"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or
brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."

~ Anonymous
(taken from Matt Erbele's, It Takes Time to Get Good)

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Race Report:: Triathlon at Pacific Grove September 13, 2008


Race Report: Triathlon at Pacific Grove September 13, 2008

I will begin this report with the important news ...

I FINALLY BROKE FOUR HOURS AT PACIFIC GROVE!

FINAL TIME: 3:52:27

Boo-Freaking-Yah!

And the old guy in the Hawaiian shirt on the fixed gear bike didn't beat me, so my coach still has a job. I am sure she was very worried about losing such an elite athlete.

Picture: His name is actually Stu and he is out there every year. He is a hell of a nice guy. He swims without a wetsuit and after he does the olympic race on Saturday he does the sprint race on Sunday with his wife. Everyone LOVES Stu! I still kicked his ass though. I have to take my victories where I can get them.

The Swim: A retrospective and comparative analysis

Total time
2008: 55: 32
2007: 1:09:20

Yep, I took almost 14 minutes off my swim time!

Number of times I puked:
2008: 0
2007: 1 and a few dry heaves



Number of times I was followed by a rescue canoe and/or surfboard:

2008: 0
2007: the entire second loop

Improvement? Me thinks, yes!

Picture: Me (foreground) and LA run buddy coming out from our warm up swim.

I struggled with sighting and ended up wrestling with the kelp more than I would like to admit, but I felt really strong on the first loop.

When I came out of the water (to run around the stupid rock and enter for my second loop) I wanted to check my time. My watch read 9:15. Hmmm... unless I found a jet ski that would never happen, then for a split second I thought "I feel really strong maybe it said 19 minutes!!!" Reality (in the form of failing, inefficient swimmers that were the only ones of my wave that were left with me ) splashed me in the face and after I sputtered and coughed I thought " ok, maybe 29 minutes. Whatever, still good for you. Keep swimming."

Picture: Team RBR getting ready to rumble!


On the second loop, I kept hearing someone screaming "left, left!" and I thought "Oh for fuck's sake just pass me already!" When I looked up, I saw the surfboard girl. Ok, let's be honest, as I almost ran into her, I saw the surfboard girl:

Surfboard girl: "I was trying to help you keep out of 'this'."
By 'this', she means a big kelp bed that I was now entangled in. Shit.

Me: "Oh , I thought someone was trying to pass me."

Surfboard girl: looking at me as one would a mentally slow child "They usually only say that when they pass you on the bike or the run."

Me: feeling like a MAJOR dumbass "Oh."

After I extracted myself from the kelp I swam on and finished my fastest Pac Grove swim EVER!

Picture: Ha! Take that stupid Pacific Ocean! I am your bitch no longer!

T1:
2008 6:12
2007: 14:24

Secret of my success? I ran up the hill, instead of the slog of failure I had done the previous year and I didn't sit down or cry. That, apparently, saves you a lot of time. Who knew?


The Bike

2008: 1:39:08
2007: 1:43:28

I rode hard, but not a huge improvement. I need to work on speed on the bike. I HAVE to find people to ride with. I don't push myself when I am alone. Overall I was happy with my ride. I felt great on the bike and I did push it, but I am just not fast.

Picture: I am SUPER mature at all times. Hardcore to the bone. That is I.

T2:

2008: 5:21
2007: 1:47

I ran off the bike (ok, "ran" is strong. But I did shuffle quickly, off the bike) I didn't get lost. I didn't go pee. I was racked in the same old lady racks I always am. What that hell? What WAS I doing for over five minutes?

The Run

2008: 1:06:13
2007: 1:07:24

My legs felt great. My feet were numb from the bike for the first two loops of the run (hubby is moving my cleats, he thinks they are too far back. I had no idea it wasn't normal for your feet to go numb when you bike over 20 miles)

Picture: Team RBR Wonder Mascot, Lucy, waits on the run course for her mama!

Unfortunately, I had inhaled some sea water and it triggered my asthma. After the first loop I was struggling to move air. I had kept it at bay on the bike with my inhaler, but since I wasn't running with my run belt I did not have my inhaler on the run. Big mistake. I felt great but I could only move so much air. That kept me from being able to bump it up after I got my legs back. Oh well. Lesson learned and I still had a good run.

Overall

Fantastic race. I had an absolute blast. It was exactly what I wanted, fun and fitness with friends, old and new.

The Triathlon at Pacific Grove is such a newbie friendly, craziness friendly race. We cheered for everyone and were cheered for by everyone. We met up with Calyx and Donna and got to take pictures and swap stories and nervous energy.

I won't let the cat out of the bag (but, since we know it will take FOREVER for Calyx to do her race report) Calyx and Donna had AWESOME first races! It was such an honor to be there with them!

Picture: Team RBR and Wonder mascot, Lucy

Here is a link to hubby's album. Zenfolio | ed rader

He is still processing and uploading so check back. I am still waiting on several key pictures, but I wanted to post a timely race report (ahem, Calyx, Hint, hint)

He takes pictures of LOTS of people (not just Team RBR) so if you or anyone you know did Pacific Grove feel free to send them the link! I always feel bad that he has these great pictures of people and they never get to see them.






22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go!!! Amazing race all around. Not puking in the swim had to be so much better ;-)

That bike picture of you is the best - love it. Also, I love that Lucy has a pink team shirt too...so sweet, that dog!

You should be so proud of yourself going back this year and tearing up that course girl!!

Stef0115 said...

AWESOME!

Your hubby takes exceptional photos. Looking at them while reading your words makes me feel like I was there.

So great that you PR'd on this course surrounded by friends and teammates. I am SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!

Unknown said...

Nice job! Huge PR and especially nice swim improvement. Wow!!! You must be quite pleased. :-)

Willie said...

What the fuck, you improved everything but the transition?? Come on what's wrong with you! Hell even I could train you in those!

OK so you know I'm just kidding,..... right?

Great job, you are amazing. I'm so glad you had a good race. I know you were looking forward to it all year.

The RBR girls are always smiling when they are together? I used to think they were just naturally happy people. Now I know they are just totally crazy sickos who don't give a fuck! That's why I love them.

Great job all of you.

Reese said...

"You know the old adage that a shitty last long run means you will have a good race, if it is true I may fucking well WIN the Triathlon at Pacific Grove next week."

You did WIN, you beat your last time. Nice prediction. Excellent!
By the way, I've never heard that "old adage."

Lou said...

You ROCK!

Congrats on the PR. I loved reading the report and going through the photos.

E said...

Yay! YOU DID IT! CONGRATS! :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new PR! Great job on the swimming.

Feet going numb when biking: it may be that the shoes are just tight at the front. Try to not tighten them so much.

The pic of you on the bike: Love it!

ShirleyPerly said...

LOL! That guy in the Hawaiian shirt looks a lot like my father-in-law! Well, maybe about 20 years ago ...

CONGRATS on a great race performance. I know you must feel good about that swim time. Hell, nearly everything you did was a PR. That's freakin' AMAZING!!

Wonderful photos too, esp. that one of you on the bike :-)

Erin Leigh said...

That is a HUGE time difference!!! Glad you did so well and had such a good time!

Raina said...

What a great race report! You did an awesome job! Can't wait til I'm on your level. Thanks for sharing!

Love your posts by the way!
Raina :)

Jaime said...

CONGRATS on the PR!!!!! You are an inspiration and you looked amazing in those pictures.

Glad the asthma didn't slow you down too much. Good luck on the ultra next week (right?)

Pokey said...

Congrats on all the big improvements!! That is totally what it's all about :)

AWESOME!

Tater said...

Way to Geaux Chickie!!! Sounds like great race!

UGH on the asthma! I have it too so understand. I usually put my inhaler in a bike shoe so when I get to T1 I shove my inhaler in my cleavage where it stays lodged for bike and run lol. Not sure if ya wanna try that but that way I have it if I need it. Otherwise I always forget it.

Aileen said...

CONGRATULATIONS! Jeez...you smoked that Tri! And your puppy is the cutest :)

Maryland Girl aka Michelle said...

AWESOME!!

Calyx Meredith said...

I can't believe you wrote such a great race report that soon! (Show off.) Fantasticest race report ever! (For pretty much the fantasticest race I can imagine.) It was so great to be there with the RBR girls and to get to meet Mr. RBR and Lucy! Thanks for the picture link. I haven't even finished looking at the pics John took, but I can't wait to see Mr. RBR's too and relive the day. Congratulations on your fabulous race and PR (!!!) - especially given how little sleep and how much stress you've had! You are hardcore and someone out with whom I like to hang. Peace.

S. Baboo said...

Awesome Job! When I started racing there was a guy on a bolt-upright pee-wee herman bike that i was striving to beat. i finally passed him on that crazy bike but he totally kicked my ass on the run. You do take your victories where you can get them.

Kelly said...

Great race and great race report! LOVE the pictures, thanks for sharing.

Jane said...

Being goofy for race pics is our unalienable right. Wow - great PR. But better yet, you conquered your demons about that course, esp that swim course. I think in T2 you were gloating about how awesome you were doing.

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

Great perspective and race report. I smiled all the way through reading your recount of your PR!

Stay tuned...

Aka Alice said...

Ah geez...it took me almost all week to get here...but...

CONGRATS! GREAT RACE!!!

You look like you are having so much fun!

YEAHHHH!