Indy Sprint Series Triathlon Race Report

Another triathlon down...many more to go! I got up around 5:00 am to get my race morning routine underway. A little breakfast of English Muffing and raspberry jam, a Diet Coke, and a few glasses of water and I was ready to hit the road. My wonderful Sherpa/husband Jarrett, packed the bike and we headed out the door to Eagle Creek Park. This is the same place I did my very first tri last September. The most notable difference about this morning then most mid-July mornings in the Midwest. It was COLD. The thermometer read 55 F when we left.

We got to the park around 6:30 and I found my bike rack. I had a prime spot very close to the bike start line. I was the first person in my rack to arrive, so I chose the end spot and set out my stuff. We has about an hour to kill, so we went for a brisk walk to stay warm.

The event organizers made a great change this year. The swim start was individual based on ability, instead of a mass wave start. Everyone lined up and started about 2 seconds apart from one another. It made the water a lot safer for everyone. My swim was the highlight of the race. Last year, I couldn't stick my head in the water and basically doggie paddled my way through the event. This year I started out with a strong free-style with no panic. Unfortunately, I CANNOT pace myself. I sprinted out WAY too fast and got extremely winded after the first 200 meters. I flipped over and swam about another 200 meters using a backstroke and finished the last hundred free-style/breaststroke. It was pretty congested at the end of the swim and breaststroke afforded me the best visibility to dodge other peoples body parts. I finished the swim 3 minutes faster then last time.

T1 was pretty uneventful and my time was within seconds of last year.

The bike was slow. It started with me about crashing into a guy having "technical difficulties" getting on his bike at the start line. I missed him, but it threw me off my game. As with last year, there is a craptastic hill at the immediate start of the bike. My biking needs to improve. I haven't ridden nearly as much this year as I would like and I also need to find someplace to go where the traffic is not interfering with my speed. Riding to the pool is a great warm up, however, the conditions are not good for real training. I may end up taking my bike to Lafayette to ride the country roads around Clay Knob. I am very familiar with the area and there is little traffic to contend with, as well as some killer hills to train on!

T2 was faster then last year and went really smooth.

The run was fine. My speed was slower then I normally run a 5K. I did little to no running in the last several weeks, so for a complete lack of training, it was perfectly acceptable.

All in all...I am happy I did the event, especially since I wasn't planning on it. I signed up at the last minute. I really wasn't going to race until the Oly in the middle of August. It was a good warm-up race and it highlighted the areas I need to focus.

As a final note - I did finish the race 1 minute faster then last race!

On to Oly Land!

Good run...great swim!

The race on Saturday was a good one...FINALLY! I finished the Freedom Fest 4.5 miler in an "unofficial" time of 44:13. Why unofficial, you ask? I lost my timing chip. This is the second time this has happened. I lost my chip for the Drumstick Dash at Thanksgiving too. This time, we went back to the car and took a little side trip to find a real potty before the race. At some point I dropped the chip packet between the seats in the car without realizing it. Oops. I found it as soon as we got back in the car to go home. I managed to finish with no blisters and all of my toenails! It's the small things that make you happy :)

I made it to the pool today and had one of my best swims ever. I was consistent, not winded, and comfortable in the water. Progress is being made!

Frosty and I have also seemed to have a breakthrough. I've been struggling this summer with jumping. Notice I say, I...not him. Although he plays a part, it is mostly me. Jarrett came out to the barn with me Friday and coached me over some fences. It went really well. I decided to do a repeat performance for my trainer Christy last night. Frosty was great, I was better then I have been in many months. Everything clicked and I corrected a lot of the stupid mistakes I've been making. In case you ever care to jump on a horse here are some good tips:
1. Do not look down at the jump. The horse looks where you look. He cannot look down at the jump and jump correctly. I promise.
2. Do not get ahead. He makes a mistake = you fall off.
3. Have fun!

Broken :(

Tomorrow is the Carmel Freedom Run. It's a 4.5 miler that I have never done before. Last year, it poured down rain on Jarrett and Cyndi and I have to admit, I was really happy I chose to stay tucked in bed instead of running. Cyndi and I will be running without Jarrett again. He actually DID break his elbow in the bike accident. He has to keep the arm immobilized for another 8-days or so. This will be my first race in my new shoes. Wish me luck! I'm hoping everything goes as planned.

Training was great this week. Bike and run on Monday, riding lesson Tuesday, swim on Wednesday and Thursday, riding lesson with my hubby coaching on Friday. Jarrett actually has a pretty good eye for riding. He use to ride himself and has spent countless hours watching me and my lessons. Frosty was AWESOME this week. We seem to be having a bit of a saddle fit issue and may need to have the saddle fitter out to look at him. A horses body changes with their level of fitness. I'm riding more and he's eating less, so his muscle mass has changed.

With no work today, Jarrett and I went to Lafayette to have lunch with my parents and walk around Purdue. It amazes me how much the campus has changed in the last few years. We stopped at a few of our favorite places while we were in town. Triple XXX, an old drive-in that is a favorite of students was our lunch stop and the Frozen Custard was our dessert stop. Mmmmm....hamburgers and ice cream :)

I'll give you a race update tomorrow!