Friday, July 30, 2010

Breakaway Bicycle Club 40K TT

Date: July 25, 2010
Location: Kokomo, IN
Event: 40K TT

This was my third bike time trial this summer. Each one has been faster then the first. It rained the night before the race and it was very humid. The race started at 7:00 am and after picking-up Greg in Westfield at 5:30 am, we ended up getting to the race about 6:15 am. Plenty of time to sign-up and get ready. This was Greg's first race so I walked him through the logistics. I was the 2nd rider off the line and even though I still won't let them hold me before the start, I went out strong. My hear rate spiked early but I managed to get it under control about 3 miles in. There was a bit of headwind on the way out and I averaged about 19.5-20 mph on the way out, which is slightly downhill. Heading into Burlington I struggled a bit on the hill and ended up mashing for a short spell. My turn around still sucked! On the way back, something just clicked. I was flying. My whole goal was to come in under 1:12:00. My last race was 1:14:00 and that would be a respectable improvement. I was concentrating on staying in a good aero position and just pushing. The next thing I knew I was about one mile out from the finish. I looked at my computer and it said 1:06:30. I couldn't believe it. I crossed the line at 1:09:43. A 5 minute PR! Average speed 21.4 mph. There is one more race this season and I'm hoping that I can grab one more PR.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Eagle Creek Sprint Triathlon #2

Race: Eagle Creek Sprint
Location: Eagle Creek Reservoir
Distance: 500 meter swim,, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run

This was my ninth triathlon and my sixth time racing Eagle Creek.

Swim - Uneventful - 14:25.6 - Course PR without a wetsuit. The reservoir was 83 degrees. I'm slowly working on reducing my swim times. One of these days I'll get it under 12 minutes. I cand do it in the pool, I just need to translate it to the lake.

T1 - 1:42.8 - T1 PR

Bike - 35.02.9 - 17.1 mph - Course PR - No wrecks today. I was very cautious on the bike. Very, very cautious.

T2 - 1:51 - T2 PR

Run - 30:00.4 - 10:00 - Course PR - The run was tough and hot.

Total Time: 1:23:02 - Course PR by 4 minutes

The race felt good but I would later realize I was seriously under hydrated. I bonked hard on Sunday. It took me almost two full days to get my body chemistry back in check. I didn't realize it until much later that I was probably dehydrated going into the race and it just got worse.

I have one more race at Eagle Creek this year. It will be my third anniversary of my first triathlon - the Go Girl. I'm interested to see how it goes. It will be then end of my local racing season and the last race before Augusta. I'm excited and nervous about Augusta. I have to get my nutrition/hydration under control. I only drank a quarter of a bottle on the bike on Saturday and it was not nearly enough, even if it was only a sprint. More fluids, better race week nutrition, more electrolytes....

Morse Park Sprint Tri

Race: Morse Park Sprint Tri
Date: June 26, 2010
Location: Morse Park - Nobelsville, IN
600 meter swim, 13 bike, 3.2 run

This was a new race for me. I've been training at Morse this year so it made sense to do a race on my "home" turf. I got to the race site INSANELY earl. It usually takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get all the way to Noblesville from Avon. When you leave at 5:30 am on a Saturday - it takes 25 minutes. I got a great parking spot and was the first person in transition. I set my stuff up and then pitched in helping the race coordinators get the rest of the racks set-up and labeled. About an hour before the race I met up with the rest of my training friends and we chatted for a few minutes. Jen and Kristen were only one bike rack away. They told me the race was wetsuit legal so I decided to go back to my car and grab my suit. I wasn't gone more then 5 minutes. I came back to find that someone had moved my bike. I was seriously pissed. There were two people standing at the rack putting a bike in the spot my bike use to hang. I approached them and simply said, "It is not cool to move peoples bikes. Please move remove your bike from my spot." The woman and gentleman stared at me and he stuttered - "we didn't move it...some other guy did." At the same time, there were a couple people standing behind them shaking there heads no. In the end they moved the bike, the entire time insisting that they never touched it. After it was over, the girls and I were chatting and we all thought the couple looked very familiar. After some Internet research after the race, Jen figured out that it was Indy Car driver Alex Tagliano and his wife Bronte. It was her first triathlon. I hope she learned that it is not cool to touch other peoples stuff!

Swim: 600 meters - 16:03
The swim was fine. It felt slow and long but I got out of the water with a clear head and hustled to transition. TJ was our swim starter and Kristen, Jen, and I all started one after the other. My swim was a bit long because my sighting was WAY off. I'm not sure what I was looking at, but it sure as heck wasn't the first buoy!

T1: 2:11.2 - Not bad considering I had to strip my wetsuit!

Bike: 45:52.3 - 18.6 mph - WHAT??? Best Bike EVER! Seriously! I killed this bike course. Considering I wrecked the week before and was still recovering from serious road rash and stitches. I was thrilled. It was flat and fast with just a few rollers.

T2: 1:52.3 - Another good transition!

Run: 27:00 - 9:00 min/mile - AWESOME! So proud of this run!

This was a great race and I will do it again. Probably not next year because of conflicts, but it will be on my list of favorites.

Overall time: 1:33:01 - Placed 8 out of 21 in my age group!