Sunday, June 04, 2006

Mach Triathlon 2006: Race Report

I could not have asked for a more beautiful day to kick off the 2006 triathlon season. It was gorgeous, and to make things even better, the rain we had gotten for the past two days caused the lake temperature to drop enough that wetsuits were indeed allowed - yay!

So my goal was to improve my times in all legs over last year's time. Mission Accomplished. I improved my time by almost 13 minutes over last year.

Am I content? Uh - NO. Not by a long shot. Let me tell you - those 30 - 35 year old females mean business. Last year I placed 5th in the 25-29 age group with a 1:57:06. This year I placed 5th in the 30-35 age group with a 1:44:30. Point taken...yeah, I still have a long ways to go.

So here's the run down. Bo and J.T. had been sick with a dreadful stomach virus the night before, so I loaded Briar up with me at 6:00 a.m. and we headed to the race. He went straight back to sleep, and we found out later he was about to come down with the virus as well. So I racked my bike, picked up my packet, got body marked and saw Michele. We were there early - which is what I wanted for a change. We had plenty of time to get our transition area set up and take in the atmosphere. The atmosphere got very happy when they announced that wetsuits would be allowed! About 7:45 I finally got my wetsuit on and got Briar to wake up and walk down to the start line with us. A few minutes after 8:00, my mom, dad and Holly showed up. As I was about to start, my Dad decided he needed me to point straight up in the air a few times while I was swimming so that he could know where I was at...I laughed, but after I got out there I got confident enough to do it - LOL - he never picked up on it, though. I'd say the rescuers in the kayaks got a kick outta the girl who pointed her finger straight up in the air on about every 15th stroke! The swim went well, and it felt so much easier in a wetsuit. Even though it was only .6 miles, it still felt awfully long. I spotted my family on the pier as I swam in, and Briar ran up to the transition area with me. I checked my watch after getting there and saw that I had broken 20 minutes. Cool. Official Swim Time: 19:43

I had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off over my chip, but finally did. Got suited up with helmet, shades, and bike shoes, shoved an Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel in my pocket and took off. Official T-1 time: 1:58


The 16 mile bike felt good. Got passed by a few men, one of them being a coworker, but I kept him in sight. I think there were two women who passed me. There was this one guy, who was also riding a Quintana Roo like myself, that battled with me the whole way. I even thought I had lost him for like 8 miles, and he showed up again near the end!! It made it fun and interesting. I flipped through my computer after about 11 miles and saw that I was averaging 19.5 - wow! Then at about mile 13 I came upon a girl with a "34" marked on her leg (her age ofcourse), and I recognized her as someone I knew was in my age group, but that I didn't think I could compete with. So I hammered on the pedals, looked straight ahead, and blew by her. I didn't look back, but I kept thinking she wouldn't surrender that easy...I figured she'd be back...but I never saw her again. I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back and felt pumped. Even though I thought I was making great time, as I cruised into bike dismount area, I noticed I hadn't broken 50 minutes...so it wasn't all that great, but much better than last year. Official Bike Time: 50:42

As I racked my bike in T-2, I glanced at my watch to see 1:12. "Ugh - that's not good enough...get outta here and run!" I changed shoes and took off - forgetting to put on my race number belt (oops!). I saw my Mom, Dad, Briar and Holly shortly. Got a high 5 from Briar, and my mom ran down to the road cheering me on. Official T-2 Time:1:01


I purposely took it easy during the first 1/2 mile or so. I kept my heart rate down and let my legs adjust to the change. Then I started increasing my speed to a point I thought I could handle and tried to hold it there. I saw Michele after the 2 mile turn around...and all I could get out was "Go!Go!Go!" as I pointed at her. I still felt relaxed and just tried to keep increasing my speed as much as I could handle. When I saw the turn in to the finish, I was very happy...I turned on the speed and sprinted (if you can realy call it that) in for probaby the best 4 miles I've ever run in my life - either fresh or in a triathlon! Official Run Time: 31:07


Michele came in shortly after with a very strong finish and had a great race as well. There was an awesome post race party as usual. I'm pretty happy with my swim time, I think I should have done a little better on the bike, and I'm very happy with the run time. Now maybe I can improve all of them again next year.



And here is my own personal Race Day Photographer. Most call him The Flash. I call him Dad.


16 comments:

Michele said...

Great race report and super job on the race. you kicked my butt AGAIN!!! I am just so glad you are not in my age group.
Ronnie just rolled his eyes at me when i told him I NEED a wetsuit!

Papa Louie said...

Congratulations on a well run race! Practice transitions at least mentally and you can shave about 1:30 off.

Scott said...

Way to go! Congrats on running such a great race and slashing 13 minutes from your previous!

LeahC said...

nice job! my dad is my official photograhper/videographer as well! :-)

Janet Edwards said...

Great going Lana!!! Sounds like a great start to the season.

I am 29 this year and not looking forward to moving into the new age bracket next year...it typically is tougher!

Go DAD! Great pictures and that is too funny about the pointing!

Anonymous said...

Super! Sounds like a Great Race, Great Time.

Brooke said...

Great job!! Congrats on your awesome finish.

Full Metal Lunchbox said...

One of the best post-race reports I've ever read online.

Congratulations on your great performance, and good luck in the future!

Lance Notstrong said...

Funny how that 30 something age group seems to be the most competitive :-)

Cliff said...

Great job on the PR.
I don't worry too much about placement. Time is permanent. Placement depend on competition. If no one else is competiting, then I can easily place to the top. I like to use time and past experience to see my improvement.

The more i focus on improving myself..the faster i become..and by default, the higher placement i will be at.

Backofpack said...

I'm thinking they should call you the Flash! That's an amazing improvement in your time. Good job and tell your Dad that his pics are great!

Rice said...

Great work. Keep on them times.. Some people feel bad about turning 30.. Little do they know that if you just put a little effort into it, it’s the prime of your life.. Keep on em.

Cheers.

Rice.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm new to your site! Great report, great race!

I'm turning 30 this year and have been watching those 30-35 AG time splits. Inspiring that women tend to get stronger during that time but intimidating to join in the ranks...

Rae said...

Awesome job on the tri!!! Great race report, love the pics! Dad did a great job!! You're on fire this year!!

E-Speed said...

awesome job and great photos!!!

Joe said...

Congrats! What a great race report! As you my know, I'm a swimmer and a runner but I'm not a triathlete yet. However, every time I read a great tri race report like yours, I get more and more motivated to buy a bike and start tri-ing.

> those 30 - 35 year old females mean business.

I know what you mean. In masters swimming in Vancouver, the hardest age group is mine: 35-39. I wish I knew why.

>So I racked my bike, picked up my
>packet, got body marked and saw Michele.

Okay, here's a newbie question. What do they use to mark your body with? Do they use a permanent ink marker like a Sharpie? If so, how long does it take to wear off? I want to write some cool messages on my legs and arms for my upcoming half marathon. If you have time, please reply to this question with a comment on my blog. :-)

> Official Swim Time: 19:43

Nice! Do you ever swim at masters swim meets?

> Got suited up with helmet, shades, and
> bike shoes, shoved an Apple Cinnamon
> Hammer Gel in my pocket and took off.

How many gels did you consume during the tri and when did you consume them?

> Then at about mile 13 I came upon a girl
> with a "34" marked on her leg...So I
> hammered on the pedals, looked
> straight ahead, and blew by her.

Ya!

> Official Run Time: 31:07

Wow! That's a great 4 mile time at the end of a tri!