Saturday morning I was up and out the door by 6:40 with my son Patrick to go take a ride on the Metro from Van Dorn (blue line) to the College Park – UMD station (green line)t o walk to the University of Maryland campus track to see where he needed to go for his upcoming track and field camp. It was about an hour train ride and for us a 30 minute walk. When Patrick goes to camp he will likely walk faster. We got home at 11:45AM where I proceeded to change to get my gear needed to (1) attend packet pickup for the inaugural running of the DC Triathlon downtown and (2) get my bike to transition. Other Z people were meeting around Noon and I was hoping to catch up with them. And I did! First I had to ride my bike to the hotel from the Old Convention Center parking lot and leave my bike with the bike valet(!). Cool! About 5 of us were there together and the process went quickly. We even had our photo taken at the end, which is now online with individual racer results. Priscilla and I then walked back to get her bike to then ride to transition. I thought I knew where I was going. It was a good thing Marlene caught up to us, because I would have led us to Haines Point! We got our bikes racked and let some air out of the tires to avoid popping! At this point I caught the shuttle back to the lot to head back home while the other ladies went for a practice swim.
Yesterday I got up early – after not quite four hours of sleep – at 2:30AM...to get ready to head out to the triathlon, which included Sprint and Olympic distance events. I had signed up for the Sprint race, which was actually a long Sprint in that the run was a 6.7K as opposed to the usual 5K. I was out the door by 3:05AM to drive downtown to again park in the Old Convention Center parking lot where I would take a shuttle to the race start and transition area. I was the 2nd person on my bus, third if you count the bus driver. Soon folks starting filling it up and I was just updating my Facebook status about being ready to race and looking forward to seeing Z peeps...when Sally got on board! We sat together for the ride over. We got there in short order where we got body marked and our chips picked up. After setting up transition we made a port o potty stop then we started running into other Zs: Marlene, Tracey, Priscilla, Maria, Alaina... We saw Holly ready to cheer, too! We also saw Lindsay doing her officiating duties.
The Sprint race was to begin at 5:30 and after all the Sprint waves the Olympic distance would start. At about 5:30 I was walking over to the corrals thinking it strange that the National Anthem had not been sung/played. I guess I figured out things were starting later – they were out securing the bike course. Or something like that. I figured I had plenty of time, so I did something I never thought I’d do...use a port a potty in *gulp* bare feet. Luckily it was very clean inside! I got out into time to hear the National Anthem, too. I made my way back to the corrals where I ran into Kim, a fairly new Z, then talked to Alaina when it was time to get moving! The race officially started at about 6:00 and the moved up the time between waves from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. They were herding swimmers down to the staging area. There was a very exuberant volunteer pumping us up and I was able to get the correct colored swim camp. (Saturday I had noticed I got Royal Blue instead of Navy Blue...). Then it was time to get in the water and get lined up for the start! I think I started at about 6:30 instead of my original 6:15 time.
Swim: 15:40 ([tied]3/28) – The water was kind of bouncy at the start – we were all just bobbing in the water. The water that morning had measured 81.1 degrees so wet suits were not allowed. I thought the water felt great and it was nice to not have to deal with the hassle of the wetsuit. Soon the horn sounded and we were off! I did a pretty good job of swimming straight and sighting. The buoys were huge and marked and the Sprint turn was very clearly marked. I think there was a bit of current because I got a little pushed to the left here, but once I made the turn I was fine. The trip back the other way was again, fairly straight. And before I knew it, it was time to make the turn to the dock and get out and head to transition. Cool!
T1: 3:28 (9/28) – My bike was racked in the last row on the left. I had a long jog down there, once I started not walking. My feet did not like going barefoot! But on the plus side, I was in the row closest to the ‘bike out’!
Bike: 40:39 (5/28) (What?? 5th in age group here?) – We had to cross a street, then a median to get to our road to get to the mount line. I got going easily after that. I really enjoyed the bike. We even went through a tunnel – fun! I think my bike computer showed a max of 27 which for a course without a lot of downhill for me is pretty good. I think I could have pushed a little harder! There were a lot of hairpin turns and one had a little ramp to go up and over the median in the road. It was very nice to be on a course that was completely closed to traffic! I saw a few Z’s on the course, including Marlene looking strong, as well as Z cheer folks! The finish came up so quickly! I love Sprints! Anyway, I am really shocked at my bike ranking – for me that is amazing! I usually do a hair better on the run than the bike.
T2: 1:53 – The trade off for the short distance to bike out was the long distance from bike in to the race! But I did a good job of swapping out shoes and headgear and was off. And I was close to the run out!
Run: 42:46 (12/28) – Well, the run was hot. What can I say? I don’t do well in the heat. But...I was pretty happy with my run time, as I averaged 10:17! The first two miles went pretty well, actually, and I had no trouble coming out of transition. I only walked for the water stops and jogged up (albeit very slowly) Capitol Hill! This course had many U-turns on it, too, so you always got to see people coming and going. Again, more Z sightings and a few shouts of encouragement. I did get to see some Z cheer on the run course, too – love the high 5’s! The killer was running by the finish area when you were just over the half way point. Hmm, that’s a little cruel – haha! But it was good to hear the music and know what was waiting for me. The best part was running back down Capitol Hill and this time in the shade. Ahh, if the entire course had had shade it would have been so nice!
Final: 1:44:25 5/28 in age group(!) – What a nice surprise!
Cheering and Cowbell – After I finished my Sprint race I got a bean and cheese burrito and some water and then ran into Marlene. We decided to walk the course back and see if we could find the Z cheer folks. We found them rather quickly and stopped to hang out to cheer for all the Z folks running in the Olympic distance race as they passed that point. It was fun cheering them on and I got to for the first time ring a cowbell. Thanks, Holly! I cannot wait to get my own! After we cheered we made our way back to transition.
This was a fun race despite the heat of the day and the hassles of the bike drop and the location of the finish line to transition. I was really glad I had signed up for the Sprint and not the Oly. Huge congrats to all the Oly finishers out there in all that heat starting later and longer.
Yesterday I got up early – after not quite four hours of sleep – at 2:30AM...to get ready to head out to the triathlon, which included Sprint and Olympic distance events. I had signed up for the Sprint race, which was actually a long Sprint in that the run was a 6.7K as opposed to the usual 5K. I was out the door by 3:05AM to drive downtown to again park in the Old Convention Center parking lot where I would take a shuttle to the race start and transition area. I was the 2nd person on my bus, third if you count the bus driver. Soon folks starting filling it up and I was just updating my Facebook status about being ready to race and looking forward to seeing Z peeps...when Sally got on board! We sat together for the ride over. We got there in short order where we got body marked and our chips picked up. After setting up transition we made a port o potty stop then we started running into other Zs: Marlene, Tracey, Priscilla, Maria, Alaina... We saw Holly ready to cheer, too! We also saw Lindsay doing her officiating duties.
The Sprint race was to begin at 5:30 and after all the Sprint waves the Olympic distance would start. At about 5:30 I was walking over to the corrals thinking it strange that the National Anthem had not been sung/played. I guess I figured out things were starting later – they were out securing the bike course. Or something like that. I figured I had plenty of time, so I did something I never thought I’d do...use a port a potty in *gulp* bare feet. Luckily it was very clean inside! I got out into time to hear the National Anthem, too. I made my way back to the corrals where I ran into Kim, a fairly new Z, then talked to Alaina when it was time to get moving! The race officially started at about 6:00 and the moved up the time between waves from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. They were herding swimmers down to the staging area. There was a very exuberant volunteer pumping us up and I was able to get the correct colored swim camp. (Saturday I had noticed I got Royal Blue instead of Navy Blue...). Then it was time to get in the water and get lined up for the start! I think I started at about 6:30 instead of my original 6:15 time.
Swim: 15:40 ([tied]3/28) – The water was kind of bouncy at the start – we were all just bobbing in the water. The water that morning had measured 81.1 degrees so wet suits were not allowed. I thought the water felt great and it was nice to not have to deal with the hassle of the wetsuit. Soon the horn sounded and we were off! I did a pretty good job of swimming straight and sighting. The buoys were huge and marked and the Sprint turn was very clearly marked. I think there was a bit of current because I got a little pushed to the left here, but once I made the turn I was fine. The trip back the other way was again, fairly straight. And before I knew it, it was time to make the turn to the dock and get out and head to transition. Cool!
T1: 3:28 (9/28) – My bike was racked in the last row on the left. I had a long jog down there, once I started not walking. My feet did not like going barefoot! But on the plus side, I was in the row closest to the ‘bike out’!
Bike: 40:39 (5/28) (What?? 5th in age group here?) – We had to cross a street, then a median to get to our road to get to the mount line. I got going easily after that. I really enjoyed the bike. We even went through a tunnel – fun! I think my bike computer showed a max of 27 which for a course without a lot of downhill for me is pretty good. I think I could have pushed a little harder! There were a lot of hairpin turns and one had a little ramp to go up and over the median in the road. It was very nice to be on a course that was completely closed to traffic! I saw a few Z’s on the course, including Marlene looking strong, as well as Z cheer folks! The finish came up so quickly! I love Sprints! Anyway, I am really shocked at my bike ranking – for me that is amazing! I usually do a hair better on the run than the bike.
T2: 1:53 – The trade off for the short distance to bike out was the long distance from bike in to the race! But I did a good job of swapping out shoes and headgear and was off. And I was close to the run out!
Run: 42:46 (12/28) – Well, the run was hot. What can I say? I don’t do well in the heat. But...I was pretty happy with my run time, as I averaged 10:17! The first two miles went pretty well, actually, and I had no trouble coming out of transition. I only walked for the water stops and jogged up (albeit very slowly) Capitol Hill! This course had many U-turns on it, too, so you always got to see people coming and going. Again, more Z sightings and a few shouts of encouragement. I did get to see some Z cheer on the run course, too – love the high 5’s! The killer was running by the finish area when you were just over the half way point. Hmm, that’s a little cruel – haha! But it was good to hear the music and know what was waiting for me. The best part was running back down Capitol Hill and this time in the shade. Ahh, if the entire course had had shade it would have been so nice!
Final: 1:44:25 5/28 in age group(!) – What a nice surprise!
Cheering and Cowbell – After I finished my Sprint race I got a bean and cheese burrito and some water and then ran into Marlene. We decided to walk the course back and see if we could find the Z cheer folks. We found them rather quickly and stopped to hang out to cheer for all the Z folks running in the Olympic distance race as they passed that point. It was fun cheering them on and I got to for the first time ring a cowbell. Thanks, Holly! I cannot wait to get my own! After we cheered we made our way back to transition.
This was a fun race despite the heat of the day and the hassles of the bike drop and the location of the finish line to transition. I was really glad I had signed up for the Sprint and not the Oly. Huge congrats to all the Oly finishers out there in all that heat starting later and longer.
The finisher's medals were pretty cool, too!
I was quite thankful yesterday to get a ride afterwards to my car from Marlene. She made my day! I had planned to bike with my pump in my swim backpack after the race, but the zipper was not staying closed. Argh! Poor planning on my part! Needless to say, I was going to have to walk it. Marlene happened to see what was going on and offered me a ride. We did have to walk to her car first, but it was close in comparison! Thanks again, Marlene! I already have a plan for the next time I need to bike with a backpack and pump...
Next up: The always fun and laid back July 4th kickASTtri:
Next up: The always fun and laid back July 4th kickASTtri:
- 800 meter pool swim
- 13-ish mile bike through Annandale/North Springfield
- 3 mile run
Happy Training!
Happy Training!
No comments:
Post a Comment