Race Report: Barb's Race Half IM, Santa Rosa CA
Hooray! My first longer-than-sprint triathlon is complete!
I did the Barb's Race, an all-women's half IM (1.2 mile swim,56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) at Santa Rosa, CA (www.vineman.com).
I was incredibly nervous, but it was a great experience. My overall time was 6:03, with 48 min swim, 3:02 bike, and 2:03 run. Transition times were WAY too long though!
The swim was in a river, my first time with open-water swimming. I am really bad at sighting, and think I swam about .3 miles extra just zig-zagging!
I was so relieved to get that over with!
The bike was awesome; felt so strong; and no women passed me! A few guys doing relays did, but they did not count (HAHA!)
The course was pretty hilly, which was OK. I found that on the descents, I could really make up time by doing the " TdF tuck" with chin down on the bar and butt up and back. Also, I found that by pushing through turns and accelerating out of corners I easily made time on other people. Good bike handling skills will pay off for you in a long-course tri.
Biking is my main sport and I really wanted to jam on my time, so I did not stop to pee at all, which was OK but I was DYING by the time I hit T2. I did not even feel any leg pain because all I could feel was my totally swollen stomach and bladder as I hobbled to the porta pottie!
Lesson learned here: I drank too much water too fast on the bike, and the weather was not hot so I was not sweating. I train in Arizona, where I have to drink like a camel. So, next time I have to make sure my hydration / nutrition plan fits the race course and weather!
On to the run...more hills! I had not really trained on lots of hills for running (just riding) so that was a shock to the system. I was so glad I was doing the half IM distance! My best friend was doing the full Vinemen (IM distance) and I was hurting for him!
The run was hard for me to maintain a "competitive instict"...I just wanted to be done but at 6 miles to go tried to pick up the pace. I averaged a little slower than 9 min pace. However, I had no idea how fast / slow I was running during the race and that was tough. I just bought a Garmin 301 (with speed /distance) so I plan to use that for the run in my next long triathlon to help my pacing.
The finish felt so good; they had the full Ironman -type set up with a chute and huge clock and I felt such an adrenaline rush in the last half-mile; I think I sprinted! I collapsed in the grass afterwards and cried a little bit in relief.
I highly recommed this race for a first half IM ladies! It is great to race with all women and not deal with guys in the transition area (sorry that sounds bad) and the atmosphere is really friendly and supportive. The weather is great; a.m. temps around 60 to 70 then 80 in the afternoon.
Laura
