A day of racing, a PR and a tiring run

Wow, writing a sprint RR is much harder then a HIM. There's really not much to talk to go into. I mean 1,2,3 and it's over. I never even had a chance to warm up. I'll do my best though - here goes

Canby Gator Grinder Sprint Triathlon - RR

I have the best job in the world, my bosses idea of team building is to do a local sprint triathlon together. This was pretty cool as I would have never done one on my own. I was kind of nervous going into the race, it was my first of the season and it was a first distance and pool swim. The nervousness was much different then what I experienced in the past. I suppose it was the unknown factor of a sprint that did it to me for I was very confident about the whole race, I know my s^&$

Saturday
5:00am - My heat didn't start until 10am, so technically I could have slept in, done some pilates...took it easy. BUT one of my co-workers was starting in the first wave at 7:30am - I wouldn't miss this for the world! I got to the race start a little early and decided to drive the bike course. The first couple miles were pretty flat, then it went into some curvy corners and hills, and rollers to end on a flat. The bike course did not seem that challenging, riding in my car that is.

7:30-9:00am- I spent the next few hours watching my co-workers go off in heats, cheering, screaming and enjoying the race atmosphere. I watched a guy go off from the bike in aerobars pulling his kid in a back carriage, it was seriously badass.

9:00am - Usually pre race I spend about 15 minutes doing run drills and sprints. It helps activate my fast twitch muscles. I tried to do this today and well....fast twitch muscles did not want to activate. I said "GO!" and they said...."Um, nope, don't really want to." Who was I to argue? This was a "fun" race, not even categorized as a C. So I stretched, called it good and fit in to my uni-blue LG PowerShark TriSuit. Since this was a pool swim we got to wear our own swim cap. I was super excited by this as I got to rock my TYR blue goldfish. It has a huge smiley face on the front and a fin on top! Seriously badass! Plus it match my blue tri suit.

9:45am - The heat lines up by the pool. I'm a bit giddy and anxious and decide to jump around and wave to Alana. It's soooo cool when your friends go out of their way to come see your race - even if it is a short one.

9:57am- We have 3 minutes to warm up. WTF?! It take my body a good 20 minutes get going. I jumped into the pool and was the first to start "warming up". I got a quick 100 in. As I finish a woman next to me says "You know you have a fast racesuit on, that means you HAVE to go fast." I think to myself "Oh-S%^$!" There are supposed to be 4 people per lane, but 2 people in my lane decided not to show up, so then there was just dude and I. They allowed us to split the lane. I wasn't sure what to think about this. I kind of wanted to draft. I had put down a 8:00 500 yard time, I had never pulled one of those out. I didn't even know if I was capable of doing so. I was fully intending on race adrenaline and drafting to make it happen.

Swim - We kicked off by 5 sec delays. As soon as I kicked the wall my timing chip strap came off. Stupid velcro. My first thought was "Uh-oh!" But I quickly calmed myself. I had started my watch and as long as I knew my splits that's all that really mattered. I swam fast and hard, thinking about my body position and form on each stroke. I'd approach to the wall and each time tell myself to flip. "Pull, pull, pull! Work it girl!" I hit the wall and jumped out of the pool. I think I may of actually flown out as I don't recall too well. The guy managing the swim had someone get my chip as soon as I had taken off :) So I took the extra second to put it back on. I was the first girl out of the water in in my heat. Finished with a 7:50 :D PR baby.


T1- This went by fast. Glasses, TT Helmet, Shoes and I was off! - 1:05 - fast for me

Bike - Mother of God, I can't breath! I mounted my bike and sat up for a moment trying to catch some air. I quickly reminded myself this was not a long course. I did not have the time to allow my body to acclimate I had to GO-GO-GO and deal with it, so I quickly tucked into aero and decided breathing would wait for another day. The first few miles were flat and fast, I managed to hold an average of 200 watts pushing 20-23 mph. Then came the curves and hills. This was so much harder then driving! My quads started to burn as I attacked. Throughout the hills my wattage dipped and soared and ended up peaking at 421. A girl passed me on one of the curvy descents (my weakness)...I let her go, I knew I'd be seeing her again. I always come back. A guy ended up passing me around mile 8 which was annoying because he didn't stay far ahead and I didn't want to get a drafting penalty. In the end it may have been for the best as it pushed me to keep ahead of him. I finished the bike at 36.59 - 19.5mph avg. I wanted to do at least 20 mph avg, this was a little disappointing but I suppose with the all the hills it made sense. I stayed true to my power range and ended up with a 175 average. 45% was in Z5 (200+) while 20 % Z4(180-200) and the rest was Z3-Z2 (downhill recoveries).

T2- 1:53- almost double T1, It never fails, I took a nap. Lol, in all seriousness it was putting on the stupid socks.

Run- Eh, I don't know what to say about the run. I started out pushing myself, realized I didn't like, found a comfort zone and stayed in it. This was a little disappointing. First time in a race that I have EVER settled for comfort. I'm not sure what it was. I don't know if it was because I had been injured for so long and I was afraid to push. Or that it takes my body too damn long to pick up speed running or possibly and realistically I am NOT a SPRINTER. I am an endurance athlete, I like to go long. Anywho, I found my comfort zone, settled in and enjoyed. I think a mile in I was dehydrated. I had drank 15-20 oz on the bike, but it was warm out and running under the sun w/out shade just made things worse. Plus I didn't take a salt tab. Bad Kat. There was an aid station on the looped course and I decided to douse myself in water, it felt really good. Just after this point I passed the girl who passed me on the descent. I have a habit of yelling out words of encouragement as I pass people. Thankfully my slow run wasn't THAT slow and I was able to do this a lot. I told the girl she was looking good and strong. She laughed and replied "I knew you would get me on the run." Lol, as I thought to myself, I always do. The last 800 meters I experienced a massive side crap. It was not the way I wanted to end the race. I tried to breath through it but it wouldn't go away. I managed to suck it up and sprinted the last 200 meters on the track. Run finished with a slow but study even 24:00 mins - 7:45 pace.

I was greeted by all my co-workers and my good friend Alana at the finish line. We took a few pictures and then enjoyed an oh-so yummy BBQ. Mmmmm, salmon burgers. I am truly blessed to work with such a great group of people.



Race stats
1st AG
2nd overall woman
Finishing time 1:11:50 (my goal was between 1:10-1:15 so I'm happy with this :))
Splits
Swim - 7:50 - 500 yards - PR baby, all that focus swimming while I was injured paid off!
Bike - 36:59 - 12 mile - I wanted a 35, but am happy with what I got. It was an unfamiliar course and I pushed my efforts
Run - 24:00 - 3.1 mile - Shows my lack of training and made me realize why I <3 long course so much!

*************************************************
After the BBQ and awards I drove downtown to get my LSD run in. I was going to hit the trails but since it was so pretty out I wanted to run through the inner city. I also wanted to run the path that had injured/crippled me for so long. I thought that I'd never want to run this run again but today it called me and I destroyed a mental block I had created.
85 min run - LSD pace - 8ish miles
Ugh, fatigue set in. I didn't allow enough time for digestion to finish from the BBQ. The first 30 minutes my tummy cramped. It was odd cramping, all in my obliques. After the cramping went away I felt much better, but it was still warm and as the day turned into afternoon it grew hot. My energy was taped. I think that race kicked my tail.

I ended up finishing my run day at 11 miles. This makes me happy, I think my mileage will be high enough to be able to race Pacific Crest HIM at the end of June and shoot for a PR.

As evening grew I joined some friends for a BBQ, drinks, karaoke, drunken 1am piggy back rides and Voodoo doughnuts. The sugar high from the toxic Red Bull/Vodka and doughnuts made it really hard to sleep.





Sunday - I was lazy and recovered all day :)