Sprint race report

[Tri Girl]

I did another sprint this weekend- couldn't resist trying a pool swim and a super flat course. The best news: I finally broke the 1:30 barrier (1:28:35). Almost killed me, but I did it.
The swim was a 500m snake swim in a 50m pool (my legs were looking for the wall to push off of halfway down every lap). I was soooo nervous about doing a pool swim. Give me open water any day, where I'm free to move about and swim willy-nilly; but a pool swim scared me. Luckily the lanes were HUGE (double wide). Passing was not a problem, but I can see how in a regular pool lane that might be a tad impossible (look out head on collision ). I've figured out that I need to underestimate my time because I think other people do the same. I passed about 10 people on a short 500m swim- seems like a lot. I was dead-on guessing my time, but I suppose I'll shave a min or two off that for the next swim. Being stuck in a line of 5 swimmers that I had to pass all at once was NOT fun.
Out of the pool we had a long and gravely 200 yd run to T1 (I tried to get them to include that in the run portion, but they politely declined ). Transtion was loooong and narrow, so running in and out took a while. Made for long transition times.
The bike ride was a bit traffic-heavy, but the police at the intersections were VERY helpful and things went smoothly. 12.5 flat miles. Started to rain on the bike, and the cool water felt soooo good. I almost got taken out by a lawn-mowing crew as they pulled out directly in front of me as I'm going 20 mph. Wet roads don't make for quick stops... but then again it's not a real ride if you don't "almost" get taken out at least once. Avg. 16 mph. Not bad, but I know I can drop some serious time on the bike. I just have to learn how to get more power so I can have more speed...
T2 was another long run to re-rack then a short jaunt to hit the course. 2 loop 5K. First loop was uneventful. Rain got harder and it felt wonderful as it cooled me off. On lap 2 I got passed by a 79 year old man in a speedo. Getting passed by someone who is 45 years older than you who's not even breathing hard- kinda takes the wind out of your sails. Made fun chasing him the rest of the lap, tho (but I didn't look too close as his speedo gave me the heebie jeebies a little).
Good race overall. A sprint is a whole other animal from longer distances. I've said before that I'll take an oly or a HIM over a sprint any day. At least with the longer distances I can get in a rhythm and settle down. In a sprint I'm, well... sprinting (duh)- the whole way and that's soooo hard on me. I'm not speedy by nature. Glad I got a new kind of race under my belt, tho. I got 3rd in my AG (out of 10 this time instead of out of 3). Everytime I place in my AG it's a race that only recognizes the first 1 or 2 places. Dad-nabit. One day I'll actually win something...
Now I just have to figure out my next race...


So how did our other racers do this weekend??????

[teigyr]

Congrats

I'd say that speedo sighting would be excellent incentive to try to pass

Not that I know all that much (yet) because my first sprint tri is in Sept but I think your time sounds awesome and is all the more impressive because of the increased transition times. You must be so proud!

[eclectic]

Thanks for the great report! ! ! AND awesome time - I am just hoping to be done in less than 2 hours!

Somebody should tell that poor old gentleman that speedos went the way of the '70's :P

My race isn't until tomorrow - It is now starting to feel a little surreal. Will report in when I get back

[KSH]

Hey, congratulations... 3rd in your AG out of 10... is impressive!

HA-HA about the 79 year old man smoking you. I always get smoked by a senior citizen or kid on a course myself.

Sounds like a fun and solid race. I have a sprint tomorrow... we will see how it goes.

I can't wait to do a longer distance though... I suspect I am like you... I HATE to sprint. I like to get warmed up and then settle into a cruising speed. For example, when I swim it takes me a good 500-800 yards to warm up. Pretty much the exact distance of the swim in a sprint. Sigh.

[Tri Girl]

Eclectic and KSH- good luck tomorrow!!! I'll be thinking of you both all morning. Make sure to post reports when you finish- ok? I can't wait to hear how your races went!!!!

[btchance]

That is an awesome time TriGirl - you'd kick my butt for sure. Completely understand about being passed by senior citizens and little kids - they just seem to come flying by me. I bet you were glad for the rain - it definately gets hot there in OK.

eclectic and KSH - good luck tomorrow, and let us know how it goes.

[alpinerabbit]

Now I am scared.

Of your killer times, of 79 year olds running me over on the bike, and of everything else that's in store for me 2 weeks from now.

[Tri Girl]

Alpine- there's nothing to be scared of. The senior citizens and young whipper snappers passing me on the bike and run are something I'm used to by now. I justify it by saying the seniors are more experienced and have been doing it a long time. The young kids I justify by saying they're young and have boundless energy. I can justify anything...

Most of all- I compete to compete with myself. I know it's about me and the clock. My first few tris when I'd get passed by tons of people on the bike really bothered me. Now I don't even think about it. It's just me and the race. Same thing will go for you next week. It's just you and the race. It's you doing the best you can on that given day. For the female winner of the race yesterday- her best was 1:05 . For the last place woman- her best was 1:55. It's all about what you can do. We're out there doing it- that's the best part!!!

Which race are you doing again Alpine??? Are you ready??? What will be your favorite of the three parts to do??

[Running Mommy]

GREAT JOB!!!
And yeah, I know all about getting run down by the older folks! At NYCM one year a guy with one leg and on crutches smoked me. I call it "character building"..

Again GREAT JOB!!!
So when is the next race??

[alpinerabbit]

Most of all- I compete to compete with myself. I know it's about me and the clock. My first few tris when I'd get passed by tons of people on the bike really bothered me. Now I don't even think about it. It's just me and the race. Same thing will go for you next week. It's just you and the race. It's you doing the best you can on that given day. For the female winner of the race yesterday- her best was 1:05 . For the last place woman- her best was 1:55. It's all about what you can do. We're out there doing it- that's the best part!!!

Which race are you doing again Alpine??? Are you ready??? What will be your favorite of the three parts to do??

Yeah I am ready. I think I am.

I am doing the Zurich triathlon, short (= sprint) distance.
Swim - I have worked hard on my stroke and every time I learned some efficiency-boosting improvement, I could not hold up for more than a 50 m lane at a time and had to work myself up to 500 again... I was up to 500 again on Sunday but it was pretty tiring. However we did 300m in something over 6 min for the practice tri in Spain (that was in a 25 m pool). I don't know how to extrapolate to an OW swim time. I need to be sub 15 min to not be last if I compare to last year's rankings.
Bike - I estimate holding a 27-28 kph average will not kill me for the run. Aiming for 30 would. So 44 minutes for the 20K bike. The course is dead flat.
Run - I can do 10 K in one hour so 5K in 30 min should be feasible - correct me if I am cheating myself here?!? That course is dead flat too.
At or Sub30 is necessary if I don’t want to be last.

Yeah I am competing against myself, true, but I also have set my mind to fight against the red lantern – within my age group that will be a challenge.

I guess my favorite is the bike as it is my “original” discipline (considering I only started 2 years ago that’s quite the joke too). But I am also hoping to get an adrenaline kick when I cross the finish line (my hair stood on end when I finished that practice tri, and also last December on “my first run”) – so I’m hoping that I will enjoy the run as well.

...
I got passed biking up the Stelvio last year by an old guy with no calf muscles - we reckon it was polio or something. If a hand biker had come up right behind and passed me I would not have been surprised but I'd have about started to cry
AND there was a woman running the thing.

[beetle]

TG - WELL DONE! Great time and place. I know what you mean about distance V's sprint. No matter what I try I can't go fast but I can usually chug along for a while!

[HeatherErin]

Congrats on surviving the Speedo sighting... And big congrats on the finish! Well done!!!

[HappyAnika]

Congrats on a solid race! 3/10 in AG is great! Its funny to hear you say you were nervous about a pool swim, since I chose my tri in July because it has a pool swim. But if you're used to OW I guess it would be strange to go back to the pool. Congrats to on breaking the 1:30 mark!