed a few more girls with my color cap and I passed quite a few swimmers in the waves before more. Up and out of the water and running into transition. It's uphill out of the ocean and I passed another girl in my age group during the run into transition.
The bike: Quickest 19 miles of my life! It went by very quickly. The causeways slowed me down a little bit, but other than that I had a successful ride. Very scenic too. I passed a lot of people, but at the same time I was also passed by 2 girls in my age group. On the bike I thought I was sitting in 3rd place.
The run: 4 miles. The hardest part of a triathlon for me, go figure. I have a very hard time running off the bike. The first 2 miles of this run were good for me, I wasn't passed by anyone in my age group. I always pay attention to who passes me, I'm constantly staring at the age on the back of everyone's legs! At the turn around the heat finally caught up to me. I started to struggle. My pace slowed up and go figure I was passed. With about a mile left in the run I was sitting in 5th place. If only I could have held on a little longer. Passed again just shy of the turn into the finish.
Yes, I missed the podium by :50 seconds. That seems to be how most of my races pan out. Always passed on the run. People probably think, but she runs all the time how can she struggle with this? All I have to say is, try running 3+ miles after biking 20+ miles. It's a feeling you just can't explain.
7th in my age group. 1st race of the season. Biggest race competed in. I wasn't complaining, but I knew when I returned home to PA, I had a lot of work to do.
