Giant Acorn - TriathlonSprint

In the pool, I'm fine. Open water creates breathing difficulty. I have to breathe every other stroke, and sight at least every 5th. I keep veering to the left.... very zig-zag. Kept up with one girl in my age group and we kept getting in each other's way. I wasn't fast enough to pass her for long, but fast enough to keep gaining on her. Kept bumping elbows and feet. Found one girl in my age group that looked like she was having as much fun as I was. I concentrated my worry-energy to making sure she was ok. I knew I wasn't competitive in the swim, so I just tried to stick it out. Helping to call out and keep her on course, and check to make sure she was ok kept me from freaking out. Although, the kayakers thought we needed a good eye kept on. I swear I was asked at least 5 different times if I was ok. At least I know I was being looked after! Also has some guy pass me, but almost tried to hold my head underwater as he passed.Felt his hand on my head, then immediately take it off...whoever you are...thank you for realizing that was my head and not holding me under water!
The 2 fellow age groupers near me started pushing a bit at the end. There was no way I was going to let them finish before me after all this! I pushed the last 30 yards at my sprint pace....felt strong. Pushed ahead. Training paid off! I had anticipated 25 minutes realistically for this swim, so technically, I did better than I expected!

Quit freaking out about not being able to do 3 strokes per breath, and deal with breathing every other stroke. I spent too much time freaking out and trying to force myself into my pool rhythm. Once I figured out I was going to have to re-evaluate my swim strategy, I relaxed more. Then, the battle was veering off course. I hate sighting because it disrupts my rhythm and makes me realize I'm in the middle of open water. If I can just get in a rhythm and focus on that, I do better. Now, I need to figure out how to work my sighting into my OW breathing pattern.

Felt much stronger coming out of the water this time than during my last race. I felt positive, relaxed and ready to tackle T1 and the bike course. I listened to what Susie said about jsut keep going through transition. Run. You can rest on the bike. It worked. I ran! (best I could anyway in shoes.) No problems getting wetsuit off really. Surprisingly. But I really need to get my new tri shoes set up....these road bike shoes with 2 velcro straps and a strap buckle REALLY slow me down. Oh yeah...my glasses fogged up really bad. Kept hoping that would go away so I wouldn't run into anyone on my way out of T1! Had problems clipping in my second foot before the first hill to exit the park. rank 154/255

Get my tri shoes set up and work on active bike mount/shoes on combo. Practice everything.

Pushed on bike, but relied on spinning more instead of cranking...unless trying to pass someone. Pushed well enough that I felt like I was giving consistent effort, but not too hard because I was concerned about the run. Thankful for my last few weeks of training! Felt like I performed to my abilites as per my training.

Work up to pushing harder on the bike. Figure out my limitations and balance between pushing as hard as I can on the bike yet reserving enough to put maximum effort on run as well. Drink more frequently. Used Acclerade orange instead of gatorade. Didn't take in gel before or after bike. Needed carbs/protein for bood sugar levels and electrolytes. Should have drank more. Cramped on run.
Need to push harder in training now to increase abilities in future.

Got confused about dismount line. Thought it was closer to pothole hill than it was. Unclipped one foot too soon...before pothole hill. Lost time trying to clip in again to manage potholes safely. Braked too soon before dismount line.
Got to transition area. Felt good and strong. Eager for run. Had problems trying to get the buckle strap on my shoes open and shoes off.
Put on socks and shoes, Garmin, almost forgot race belt!..grabbed gel just in case. Carried it during whole run. rank 201/255

Practice with tri-shoes. Try running smaller distances like this with no socks.

So glad I at least had my Garmin! I do much better to have a clock to run by and keep me on track. Started out at comfortable "trudge". Just one-foot-in-front-of-the-other mantra. Got to top of park entrance hill and had to stop for a few seconds and stretch. Calves were cramping up. Got cheered on by a VT triathlete to keep going. Started trudging again. Pace was surprisingly good at first..10min/mi. Focused on keeping at least a 12 min/mi avg. I knew I could do that. Tried to get to 11min/mi on course. Had to stop for a few seconds due to cramping. Got cheered on by fellow CATs and a few others I don't know. (I did get to thank them later!) Focused on breathing deep and keeping heart rate low. Tried to keep enough in reserve to complete run without a problem. Figured I would really push after the last tun into the park if I kept my reserves where I thought the would be. Worked out great. Saw fellow CATs Susie, Josh, Chris, Ginger and KLynne cheering me on! Picked up the pace, careful down the grass hill (could sooo see myself doing a split mid-run on that thing) and sprinted the last bit into and through the chute. FUN!!!! Overall, walked less than 2 minutes of total route. Even though my run is slow, I'm proud of that! Had a good run for me.

Push harder on the run. Learn where my limits are to be able to do this, yet finish well.

Liquid replenishment. Finished Accelerade and a bottle of lemonade. I've learned I can't handle food for at least a couple hours after a race. Tried to eat an Oreo and it got stuck in my throat!
Tried to stretch a bit, but got sidetracked by discussions and race reports from fellow CATs at the tent. (I need to stretch more!!!)
SO much fun to be with everyone at these things! I really appreciate the cheering and encouragment. THANKS GUYS!


Felt like I should have finished the bottle of Accelerade on the bike. Forgot to drink because I was so entranced in the cycling! Need to up intensity in training to be able to push harder in the race.


Had a great time! It's on my list for next year!!!!

I'm really happy with my results in this race. My times were in line with what I've been accomplishing in training, and what I expected for OW in the swim. Considering I really only got a chance to get into a true training schedule in mid-July, and I put much more effort these past couple weeks before this race, I'm happy with the results. My concentration was right on, I was relaxed, and I refused to think anything negative at all during the race. Those were my goals, and I accomplished them. I really can't complain.... other than... I was just getting started and now tri season is over?!?!?!?!?