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.