Final 2013 Tri- Women's Sprint
Today was my final race of the season and my tri-versary. (No, Hallmark does make a card for that) It is my 5th time doing this race and it was the first tri I ever did, way back in Sept. 2009. I still love this race, probably because it was my first, but also because of the great vibe and diversity of athletes. It is a women's only race and is great for first timers.
Last year, I did this race as the cyclist as part of a relay team so I was really comparing my results vs. 2011. My goals for this race (and pretty much all races) is to beat previous years' races but for this one, I really wanted to go as hard on the bike as I could. Typically, even in a sprint, this isn't a good idea. It is a TRIathlon and killing yourself on the bike doesn't leave much for the run, but since my run is the weakest link, I figured I'm not going to get on the podium anyway so let's see what Blaze and I can do! (You'll have to keep reading to see the outcome)
I got up around 4:45 and did the usual routine. Eat, let the dogs out, pack everything up and on the road at 5:30. (Much more "reasonable" than some of my other earlier and farther races requiring 3:30 wakeup) Met up with my friend Kris who was doing the race for the 2nd time.
Sheri (wife) arrived (with cowbells) shortly before the swim start and I was off. Positioned myself close to the front on the right side, closest to the buoys. A little congested but not bad. I actually swam closer to the inside of the buoy lines to avoid the other swimmers and that worked out pretty well. Swam fairly conservatively to save it for the bike.
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More concerned with smiling for the camera than, um, racing this chick next to me. Doh! |
Transition was a bit slow as my helmet adjustment seemed to have magically gotten smaller. (Or my head bigger?) Got out of there as quickly as I could and hit the mount line, pedals blazing. (In hindsight, after reviewing my power data, probably a bit too hard.)
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The Endurance Nation graphics on my rear wheel and helmet make me MUCH faster. |
Passed a lot of people early on, from the wave before me but didn't see too many from my age group until later in the race. Which could have meant they swam a lot faster than me and were way ahead, or vice versa. Either way, had a hard time getting the effort I wanted until the 2nd half of the bike. (Coincidentally, that's when I starting see my age group peeps! I definitely thrive on the racing!) Couldn't drink much and oly drank about 1/4 of my bottle. Hoping not a huge issue in a sprint? Had a good bike, but not as good as I had hoped, but good enough to have the 18th fastest bike split out of all 442 athletes! When I returned to transition, Sheri was waiting at the entrance directing people in... She had been recruited as an official volunteer for the race, as well as my #1 fan and photographer.
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Seriously? I still have to run now? |
Definitely pretty spent and sat down and had a nap in transition. No, I didn't, but I did sit down to put my shoes on to try to get my heart rate down a bit. The run starts off with a couple of hills. Walked quite a bit early on but then started moving a bit faster once it got flatter. I was surprised at how slow I was going. Picked up a little for the 2nd mile but still pretty slow. I knew my run would be impacted but I didn't think this much. This was slower beyond my wildest dreams! In previous races, I was still able to run fairly well after a pretty hard bike. Not sure what happened here but every race is different and every race is a learning experience.
Managed a respectable 1:37:23 overall, which is about 7 mins. faster vs. 2011. Missions accomplished!
Overall, a great day and a great way to end the season. Switching gears now to more of a run focus in preparation for the Hartford Half Marathon.
Questions/Lessons Learned/Things to Ponder: Was my FTP right? I rode at .92IF and was planning on higher. In another sprint about a month ago, I managed .96IF with a much better run. (A much hillier course however) I've been racing so much that I don't think I have gotten in as much "work" and perhaps lost a few watts? Was today just not my run day? I feel I was capable of maybe a 33:xx run split ( or better) but it just wasn't happening. Did the lack of fluid/calories on a bike hurt me? I'm very pleased with my performance, but always like to consider everything to learn. I accomplished my 2 goals: Top 25 for bike splits and beating 2011.
Here's a little recap of my history at this race:
| Women's Tri, Farmington | ||||||||||||||
| DATE | Place | Entries | Top % | Rank | Swim | T1 | Rank | Bike | T2 | Rank | Run | TOTAL | Place/Group | |
| 9/9/2009 | 458 | 491 | 93% | 425 | 25:32 | 3:42 | 421 | 51:52 | 1:36 | 466 | 44:16 | 2:07:06 | 46/55 | ATHENA |
| 9/12/2010 | 329 | 460 | 72% | 279 | 21:23 | 3:06 | 193 | 44:29 | 1:56 | 405 | 39:52:00 | 1:50:39 | 31/55 | ATHENA |
| 9/9/2011 | 270 | 492 | 55% | 217 | 20:41 | 3:04 | 123 | 41:27 | 2:22 | 382 | 37:26 | 1:44:58 | 22/58 | ATHENA |
| 9/9/2012 | 39:26 | 4/22 | RELAY | |||||||||||
| 9/8/2013 | 136 | 442 | 31% | 121 | 19:46 | 2:50 | 18 | 37:08 | 2:09 | 284 | 35:32 | 1:37:23 | 30/81 | F40-44 |
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I'm there somewhere.... With the light shining down on me. |
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Speed demons at the finish. |
Comments
Congratulations and well done on your race result, as well as your progress over time.
It has been great to watch you develop as a racer, and see how your fitness has continued to improve. It is a real credit to you
Good luck in the future.
Cheers
Peter
I especially liked the EN aero-helmet logo...
Kim, awesome race! I really liked looking at your improvement in ALL disciplines over the years. That is crazy!! Keep on doing it EN way and you'll move on up to that podium!