Celebration Sprint Tri Race Report

[divingbiker]

I'm almost embarrassed to post this after reading Susan's HIM race report, but here goes.

I had a good race at the Celebration Triathlon in Ellicott City, Maryland yesterday. The course is a long sprint, the same as the IronGirl: 0.62 mile swim, 17.5 mile bike ride, and 3.4 mile run.

I haven’t really been “training,” just doing a few swims, a few rides on my road bike (along with commuting), and a few runs a week with an occasional 5K thrown in. I’ve really slacked on the running since doing a half marathon in early May.

On top of not really training, I was sick with a bad cold last week, and on Friday night I got stung by a bee on the bottom of my big toe. So I didn’t have high hopes for having an amazing triathlon but I just do these to stay in reasonable shape and have fun, so I'm ok with MOP-BOP finishes.

I got up at 4:15, fed and walked the dogs, put on my Louis Garneau tri shorts and top, and got out the door about 5. I had a cup of coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the way. Traffic wasn’t bad, even at the race site. I had a soy yogurt before I headed over to the transition area shortly before 6, only to find that my front tire was flat! So I took it to a nice young man at the Princeton Sports repair tent and he patched the tube and filled my tires while I stood in line at the porta johns. Then I set up transition, chatted with a few others in my age group (50-54), saw MDHillSlug and chatted with her a bit, and headed over to the swim start, where I again hung out with MDHillSlug.

I am used to the old ladies going first at the IronGirl races, but in this one we were the 9th wave. I hate waiting around.

The water was warm, around 84F, and full of nasty grasses that would wrap around your arms and legs. I started slowly but kept a steady stroke, and ended up passing a few of the others who had gone out too quickly. I also passed a few men from the wave in front of me. That never happens. My time was 32:01, very slow, but I’m now taking swimming lessons to improve my speed. I have a lot of swimming endurance and never really get tired and felt good, but I am verrrry slow. 46/57 AG, 553/696 women

I had a nice shower on the way to T1 from the water hose and took my time to wash my feet and make sure I didn’t forget anything. T1 wasn’t stellar at 4:17. 26/57 AG, 409/696 women

I got on the bike and felt great! I had the best ride of my life on this very hilly course. I was passing people right and left and many fewer passed me. There were several accidents requiring ambulances, so I kept thinking about those riders and was very careful, but I pushed it as fast as I could. I dropped my chain on a hill toward the end, but put it back on quickly and powered up the hill. I drank a bottle of Gatorade in the first 10 miles, then switched to water and had a Gu somewhere in there. I felt awesome, and had an average speed of 15.0 mph for the course, which is the best I’ve ever done on any ride, hilly or flat. It was fantastic. 26/57 AG, 344/696 women

Had another Gu during T2, which again was slow at 2:59. I wasn’t worrying about hurrying through transitions because I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything or run with my helmet or something stupid. 39/57 AG , 517/696 women

By this time it was almost 10 o’clock, and it was around 90 degrees and humid. I had used up my legs on the bike and didn’t have much gas left, so I did a lot of walking. I must have run more than I thought I did, though, because my pace was 12:44. 40/47 AG, 524/696 women

I got a nice cold towel and my medal and headed up the hill for a bottle of water, a bagel with PBJ, and a banana. Then I headed home for a welcome shower (my bra was full of nasty grass from the swim) and a nice lunch at the Indian buffet.

Total time was 2:31:28, 35/57 AG, 454/696 women, 1021/1402 overall. I was shooting for 2:30, so I missed it by just a bit, but it was a PR on this course by 1:05.

I’ve got two months to work on my swimming and running and dropping a few pounds before Iron Girl in August.

[Susan Otcenas]

Congratulations on your event!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful day and paced yourself really well. Great work!!


(And, my goodness, there's no reason to be embarrassed. Each and every one of us gives our very best efforts in these things. Distance is relative. What joins us all together is the comraderie we share in the journey. My youngest sister did her very first ever 5K race on the same day I did my HIM. Her elation at sticking with her training, accomplishing her goal, and having fun shows in the gigantic grin she's wearing in the picture she posted on her FB page. Her 2 beautiful daughters are clustered around her and the pride on their faces as they look at her is obvious. I am incredibly proud of her too, and it makes not one whit of difference that it was 5K and not 50. I think she's awesome regardless. AS ARE YOU!!!)

[colby]

It's all relative - the amount of dedication, training, and focus you have to undergo to finish your first, or 10th, sprint triathlon still counts. It's still a race, you still do something that challenges you, and you still learn along the way.

Congrats!! You did well. 80 degree water with icky grass? I'll pass.

[sfa]

Congratulations!!! I was thinking about you all yesterday out there in the miserable heat. I think finishing with a PR on the course and only a tiny bit over your goal after a week of illness and a bee sting is pretty amazing. Good for you!

Sarah

[Tri Girl]

Excellent! Congrats.

[GLC1968]

Wow - great job!

I agree with the 'ick' factor on grassy warm water. Yuck! You should get a medal just for agreeing to get in it!

[Zen]

it doesn't matter how you did, what matters is that you did.
I'm proud of you.

[kacie tri-ing]

That water sounds.....ewwwww.....but totally impressive at the same time

Great report!!!! Great job!!!

[7rider]

WooHoo!!!
Congratulations, DB!
You successfully did - and did really well at - what millions of people would NEVER dream of doing. (Like I, for one, would never get in that water...blech!)
You.
ROCK!

And congrats to MDHillSlug, too, who also rocked on the bike for a relay team at that race...taking my slot as I ... um...sat on a beach in Honolulu!

[roadie gal]

Congrats! Doing a PR on this course, in the heat, after a cold and a bee sting, is great. You go girl!

[salsabike]

It sounds great, especially given the temperature! Ugh.

And I only compare myself to myself. If I'm getting better than last year, I'm happy! So congratulations, kiddo.

[HillSlugger]

Congratulations! I'm glad I had the chance to hang out with you. I wanted to see you off on your swim but you were in the water before I realized they called your wave.

For comparison, my swimmer took just under 40 minutes. Still, she was elated because she's no longer scared to do OWS; I'm so happy for her.

As Regina said, I took her ride slot and had an amazing ride (I was slated to do the swim). I've done that route something like 20 or more times and I think this one was my best ever. I missed a PB by 13 seconds but it felt so good this time.

Congrats again!

WooHoo!!!
Congratulations, DB!
You successfully did - and did really well at - what millions of people would NEVER dream of doing. (Like I, for one, would never get in that water...blech!)
You.
ROCK!

And congrats to MDHillSlug, too, who also rocked on the bike for a relay team at that race...taking my slot as I ... um...sat on a beach in Honolulu!

[kmehrzad]

Great job, DB. You did really well and completed the event ... YEA!! Go Girl!

[Alex]

FABULOUS report! And what an excellent showing! But, really? Grass in your bra? Ewwwwwwww.

Can't wait to hear about IronGirl!