2009 Mermaid Tri Fremont Race Report

Sorry, never got around to posting a race plan last night. Oh well.

Goals:
1. Finish the swim in less than 7 minutes.
2. Have fun on the bike.
3. Run the whole run.
4. Finish around 1:30.

Got to the race super early and got a nice spot on the end of the bike rack. Had about 2 hours until my wave started so plenty of time to hang out with friends and take a pic or two. Luckily, Super-Spectathlete Molly was there to document the day. (Thanks Molly!)

Sara, me, and Heather

After watching Julia, Lauren, and Riley run in the Mini-Mermaid Run (1.5 miles for girls 6-12) it was time to get in the water.



Finally, it was time to go!


(I'm somewhere in the front.)

Wow. The 30 - 39 year olds are fast! I stuck with the group for quite awhile, past the first buoy. When I dove into the water I hit the water kinda hard and ended up with a goggle full of water. I tried swim with the water in my goggle but finally gave up, took a break, and empty the water. I calmed down and hit my pace about halfway through the swim. Then it was over and I ran for the timing mat which was nice and close to the shore. :-)



I had a pretty quick transition since I didn't wear a wetsuit. I put on my socks and shoes, grabbed the bike and headed out. It was a really nice bike course closed to traffic, mostly flat, with one no passing zone on a bridge over the BART tracks. I turned on my bike computer so I could see my average time. I wasn't sure what to expect and was very happy when I saw that I was averaging a little over 15 mph. I had a really good time on the bike. It was fun going fast and passing people for a change. I had some time to think about why I do this tri stuff and the best answer I could come up with is: I enjoy the sense of accomplishment and people clapping for me.


So fast, Molly couldn't focus.

Next up, the run. My favorite part! Not. I walked out of transition to get my legs and started running when I hit the timing mat. I decided not to wear my watch which turned out to be a good thing. I knew the route from last year and just kept running. And, running. And running.



As I got closer to the finish, I started thinking about the finish which is on the sand and then up a small hill. Oof. I was pretty tired. I hit the sand and got up on my toes and kept running. it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Lauren and Julia joined me for the finish and I yelled for Riley to come, too.





And, the power finish!!



I am so happy with my race! I pushed hard and had a good time. Molly guessed that I met my goal of around 1:30. Yes!


Sara and I at the finish

And, my sad, lonely transition. It cracked me up so I took a pic.


And, the results! (with last year's time)
Swim: 7:07 (9:44) Missed my goal by 7 seconds. drat.
Bike: 36.33 (50:19) Had a great time and felt strong and fast.
Run: 40:47 (43:35) Ran the whole way!
Total time: 1:32:09 (1:53:23) Finished around 1:30.

Had a great day with great friends and family! Thanks to everyone I raced with and who came out to watch me huff, puff, and sweat.

Looking back at June 2008

Last June was my first triathlon, the Mermaid Sprint Tri in Fremont. At that time I had never done an open water swim, had a used hybrid bike I bought off craigslist, and didn't run. I had a few friends who had been bitten by the tri bug and thought I find out what it was all about. I went back and looked at some posts on a forum I'm a part of:

6/9/2008 - 10 mile bike & 2 mile brick on Sunday. I guess I'm ready for Saturday. I was hot, tired, sweaty, had moments of "what was I thinking" combined with moments of "you can totally do this."

6/13/2008 - A brisk walk to wake my body up for tomorrow. (And, Jemma needed a walk.) The rest of day? Eat small healthy meals, drink lots & lots of water, pick up my packet, put bike in my car, get all my stuff together and packed (and check it obsessively) and go to bed and try to sleep.

In response Molly posted, "Tomorrow you become a triathlete - welcome to the crackhouse!" Little did I know . . .

2008 Race Report

Swim: I started near the front, but got trapped by some swimmers that should have gone later. But I worked my way around them. The swim was nice, I may have to rethink my position on open water swims. I saw Chris when I came out of the water. My family said I was about the 5th in on the swim for the For Fun group.

Bike: My transition was fine, got all dressed, drank some gatorade, and got on my bike. I hit a tiny wall on the second lap but persevered. I really need to strengthen my legs. I heard "On your left" a bazillon times. I did manage to pass 5 people!

Walk: My legs were like cooked spaghetti noodles when I got off my bike. I racked my bike, took off my helmet, drank some water, put on my hat and off I went. The walk was the least fun. The course seemed soooooooo long in front of me. And, it was a little disheartening having so many people pass me because they were running and I was walking. The best part of the run/walk was the end. It finished on the beach by the lake and I was struggling walking in the sand. About 50 yds from the finish a women came up behind me and said, "c'mon you're running to the end with me. On your toes! Let's go!" So, I ran to the finish! I stopped and thanked her, I hope she knows what it meant to me.
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So, that was last year's race. Tomorrow I revisit the start of my triathlon addiction. Race plan later tonight.

Lazy blogger . . .

Everyday I think, oh, I'm so blogging about that. But I never seemed to get to it last week. Another busy week full of training, work, and a wedding. Now that I'm trying to, I can barely remember last week. So, I will just go with the end of the week.

Friday - I went back to the bike shop to adjust my fit. My hands and elbows were killing me after an adjustment on Wednesday. The plan was to fit the bike and then meet friends for a swim around the Santa Cruz wharf. The bike shop was running behind schedule so I missed the swim. *shrug* I went to the folks for dinner. We did a little review for a friends' wedding that I was officiating and dad was photographing.

Saturday - The pool was closed for repairs, again. The joke at the pool is that the city was complaining that the old deck only lasted 20 years. Too bad they can't get the new deck to last 20 days. Har, har, har. I had a bike ride on my schedule and headed out early so I could get ready for the big event that evening. The wedding was very nice and I got many compliments on the ceremony. I was delighted when I cracked up the bride with my choice of readings, "The History of Love." :-)

Sunday - After a very late night at the wedding I dragged myself out of bed to try swimming around the wharf again. I went over the hill with Molly, Nigel, and Steve to meet Chris. We didn't dwaddle too long and ventured into the water. The freezing cold water! Brrrrr . . . I really wished I had sleeves. We eventually made it around the wharf and didn't go to the hospital with e coli. Pics courtesy of Molly and her killer waterproof camera. Then there was a really long nap.

Monday - Happy Furlough Day! And, last brick before the Mermaid Tri on Sunday. I had a good ride from home to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and into Vasona Park. While I was riding I was thinking about how last year my longest ride was about half of what I'm doing these days. I got home, grabbed Jemma and headed out for the run. After much mental debate I decided to run the full 30 minutes. No breaks at 10 minutes or 15 minutes. Straight through to 30 minutes. And, I did it! I kept busy really cleaning the kitchen, paying the bills, and doing laundry.

This week I have a few good workouts on my schedule and then some good rest days. I'm looking forward to the tri on Sunday. Lots of friends will be there! I will have to make a lot of recovery cookies to hand out. :-)