Monday, June 08, 2009

Triathlon #2 results....


I am happy to report that I did well and learned a great deal. I finished in 1:22 mins and placed 17/32 in my age group and I am happy with that considering there were some fast girls out there! I was just honored to be racing along with them. The morning of the race I was not feeling so well but after awhile I started to shake it off and focused on just making it to the finish line. I was bound and determined to race and nothing was going to stop me.

Swim - 600 yard swim - 15:05 mins

This was an open water swim in a lake which gave me a chance to experience a whole new type of swimming. Years ago, my first triathlon was an open water swim but I have not experienced that in some time so I was a bit nervous. The start was fast, super fast in fact and it took me by surprise. I held my own for a bit and started to focus on just getting through the pack despite the kicks and congested feeling. I started to cramp up and panic set in for me. My breathing was off, and I felt out of control so I flipped over on my back and started doing the backstroke. I waited until I calmed down and then I started swimming freestyle again and finally got into a rhythm. I was so focused on my stroke and trying to ignore my stomach pains that I slowly began swimming off course! I would look up every 10 strokes or so but once I got into my zone, I forget to look up....BIG mistake, I lost a great deal of time to get back on track but once I did I held my pace strong until finishing. My swim was very slow compared to my trial times. Now, I have learned that trial times in a pool DOES NOT mean that you can count on that pace in a lake/ocean with others swimming around you.

Things to work on with my training for the swim -

1. Train in a lake/ other form of open water environment as much as possible
2. Work on fast starts, then dropping back to a slower pace
3. Work on sighting while swimming ( even in a pool) to get used to the stroke and looking up
4. Keep practicing...over and over and over!

Bike - 12 miles - 35:40 mins/ avg speed - 20.2 mph ( PR!)

I was so excited with my bike time! I did something stupid while on the ride but again I learned from the experience so I guess it was a good thing! I was reaching to place my water bottle back on my bike and dropped it in the road. Now, we were instructed to make sure we picked up anything we may drop on the course and there were bike marshals which were un-marked on the course, so I wanted to make sure I picked it up so that I did not receive a time penalty and also to clear the road to make it safe for the other athletes. So I stopped and biked back to get my bottle but as a result I lost a bit of time, so my average was a bit slower than it would have been. I was so motivated to make up the time that I rode really hard the rest of the course so maybe it made me work harder and therefore was not necessarily a bad thing! I did not use my aerobars for this race as I am still learning how to ride with them, maybe I will be ready for my next race but for now I am pleased with how fast I am improving with my times. The bike is by far my strongest leg and one I look forward to working towards improving.

Run - 3.1 miles - 29:00 mins/ avg pace - 9.40 mm ( PR!)

This is my fastest tri run so I am super happy! I held my pace strong through the run. I once again was trying to balance pacing myself and trying not to go all out too fast. It is something I am going to have to really work on. I may need to do some more tempo runs and maybe some track work. I finished strong, not as fast of a sprint as last weeks race, but I passed a few people along the way and ended it with my hands raised in victory!

All in all, It was a hard race for me with how bad I was feeling in the beginning but I learned a valuable lesson...to keep pressing on! I told myself that I was going to keep going and not give up even though the swim was rough, and I felt so sick, and as a result I ended up with 2 PR's and a lifetime of knowing that I completed 2 triathlons in one week and no one can take that from me!

7 comments:

Trainer T.s Fitness said...

Congrats girl, your doing it!

erin said...

2 triathlons in one week is AMAZING, Jen, and on top of that you had 2 PRs! I'm so excited for you and glad you were able to correct yourself during the swim; I am such a crooked swimmer that I would have ended up in another lake. Haha.

You are awesome! Keep it up!

Becca's Dirt said...

Congratulations on your race. I personally think you were amazing. Keep up the good work. You are an inspiration.

Krissa said...

YOu were FLYING on the bike! AWESOME! HUGE CONGRATS! Glad you posted a pic. You are so cute :) You really remind me of my aunt. (she is really young :)
I am really looking forward to my race now that I read about yours. Although I will not be swimming.

Good job!

n/a said...

WOW! Two tri's in one week and PRs to boot! Big Congrats!

mitchwendy said...

Thanks for posting this! I missed the 2nd tri recap until today... So good to hear how you did!

Kimberly said...

Congratulations! This is very inspiring. I completed my first tri in May and have my second coming up in August. This definitely makes me want to keep pushing and getting better.