5.31.2011

Tri for Joe Race Report...and an announcement!

Before anything else, I have to say, "WHAT AN AWESOME WEEKEND." All of it. I have missed sun and racing and sitting outside and cold beers in koozies while you sweat your ass off. I have missed it all SO much, and this weekend delivered ALL of it. Just absolutely wonderful and awesome - I hope your weekend was just as great. Anyway - the race report!

TRI FOR JOE
Cincinnati, Ohio
May 28, 2011 - 7am start time

The trip: I normally wouldn't include a blurb about the trip to the race site, but this one is just too good to pass up. Because of the race location, it was an early start. I was up at 2:30am to ensure I could get my self woken up and behind the wheel to pick up BDD at 3:15am. I managed to pull this off, and BDD and I were on the road by 3:30am. We had a lovely drive into Cincy (and even got to make a quick trip across the Kentucky border!), and we were at the race site a little after 5:30am. Sweet. We got checked in and set up pretty quickly. With some time to kill, BDD took me over to the pool to walk through the route with me. I put my feet in the water, and the temps actually didn't feel too bad. Slightly on the chilly side, but manageable.

The swim: The race got started right on time. HFP has their crap together, and everything went really smoothly. We were seeded based on our estimated swim finish time. When I got in line and found myself in the midst of the full Ohio State Triathlon Team, I realized I may have overestimated by abilities. They started us in waves of two people at a time every 3 seconds. It actually worked really well spacing wise. It's my turn to go on in, and I get out there and well....kind of panic. In total I did about 20 freestyle strokes the whole swim. The swim course is super windy through a pool of varying depths. I was worried about running into people, people running into me, getting kicked, making the correct turns, etc. I sucked at the swim. No doubt
about it. I side stroked, breast stroked, doggie paddled and walked my way through the 700m. I was thrilled to get back on dry land. I now know I still have a LONG way to go on the swim. In the end, it took me a ridiculously long 17:07 to get through 700m and 1st transition :-\
(17:07 - 11/12 in age group)

The bike: Dry land. I can do these sports! I haul into T1, ready to get going. Strap on the helmet, the bondi band, the sunglasses and grab the bike. Let's do this. Jumped on at the mount line and thoroughly enjoyed the full bike. While not fully flat, the course is pretty manageable. I pushed it somewhat on the bike but wanted to make sure I had some leg energy left for the run. Not a ton to report here - I did some passing and got passed. I HAVE to put my SPD pedals on. There is just no reason for me not to do so. It would give me an additional 2-3mph, and that will make a difference for me. I hope to put them on this week. (gulp)
(11 miles - 40:40 - 5/12 in age group)

The run: Here's where it gets good. I get into T2, jog my bike to the rack, ditch the helmet and GO. T2 must have been quick. I couldn't have been in there longer than 30 seconds. Done and done. The run course goes through the Coney Island park and is dead flat. My legs were a bit jello like in the beginning, but I pushed through that pretty quickly. I was feeling great on the run. I passed several people, and that pushed me forward. At the turnaround point, I grabbed some water and forced down half a Gu. The consistency of those things is tough for me. Half a packet was all I could manage, but it must have done the job. My legs still felt great, and I continued to push it. By this time, the 5K run for the event had started, so there were families of all types out on the course now. Seeing the kids all excited pushed me even more, so I picked it
up for the last half mile. I crossed the finish line feeling great, but mainly because I knew I gave that run all I had in me.

I didn't wear a Garmin or watch, so I had no idea what my time was. When I finally saw it posted on Sunday afternoon, I was thrilled. That 5K is now my 5K PR.
(3.1 miles, 27:17 - 4/12 in age group - 8:34 pace)

In the end, I accomplished both my goals - I finished in the top half of my age group - 5th out of 12 - and I finished in less than an hour and a half - 1:25:07.

I am now officially in love with this race and cannot wait to race again. I CAN DO THIS! Holy
crap - all this work is paying off.

After the race, BDD and I packed up and hauled back to Columbus. We had a tri clinic to attend at roll for the Giant Eagle Multisport Triathlon. Why, you ask, would you rush back for a clinic after a race? Well, we did because BDD and I are both on....(here's the big announcement part).....the brand spanking new teamroll: multisport!!!!! It was the first clinic, so we wanted to make sure we made an appearance as teamroll members.

I am thrilled to be a part of teamroll, and I look forward to an awesome year of racing. This is a brand new team for roll, and I am just so excited to be given the opportunity to take part. Huge thanks to BDD for getting this rolling. Literally.

After the clinic, I dropped BDD off at home and headed home myself. It was time to start my home Memorial Day projects. I'll detail those later. This is enough for now. Thanks to all of you guys for the good vibes and encouragement. It helped so much, and I am so grateful!!!!!!


6 comments:

Matthew Smith said...

What a great race! I know what you're saying about those pool swims. I'm not a big fan... Good work on the run for sure, though. That was fast! I'm glad you had a good time. Enjoy your recovery.

Christi said...

Congrats on a great race and your new team!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Nice race!!! Solid performance!!! So you have to get revenge on that swim, same time and place next year, see you their

Matty O said...

Great job! Finishing a Tri is a great feeling and yes, you can do anything you put your mind to!

RunKateRun said...

Ha - I was the 12th place in the swim. I'm glad I gave you someone to beat. :) I completely lost my mind during the swim, too. I couldn't even bring myself to put my face in the water until the last straightaway. You recovered from it well, obviously!!

M said...

Kate, I think I had my face in the water for a total of 30 seconds the whole freaking swim. Next year, we'll get some revenge!!!!