Umm...I mean TriGirl Duathlon Race Report. Unfortunately, due to Lake Houston's water level being 7 feet below "normal", the swim leg of the race was cancelled, and replaced with a 1 mile run. A bit disappointed about that since my swimming lately has been going very well. More on that in a bit.
My previous post talked about this week being a Recovery Week. Well, thankfully it was just that. Wednesday I woke up not feeling well at all. My glands felt swollen, my body ached, just felt like I was in the first stages of getting sick. So I spent the rest of the week getting some good nights rest and no workouts. Luckily this helped, and I did not get sick. So Saturday, I did a 45 min ride on my trainer, just to get my legs conditioned for the race.
Last night, as I was getting my transition bag ready with all my race gear, I kept getting frazzled about not doing the swim. It was just throwing me off mentally when I was trying to get all my stuff together. You are probably thinking: Really, Lisa, the fact that you didn't have to pack a swim cap and goggles makes you frazzled? My response - Hell yes. I can't explain it, but when I am in the zone of getting prepared for each leg of the race, not doing one of those legs just threw me off. Once I finally got my gear all ready, I set my alarm for 4 am, and finally got to bed around 10:30. Feeling a little antsy, I woke up twice in the middle of the night, looked at the clock and was relieved to be able to go back to sleep. Then, I turned over once again, and saw my clock said 4:30. 4:30? Hu? Then it hit me, I forgot to turn the alarm ON! F! I jumped out of bed, practically knocking my lamp over turning it on, and started getting dressed. And oh by the way, my friend Erin was picking me up at 4:30! Thankfully, she was a few minutes late. When she did get there, she helped get my water boiling for my oatmeal, as I was getting my stuff together to leave. I thought I was frazzled the night before?! This was 100 times worse. Thankfully I had my bag all packed up, and didn't forget anything. We were on the road by 4:50. Once we got there, we got body marked and set up in transition. I then started doing my pre-race mental routine -- making sure I knew which row my bike was racked on, and where I had to enter and exit transition during the bike and runs.
Erin and I pre-race.
Once Erin and I got set up, we walked down to the water, and noticed just how low the lake really was. Definitely not swimmable. As you can see from the pictures, the water is about 30 feet away from the bottom of the boat dock - where we normal run in for the swim start. Not this year!
1 Mile Run - 08:40
I think for the first time ever, I was in the first wave start. Meaning, my age group, women 30-34 was the first group to start the race. This was a pretty cool feeling, not sure I can explain why, it just was. Luckily, I started with my friend Erin, who is a great runner, so my goal was to try to keep up with her for this 1 mile shootout. When the gun went off, I started out at a pretty fast pace, and after a few minutes as expected, Erin made her way in front of me, so I did my best to keep up. This run ended up being one of the fastest miles I've ever ran. Nice.
T1 - 01:07
The first transition was much easier this time then after a normal swim race. I pulled off my visor and put on my bike shoes and helmet and was off. Probably my quickest T1 ever.
My transition spot.
11 Mile Bike - 36:15
I was pumped for this bike ride. I've been training hard, and getting alot of good rides in for my Half Ironman training. So after the first mile, and getting in my groove, mile 2 averaged 19.5 mph! Mile 3 was even better - 20.6 mph! Mile 4 - 20.1 mph! I was stoked and feeling great. Unlike previous races on this route, instead of coasting down the hills, I pedalled through getting up to 25 mph a few times! Towards the end of the 11 miles, I made sure to gear up and keep my cadence high to give my legs a little bit of rest before the run. I was very happy with this bike ride.
T2 - 00:43
Once I got into transition, I racked my bike and got my running shoes and visor back on and headed out for the 3 mile run. Still being excited about my bike, I felt my heartrate skyrocket as I was running out of transition. Not a good sign.
3 Mile Run - 33:30
I started out this run too fast with too high of a heart rate. I had to slow up and make sure I didn't over do it. By the time I got to the water station at mile 1, I needed to walk. And from then on I knew I was in bad shape. By this time of the morning, the heat was brutal, and I ended up walking several times. Very reminiscent of my previous brick (bike then run) workouts. This is something I will definitely need to work on. Although, as I was running to the finish, I was able to sprint it out, making me feel slightly better.
Total Time - 1 hr 20 min.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my performance. I wish the 3 mile run went better, but I can't complain since I ran at 8 min 40 sec mile at the beginning, and averaged 18.3 mph on my bike ride. That is the quickest bike race I've ever done. Next week starts Base 2 of my 70.3 training. I'm ready to get back in training after my Recovery week, and I am more focused on what I need to work on. 82 days to go until the big day. Today was a good milestone.
