WOU Sprint Tri Recap

Wow, its been a long time since I did my first tri of the year, it might be hard to recall all the details. I do remember it being a lot of fun. We left the kids with the in-laws on Friday night and Saturday, we got up at 5am and were out the door by 5:30. I ate my usual, granola, and about 400 cal of Sustained Energy/Heed mix as well as a cup of coffee. We arrived at the venue at around 7am, checked in, got body marked, then went back to the car to get our gear. Stacey took a spot across the aisle from me and we both set up our transition areas. I left out my cycling jersey as it was very cold but decided I probably wouldnt use it. We went in and watched the first few waves then Stacey's name got called. She did well, better than she thought and I was on the pool deck when she was running towards T1 to tell her. Before long it was my turn. The pool was very shallow on the end we started in and about 8 ft on the other end. I felt pretty good in my swim and did about what I projected I would do, 8:16. As I got out of the pool, I felt my HR strap down around my belly so it didnt track any of the data for the swim. The transition was out the pool door, down some stairs, down the street about 20m to the bike racks. I felt like it went quickly for me as I got down there, pulled on my helmet and shoes and was gone. I decided not to use the bike jersey. Good thing too, within 5 minutes I was very warm. I averaged about 20mph for the first few miles and my HR was about 170 bpm. Then I got to a large hill. A VERY large hill. It was about a mile long, probably 5-7%, and it sucked the life out of me. My first race of the year was fast becoming something I didnt like very much. Then there was this awesome downhill but it didnt make up much time for me. The rest of the course was rollers, false flats, and of course, that same hill in reverse. I think my overall average for the bike was 15.5 mph.
T2 was not too bad but with the ankle brace, it takes a bunch more time than it should and for the first time since my surgical mishap, I was able to run out of T2. And like Forest Gump said, "I just kept runnin". I walked through the water station at the turn around but then got back on my horse shoes and waddled out what would be more like a fast walk to most people. For me, it equated to about 12 min miles. When I got to the track, which we had to do one lap of to finish, I saw the race photographer. I started flexin' and smilin' and I got a SWEET photo of me looking ever so buff. I finished well above last place in the 40-44AG and was very pleased with the overall result too. I finished 68/117 overall and 6/8 AG. We actually got lumped into the 35-44AG which I guess I was 14/17. Stacey did pretty good too for her first time, 5/7 in the 35-44AG but would have had 3rd in the 35-39.
I had a lot of fun especially since Stacey was doing her first event, it was nice to be there with her for that. I only beat her by just over 6 minutes but if she ever gets a bike that doesnt weigh 28lb, watch out. I will still kick her ass in the swim though, no matter how many lessons she takes.

Swim, 500yds, 8:16

T1, 2:00

Bike, 17 miles, 1:06:06

T2, 2:55

Run, 5km, 38:08

Overall 1:57:25

it was a hard week to train

I am writing this from Silver City NM. I came here to work with the ValueAct Capital Women's Pro Cycling Team on Monday, April 28th to start the Tour of the Gila. The race started on Wednesday and we took the stage win on opening day and didnt relenquish it all week. We had one stage win, one second, one fourth, and the overall win. During the week, I only had a chance to run three times and rode one time on a bike too small for me on a trainer, and once on the road with a borrowed bike. The hills around here are long and plentiful. The ride was fun and it was great to get out on the road but on top of the hills, there was plenty of wind.... like 20mph steady headwinds no matter which way you turned. Challenging and painful but I got two hours in and I used a SRM power meter for the first time. I averaged 170 watts for 2:08 and maxed out at 650 watts during a seated climb (just to see how high I could get it) and now I want one. I didnt get a chance to swim; it wasnt convenient.
Overall, I had a great week. I got to run about 10 miles at 6200 ft elevation and ride up to 7200 ft. I am interested to see if it helps when I get back home. I have been here for 7 days but didnt exercise daily. We got up to 8000 ft or so I think but I wasnt doing much up there but watching bike races go by.
The team was great, the riders, the director, and the mechanic. I couldnt have asked for a better team to work for, it was truly a pleasure. They didnt over work me and they were very appreciative.
Heading home tomorrow, leaving Silver City for EL Paso, fly to Phoenix, then on to Portland. Should be home by 3:30pm, I cant wait to see STacey and the boys.
I need to write a race report for the WOU sprint Stacey and I did the weekend I left. I will get to that next week.