2010 Mid-Summer Sprint Tri (at Blue Lake)
So...my third official triathlon was on Sunday (second OWS). This one was a bit unusual. There were only 50 women competing since the 'All-Womens' version was the day before and also offered a sprint distance at the same location. I opted to do the 'Mid-Summer' version on Sunday since my friends were all racing on Sunday as well (to do the OLY). As it turns out, this was a good thing for me since the bike leg was extended for this race. This race is part of Amica's National Sprint Series and their races are all 19.7 distance. To meet that (since they were founded in 1907), they extend the bike leg to 16.1. So it was a half mile swim, a 16.1 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run.
This was my second sprint at this same location, as well. I did the Blue Lake tri in early June - same course. Almost the same conditions, too. Weather was perfect for me - temps at 60F at the start and no sun until half-way through the run when it got closer to 70F. Almost identical to the race in June!
Swim: Wow, what a difference a couple of months make! I've spent the last 2 months swiming at least once a week at a local lake and it made a huge difference. The course was identical to last time, so I knew what to expect. It took me up until the first bouy to warm up my CV system. From there, I told myself to just take it easy, so I swam the distance between the first bouy and the last one at an easy pace without really using my legs at all. No problems. Then when I rounded the last bouy, I allowed myself to turn it on. I pulled hard and actually kicked some. Fun! Unfortunately, I came at the final arch a little too far to the left and got really caught up in some weeds! Luckily, that doesn't bother me, but it sure cost me some stupid time. I ended up doing the 880m in 19:53 (3 minutes faster than in June!). I'm pretty sure that I can do better and I will as I learn how to better pace myself.
T1: Went well, actually. My spot was really close to the swim entrance into transition so that suited me well as there was no confusion at all. Wetsuit slipped right off (weight loss helps!) and shoes & helmet went on smoothly. I had LONG run with the bike both heading out to the bike and again for T2 heading back in which kind of sucks since I wear road shoes...but whatever.
3:54
Bike: Rocked it. I knew my avg speed from in June, and my goal was to beat it even with a longer course. Straight and flat, it was well suited to either aerobars or a TT bike...neither of which I had. I also know that my run is so bad that there is no point in 'saving' anything for it, so I didn't. I passed all but 2 of the women in my AG and countless others. I was in the last wave for the sprint, so there were TONS of people ahead of me. I seriously don't think I got to ride to the right for more than a couple of seconds at a time the entire ride. This kind of sucked for about 1/2 the course too because the road was much rougher in the middle of the lane where I was doing the passing than it was in the bike lane, but I managed.
Finished in 51:10 (16.1 miles) for a average pace of 18.9. Last time, I averaged 18.6.
T2: again, long run with the bike. Transition into running mode was quick though... 2:22
Run: Ugh. I went out pretty fast because I'd passed what I thought were all the women from my AG on the bike. I figured that if I could hold at least a couple of them off, I'd be thrilled. I saw two pass me and thought "hey, I could still podium"...but then the third passed me. Then I saw a woman running the other direction who was also in my AG that I never saw on the bike. Based on the results, there was one other woman whom I must not have seen on the bike, either. Anyway, after I knew a podium spot was a pipe-dream, I backed off a bit. I tried to keep a steady pace and I never really felt spent or like I wanted to walk. I guess that meant I could have pushed harder, but whatever. I finished strong. 34:28 (0:30 faster than in June).
Overall I was 7th in my AG (of 12) and 7th Masters (obviously I had a tough AG!). 25/50 of the women.
I'm pleased that I improved in all three disciplines. I've been thinking about the results a lot lately. I honestly don't think that I can get any faster on the bike by improving ME for this course in particular. Improvements would be so small for the effort that I'd haved to put in that it doesn't make sense (totally not the case for a different course). I do think that aerobars or a TT bike would make a huge difference here so hopefully I can do something about this for next year. I do think that I can improve my swim time even at my current skill/fitness level. I didn't push all that hard. I expect that this improvement will come with experience and with continued swim practice (which I really enjoy doing, so I'm not worried). Clearly, the run needs the most work. And unfortunately, it's my least favorite discipline in which to train, too. I've come a VERY long way since this time last year when I couldn't run at all, but I know that I'm capable of quite a bit more...particularly at this distance. I'm not built for the long haul, but I am built for speed. I just need to find it. I've got a few run-focused training plans that I'm sorting through for the winter off season.
All in all, I'm happy with my results. I have one more official tri that I'm planning on doing at the beginning of September. I'm familiar with the location, so I think it'll be a good one for me. It'll be a nice way to end my first season of triathlon, I think. :)
