Wurst Tri Ever August 23, 2009

300m Swim, 14 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run
My time: 1:31:50

Well I saved the Wurst for last, thats for sure. This statement is mostly true because I was sick. There is nothing like swimming 300 meters, riding 14 miles uphill, and running 3 miles on a Texas August morning while being sick. My original thought was "I paid for it so I have to do it but I won't go all out". Well we all know that doesn't work. Its go big or go home. So, I did my best. My lungs burned so incredibly bad and I could tell my oxygen consumption was very diminished.

The Swim: Landa Park Pool. YUCK. Never have I been in a pool where seaweed was my biggest fear. It was grabbing me from all directions. Landa Park Pool is a spring fed pool and lets just say its very natural. Naturally disgusting. There is so much algae and other disgusting things growing on the bottom of the pool that it was actually scarier than a lake. In all my lake races I never once had seaweed grab me. GROSS. The water was clear but I wished it wasn't so I couldn't see all the grossness. Also, this is part of the comal... that means the water was a nice 72 degrees. That was the least of my worries.

T1: Wow, like 5 minutes. I suck. Also my first time doing the bike shoes.

The Bike: So the clips and shoes were nice. I still had a hard time on the bike though. I wonder how bad I would have been if I did it in my sneakers. There was a hill so big on this course that they actually gave out an award to the person who could ride up it the fastest. I actually thought this hill wasn't too bad. There were about 3 that were worse on that course. Anways, I did not get that award but I actually didn't do too bad. I came in 22nd place on the hill out of about 150 women. After 10 miles, like an addict, I reached for my gel with shaking hands. I was so hungry. I squeezed it too hard and brought it to my mouth too quickly and got it all over my chin. oops. Not to mention a mouth full of raspberry goop. Gels are better in small doses, not one big mouth full.

T2: Under a minute. Thats more like it.

The Run: I didn't let anyone pass me on the run but I was still running at an 8:30 pace. I thought was going faster but it turns out I wasn't. On the run I finally caught up with the people I couldn't catch on the bike. And I experienced the meanest course yet. I was coming up to a turn and I could see the finish line and hear the mc announcing people as they crossed it. I keep following the course and we ran right by the finish line! It was a total fake out and I hated it. I had pushed myself and was going all out and then I found out I had another half mile to run. Thanks for the trickery, that felt awesome.

Overall I finished 5th in my age group out of 25. Eh. Not too bad for being sick and whatnot. Top 25%.. can't complain too much but I probably will anways :)

Thanks to my wonderful husband, my son and Pam and Paul for coming out to support me. That really means a lot to me :)

Sweet and Twisted Triathlon August 16, 2009

500m Swim, 15 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run
My time: 1:41:37


First of all.. there wasn't anything sweet about this race except for the ice cream at the after party.

My mom and I left Round Rock a 4:30am to head out to Spicewood. It was quite dark out there. And my friend Terri was there so I was thrilled about that.

The lake: Supposedly it had half the water its suppose to have. Here's my thought. If a million fish live in the nice big lake.. when all the water dries up where do the fish go? Please tell me they aren't all condensed in the remaining water. Gross.


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The Swim: Needless to say I was not comfortable in the water. I didn't like it one bit. I didn't do a single stroke of freestyle. I did breast stroke the entire time. Gotta say, I must rock at breast stroke. I came in 9th out of 81 people on the swim. The swim was not out and back it was point to point and as I was about half way done I thought "I wonder if my mom is walking along the shore following us". Sure enough, I look over to the side and there she was. So I waved. She could easily pick me out since I was the only fool doing breast stroke. I saw something every interesting on the swim...I saw a girl actually swim over another girl. For some reason they were crossing paths despite us swimming in a straight line. They were both right in front of me. They ran into each other and did the thing where you dart back and forth because you dont know which way the other person is going. Finally, one girl just basically climbed over the other girl. The girl that got swam over had a look of disgust on her face. I decided to breast stroke right passed them. I figured I better get out of their way before I get swam over. Oh, at the start I got slapped on top of the head by someone. It was funny. Wouldn't have been funny if she knocked my goggles off though. I would have swam over her if she did that.

The Dash: What is a "Dash" you say? Its what occurs when the lake is so low that you have to run 1/2 mile to get to transition. Not only that, you have to run uphill on rocks and what used to be the bottom of lake. This triathlon was definitely a 4 sport event. The 4th sport being off road / rock climbing / sand running. ALL IN FLIP FLOPS. This is no easy task. I actually walked for a few minutes and I try to NEVER walk during a race. But the swim killed me and then running up pile of rocks in flip flops was the kicker.

T1: The transition from Swim/ rock climbing into Bike. I ranked 223 out of 495 overall OUCH (16 out of 81 in my age group). Turns out I shouldn't be wasting time putting deodorant on. Who knew ;) I also had to make sure I got every grain of sand off my feet because I wasn't about to do the run with a beach in my sneakers. Oh ya, I threw some Bengay on my back before the ride to try to mask the massive back pain the bike causes me. Worked for awhile. I actually thought a small fire broke out on my back because I thought it was reacting with the sunscreen. Plus the sun beating down didn't help. The good news is that my back only hurt somewhat.

The Bike: Ok so I totally got whooped on the bike. I thought I was doing great for about 10 minutes and then everyone started passing me. I was in the first wave (ages 29 and under) so when I saw 40 somethings passing me I knew I was in trouble because they started the race about 15 minutes later than I did. I have been trying to convince my wonderful husband to let me get aero bars and bike shoes and clip pedals - this should increase my time considerably. But, as usual I was one of the only fools out there on my bike in running shoes. I guess that makes me appreciate my final ranking more knowing that I worked a lot harder on that portion of the race. But, I seriously got WHOOPED on the bike. It was sooo hilly. My last 3 races were in Houston and I had forgotten what hills were. Hills = not fun. Don't get me wrong, I can run up a hill but biking is a different story. I really need to start training. Seriously. I gotta stop winging it race to race. Actually it might have been a good thing I wasn't in 1st place on the bike because the volunteers were actually yelling at people to dismount after one lap. The course was 2 laps, 7.5 miles each. So, some people got screwed because of that. But they probably still beat me despite dismounting and whatnot. Oh, when I finished the bike I actually missed the turn for dismount because no volunteers were telling me what to do- so I had to turn around. Ugh. Bike result = 58 minutes, 15.4 avg pace. I ranked 145/495 overall and 18/81 in my age group.

T2: I threw on my race belt which would later be malfunctioning through the run and I headed for the run start. Good thing I heard my mom yell "HELMET"! Ooops, I started running with my helmet on. I had to run back to my transition and put my helmet back. I attempted to throw it to my spot and of course failed so I had to run over there and nicely place it on my spot. How embarrassing would that be to actually have started the run and realize like 1/2 mile that you are still wearing your helmet. That would make some hilarious pictures :) My T2 time was 1:08. 99 overall and 23 in my division. Looks like besides the bike that transitions are still my weakest link. Stupid helmet.

The Run: Helmet free I started running. Man was it HOT. And I teach boot camps at 5:30pm and it doesn't bother me. So you know its HOT when I say HOT. I didn't realize this wasn't a road run but more like a trail run. There was no even ground to be found. The choice was to run on loose sand or very very bumpy compacted sand/rock mixture. I did the scary ankle roll thing twice. The hills on the run didn't bother me at all but the uneven ground sure did. So did the dusty air. I have some nice shin splints complimentary of the Sweet and Twisted Tri. 3 people passed me on the run and I passed about 10. I think only 3-4 of which were in my age group. When I finally saw the finish line I tried to pick up my pace and I knew at that moment the asthma attack was inevitable. But I also knew it wouldn't hit until I came to a stop. So, I just cranked it up and finished strong. Then BAM the wheezing began. But luckily it was a small attack and didn't last too long and I didn't FULLY loose my breath, just about 3/4. I actually finished 2nd in my age group on the run and 22nd overall. I can't believe the run is my best event because I am so not a runner. I know I have room for vast improvement in all 3 events. Like the swim especially ;)

My goal was to finish the race in 1:34 but once I saw the distance from the swim to the transition and saw the bike hills I knew I wasn't gonna get that goal. I ended up at 1:41 and got 6th place in my age group and 53rd out of 495 overall. So, if you see Jason tell him I could have placed if I had bike shoes, clips and aerobars.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, was Sweet and Twisted 2009 at Pace Bend Park.

More of the same in Sept except twice as far? Dude Girl 2009 out a Pace Bend Park, do I dare sign up for you?

Wurst Tri Ever next weekend in New Braunfels.

Until the next finish line,
Laura

Bridgeland Triathon

The race was exactly a 1/8th Ironman.
482meter swim
14 mile ride
3.28 mile run

My time: 1:27:06

The Swim:
Was in a neighborhood man made lake- I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. I was in the very last wave so I knew all the critters would be long gone before I started. But I knew it was shallow and therefore everything lurking below wasn't that far below. There were people who actually stopped and walked during the race. The water was up to their necks and I thought they were just treading water because it looked weird. Its been awhile since I had done the lake thing so all my training went back out the window. I mostly did breast stroke but did put my head under water. I did some freestyle but not much. I can tell you that the water was pretty clean because I got 3 big mouth fulls and it didn't taste that bad. Unlike Texas Ski Ranch where I nearly gagged to death.

The Bike:
I think this race should have been called Road Kill Race. There was dead animals smeared all over the road. It was quite disgusting. There were 2 big snakes, 1 opossum, 1 large dog and 2 animals that I could not determined because they were so grotesque. The 14 miles went by quickly, 45 minutes to be exact. My average pace was 18.4 mph. The wind was a factor but not near as bad as riding on 1431. And of course no hills. My knees had been killing me on my bike so I had adjusted my seat before this race. I raised it 1.25 inches and moved it back and tilted it up. The good news is that I didn't get the shooting pain in my knee but my lower back hurt sooo bad. Also, during the bike ride an ambulance went to the race site to get someone... not sure what happened there. I still don't have clips or bike shoes and all that fancy stuff....I know my time would improve if I wasn't handicapped by my pedals and shoes... hint hint to my husband.

The Run:
No one passed me on the run. One girl tried and since she was in my age group I could not allow such things. So I ran with her for about 1.5 miles - I am pretty sure this annoyed her. At a water station she stopped and I was like "see ya"! Turns out she stayed pretty close behind me the whole time. Had I known this I would have gone faster. And it turns out my pace went up t0 8:29. The last race it was 7:56. So, I needed to be going faster anyways. I really need to get a garmin so I know how fast I am going at races. The run wasn't bad at all. There were men in their 40s dropping like flies on the run. I passed a bunch. Remember I started in the last wave - so I knew I was catching up with people. In fact all the men started before all the women.

The Result:
There were 600 people in the race. I placed 182 overall. Those boys always whoop my butt. However, there were 26 girls in my age group and I got 2nd! FINALLY I placed!!!! I got a frog trophy. Jason says I am not allowed to display it anywhere in our house. That girl I ran with got 3rd.

Still to come:
Next week- Sweet and Twisted Triathlon out in Spicewood! I can't wait!

Thank you to my dad, BJ and Richard who came out to support me despite the early time and heat. Thank you soo much!!

Till next time,
Laura

Danskin Triathon: Sprint Distance June 6, 2009

Overall Rank

Class Rank

Swim

Swim Rank

Trans1

Bike

Bike Rank

MPH

Trans2

Run

Run Rank

Pace

Final

138 of 1976

21 of 218

00:19:24

193

00:02:39

00:43:53

432

16.4

00:02:04

00:26:28

86

00:08:32

01:34:29

750m Swim, 13 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run
My time: 1:34:29

My final time was 1:34:29 so I didn't meet my goal of 1:30:00. It was a really good race! I liked it a lot. It seems organized (at least to athletes) and there was plenty of water on the run! Apparently biking is my weakest link, it was last time too. Can't believe I got 432 rank on bike and 86th on run! And of course the dreaded swim... I came in 193 which is way better than the bike! So, I know you are just dying to know how I survived the 1/2 mile swim. I was soo nervous before the race. Just standing in front of the water watching the earlier waves take off my heart rate was 115! lol that is sad!

The Swim: So this swim was almost twice as long as the last swim I did. And guess what!??! I put my face in the water almost the whole time! I still did breast stroke but at least I was able to put my face in the water and not panic. I even kept my eyes open (goggles of course) and let the green become my friend. I even did some freestyle! I am soooo proud of myself. I totally didn't even come close to freaking out. So, this means I can now focus on how to get faster!!!! Turns out the best way to conquer a fear is to face it. I wouldn't say its conquered but its under control. No, I still don't want to swim out that first buoy at lake Pflugerville - that still scares me. The water was crowded and there were lots of people in the way so that was annoying but expected.

The Bike (which apparently I suck at): The course was mostly rolling hills with the exception of 2 big hills. BIG hills - like people had to walk their bikes up them. I sucessfully stayed on my bike but it was hard! At the very end of the race there was the biggest hill you have ever seen in your life and from the distance you could just see the bikes sloooowly climbing up it. For some reason this hill wasn't has hard to climb but it was the most intimidating thing to see. I learned a few things about gears this race. I also did not drop my water bottle this time so that was good. Oh, and I still think eating a power bar on the bike is crucial.

The Run: Ok so the run started out on mulch?!?! We probably ran 1/2 mile on mulch and bark! The whole run was through the park on uneven ground. I had 2 ankle rolling scares. Someone had to have busted their ankle out there. I thought the run was really easy. Of course my pace wasn't super fast but whatever. I think only 2 people passed me the entire time - a 16 yr old and a 29 yr old. Love triathlons for having your age on your calf so you can see if people in your age group are passing you. I couldn't catch that 29 year old - I told her "good job girl" as she passed me. After the never ending slow climbing hill I sprinted to the end having to dodge a whole family that was holding hands and taking up the whole path.

My final time was 1:34:29 and 21st place in my age group.

The 3rd place girl in my age group beat me by 10 minutes. Some day maybe that will be me :)

And this was my 2nd race in a row to have a near asthma attack at the finish. Whats up with that ?!?! This one wasn't as bad as the Adventure 10k though.

Oh, that really good ice cream cart was back. They were at Skeese Greets and I was so happy to see them again :)

I am definitely doing this race again, I loved every minute of it.

Pics coming soon! Stay tuned.

Laura

ps- I just looked down the ground at my goggles (I threw all my junk on the floor when I walked in). Of course Toni chewed the strap in half so now I have to get new goggles. These goggles were ones that Elizabeth found at Schlitterbahn hahahaha. I guess its time to buy some non stolen ones.

Cap Tex Tri: First Tri Distance, May 25, 2009

400m Swim, 6 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run
My time: 1:05:21

http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?posted_p=t&numPerPage=25&page=2&rsID=78758&queryType=division&orgID=216392

http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=59183137&rsID=78758&orgID=216392

My division: (The First Triathlon Division- females only). This was the shortest distance - I am still working on my confidence in the water- Still haven't put my face in!)
I placed 6th overall which is decent. Worst part is that the 5 people in front of me beat me in 2 minutes or less. If I hadn't had my brakes screwed up on the first mile of the ride I could have won the whole thing! And I have to admit I didn't push myself super hard on the run- I really could have taken it up a notch. Hind sight is 20/20. It was still fun though. Eating and drinking while on the bike part really is key to having a good run. Just don't do what I did- Put a chocolate bar in your bike bag and let it sit in the sun 2 hours before you get to it. I know I had chocolate all over my face at one point. Hopefully there won't be any pics like that! However, that would be funny to those of you who know about my sweet-tooth.

Also, a note on the swim. While swimming in Town Lake sounds utterly disgusting, it actually wasn't that bad. There was 1 part that smelled like gasoline and I didn't like that too much. The current wasn't too terrible but it was there. Also, I did not have any panic attacks this time. I didn't even attempt to put my face in the water and there wasn't any seaweed, unlike my nemesis Lake Pflugerville. The water was 70 degrees. About half the people wore wetsuits and I wished I was one of them. It took my breath away when I jumped in - definitely not awesome for someone who can't breathe in the water because of fear anyways. But it was a deep water start and I got comfortable in the water before the race started. It was a pretty decent experience but my neck was getting tired by the end of the race from looking up the whole time. As much as I hate turtles I probably look like one out there ;)

Jason and Lincoln came out to support me and I was so glad :)

Well the day is done and my nasty cold is just getting worse.

Thanks for your support
Laura

My First Triathlon: Skeese Greets May 3, 2009

300m Swim, 11.1 Mile Bike, 2 Mile Run
My time: 1:07:18

My FIRST TRI EVER!!

http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?orgID=216392&rsID=77549 by age groups
http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?orgID=216392&rsID=77548 overall

13th in age group, 53rd overall. Not too bad for my first tri. The announcer said there were over 400 people but this only shows 350 something. Oh well. I finished in the top 16 percent. Too bad I let 3 people blow by me right at the finish line.

So I totally had a panic attack on the swim. I was fine until about 5 strokes in and then my throat just closed and I couldn't breathe. Almost waved a lifeguard down about 4 times. I have got to practice in open water. That was the scariest thing I think I have ever done.

1. Fear of open water
2. People grabbing your feet and you grabbing other people and splashing everywhere= feels like everyone is drowning
3. very claustrophobic
4. Green water is gross and tastes bad.
5. Not being able to breathe means you suck water in! doing the rest of the race with water filled lungs isn't too comfortable.
6. Ugh, and I got stuck behind people slower than me so I felt like I was going nowhere
7. My 2 weeks of practicing freestyle went out the window right away. I had to do breaststroke. As soon as I would put my face in the water for freestyle my throat would close up again. Im sure everyone around me thought I was dying since I was gasping everywhere. lol so embarrassing.
8. And this was just a small man made lake!

Anyways I am proud of myself for going through with it even though I knew it would be disastrous.

lol I cried when I finally got on my bike - tears of "I can't believe I almost just died" lol.

Let me tell you, running after biking at 20mph totally sucks. Feels like you aren't going anywhere!

I obviously didn't practice that before the race. and I only rode my bike once before the race. Oops.

Will send the pics when they are up- Im sure they ridiculous

Thanks for all of your support!
Laura