Another sprint for the season. Not sure what I am trying to prove to myself by doing these but I do have a great time. I love seeing familiar faces (now that I have been in Jax for a full year now), changing around my normal weekend routine and putting my training to the test.
This week was a normal training week for me. Lots of hard work in the pool, on the bike and running on the road. No rest for me. I knew I would go into the race tired from training so I knew I couldn't be upset if I didn't perform to my potential (or what I think I am capable of doing). I've learned not to get upset at my races because I feel it's a privilege to do this sport when others only dream of doing a triathlon. Of course I want to do better than the last race and I live by the quote "the only easy day was yesterday" so when my alarm went off at 4:25am, I knew it was time to get on my game face.
I warmed up my coffee and small bowl of oatmeal and hit the road for my 30 min. drive to Ponte Vedra (Jax beach).
99% of the time I am OCD about picking up my packet early. I can't remember a time in the 4 years that I have raced in triathlons that I haven't picked up my race packet the day before the race. Well, due to finishing up 2 research papers and not wanting to make the 30 mile drive to the ABC store, I decided I would make a first and pick up my packet on race day. Still gets my HR up just thinking about. I even called one of the race directors to make sure my packet was there on Fri. I just hate the stress of feeling like I am doing things last minute. So not like me!
Karel always laughs because I pack for trips at least 3 days before we go away. :)
After a stress-free packet pick up, I hung out with my friend Katrine, got body marked and racked my bike in transition.
I always love the transition area at local tri's. I love seeing and helping newbies set up their transition area. I do laugh a little at all of the things people bring into races but then again, I laugh at myself for doing the same thing for over a year of triathlons. All I have to say about newbies is CONGRATS! It doesn't matter if you feel like you do everything wrong in your first race and you are way under-trained..you are starting a new lifestyle and get ready to get addicted!
The ocean was so calm this morning. Most people said that from the looks of it, the buoys were spaced really far. It did look like a long swim for 1/4 mile but I won't complain about a long swim :)
The water felt great! All of the women started in wave #3 at 7:09.
I felt like I was swimming strong and I could only see a few pink caps ahead of me. I made my sandy run to the transition area and I heard that I was the 3rd female.
I made a quick transition and off for the 13.5 mile bike. The first 4 miles of the bike were tough. I was feeling the ride I did last Sunday. I got passed by JC (who won the race once again) on the bottom of the intercoastal causeway but when we started climbing, I passed JC up the bridge. I guess my quads got stronger from Macon cause there is no climbing training here in Florida. Well, unfortunately I got passed on the other side of the causeway and never saw JC again on the bike. I ended up passing Malory (who destroyed us all in the water) on the bike but for her 2nd triathlon EVER, she was having an awesome race.
I never saw the other female on the bike so I hoped I would be able to have some kind of speed in my legs for the run to try to catch her. Or, at least keep my 3rd place and not get run down by Mallory.
After a quick bike I was back in transition area hearing that I was the 3rd place female. I worried that I was being chased down so I started off pretty quickly on the bike. I didn't pay attention to my watch because I knew I just had to run fast to not be caught.
Before the turn around at around 1.5 miles, I saw JC running like she was doing a 5k race. Then I saw the 2nd place female about 20 sec. ahead of me. I had her in my sights the whole run but with her steady run, I couldn't catch her. I ended up seeing Mallory on the run but luckily I was able to stay ahead of her on the run, even though she ended up with a faster run than me.
To end a good race, I placed 3rd overall female and 26 overall. I was really happy about my overall finish and for a sprint, on a tired body, I feel like my season is going really well.
After the race Katrine and I headed out for a 3 mile run. This was only the beginning of my post-race training. I wouldn't say unfortunately, but I did have to train after the race because I am in the beginning of a high volume block of training. No pressure on the run, nice and slow with our garmins. I would say we averaged around 9;20 miles for the first 3 miles and after the award ceremony (Katrine won the 25-29 age group!) we headed out for 5 more miles. It was pretty hot out and we added in 2 walk breaks but for a 8:50 pace after the race, we both enjoyed our run. Not only do we get know each other better but we talk about everything! Time just passes by.
We ended up back at the car around 11am, rinsed off at the beach showers and it was finally time to head home. As soon as I got home, my happy puppy told me that 4 hours alone was no fun, so we headed out for a 1 mile run.
For a 1/4 mile swim-13.5 mile bike-3.1 mile run + 8.3 mile run + 1 Campy mile....I say this was a great morning.
Series #2 (today)
Swim: 10:15 T1: 2:43 Bike: 37:00 T2: 0:57 Run: 22:16 Total: 1:13.09
Series #1 (may)
Swim: 10:40 T2: 2:36 Bike: 36:45 T2: 0:45 Run: 22:06 Total: 1:12.50
This week was a normal training week for me. Lots of hard work in the pool, on the bike and running on the road. No rest for me. I knew I would go into the race tired from training so I knew I couldn't be upset if I didn't perform to my potential (or what I think I am capable of doing). I've learned not to get upset at my races because I feel it's a privilege to do this sport when others only dream of doing a triathlon. Of course I want to do better than the last race and I live by the quote "the only easy day was yesterday" so when my alarm went off at 4:25am, I knew it was time to get on my game face.
I warmed up my coffee and small bowl of oatmeal and hit the road for my 30 min. drive to Ponte Vedra (Jax beach).
99% of the time I am OCD about picking up my packet early. I can't remember a time in the 4 years that I have raced in triathlons that I haven't picked up my race packet the day before the race. Well, due to finishing up 2 research papers and not wanting to make the 30 mile drive to the ABC store, I decided I would make a first and pick up my packet on race day. Still gets my HR up just thinking about. I even called one of the race directors to make sure my packet was there on Fri. I just hate the stress of feeling like I am doing things last minute. So not like me!
Karel always laughs because I pack for trips at least 3 days before we go away. :)
After a stress-free packet pick up, I hung out with my friend Katrine, got body marked and racked my bike in transition.
I always love the transition area at local tri's. I love seeing and helping newbies set up their transition area. I do laugh a little at all of the things people bring into races but then again, I laugh at myself for doing the same thing for over a year of triathlons. All I have to say about newbies is CONGRATS! It doesn't matter if you feel like you do everything wrong in your first race and you are way under-trained..you are starting a new lifestyle and get ready to get addicted!
The ocean was so calm this morning. Most people said that from the looks of it, the buoys were spaced really far. It did look like a long swim for 1/4 mile but I won't complain about a long swim :)
The water felt great! All of the women started in wave #3 at 7:09.
I felt like I was swimming strong and I could only see a few pink caps ahead of me. I made my sandy run to the transition area and I heard that I was the 3rd female.
I made a quick transition and off for the 13.5 mile bike. The first 4 miles of the bike were tough. I was feeling the ride I did last Sunday. I got passed by JC (who won the race once again) on the bottom of the intercoastal causeway but when we started climbing, I passed JC up the bridge. I guess my quads got stronger from Macon cause there is no climbing training here in Florida. Well, unfortunately I got passed on the other side of the causeway and never saw JC again on the bike. I ended up passing Malory (who destroyed us all in the water) on the bike but for her 2nd triathlon EVER, she was having an awesome race.
I never saw the other female on the bike so I hoped I would be able to have some kind of speed in my legs for the run to try to catch her. Or, at least keep my 3rd place and not get run down by Mallory.
After a quick bike I was back in transition area hearing that I was the 3rd place female. I worried that I was being chased down so I started off pretty quickly on the bike. I didn't pay attention to my watch because I knew I just had to run fast to not be caught.
Before the turn around at around 1.5 miles, I saw JC running like she was doing a 5k race. Then I saw the 2nd place female about 20 sec. ahead of me. I had her in my sights the whole run but with her steady run, I couldn't catch her. I ended up seeing Mallory on the run but luckily I was able to stay ahead of her on the run, even though she ended up with a faster run than me.
To end a good race, I placed 3rd overall female and 26 overall. I was really happy about my overall finish and for a sprint, on a tired body, I feel like my season is going really well.
After the race Katrine and I headed out for a 3 mile run. This was only the beginning of my post-race training. I wouldn't say unfortunately, but I did have to train after the race because I am in the beginning of a high volume block of training. No pressure on the run, nice and slow with our garmins. I would say we averaged around 9;20 miles for the first 3 miles and after the award ceremony (Katrine won the 25-29 age group!) we headed out for 5 more miles. It was pretty hot out and we added in 2 walk breaks but for a 8:50 pace after the race, we both enjoyed our run. Not only do we get know each other better but we talk about everything! Time just passes by.
We ended up back at the car around 11am, rinsed off at the beach showers and it was finally time to head home. As soon as I got home, my happy puppy told me that 4 hours alone was no fun, so we headed out for a 1 mile run.
For a 1/4 mile swim-13.5 mile bike-3.1 mile run + 8.3 mile run + 1 Campy mile....I say this was a great morning.
Series #2 (today)
Swim: 10:15 T1: 2:43 Bike: 37:00 T2: 0:57 Run: 22:16 Total: 1:13.09
Series #1 (may)
Swim: 10:40 T2: 2:36 Bike: 36:45 T2: 0:45 Run: 22:06 Total: 1:12.50