I arrived just after transition opened at 6:00 am as I wanted to have plenty of time to set up my area and get a feel for the race layout. There were no other bikes the bike rack designated for my bib number so I was able to get the end spot! The transition area was small-ish so it didn't matter too much, but I was excited to have a spot that would be so easy to find. I wandered around a bit and visited with some friends as I waited for the race to start. The weather was wonderful and the temperatures were in the upper 60s before the race started. I shivered a little bit and wished for a moment that I had brought a light jacket. Such a change when we have grown accustomed to much hotter weather! Normally I would hang out with Mr K, but his mom-Linda was visiting us and they were coming a bit later. No reason to wake her up in the middle of the night to get to the race so early. I had plenty of time to swim a warm-up lap so I took full advantage of it. The pool at the Cooper Center is simply divine - outdoors and heated with wide, 50 meter lanes. I did not want to get out after my warm-up because I knew how chilly I would be waiting for the race to start.
Swim
I never have time goals for the swim because I'm more interested in keeping a smooth, easy pace and good form. This swim was 350 meters, so 7 lengths in the gorgeous pool. I got very fortunate as I did not have too many people directly ahead of or behind me. I was passed once and it happened to be at the same time I was trying to get around a slower swimmer. Definitely not "smooth" in those moments, but I was able to recover my little pocket of space and swim on.
I was really enjoying myself and was a little bit sad when the swim was finished. I could see Mr K and Linda on the side of the pool and gave them a small wave as I started the last lap. I have to find time to get back out to that pool for a swim. My official time for the 350m was 8:51, not blazing fast but important to note that at my last tri in April I swam 400m in 11:26. Looks like my training this summer has made a difference. Even better, I really enjoyed it and felt as if I met my goal of a steady and smooth pace.
Bike
One of my big goals for the day was to practice transitions. My set-up worked well for me as well as thinking of top-to-bottom and vice versa when it came to switching from swim gear to bike gear. My time in transition (T1) was 1:39. Still not as fast as I would like, but way faster than the 3:00 from my April race. The bike course consisted of two, six mile loops and had some pretty decent "hills" on the route. I say "hills" because they are not really all that bad compared with other parts of town, but still enough of an incline to be challenging when put in a single six mile loop. I got a good start and focused on pedaling hard and following all of the triathlon rules about passing and proper distance between bikes.
I didn't have any time goals here either, I just wanted to ride hard and see what I could do. I was able to wave at Mr K and Linda as I came through the end of the first loop. It was so nice to have them there! I passed several people, especially on the second loop which was more congested as most people were finished with the swim by this point. I was only passed once, which felt pretty good! My ride was over before I knew it - 37:27 was my time and my average speed was 19.23 mph. Of all the improvements that I have made this summer, I think that my bike fitness has been the biggest! So exciting!
Run
My heart felt so happy as I headed back into transition because I was about to run - my favorite!! I got in and out with a T2 time of 2:06, which was almost 30 seconds faster than my last race. Not super fast, but getting better! I didn't really know what to expect on the run as I have not been doing speed work in the same way that I usually do. I have been training by heart rate the summer and that has meant bringing my run paces back a little bit in order to stay in my training zone. Again, I had no goals for this other than to practice all of the transitions and test out my gear so I ran by feel. I was passed early into the run by a 13 year old boy. This guy looked like a pro - even handled the aide station so smoothly! He ran beautiful negative splits and ended up about a minute faster than me on the run and 1st place in the 14 and under age group. It is so impressive to see all the kids race at these events, they are really good at it too! I was surprised to see that my 1st mile paced at 8:54 - a great start and that certainly inspired me to keep on working.
Much like the bike course, there are a decent amount of "hills" on the run. I passed a few more people and was enjoying the cooler temperatures - no doubt that was helping my pacing as I had trained in temperatures that were over 20 degrees warmer much of the time. There was a good deal of shade on this course as parts of it followed the running path at the Cooper Center. Mile two chimed on my watch at 8:36 - yay for negative splits! This run felt pretty short and I decided to push the pace when there was just under a mile to go. I got a boost with a nice downhill coming into mile 3 and also from the sounds of the crowd and the race announcer. Back to the Cooper track and through the finish line in 26:30 - not a shabby 5K! My last mile came in at 8:16 so super yay for negative splits! My run was a minute or so slower than my last triathlon in April, but I feel like the whole picture is much more balanced now. In April I felt like a runner who also swam and rode a bike, but at this race I felt like a triathlete.
I had no idea how I did compared to the rest of the women in my age group. The wonderful thing about triathlon is that everyone's age is written on their calf so you know who is around you. I didn't see many women on the course as this race was 60-something percent men (according to the race website) and I certainly didn't see anyone with my age on their leg. I was stalking the race results and was beyond thrilled when I saw my name in second place in my age group! Looks like we would be delaying the post race brunch a bit as we stuck around for the awards. It is hard to beat standing on a podium, it is one of those things that doesn't come around all that frequently, and I milked every moment of it!
My dress rehearsal race was a huge success. While the distances were only a fraction of what I will put together on September 26 at Redman 70.3, it gave me a shot of confidence and also a glimpse of just how much fun that day is going to be - I am fired up now!!
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