Slow and Steady

Monday, July 11, 2011

Monday Motivation: Race Report

Every success is built on the ability 
to do better than good enough.
~unknown
Me and my training buddy KA, she also PR'd, by 17 min!!!

Sorry I didn't get around to this Saturday or yesterday..busy, busy! Saturday was my sprint TRI and things went well. I'll save you the full read and tell you it was a PR, whoot! Short version (for me):

TRI for FUN Triathlon Distance: Swim .5 miles – Bike 16 miles – Run 3 miles
Official time: 1:51:32
Place: 5th of 12 in the Athena Division

Friday: Pre-Race:
Pretzel Goldfish crackers after a 9.5 hour day at work and a mint chocolate chip milk shake-probably not the best idea.

Saturday:
Woke up late, digestive issues from the previous night's "meal", ate half a banana, drank about 6 oz of coconut water and miraculously was still on time for the race and scored a sweet parking space.

Swim: I couldn't swim straight for the life of me so I had to breast stroke, a lot. Apparently it worked because it was my fastest swim to date 16:50
T1: more than 2 min
Bike: Also went well for still not knowing how to shift, fastest time yet, 1hr
T2: Another 2 min plus
Run: Had a lot left going into the run, slight right quad cramp, but it shook loose. Mantra on the run, "Uncomfortable is ok," this was my attempt and trying to push myself. I probably should have pushed harder because I felt too good after.

Lessons learned:
  • Don't try new watch techniques in a race. I fumbled with my Garmin at T1 and T2 and let it delay me significantly.
  • I need to learn how to shift on my bike. I am terrible at it. Oh and I should ride more. I have only really ridden 1x in the last couple months.
  • I need clip-ins and a tune up...... so I dropped off my bike after the race and will be able to pick it up tomorrow.
I am totally bummed I missed P from Adventures of An Average Athlete, she totally rocked her Duathlon at the same venue, check out her race report!

Why I Kick A$$: First TRI of the year with weak training at best and I PR.
Thankful Three
  1. For down time this weekend totally went shopping and bought new work clothes, a gift for a friend, a gift for a aunt and got a pedicure!
  2. For a great run tonight, the weather was perfect!
  3. For my Sprint Tri Tech T, super comfy and I love the bright Red color

5 comments:

Amanda@runninghood said...

I was so supposed to try my first Tri this summer but then I did that second marathon and now I have not exercised once in over a week. Blah. You sound like you are doing great girl! Inspiring me to get clips or whatever you call them on my bike so I can look like a cool kid instead of have those pedals. You kick ass!

Anonymous said...

Awesome on your first tri of the year and the PR. I'm horrible at swimming straight too. Actually, I'm horrible at swimming period

Christi said...

Congratulations on your PR! That is very exciting.

Tortuga_Runner said...

@Amanda, summer has just started, find a TRI an go for it!

@Michelle positive self talk girl, you rock everything you do, jump in the pool consistently and you'll rock that too!

Kris said...

Awesome job at your race! You won't believe how much easier riding will be with clipless pedals and shoes. Just remember to kick out early when you first start, I learned the hard way and fell over at a light. Not painful, just embarrassing!