Triathlon by the Sea Race Recap

The day started off pretty crappy it was raining and hard to get up so early in the morning.  We ended up getting on the road about 15 minutes after we had planned because of some issues fitting both bikes on the car rack.  Once we got on the road DH was pretty crabby, but I tried to keep a positive outlook. We got to the JCC and checked in, got marked, and then went back to the car to get the bikes and set up the transition area.  Thankfully by that time the rain had almost stopped.

Lessons learned from the transition area, one, make sure your bike number is on tight, my flipped over and was scratching my leg as soon as I got on the bike, two, take extra plastic bags to put on the ground under your towel so you have a dry area to place your stuff, my shirt sleeve was soaked. 

After I got everything set up I put my change of clothes in the locker, hit the bathroom, and then they started counting down 10, 9, 8, … and the race started.  I only had to wait about 20 minutes in line before it was my turn to jump in the pool.  The women I was standing next to in line were super nice and we were all encouraging each other. I jumped in and started off breathing every 4 strokes, but quickly switched to breathing every other stroke. The whole swim was over in 5 minutes, but I could tell I was getting a little tired, I ended up catching the person in front of me and we both got out at the same time. 

T1 I ran over to my bike which was at the absolute end of the row and gave DH his race chip (I did the swim for him) got my wedding rings from him and proceeded to get on my shoes, helmet, Camelbak and jersey. I am happy about the length of time I spent in transition, it wasn’t too long.

As I started on the bike it took me a couple minutes to mentally get into the ride and I think this is where the greatest improvement can be made.  I could have pushed myself harder on the ride and today when I look back at the race I regret holding back. The ride consisted of driving out about a mile or so and doing three loops around a residential area.  One portion was up a couple hills and the other half of the ride involved going down some hills. I managed to get a couple sips of water with the Camelbak.

T2 It was hard to run the bike up the hill and into my transition area my legs weren’t working as I would hope. I quickly took off the helmet and gloves, had a few sips of Gatorade and started to run. DH and I came into transition together, but I quickly ran ahead once we got on the road. 

The run was slow to begin my legs felt like I had shin splits and it took almost 2 miles for them to loosen up. Given the fact that this was a 3.5 mile run that was way too long.  I managed a good pace of 8:39 miles, but it felt like I was running baby steps and really slow.  

I finished in 1:19:15, I ended up getting a metal for first place in my age division which I was happy about. For perspective the first place woman did it in just shy of one hour so of course I want to improve.  If I improved my speed on the bike by 2 mph that would mean about 7 minutes shaved off my time and with a slightly faster time on the run (I am capable of an 8 min pace for that distance) it would mean about 1:10 for the sprint and I think that would be very respectable. The youngest person to complete the race yesterday was an 11 year old girl who completed it in 1:21. All in all it was a great race the weather ended up fine for the event and the post race goodies were sweet, I got a new shirt for the gym and learned my lesson about making sure when I go out I give it my all.

New bike

I took Friday off from work so I could hit the bike stores minus the crowds.  Friday morning I ended up at Gear Works and I was asked my budget and quickly shown the Cannondale CAAD 10 and Specialized Dolce they also carry Trek bikes, but did not have the Lexa SLX which is comparable. The store is located on a pretty busy street and they don’t let you ride the bikes, unless you are interested in a cheap one. After talking to people about bike shopping their advice was to ride as many bikes as possible, needless to say I was very upset when I got to the first store and they were well reviewed online, yet I couldn’t even take it for a spin. After two hours there trying to get a feel for the bikes on the trainer I had too much info to process so I went to lunch. At lunch I called a couple other bike shops and it seems you are basically suppose to know what brand you want before you even get there.  One store carried Giant bikes, but only special order so I would have to know I wanted it without seeing or riding it. I ended up driving to New Hampshire and going to EMS because they carried different brands then the local bike shops do.  I tried a Felt and a Jamis, and this time I got to ride it around the lot and behind the building.  They did adjustments to the bike as I was riding it and checked it out for sizing.  In the end it was a choice between a CAAD 10 or the Felt ZW75 and I ended up going with the Felt. It also helped that it was $300 cheaper than the CAAD and the fact that I can have it serviced at the EMS close to home. Here is a photo:

Our first anniversary

Saturday was rainy so I was delaying on getting my exercise in, but I ended up going to the gym and running 5 miles and swimming 1600 yards.  Sunday was gorgeous out and DH and I went for a 25 mile bike ride with a couple that we met at swim lessons.  We ended up going to the end of the bike path and then riding around Concord past some cows and up and down some big hills.  I was definitely struggling on the hills, both going up, and being confident going fast down the hills.  I had a great time on our ride and then we went out for drinks and brunch so by the time we got back from hanging out with them it was about 4:30pm I was so exhausted, but we went out to dinner because it was our 1^st wedding anniversary.  Needless to say I fell asleep on the couch around 9:30pm.

Marathon Monday

I have 4 months left before my race and I am at a point where I need to be more serious about my commitment to achieving my goal.  I struggle to get in the workouts that I know I should be doing, for example this weekend I ended up doing a bunch of work on the house, but didn’t mentally prepare myself for the fact that I also needed to get in the workouts and I didn’t do my long-swim and long-bike ride.  Preparing for the race is such a long-term goal and now it is getting down to crunch time.  I think it would help to break down the goal to monthly, weekly and daily goals so I don’t push off my long-rides/long-runs.  This weekend I am committing to a 25 mile bike and swim a 1600.

Last weekend I had a good run because I did the Groton Road Race.  I walked/jogged the 5k with my mother-in-law and ran the 10k in 55 minutes. Today is the Boston Marathon so I’m inspired to run 10 miles, 4.5 miles at lunch and 5.5 miles home.

Training

I’m still working out the kinks in my training plan.  Yesterday I went for a run with Rudy before work, but I didn’t stick to the plan and go swimming at night.  Today I did a spin class and felt some improvement in my ability to push on the “hills”.  The intensity of the class is a lot higher then I should be doing for base training, but my fitness level is improving and I’m getting a feel for a high cadence so I'm not worried. 

This weekend I’m going home for my mom’s birthday so I need to work up the motivation to do an 8 mile run Saturday morning and get a swim in on Sunday.  I was also thinking it would be good to do the P90x plyometrics workout on Sunday so I can get a little cross training in, or if the weather is nice maybe I will take out my bike and go for a ride.  We still have a few snow banks in the shade so I won’t ride my bike to work and it’s too cold. I’m holding out for perfect conditions and mid 50s.

Naps

This weekend I went out on a short run with DH and our dog, it was DH’s and the dog’s first run of the year. DH is going to be following the Triathlon Training in 4 hours a week plan for 8 weeks so he can get ready for the sprint. I was surprised how out of shape the dog is, I like to take him for runs with me but now that I am already up to 7 miles I feel bad taking him that far.  After our run I went for a 1400 yard swim.  When I got home I took a nap.  Sunday I managed the motivation to go for a 7 mile run around the lake, it is a really nice run with hills and good vistas.  I had a late night on Saturday and combined with the run I ended up taking a 2 hour nap. I have a feeling naps are going to become more of a habit. 

Bikes and Book

I worked from home yesterday so I was able to get a morning workout in before the day officially started.  I did five miles on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the elliptical with a little mix of weights. Today I did a spin class and picked up the Triathlete’s Training Bible at Borders, thanks to a 40% off coupon it was only $15.  I plan to make some time to read the sections on planning your workout this weekend.  I’m worried after looking at a 20 week plan on Beginner Triathlete that I don’t have enough detail in my plan and it is too “easy”.  Yesterday I also signed up for a free seminar from Endurance Nation on training for a half ironman that I hope will help. 

I got an email from my cousin that I couldn’t borrow her road bike because she is also doing a triathlon and will be riding her bike to school (she is a P.E. teacher) so I need to figure out how I am going to get some road bike experience before I make my big purchase. I think the best plan is to rent a bike from the store that does the 50 mile rides in town and get comfortable on that.  While looking at bikes I realized the bike the guy was showing me at the store was the unisex CAAD 10 and not the women’s version.  Right now I’d rather a women’s bike that is designed for my small hands and large derrière.  There was a good string of forum posts on Team Estrogen comparing Orbea, Cannondale, and Felt which are the companies that the two bike stores I’ve looked actually carry. 

Sneakers and Bike

Somewhere in Massachusetts is a lonely pair of sneakers.  A couple weeks ago I lost my best pair of sneakers so I had to replace them.  I was fitted at a running store about 5 years ago for a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS and ever since then that is all I buy.  They are fantastic sneakers that have moderate stability support and I’ve never had a complaint about any version I’ve bought. There are typically good deals on Sierra Trading Post or REI, but this year I ended up getting them right from the Brooks website, they had last year’s model at 33% off.  I have issues with buying anything at full price.

Yesterday I managed to do my long-run, I ended up doing it on the treadmill because it was snowing out. I split the run up and did 3 miles and then got off and lifted for 10 minutes and then did 3 more miles. My ipod battery was dead so I ended up listening to Sunday Morning on CBS and then My Super Sweet 16 Bash on MTV. I’m finding having my training schedule planned out and on paper a good motivator. I was a little under the weather on Saturday after festivities on Friday night, so I didn’t get any exercise and I felt pretty guilty.  

After my run on Sunday I took a nap, and then DH and I went to Quad Cycles; they have a lot of nice new bikes that range from $700 - $10,000.  Of course I would love to have a shiny new bike but, I’m not ready to fork over the money until I actually know what I want.  It is really intimidating for a beginner. They have all these bikes and I can’t tell the difference between them, and without knowing how often I am going to ride after I finish this race I’m not sure what a good price point would be. When the guy was showing me this Cannondale I had to ask him how you shift it because I’ve never even ridden a road bike, let alone understand the difference between the different Shimano drivetrains. The store has rides on the weekend every Saturday and Sunday so if I join those I’m sure the fellow riders will have some suggestions on bikes and prices.  Cycling seems to have a lot higher start-up costs then I was expecting.  Running I need a pair of sneakers, for cycling in order to fit in I feel like you need the clothes, which are weird (bright, graphic, tight) and expensive, then you need an expensive bike, a bike computer, tiny shoes, GPS, heart monitor, bike rack, helmet, etc. 

I wrote out a list of the gear I want to get this year and I plan to surf the internet and clearance racks in order to get it cheap.

• Bike
• Neon full zip bike jersey
• Bike shorts
• Commuter bike basket
• Reflective stuff
• Water bottle
• Running shirts
• Horn for commuter bike

Happy shopping!

Other races for the year

I signed up for a sprint in May it is the same sprint I did 5 years ago, which was my first and only triathlon I’ve ever done.  As a result of a certain amount of arm twisting DH has agreed to do the sprint with me.  It will be his first triathlon.  He typically avoids exercise and I don’t think he likes running, biking or swimming so needless to say I am very proud of him for giving it a try.  I suggested he read the book that got me ready for my triathlon 5 years ago, Eric X’s book Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week.  The sprint we doing is a 250 yard pool swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3.5 mile run.  When I think back to the race 5 years ago I totally screwed it up. You had to jump in the water and swim 25 yards then swim under the lap lane, and then go up and down the lanes always swimming under the lap lane when you reach the far end of the pool.  Somehow even after standing in line for over an hour watching people swim I failed to notice what was going on and didn’t swim under the lap lane for one of my laps and ended up going the wrong way.  I added an extra lap and added about 1 minute to my swim.  The race was good I remember thinking, “wow that didn’t take long” for all the training I put in the actual race went by really quick.  Even though I did a triathlon I certainly didn’t feel comfortable saying “I am a triathlete” I’ve done a bunch of road races and I would never tell someone “I’m a runner”, I think after I do the HIM I’ll feel more legitimate when I list “triathlon” on my resume under my interests.

In terms of other races, I found a local Olympic distance triathlon.  The hope is that I will get a chance to do my first open water race start and another chance to practice my transitions in preparation for the big race. I’m also thinking about doing a half-marathon in June.

Rough training schedule

Here is the schedule that I have put together for the next 6 months. It isn't perfect, but it gives me a rough idea of the time and distance I need to be putting in. I made it in excel and posted it on my cube at work so I'll be looking at it everyday.

 

Today I did a spin class with a different instructor then I usually have, he had a good playlist and the class really had me working up a sweat. Tomorrow is swim day, which I've found to be the hardest sport to get motivated for especially in the winter. Last week we had one day where it got up to 60 degrees so I took advantage of it and ran home from work, 6 miles.  It felt great to be outside in a tee shirt and shorts, I really can't wait for spring and warmer weather.