Reason for racing
After finishing my May racing block (3 races in 15 days), I looked forward to nine weeks of training en route to XTRI Norseman which will be on August 3rd in Eidfjord, Norway. Training has been going really well and I'm thankful that my body has been absorbing the load without any issues. I do struggle mentally with Campy's declining health but I keep reminding myself that he is still here and all I can do is continue to love him and take care of him. I had heard about the local doube sprint triathlon but it wasn't something that interested me as I was training for other events. However, with such a long time between races, I thought this would be the perfect way to keep me in the race environment, treat it as an intense training session and to change up the typical long workout training routine. Plus, I love our Greenville cycling/triathlon community and it's always nice to see familiar faces and to meet other triathletes. Over the years, I'm always looking for ways to step out of my comfort zone, try new things and stress my body (in a good way) in different ways. I felt like this double sprint checked all the boxes and I was looking forward to it all week. I really enjoy evening workouts (specifically bike workouts, group rides or bike/run workouts) and this race was the perfect opportunity to do an intense "workout" in the evening.
Training going into the event
Race week was challenging because Campy was not doing well. This made it incredibly hard to show up and to complete workouts. Karel and I really leaned on one another and while there were a lot of tears, we knew exercising was needed to help our mental health. I like to keep my training similar but different in that I always keep Monday as an active recovery day (typically a swim but sometimes also a bike) and Friday is only a swim (an intense masters swim group session in the morning). Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are double workout days and Saturday and Sunday are my longest sessions of the week. With the race on Saturday evening, my training schedule was as follows:
Monday afternoon: 21 mile/1:23 bike (we had to pick something up at Run In so we biked there)
Tuesday: 5300yard AM swim followed by an easy 7 mile/58 min run. PM trainer session (55 min)
Wednesday: 3700 yard AM swim. PM 1:36 trainer session followed by a 5.2 mile/43 min run.
Thursday: 2:04, 15 mile long run
Friday: AM 4976 yards (converted from long course meters) masters swim
Saturday: AM 2:24 bike (45.8 miles) followed by a 4 mile/34 min run. I met up with local cyclist Nate Morse while riding and we rode together for ~1 hour and I finished the ride alone and did a few 4 min strong efforts w/ 90 sec EZ. I kept the run super easy.
Saturday: PM Race! 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run, 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run.
Sunday: Early afternoon: 2:20 bike (37.6 miles) followed by a 6.12 mile (51 min) run
Total:
18:33 hours
Swim: 14476 yards
Bike: 9:22 hours
Run: 42.4 miles
Race day nutrition
My primary objective was to not go into the race in a depleted state so I focused on my eating/fueling on Friday and Saturday. I had pasta for dinner on Friday and on Saturday morning, I had my typical bagel + PB + syrup + a little yogurt before my bike workout. During the bike I had two bottles, each with ~75g of INFINIT Fructose (~300 calories) and refilled one bottle w/ water for the last 20 minutes as it was getting really hot out. For the run, I had 1 x 10 ounce flask with water and another 10 ounce flask with 1 scoop Never Second C30 berry (120 calories).
After the workout, I had a poptart and recovery drink (2 scoops GU vanilla recovery powder + 8 ounce 1% milk) while walking Campy and then I had a meal of a bagel (local) w/ half PB and the other half butter. I also had a banana and a little yogurt. I ate this meal around 2pm and I didn't eat anything else until after the race.
I sipped on a bottle of Never Second while setting up my transition around 5pm.
During the race I had 1 bottle on my bike with 1.5 scoop (~68g, 272 calories INFINIT Fructose Grape). I also had an extra bottle in my transition area of the same amount in case I dropped that bottle on the first bike segment. I also had a small flask of ~100 calories Never Second C30 in case I needed it for the run. I ended up not needing the extra bottle or flask. In addition to my bottle on the bike (which I finished between the two x 8 mile segments) I had a few sips of water on the run.
After the race, while waiting for the awardss, I had a Dr. Pepper and Rice Krispie treat from the post race area and had a recovery drink (that I brought) of ~30g protein.
When I left, Karel was finishing up his 7-hour workout as he prepares his upcoming XTRI event Stonebrixiaman XTRI on June 29th (we leave for Italy on June 23rd). My mom and her partner Allen came with me for my race. I picked them up around 4pm and we arrived to the race venue around 4:40pm. The transition area was small but there were still 130+ athletes in the race. I picked up my race packet and timing chip and got body marked (it's been a while since I had that done, brought back so many memories from my early days). I then went into the transition area and set up my transition by my designated bike rack number. I had planned and practiced to do a flying dismount (with my cycling shoes still attached to the pedals) after bike number one and flying mount and dismount after bike number two and while I stuck with my plan, looking back I should have kept my shoes on as there was a lot of gravel/rocks on the ground and I lost time carefully walking with my bike and fumbling with my shoes. It was very hot and sunny while setting up my transition area so I was happy I had a bottle of water and a bottle of sport drink to sip on in the hour before the race start. After I was finished setting things up, I went for a short jog (~.76 miles) to warm up. I found a MTB trail next to the transition area to run on, which was shaded and had a soft impact. Around 5:40pm I walked to the pool area and got into the water to warmup.
My trisuit isn't ideal for swimming without a swimskin/wetsuit so I got myself comfortable in the warm water and adjusted my timing chip so that it wasn't dragging in the water. I did a few laps and practiced a flip turn under the lane line to "snake" through the pool. The race started at 6:03pm.
I was seeded 2nd for the swim and we started ~5-10 seconds apart. Although I was happy to be near the front for the swim, I don't have very good take out speed and I was being caught quickly by the swimmer behind me. The water was very choppy as the lane lines were lines with small plastic balls on them and I found it really hard to settle into a rhythm.
I had no idea what lane/lap I was in as I was swimming as I was focused on swimming the reverse direction in the lane than what I am used it. I just paid attention to when I got to the last lane. I was relieved to survived that swim - it was rather chaotic. As I ran to the transition area, I was passed by another girl Kayla. I was actually happy to be passed as I love racing with competition as it brings the best out of myself.
T1: 0:35
BIKE #1: 8.11 miles: 23.8 mph, 195NP, 20:18
I removed my cap and goggles as I was running into transition and I had a fairly quick transition (all I had to do was put on my helmet and cycling shoes). I carefully "ran" my bike out of transition and started my computer. Kayla was a little ahead of me and I worked really hard for around 2 miles to catch her. I wasn't familiar with the course but it was well marked. I also studied the course the night prior by looking at the course on Google Maps to get oriented with the roads and turns. I really liked the course as it was mostly rolling hills on quiet country roads. The last stretch was on a hwy-like road but because it was after 6pm, it wasn't too busy. I really enjoyed the course. I didn't feel great on the bike. My legs were heavy and tired but I pushed as hard as I could. It was literally a power test for me. I had to slow down a bit getting back into the parking lot as there was a car stopped in front of me. I drank ~1/2 bottle of my sport drink. I didn't think too much about the run as I was focused on staying draft legal behind the guy in front of me and I was also trying to lengthen my gap to Kayla as I knew she would run well (considering she ran fast to pass me out of the swim).
T2: 0:52
RUN #1: 2.11 miles, 14:54 (6:59, 6:58)
I had put baby powder in my running shoes prior to the race to help them slide on easily (and to reduce the risk for blisters). This was my first time running without socks (or compression) in over 15 years. I grabbed my race bib belt (although I later learned we didn't have to wear it on run #1) and sunglasses and accidentally started to head toward the bike exit. Some volunteers yelled at me and I quickly turned around and ran near the swim out exit of the transition area. When I started running, I put on my sunglasses and bib number belt. Immediately my legs felt great. I loved the run course. It was up and down with tight turns and even some sand on the sidewalk. The run course was two one-mile loops which made it fun to see other athletes on the course and to pass by the transition area to see the spectators and to get cheers from my mom and Allen. The only downside was there was a big festival/party on the backside of the course with a lot of people and cars which we had to navigate through. I took a look behind me on the first loop and noticed that Kayla was just a few minutes behind me. I continued to run as strong as I could. I felt like I was in control of my form and it felt good. When my watch buzzed at the first mile I was expecting to see something around 7:30 min/mile as that is "fast" for me right now so when I saw 6:59, I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. On the second run, I felt even stronger and ran 6:58. My mouth was getting dry so I took a sip of water from the aid station on lap two. I couldn't believe my run - my legs haven't ran this fast in many many years (like over 5 years!).
T3: 0:16
SWIM #2: 250 yards, 3:50 (1:32 pace)
My mom gave me a cheer at the pool and I told her "wow this is hard." I knew the second swim would be rough and although it felt amazing to jump into the pool to cool off, it was hard to start swimming. Plus, the top of my feet were scratched from running without socks so when I jumped into the pool, my feet burned for a few seconds. The nice thing was the pool was a bit more empty. It was just me and a few guys so it was a lot easier to snake my way through the pool. To make things less confusing, every time we got to the other side of the pool, we changed lanes (so lanes 2, 3,4,5 we swam back and forth in the same lane). I caught Joe Wilson around half way and passed him in the middle of the pool. I actually started to feel better as the swim went on and wished the swim was a bit longer as I was starting to feel like my body was in a better groove.
T4: 0:37
BIKE #2: 8.11 miles, 22.3 mph, 175NP, 21:48
Joe passed me in transition as I was slow to exit and when I got on my bike, it took me a few minutes to get into my shoes. My average speed was 23.2 mph outside of the parking lot so looking back, I lost time doing the flying mount. I worked really hard to catch back up to Joe and I worked hard to stay draft legal behind him. I was able to stay behind him for all of the second bike but my legs were screaming at me as they were really tired. Each loop had ~420 feet and there were some punchy climbs. The sun was starting to set as it was nearing 7pm, which is my favorite time to be on the bike. I love sunset riding. It was still humid out but not as hot since the sun was setting. Again, I shouldn't have done a flying dismount as it was very rocky and I struggled to run with my bike to my rack. I finished most of my bottle on my bike. I also had a gel in my bento box on my bike (just in case I lost the bottle but I didn't need it).
T5: 1:04
RUN #3: 2.11 miles, 14:37 (6:53, 6:59)
I struggled to put on my shoes as my feet were dry and I likely had my laces too tight. I lost some time in this transition. Plus, my feet were all scratched up on top which hurt when I put on my shoes. But the adrenaline of racing made that go away. I wore the Saucony Endorphin Speed running shoes (from Run In). At this point in the race, I had extended my lead but I didn't want to ease up. I felt even better on this run than the first run segment and I couldn't believe it when I saw 6:53 min/mile. I couldn't try to run this fast in training even if I went all out! This is why I love to race....I always seem to surprise myself. On the last loop, I started to feel like I was settling into a good rhythm and clocked another sub 7 split at 6:59. I finished the race with a smile on my face and told my mom that it was so much fun and really really hard.
RESULTS
1st Overall Female
9th Overall
Total Time: 1:25.40
I called Karel when I finished and gave him the play by play of the event. I was really happy with how I performed and most of all, I had so much fun. This event reminded me why I got into the sport of triathlon and why I have stayed with it for over 20 years (my first sprint triathlon was in 2003). When it comes to long distance racing, race day isn't necessarily fun. It's hard and challenging. But that is why I love long distance racing - you get to rise to the challenge and push through limits (or discover your limits). But when it comes to short distance racing, it's short, quick, dynamic and fun.
The awards didn't start until almost 9pm so it was a late evening but it was worth it. I didn't something for the first time and I am really proud of my body for what it allowed me to do.