The Half Ironman went really well! I finished in 5:27:39 and placed 2nd in my age group out of 38 women (Age 25-29). I finished one minute faster than my previous fastest time for this distance, which is exciting considering this was a hilly course and the extreme heat we had yesterday. It was a really tough race.
SWIM (1.4 miles): I started around 8 am yesterday morning. My time out of the water was 32 minutes, not my fastest but I will take it. The water was too warm for a wetsuit (above 78 degrees), so that can slow you down a bit. I felt pretty good on the swim, relaxed and comfortable most of the way. I swam a little off course - need to work on that! I finished 3rd in my age group on the swim and 35th overall (out of about 700!!).
BIKE (56 miles): I really pushed the bike portio
n of the race. I rode 50 miles the day before the race (remember, this was a "training" race so I didn't get any rest) and I could tell that my legs were tired out of the water. It's always tough to transition from swimming to biking - I was really out of breath and it took about 6-8 miles before my body relaxed and settled into a pace. Also, I concentrated on my nutrition during the bike ride. I am working to find a system for keeping track of what I am eating. It's easy to get confused or disoriented when you are on the bike for several hours. My coach and I came up with the plan to eat on the 0, 30 and 60 of every hour (gel packs, shot blocks, and perpetuem (high carb drink)) and then consume electrolyte pills on the 15 and 45. It keeps me drinking every 15 minutes, always important. I averaged about 19 miles per hour for the ride. I was happy with that because it was rolling hills the whole way and you are not allowed to draft in triathlons...unfortunately!! I finished in 2 hours and 54 minutes - 8th in my age group. My new bike is holding up really well, and I still love it.
RUN (13.1 miles): The run was the toughest part of the race. It was close to noon by the time I started my run and the heat was out in full force. The course was not shaded and we were running on concrete for most of the way. It was really mentally challenging to keep going. I made mental agreements with myself not to walk on the uphills knowing that I could let my legs shake loose a little on the downhills. It's amazing what you can convince your body to do! The run course was two loops, and the toughest part was huge hill in the back of the park that we had to run up twice. It came along at mile 12 of the run course (2nd loop) and had most people walking the whole way. I also had to walk here and there on the way up that one to catch my breath. For nutrition, I mostly just drank water and took electrolyte pills, with a gel every 45 minutes. Run time was 1 hour and 55 minutes (8:51 pace). 3rd in my age group. 65th overall.
It was really fun to race again! I had forgotten how much harder races are than training rides/runs because you push yourself to the max. My T3 Training Team was out there cheering and volunteering, so that helped a ton. Johnce was also a trooper and came out to cheer and take pictures. After the race I even got to take pictures with two cute longhorns :) Overall, it was a great day.
SWIM (1.4 miles): I started around 8 am yesterday morning. My time out of the water was 32 minutes, not my fastest but I will take it. The water was too warm for a wetsuit (above 78 degrees), so that can slow you down a bit. I felt pretty good on the swim, relaxed and comfortable most of the way. I swam a little off course - need to work on that! I finished 3rd in my age group on the swim and 35th overall (out of about 700!!).BIKE (56 miles): I really pushed the bike portio
n of the race. I rode 50 miles the day before the race (remember, this was a "training" race so I didn't get any rest) and I could tell that my legs were tired out of the water. It's always tough to transition from swimming to biking - I was really out of breath and it took about 6-8 miles before my body relaxed and settled into a pace. Also, I concentrated on my nutrition during the bike ride. I am working to find a system for keeping track of what I am eating. It's easy to get confused or disoriented when you are on the bike for several hours. My coach and I came up with the plan to eat on the 0, 30 and 60 of every hour (gel packs, shot blocks, and perpetuem (high carb drink)) and then consume electrolyte pills on the 15 and 45. It keeps me drinking every 15 minutes, always important. I averaged about 19 miles per hour for the ride. I was happy with that because it was rolling hills the whole way and you are not allowed to draft in triathlons...unfortunately!! I finished in 2 hours and 54 minutes - 8th in my age group. My new bike is holding up really well, and I still love it.
RUN (13.1 miles): The run was the toughest part of the race. It was close to noon by the time I started my run and the heat was out in full force. The course was not shaded and we were running on concrete for most of the way. It was really mentally challenging to keep going. I made mental agreements with myself not to walk on the uphills knowing that I could let my legs shake loose a little on the downhills. It's amazing what you can convince your body to do! The run course was two loops, and the toughest part was huge hill in the back of the park that we had to run up twice. It came along at mile 12 of the run course (2nd loop) and had most people walking the whole way. I also had to walk here and there on the way up that one to catch my breath. For nutrition, I mostly just drank water and took electrolyte pills, with a gel every 45 minutes. Run time was 1 hour and 55 minutes (8:51 pace). 3rd in my age group. 65th overall.
It was really fun to race again! I had forgotten how much harder races are than training rides/runs because you push yourself to the max. My T3 Training Team was out there cheering and volunteering, so that helped a ton. Johnce was also a trooper and came out to cheer and take pictures. After the race I even got to take pictures with two cute longhorns :) Overall, it was a great day.
0 comments:
Post a Comment