We had a nice, manageable crowd that spread out among the paces. But for the usually killer potholes near the Kennedy Center that require you to keep a close eye and having run through clouds of smoke in Rossyln, it was nearly perfect.
Only bad news was that I forgot to turn on my Garmin. Duh! Was especially a bummer b/c I was pushing myself and wanted to see what my time was.
Oh well. There's always next time.
I remember how that felt last year and how great it felt to push yourself further and your body responding to the challenge.
This time out, we headed out for an out-and-back on the Capital Crescent Trail. The hot temps definitely were not welcome, but the easy to remember route sure was!
I hung back with my pace group for awhile, but then folks started to spread out so I pushed up a bit. I ended up running with a couple different groups and on the return leg hooked up with a trainee I had not had a chance to hang out with. As I told him, I was thankful for the company and continued pace. In no time we were passing the Boathouse and heading back to GRC.
On to lucky number 11!
Last night I hooked up with the Snapple kids for their DC-based information session about their new Snapple Triathlon Club. After spending a couple months training with these folks and meeting some fantastic local athletes and other nutty trainees, it was fantastic to hear that the Snapple folks decided to continue the momentum and start a triathlon club and again offer training programs.My all female relay team placed 7th! Pretty cool.
THE SWIM
My swim and T1 split put me in 4th place with a time of 15:33 minutes. That's crazy! I really thought my pathetic attempt to conquer the sand dune and get ready for the bike would have taken a lot longer.
THE BIKE
My bike and T2 split kept me in 4th place. My time was 24:01 minutes. I really tried to not slack off here and stay mentally strong. Glad I didn't image that I didn't let anyone relay girls pass me. Super happy with the results.
THE RUN
We lost a little ground here, but kept up the pace. My teammate finished in 34:04 minutes and her run split put us in 15th place. The run is always tough since the majority of folks seem to be strong runners.
Overall, a totally fun event. Couldn't be happier.
This morning, we headed over to Tower One in Dewey for the Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon. I was doing the swim and bike leg, while my neighbor Jenna was doing the run.
It was a great advantage to see how folks attacked the course. You start in the sand, run into the surf, get out hip deep, dive under the waves and start cutting through the surf
I saw a number of people struggle to get out past the surf --- getting pounded by waves or trying to go over vs under the waves. A few folks were pulled out by the lifeguards who were positioned in the surf and on surf skis just past the surf line. I just have to thank my dad for all those years teaching us to swim, body-surf and be comfortable in big surf.
Before I had time to think too hard about all the waves and currents, my group of dudes and chicks was up and waiting for our start. Now, remember the tall dude to my right. Him and I have an interesting encounter later in this story. Separately, Mark confirmed that Mr. Royal Blue Speedo biked and ran in that outfit. That's hot.
I took the advice Mark heard from a co-worker who also was racing and lined up close to the buoy with the plan of pushing myself into the mix and cutting the turn as close as possible. I noticed that most people were starting out wide with the plan to have the current push them toward the buoy.Within three minutes, I was running and diving through the surf. Kowabunga! The bad news is that a tall super-fit guy in front of me (remember the tall guy I pointed out in the pix above???) kicked me hard in the lip within the first 200 meters. The good news is that I beat that bastard out of the water and into transition. It also was quite a rush to roll over the waves and swim with all the unseen ocean critters!
Overall, I had a great swim. I cut the first buoy tight and swam pretty straight parallel to the shore. I will say that you really had to keep focused on your direction because the course only had three buoys to use for sighting.
During the swim I came across a 50+ year old silver wave swimmer who was bobbing around the 400 meter mark. I stopped to ask if he was ok because he seemed to be in trouble. Luckily after he shooed me away a lifeguard picked him up. I was worried about him making it into shore.
Before I knew it I was passing the mid-course buoy and soon enough heading into shore. It was super exciting to see people lining the beach to welcome me in.
I took Max's advice and kicked hard as I felt waves approaching behind me and was able to body-surf a wave part way into shore. I stood up quickly, ran out and was out of the top half of my wetsuit pretty quickly. Seriously...the toughest part was running up and over the dune. Tiring!
T1 THE BIKE
TAKE AWAYS* After a dude kicks you in the mouth and bloodies your lip during the swim...don't worry about attracting marine predators, decide to be the predator and eat that guy up. :)
Another Olympic Triathlon done...check it off the list...Nations is now over. What a day. Who would have expected that I not only would have to battle fatigue and head games, but also extreme weather. Instead of the heat of the DC Tri in June, Nations was all about cooler temperatures and rain...and more rain...and then showers...and then a few more showers.
T1 [5:21; 49 of 261 in my age group]
What a mess. Due to the mud I carefully navigated through the transition area. I was proud that I was able to get out of my wetsuit, but then had to balance so as not to fall into the mud that was now the majority of my transition area. Poor Finding Nemo. He was a wet, mud covered towel.
THE BIKE [1:24:12; 83 of 261 in my age group]
I really felt good on the bike. I passed a lot of people on the bike --- too bad most of them apparently were not in my age group. Though I lost a lot of ground here from the swim, I am happy because I felt technically more proficient this time vs at the DC Tri.
Thank goodness the only technical issue I experienced was that my sunglasses broke on the Whitehurst Freeway and I had to toss them. Bummer since whenever I passed someone I got water/dirt splashed in my face. Here's a picture coming into the final turn before heading into transition. Notice the fellow Snapple kid to my right. Go Snapple Go!
T2 aka ONE HOT MESS [5:24]
For reasons I still cannot explain, I went brain-dead when I entered the transition area with my bike. Even though I knew I was in row 14, I couldn't find my stuff. It seriously was NOT funny. I finally discovered that my stuff had shifted and was now slightly submerged in the cater that was my transition area. Thankfully a fellow racer stopped and actually helped me. She admitted that she was in no rush to start the run....which made us both laugh.
I again had to balance to get into my running shoes without falling into the mud. I lost SERIOUS ground here.
THE RUN [1:12:14; 161 OF 261]
After the drama in T2, I just never seemed to get my game back. I should have been pissed off, but instead I started feeling sick again on the run. By mile 2.5 my stomach was really upset and all I wanted to do was stop and throw up in a gutter. I just kept motoring, many times quite slowly, along. There were moments that were true misery. A fellow runner actually rolled up next to me to ask if I was ok.
In retrospect I think I still have not mastered how much glu and water to take in during the bike and run. I very likely am over hydrating because it's like I immediately get a sour stomach during the run leg and popping TUMS just doesn't seem to fix the problem.
A half mile to the finish I could hear cheering and as I crested the bridge I could see the finish line. I have never been so happy to see cheering crowds. Somehow I literally turned on the jets, increased my stride and just gutted it out into the finish line. I'll admit it --- I teared up as I got close to the finish line.
TAKE AWAYS FOR NEXT TIME
Once I arrived in the transition area I realized just how BIG this triathlon was going to be. Man…there were a LOT of rows. Bonus that I was able to hook up with some Snapple kids and was greeted in the transition area by two DCRRC coaches. Sweet!
After I set up my bike and covered it in a futile attempt to keep it somewhat dry in advance of the race, we headed over to get ready for swim practice. It was a bit unsettling to see a line of people waiting to get into the water. That can’t be good. Here’s a shot pre-Potomac contamination.
We finally made our way to the dock and jumped in. Just like in June, the water felt pretty good. I swam out the 200 meter mark and bobbed around looking out over the rest of the course. I wanted to make sure I had a good sense of the buoys since last time I misjudged them and got a bit off course. I then swam back and around toward the 1400 meter buoy so that I could practice the finishing leg of the swim. For whatever reason, that section felt tight and I wondered if there would be a crowd at the turn the following day. Overall, it felt like butter wearing the wetsuit. It definitely helps to keep your body in proper alignment and on top of the water. Here's a pix of me sighting as I headed out to the 200 meter buoy.
After wrapping up the swim, we headed back to our cars and en route we surprisingly ran into another Snapple kid. Who would have thunk.
This evening Conte's (and other sponsors) provided an evening with Dave Scott -- six time Ironman Hawaii winner and current triathlon coach. Now I feel a bit spoiled because the Snapple kids met Dave at the DC Triathlon this past June right before we started lining up for our swim waves.On Tuesday I met up with the DC Road Runners for Tuesday Night. Instead of the loop, I headed out for an out-and-back on the Mt. Vernon Trail. Nothing too facing or too fast. Just a steady, conversational pace along the trail.
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After I hurt my hip last winter the physical therapist told me I had to start building up my lateral movement muscles so that there is better balance with the muscles that I regularly use for the bike, run and freestyle swim.
After running hills through the neighborhood last night I spent time working on these sadly ignored muscles while I watched tv. It's surprising how little, focused exercises can really make a difference. I actually woke up this morning sore. Needless to say, walking down the stairs this morning was slower than usual.
