2nd Triathlon
(750 m swim, 13 mile bike, 3.5 mile run)
273rd out of 298 finishers
29th out of 31 in my age group
123rd out of 143 females
Swim: 25:15.6 (pace: 29.81 sec/lap)
T1: 2:52.8
Bike: 1:01:21.9 (pace: 4.71 min/mile)
T2: 3:32.1
Run: 39:55.6 (pace: 11:25 min/mile)
Total: 2:12:57.9
1st Triathlon
(500 m swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)
354th out of 379 finishers
42nd out of 45 in my age group
164th out of 181 females
Swim: 16:55.9 (pace: 30.19 sec/lap)
T1: 5:02.6
Bike: 1:00:17 (pace: 5.01 min/mile)
T2: 1:10.9
Run: 34:30.8 (pace: 11:07 min/mile)
Total: 1:57:57.1
Both times there were 25 people who finished after me. My swim improved, despite the goggle and breathing problems at the beginning, the walk to the other pool, my difficulties getting out of the second pool and the increased distance. My T1 time improved dramatically: no clothes being pulled on. The bike leg also improved, despite the increased distance and the 8 miles of hills. My T2 was longer, but that was because of the potty break. Interestingly, my running pace got worse, even though I felt better and ran more of it (I thought). Not sure what was going on there. So overall, I improved, though of course there is room for lots of improvement. Good incentive to keep working out throughout the winter to prepare for the next triathlon season.
Showing posts with label Triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Triathlon. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
I fought the pool...
...and the pool won.
This morning I finished my second triathlon (yay me!). I had a rocky start: I hadn't settled my goggles, I hadn't taken a couple deep breaths, and it threw me off for a few laps. Once I got into my groove, though, it wasn't too bad. We did 17 lengths in the indoor pool, hopped out, walked outside and up a hill to the outdoor pool and did 15 more lengths. The battle occurred at the end of the 15 laps in the outdoor pool. The 'shallow' end was 4'6" deep, and the lip of the pool was a good foot or more above the water line. At 5'1" (on a good day), I had a real problem getting enough leverage to get out. I couldn't hop/jump/launch myself high enough out of the water to pull myself over the edge. I ended up hooking my leg over the float thingy, straddling it, and then kind of rolling out and onto the concrete. In the process, I scraped both knees and, I'm sure, looked like a beached whale. I limped off to the transition area, bruised and bloodied, but not giving up.
The bike ride was 13 miles, or twice around a 6.5 mile loop. I have no idea how they managed to find such a horrible route, but the first 4 miles was a looong, gradual uphill. Basically, it sucked. I survived both loops, and headed into the transition area. I had been drinking from my camelback (I got really dehydrated last time), but of course had to pee by the time I finished the bike ride. So, while I didn't have problems with dehydration again, I did have to stop for a potty break between the bike and run.
The run went a lot better this time than last. It was a bit longer (3.5 miles), but I managed to only walk on the uphills, and was able to run the entire last mile or so and was able to sprint a bit at the end. Last time I managed to speed up from a stagger/walk to a stagger/slow jog for the last little bit, but that was it. Oh yes, and my shins didn't bother me this time either.
Overall, despite the increased difficulty, I felt better physically and had a good time. I need to cut at least 30 minutes off my overall time if I want to be competitive, and I think I'll be working on that this winter. I'm getting an indoor trainer so I can keep riding my bike, and my parents are getting a treadmill, so I can keep running, and I will continue to go to the pool and swim laps once a week. So, by next spring when things start up again, I should be in a lot better shape and be able to do a lot better.
Scrape on left knee: angle is bad, so it doesn't look that bad, but it will definitely have some bruising.
Scrape on right knee- quite painful, and the one that bled. Angle of the picture makes is look smaller than it is. It's definitely big enough to hurt and make bending my knee painful.
On the way home, I stopped by a running store and bought a new pair of shoes and a running skirt. My current shoes just aren't doing it for me anymore, and the other day I realized that all my bike shorts have padding in them. I don't feel like running a half marathon in padded shorts, even the lighter padding in my triathlon shorts, but I do want something shorter than my capri-length running tights. Runner's World recently had an article about running skirts, and I've seen them around at different events, and I decided to give them a try. We'll see how it works out. I bought a Sugoi wrap skirt that has shorts under it. I've seen running skirts that don't have shorts under them, and I really don't want to know how that works: they're pretty short skirts. I'd be afraid of a breeze coming along. Part of why I picked the skirt I did is that it was the longest the store had. I haven't shown my pasty-white thighs in years, and don't really feel comfortable showing too much of them just yet.
After I got home, I spent the entire afternoon helping my BIL empty out the storage shed at the in-laws' place. He's PCSing to another state in a couple weeks and really needed to sort through all his stuff that's been stored for the last 10-15 years. This meant first emptying the entire shed and dividing everything up based on who it belonged to. We managed to reduce his pile (quite large) to just 5 or 6 boxes. SIL and her husband came and got all their stuff, which freed up a lot of space (now if only they'd get their stuff out of the basement...), and it looked like rain so we put the in-laws' things back in with out going through it, other than to try to group similar things together. The shed is so much emptier, and so much more usable now! It's amazing what can happen when you get rid of things (there is now a mountain of boxes of junk that have to be disposed of, but at least it's not in the shed anymore), and don't keep everything for years and years and years.
Anyway, between putting up sheet rock yesterday, doing the triathlon this morning, and then hauling boxes in and out and around all afternoon, I'm sore and don't expect to be able to move tomorrow.
This morning I finished my second triathlon (yay me!). I had a rocky start: I hadn't settled my goggles, I hadn't taken a couple deep breaths, and it threw me off for a few laps. Once I got into my groove, though, it wasn't too bad. We did 17 lengths in the indoor pool, hopped out, walked outside and up a hill to the outdoor pool and did 15 more lengths. The battle occurred at the end of the 15 laps in the outdoor pool. The 'shallow' end was 4'6" deep, and the lip of the pool was a good foot or more above the water line. At 5'1" (on a good day), I had a real problem getting enough leverage to get out. I couldn't hop/jump/launch myself high enough out of the water to pull myself over the edge. I ended up hooking my leg over the float thingy, straddling it, and then kind of rolling out and onto the concrete. In the process, I scraped both knees and, I'm sure, looked like a beached whale. I limped off to the transition area, bruised and bloodied, but not giving up.
The bike ride was 13 miles, or twice around a 6.5 mile loop. I have no idea how they managed to find such a horrible route, but the first 4 miles was a looong, gradual uphill. Basically, it sucked. I survived both loops, and headed into the transition area. I had been drinking from my camelback (I got really dehydrated last time), but of course had to pee by the time I finished the bike ride. So, while I didn't have problems with dehydration again, I did have to stop for a potty break between the bike and run.
The run went a lot better this time than last. It was a bit longer (3.5 miles), but I managed to only walk on the uphills, and was able to run the entire last mile or so and was able to sprint a bit at the end. Last time I managed to speed up from a stagger/walk to a stagger/slow jog for the last little bit, but that was it. Oh yes, and my shins didn't bother me this time either.
Overall, despite the increased difficulty, I felt better physically and had a good time. I need to cut at least 30 minutes off my overall time if I want to be competitive, and I think I'll be working on that this winter. I'm getting an indoor trainer so I can keep riding my bike, and my parents are getting a treadmill, so I can keep running, and I will continue to go to the pool and swim laps once a week. So, by next spring when things start up again, I should be in a lot better shape and be able to do a lot better.
Scrape on left knee: angle is bad, so it doesn't look that bad, but it will definitely have some bruising.
Scrape on right knee- quite painful, and the one that bled. Angle of the picture makes is look smaller than it is. It's definitely big enough to hurt and make bending my knee painful.
On the way home, I stopped by a running store and bought a new pair of shoes and a running skirt. My current shoes just aren't doing it for me anymore, and the other day I realized that all my bike shorts have padding in them. I don't feel like running a half marathon in padded shorts, even the lighter padding in my triathlon shorts, but I do want something shorter than my capri-length running tights. Runner's World recently had an article about running skirts, and I've seen them around at different events, and I decided to give them a try. We'll see how it works out. I bought a Sugoi wrap skirt that has shorts under it. I've seen running skirts that don't have shorts under them, and I really don't want to know how that works: they're pretty short skirts. I'd be afraid of a breeze coming along. Part of why I picked the skirt I did is that it was the longest the store had. I haven't shown my pasty-white thighs in years, and don't really feel comfortable showing too much of them just yet.
After I got home, I spent the entire afternoon helping my BIL empty out the storage shed at the in-laws' place. He's PCSing to another state in a couple weeks and really needed to sort through all his stuff that's been stored for the last 10-15 years. This meant first emptying the entire shed and dividing everything up based on who it belonged to. We managed to reduce his pile (quite large) to just 5 or 6 boxes. SIL and her husband came and got all their stuff, which freed up a lot of space (now if only they'd get their stuff out of the basement...), and it looked like rain so we put the in-laws' things back in with out going through it, other than to try to group similar things together. The shed is so much emptier, and so much more usable now! It's amazing what can happen when you get rid of things (there is now a mountain of boxes of junk that have to be disposed of, but at least it's not in the shed anymore), and don't keep everything for years and years and years.
Anyway, between putting up sheet rock yesterday, doing the triathlon this morning, and then hauling boxes in and out and around all afternoon, I'm sore and don't expect to be able to move tomorrow.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Photos for Catching up (May 28th post) and Triathlon
Ok, so I'm a serious slacker in some things. I took these photos quite awhile ago, but never posted them. Here's the suitcase I bought for DD, before and after I picked out the embroidery.
And here's one of the blankets I picked the embroidery out of. They didn't turn out as well as the suitcase and other things I bought. Hopefully with washing the imprint will go away. This particular blanket also had a hole that I wasn't aware of until I picked out the embroidery, so that had to be fixed as well. The other blankets didn't have any holes.
Here's a photo from after the triathlon. I have some of me swimming, biking, and running, but I look pretty hideous, scary, or exhausted. And the photos show just how much weight I still need to lose. Rather depressing.
And here's one of the blankets I picked the embroidery out of. They didn't turn out as well as the suitcase and other things I bought. Hopefully with washing the imprint will go away. This particular blanket also had a hole that I wasn't aware of until I picked out the embroidery, so that had to be fixed as well. The other blankets didn't have any holes.
Here's a photo from after the triathlon. I have some of me swimming, biking, and running, but I look pretty hideous, scary, or exhausted. And the photos show just how much weight I still need to lose. Rather depressing.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
I did it!
Today I finished my first triathlon, and I didn't die! This was a concern, based on how I felt Tuesday after the wet run. In fact, I felt better than I did on Tuesday, even though all my distances were longer.
I started in the second to last wave, which meant I didn't have to be there at the crack of dawn- I got up when the first group was starting- that's how slow I am (it was based on your swim time). I finished my swim in 17 minutes, which is as good as I've ever done. I really need to work on my form and efficiency though, so I can get faster. The top people were swimming the same distance in 6-7 minutes. I don't expect to get that fast, but I would like to cut at least 5 minutes off my time. One thing I definitely change will be to get spandex shorts and a top and swim, bike and run in those. No more messing with a swimsuit that chafes when biking and running. It'll save time in the first transition, too (it wastes time trying to pull biking shorts over wet legs and up a wet swimsuit).
I did my bike ride in about an hour- it was 2 times around a 6 mile loop, with a lot of long hills. Not steep hills, just long, neverending hills. It did finish on a downhill, though. I need to figure out how cycle faster, although I think it's really a case of building my muscles, which means I need to work out more.
I ended up walking about half the run- I was pretty dehydrated by then, and my leg muscles were super fatigued. Not sore- just too tired to move anymore. It was a really weird sensation. So, I need to hydrate a lot better, eat more shot blox to keep my energy up, and be in better shape so I don't reach such muscle exhaustion again.
Overall, it was a great experience- I had a good time and will definitely be doing it again. I still don't have sore muscles, which is great- normally, if I'd been running for two hours, my feet would be thrashed, and my leg muscles would be really sore. Instead, I'm tired, but not exhausted, and my legs are still really tired (carrying DD up the stairs was a reminder that 'hey, we're here and we're still not recovered from this morning').
I just looked up the results, and my official stats are:
Swim (500 m): 16:55.9 (4.1 seconds under! wahoo!)
1st Transition: 5:02.6
Bike (12 miles): 1:00:17 (right on target- I was aiming for 1 hour)
2nd Transition: 1:10.9
Run (3.1 miles): 34:30.8 (11.07 min/mile. I was aiming for 10 min/mile)
Total time: 1:57:57.1 (2.03 min under the 2 hours I thought it would take me)
I came in 352 out of 378 finishers (I wasn't last!!!)
In my division (30-34 women) I came in 42nd out of 45 (I also wasn't last in my age group!!)
I was 162nd of 179 women (I came in ahead of people!)
Ok, so I was a little worried about coming in last. But that didn't happen physically (there were people who crossed the finish line after me) or on paper with everyone's results compiled. Yay me!
I started in the second to last wave, which meant I didn't have to be there at the crack of dawn- I got up when the first group was starting- that's how slow I am (it was based on your swim time). I finished my swim in 17 minutes, which is as good as I've ever done. I really need to work on my form and efficiency though, so I can get faster. The top people were swimming the same distance in 6-7 minutes. I don't expect to get that fast, but I would like to cut at least 5 minutes off my time. One thing I definitely change will be to get spandex shorts and a top and swim, bike and run in those. No more messing with a swimsuit that chafes when biking and running. It'll save time in the first transition, too (it wastes time trying to pull biking shorts over wet legs and up a wet swimsuit).
I did my bike ride in about an hour- it was 2 times around a 6 mile loop, with a lot of long hills. Not steep hills, just long, neverending hills. It did finish on a downhill, though. I need to figure out how cycle faster, although I think it's really a case of building my muscles, which means I need to work out more.
I ended up walking about half the run- I was pretty dehydrated by then, and my leg muscles were super fatigued. Not sore- just too tired to move anymore. It was a really weird sensation. So, I need to hydrate a lot better, eat more shot blox to keep my energy up, and be in better shape so I don't reach such muscle exhaustion again.
Overall, it was a great experience- I had a good time and will definitely be doing it again. I still don't have sore muscles, which is great- normally, if I'd been running for two hours, my feet would be thrashed, and my leg muscles would be really sore. Instead, I'm tired, but not exhausted, and my legs are still really tired (carrying DD up the stairs was a reminder that 'hey, we're here and we're still not recovered from this morning').
I just looked up the results, and my official stats are:
Swim (500 m): 16:55.9 (4.1 seconds under! wahoo!)
1st Transition: 5:02.6
Bike (12 miles): 1:00:17 (right on target- I was aiming for 1 hour)
2nd Transition: 1:10.9
Run (3.1 miles): 34:30.8 (11.07 min/mile. I was aiming for 10 min/mile)
Total time: 1:57:57.1 (2.03 min under the 2 hours I thought it would take me)
I came in 352 out of 378 finishers (I wasn't last!!!)
In my division (30-34 women) I came in 42nd out of 45 (I also wasn't last in my age group!!)
I was 162nd of 179 women (I came in ahead of people!)
Ok, so I was a little worried about coming in last. But that didn't happen physically (there were people who crossed the finish line after me) or on paper with everyone's results compiled. Yay me!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
"Wet Run"
Today I did a "wet run" of what the triathlon will be like. I think I need to change how I work out and start doing 2-a-days, say swimming and biking, biking and running, etc. Let's just say Saturday will be interesting, and I really hope I survive.
I swam 10 laps, pulled on my bike clothes, biked 4 miles, then ran 1 mile and walked 1 mile. I was really gasping by the time I started running (staggering- that's quite a transition to go from biking to running), and I'm hoping that was all the crud in the air (fields next to the path being moved, pollen floating lazily by, etc), and not asthma making its presence known. It's been about 8 or 9 years since I had problems with it.
There were only a couple spots of chafing (around my arms, from the swimsuit under my biking shirt), but those are easy to take care of- just a little Body Glide, and I'll be good.
I've been staying up late lately, so I need to really work on getting to bed early this week so I'm not completely exhausted come race day.
I swam 10 laps, pulled on my bike clothes, biked 4 miles, then ran 1 mile and walked 1 mile. I was really gasping by the time I started running (staggering- that's quite a transition to go from biking to running), and I'm hoping that was all the crud in the air (fields next to the path being moved, pollen floating lazily by, etc), and not asthma making its presence known. It's been about 8 or 9 years since I had problems with it.
There were only a couple spots of chafing (around my arms, from the swimsuit under my biking shirt), but those are easy to take care of- just a little Body Glide, and I'll be good.
I've been staying up late lately, so I need to really work on getting to bed early this week so I'm not completely exhausted come race day.
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