Woman of Steel Race Report

What was supposed to be my first triathlon of the year (and third triathlon ever) turned into my first ever duathlon. It rained all night and there was snow in the upper elevations. This morning, we faced temps in the low 40s and more rain. Rather than have hundreds of hypothermic women, the race directors opted for a duathlon instead of a triathlon. We ran a mile instead of swimming 300m in an outdoor pool. Then we did the regular 12.4 mile bike and the 5K run.

Running is my least favorite thing, so doing it twice was not ideal, but it really was cold and windy and I think they made the right decision. I've been focusing on my swimming, and I haven't even run 4 miles in one day at all this year, so I was sort of wondering how that was going to work out for me! It actually turned out pretty well, but I do need to run more if I want to be faster.

The rain stopped by race time, which was perfect. The first mile went quickly and T1 was fairly speedy as I wore the same rain jacket and gore-tex pants for the run as for the bike. I love these pants!

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodGB_TALPLW.html

The bike is my favorite part and I had on my super sticky Michelin rain tires and was happy to have them. The running waves had gone off about every 30 seconds, and I was in the second to last group, which meant there were a LOT of bikes on the road, particularly during the first lap. I felt a slight cramp in my left calf near the end of the second lap and was concerned about what would happen on the run.

T2 was quick, and I headed out to run -- AGAIN. :rolleyes: I took it easy to make sure my calf was okay, and then just tried to grind out the miles. I passed some folks, and got passed by many others. There was a nice downhill stretch to the finish and then I was done. DH was cheering and taking photos, which was nice. With the weather being so bad, I had told him that he certainly didn't need to come, but he wanted to and I'm glad he did. He took a nice pic at the finish.

I have some more races on the calendar and the next one has an OWS. With the cold and wet spring we have been having, I haven't been in OW since last fall. There is an OWS clinic this week and I hope to participate so I will at least have been in my wetsuit before race day.

Nice job! I imagine you were up all night listening to that rain and dreading going out in the am. I was at Wasatch Running this afternoon and heard some gals there talking about it--seemed like the I heard the word "cold" a lot!

What are you doing next?

BRR!!! Way to go, though. Smart racing. :D

Great job! Sorry you missed the swim, though, but at least you didn't have to be a human ice cube...

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Originally Posted by yellow

I imagine you were up all night listening to that rain and dreading going out in the am.

What are you doing next?

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Before I went to bed, it really was coming down hard and I thought, "Wow. That sounds COLD!"

I was reinforced for my usual over packing. I had my transition bag full of different stuff and then had my bike cube in the car with a bunch more stuff. When they changed it to a du, I had lots of clothing choices available to me, and I was very happy to have brought my full-fingered gloves. I wore them on the first run, and on the bike, but took them off somewhere around mile 1 of the 5K.

Next up is Daybreak. I hear the water is c-c-c-cold.

When we were driving to the race yesterday, DH said, as the rain was coming down and the win was jostling the car, "I wouldn't race in this!" I said, "Yeah. You would." He thought for a minute, glanced at the snow capped mountains, and replied, "You're right. I would."

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Originally Posted by colby

Smart racing. :D

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Thanks, Colby! I was especially glad that I changed my laces for Yanks the night before. I figured it would be too hard to lace up my shoes with cold fingers. Unfortunately, the Yanks were a bit too tight and I had to loosen them somewhere around mile 2 when my feet started to fall asleep. :eek:

I know, I know. Nothing new on race day..... :p

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Originally Posted by mickchick

at least you didn't have to be a human ice cube...

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That was the part I was most concerned about. With two swimmers going in at opposite ends of the pool every 12 seconds and the self seeding, I was looking at a 45 to 60-minute wait poolside. That would have been quite unpleasant!

Got in a nice swim at the health club this morning, followed by the hot tub. Mmmmm. Much better!

Congrats! Sounds like a pool swim would have been disastrous! Glad you did well!! :)

Nice job!

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Originally Posted by Alex

Thanks, Colby! I was especially glad that I changed my laces for Yanks the night before. I figured it would be too hard to lace up my shoes with cold fingers. Unfortunately, the Yanks were a bit too tight and I had to loosen them somewhere around mile 2 when my feet started to fall asleep. :eek:

I know, I know. Nothing new on race day..... :p

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I had the same experience with my Yankz... I laced them perfectly, then had to go back through and figure out the right place to let some of the knots through. It took me a couple times to get it right, so at least you've got a good start. ;)