I did this same Olympic tri 2 years ago and here were my results then (as I'll reference if I went faster or slower in each portion):
1500m swim: 29:57.3
T1: 2:48.5
40k bike: 1:42:47.3 (14.5mph)
T2: 2:27.5
10k run/walk: 1:22:59.4 (13:21/mi)
Total: 3hours 41minutes 0.00 seconds
2016
I had been training decently for this triathlon this time, as seen in my last post. However, in the weeks leading up to the tri, I was having semi-regular hip pain. (turns out it's my tensor fascia latae...close to the IT band, but not the IT band). The pain was from overuse of my quads and lack of glute use. Need to do more squats!
Night before:
I worked until 8pm the night before at my side job, grabbed a sub from Jimmy Johns, and went home to go to bed early. However, my roommate had rented a carpet cleaner for 24 hours and had to return it in the morning, so I had to suffer through that before I could go to sleep! :/
Morning of:
Tri started at 7:30am. Knew I needed to get there closer to 6am, but 6;15am would be fine. I decided to try something new on race day. I've had problems with my hair not staying in my cap (my hair is thin, but reaches to my shoulder blades) and I thought it might be due to oils in my hair/on my face, so I took a shower the morning of. Well, that put me behind and I ended up leaving my house 6:07am. Miraculously, I made it there and parked in 20 mins. I still had to get my cap, bib, bike number, , timing chip, get marked, rack my bike and put my stuff down!
During registration, they asked how good of a swimmer you are. I must have been feeling particularly good about myself because I put "I swim like a fish" (yes, that was the fastest option). So out of about 500 swimmers, I got #18. 18!!! This meant I was with very speedy people! The bikes on my rack were tri bikes with zip wheels! And here I was with my red road bike :) haha! When I got to my rack, it was FULL! So I tried to find a place to squeeze in and as I was asking a few guys to scoot theirs one way or another, I counted and there were too many bikes on the rack. One guy volunteered to see who was not supposed to be there and make him move. Soon enough, the offender left to go to his proper rack and I got a spot!
Swim:
The swim is point to point, ending at the transition area. So we have to walk a mile to the start line. I wasn't thinking, but I did walk the whole thing barefoot, which didn't feel great on my hip. I got down to the start line about 7:25 and went to put my hair into a braid and into the cap. I put the cap on and IT DID NOT FIT MY HEAD. Like I could have the back of my head covered with the front uncovered or have the cap on my forehead, but the back of my head was sticking out. By this time, they were already starting (they started one by one). I had jumped in line, but I kept moving back because I literally could not believe I could not fit this cap on my head! No one else was having problems, but I just decided that was the way it was going to be, so I knew I would probably end up losing my cap somewhere along the way.
I jumped in and started swimming. My legs felt a little stiff, but I told myself to keep pressing on and to use my arms as much as possible because they wouldn't be too much use in biking or running. About 500m in, my cap was ONLY on the crown of my head. I took it off my head while still swimming and shoved in my tri shirt. I was being passed and passing a few people, but I just kept on. Soon enough, I realized that my hair was coming out of the (loose) braid I had put it in. Uh, yeah, that happened. At about 1000m in, I had no cap and no hair tie. Just goggles on my head. Un-freaking-believable!!! I decided to swim the best race I could, hair be damned, and kept on. I was pretty embarrassed because there were spectators on both sides of the canal we were swimming in, most waiting for the sprint tri start. I felt like they were all staring at me, but what could I do at that point?
I got to the stairs and made my way out and was walking to transition while I tried to rip my goggles out of the tangled mess that I called my hair. I then realized two things. 1. Your swim time doesn't end until you cross the timing mats, and I had been walking :( and 2. There was a photographer taking pictures as people got out of the water. Great! (sarcasm!)
Swim time: 30:09.7 (12 seconds slower)
Can't believe there was such a small difference with such a crazy swim. Oh well, the race can only go up from here!
T1: 2:42.5 (6 seconds faster)
Bike:
I got to the rack and there were about half the bikes still left. So I felt good that not everyone had passed me at that point! I grabbed a few chews, but on my bike shoes, helmet, gloves and took my bike to exit transition. Unlike 2 years ago, I DID NOT drop my chain out of transition, so things were already looking up. I passed a few ladies in the first half mile and kept my pace to something that was challenging, but didn't hurt too much. I'm faster at swimming than the other two sports, so I get passed the whole time. And I'm okay with it. If you're passing me, you're either a slower swimmer than I am, or you're doing a shorter race than I am (these were my justifications!). The course is pretty flat and fast, but there's a few slight downhills where anyone would love to pick up speed, but the condition of the road is so bad, that you pretty much have to brake the whole time and ride single file in order to avoid a flat. I got to the turn off of loop 1/sprint finish in 45 minutes. The connection from the sprint turn off back to the start took 6 minutes, so I was about 51 minutes in starting the second loop. I knew I probably wouldn't make it back to my "A" goal of 1:30 for biking. The second loop had my groin muscle on my left side aching toward the end - so weird! That never happened during any of my training! But I just reminded myself that I put the work in and could accomplish more than I thought, so I kept pressing on. That bike finish was such a sweet sight! I still felt silly with my hair hanging all raggedy down my back,but I had a hat to wear for the run!
Bike time: 1:35:56.5 - 15.5 mph (7 mins 9 seconds faster)
I was VERY happy with my bike time. I had wanted to be over 15mph and to surpass my time from 2 years ago. This is probably the sport I trained the most/hardest for, so it felt good to take off over 7 minutes from my previous time.
To be continued...
Friday, August 19, 2016
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Triathlon This Weekend!
I'm SO ready for this triathlon to get here!
Not necessarily because I have trained perfectly for it or am feeling awesome, but because I have had some nagging pains/injuries.
It's been really funny how training for this Olympic distance triathlon has been different from the last one I did 2 years ago.
-2 years ago I followed the training plan to a T. If I missed a workout one week, I would make it up the next week. This time, if I missed a workout, I made sure it didn't happen again that week, but I didn't make it up OR stress about it.
-2 years ago I followed the training plan on a website of a specific triathlon. It was perfect. Training in minutes for each sport (ex: 35 min run or 105 min bike) instead of miles (I'm slow, so miles take me longer than minutes). This year, I started with that same training plan. It's a 16 week plan and I started on week 6 haha! And at about week 12, the website went under construction to a new format, which did not include the training plan. When I realized it, I emailed them immediately and was freaking out. They responded about 5 days later with what they had copied from the previous website. It wasn't the workouts, just the headings of each week. I had calmed down by then and remembered from the past what my biggest workouts would be. And I knew after that peak week, I would taper from there. So...I've been winging it!
-2 years ago I did yoga once a week during triathlon training and remained injury free. This time, I've come into training with a wrist injury and am working on fixing my hip issues. Yoga aggravated both of these things :( My Dr. has my wrist at about 95% and my hip...we'll get there eventually!
-2 years ago I did the majority of my workouts with friends or my triathlon group. This time, I've been swimming with friends (unofficial triathlon group) and doing occasional "runs" with them. If we "run" together, that means that we start at the same time, but I'm slower than they are, so I end up running on my own, which is fine!
-2 years ago, I worked out mostly in the afternoons or evenings. This time, aside from swimming with friends on Mondays, it's been all mornings. And I kind of love it. You just feel badass (and not as miserable with the temperature) when you're out with the other morning warriors.
-2 years ago I didn't run with music unless it was one of my longest runs (over an hour). This year, I've been using music every time. With only one headphone in when run in the park because I need to keep an eye and an ear out when I'm running in the secluded sections.
-2 years ago I dropped about 10-15 pounds while training. This time, I've stayed the same weight which is about 20 pounds heavier than 2 years ago. (yesterday I was at 212) I'm not mad about it. I wish I could fit in some of the clothes that I wore then, but I feel so powerful when I complete my workouts. Like, look what I can accomplish! I even took pictures of myself smiling and flexing. Yeah I have some saggy upper arms and my stomach hangs over my bike shorts, but DANG, I just killed that workout and I am proud of myself!!!
My prediction for the race is that my swim will be slower (noooooo!!! but I haven't been training as hard in that area). My bike will be faster (last time I dropped my chain right out of transition and had to get off my bike to fix it). And my run will likely be about the same. Since the bike is the longest distance, I'd like to see myself take off at least 5 minutes of my overall time. 2 years ago I finished in 3:41.00.
Hopefully I can get back on here and let you all know how I did!
Here's a photo dump:
Not necessarily because I have trained perfectly for it or am feeling awesome, but because I have had some nagging pains/injuries.
It's been really funny how training for this Olympic distance triathlon has been different from the last one I did 2 years ago.
-2 years ago I followed the training plan to a T. If I missed a workout one week, I would make it up the next week. This time, if I missed a workout, I made sure it didn't happen again that week, but I didn't make it up OR stress about it.
-2 years ago I followed the training plan on a website of a specific triathlon. It was perfect. Training in minutes for each sport (ex: 35 min run or 105 min bike) instead of miles (I'm slow, so miles take me longer than minutes). This year, I started with that same training plan. It's a 16 week plan and I started on week 6 haha! And at about week 12, the website went under construction to a new format, which did not include the training plan. When I realized it, I emailed them immediately and was freaking out. They responded about 5 days later with what they had copied from the previous website. It wasn't the workouts, just the headings of each week. I had calmed down by then and remembered from the past what my biggest workouts would be. And I knew after that peak week, I would taper from there. So...I've been winging it!
-2 years ago I did yoga once a week during triathlon training and remained injury free. This time, I've come into training with a wrist injury and am working on fixing my hip issues. Yoga aggravated both of these things :( My Dr. has my wrist at about 95% and my hip...we'll get there eventually!
-2 years ago I did the majority of my workouts with friends or my triathlon group. This time, I've been swimming with friends (unofficial triathlon group) and doing occasional "runs" with them. If we "run" together, that means that we start at the same time, but I'm slower than they are, so I end up running on my own, which is fine!
-2 years ago, I worked out mostly in the afternoons or evenings. This time, aside from swimming with friends on Mondays, it's been all mornings. And I kind of love it. You just feel badass (and not as miserable with the temperature) when you're out with the other morning warriors.
-2 years ago I didn't run with music unless it was one of my longest runs (over an hour). This year, I've been using music every time. With only one headphone in when run in the park because I need to keep an eye and an ear out when I'm running in the secluded sections.
-2 years ago I dropped about 10-15 pounds while training. This time, I've stayed the same weight which is about 20 pounds heavier than 2 years ago. (yesterday I was at 212) I'm not mad about it. I wish I could fit in some of the clothes that I wore then, but I feel so powerful when I complete my workouts. Like, look what I can accomplish! I even took pictures of myself smiling and flexing. Yeah I have some saggy upper arms and my stomach hangs over my bike shorts, but DANG, I just killed that workout and I am proud of myself!!!
My prediction for the race is that my swim will be slower (noooooo!!! but I haven't been training as hard in that area). My bike will be faster (last time I dropped my chain right out of transition and had to get off my bike to fix it). And my run will likely be about the same. Since the bike is the longest distance, I'd like to see myself take off at least 5 minutes of my overall time. 2 years ago I finished in 3:41.00.
Hopefully I can get back on here and let you all know how I did!
Here's a photo dump:
 |
| This shirt made me feel like I was in the hunger games haha |
 |
| My favorite workout shirt! And bright blue pants! |
 |
| It was just a little humid.... |
 |
| Soooo gross! Rained an hour later. |
 |
| Shoes and bag+contents drying out after a wet bike. |
 |
| Bike grease...not great for the manicure! |
 |
| After wiping down my bike... |
 |
| Definite sock line/dirty leg! |
 |
| Dirt all up the back! |
 |
| My workout buddy Liz, post-ride, before she moved to NYC :( |
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
February In Review
Well, well, well. Here I am again :)
Happy to be back blogging for a second, but not so happy to tell you all about the big gain.
I think my lowest was at 192 when I did the olympic tri in August of 2014. I've been around 215 for the better part of 6 months now. I chose to sit on the couch instead of workout. I chose to eat bad things instead of good. That simple! My life is waaaay too busy to make New Year's resolutions (plus, bday is in January!). Last month, I started being a lot more disciplined in my workouts. Here's a recap:
Not bad! An average of 4 workouts a week. I was sick a little bit here and there and just plain tired other times. I think I was on drugs on Feb 2nd with the treadmill after yoga. That's a lot!
What did I the scale show me in return? NO change.
Really?
Yep.
Workouts were good, but my eating was not stellar. At. All.
I tracked my food spending all month and got a little lenient with the ice cream both around one of my bestie's 30th bdays and then again when I had a sore throat.
Moderation is key, but ice cream is the devil.
I just really, really love ice cream. I did keep some blood orange sorbet around for like a week, but that was mostly because it was so sour that it hurt my taste buds if I had a normal serving.
Plan for March:
-Keep up the good workouts
-For the love of God, eat better
-Crazy schedule = crazy rest (be responsible with my free time)
Happy to be back blogging for a second, but not so happy to tell you all about the big gain.
I think my lowest was at 192 when I did the olympic tri in August of 2014. I've been around 215 for the better part of 6 months now. I chose to sit on the couch instead of workout. I chose to eat bad things instead of good. That simple! My life is waaaay too busy to make New Year's resolutions (plus, bday is in January!). Last month, I started being a lot more disciplined in my workouts. Here's a recap:
| FEBRUARY 2016 | |||||||
| SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | |
| 31 | AM: Bike 40 mins | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| PM Swim 2500 yds - 1 hour | PM 1 hr yoga, 30 min walk on treadmill | AM swim 2000 yds | AM 1 mile run + weights | ||||
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| AM 1 mile run + weights | AM swim 1 hr | 53 min run/walk treadmill 3.65 mi | |||||
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
| PM swim 1 hr 15 mins 3000 yds | AM hot yoga | AM bike trainer 45 mins | AM 1 mile run + weights | ||||
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | |
| PM swim 1 hr 2300 yds | AM 1 mile run + weights | AM 1 mile run + weights | AM bike trainer 45 mins | 50 min run/walk treadmill 3.36 mi | |||
| 28 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| PM 1 hr swim 2300 yds | |||||||
| NOTES | |||||||
| 19 workouts, 17.6 hrs of working out | |||||||
Not bad! An average of 4 workouts a week. I was sick a little bit here and there and just plain tired other times. I think I was on drugs on Feb 2nd with the treadmill after yoga. That's a lot!
What did I the scale show me in return? NO change.
Really?
Yep.
Workouts were good, but my eating was not stellar. At. All.
I tracked my food spending all month and got a little lenient with the ice cream both around one of my bestie's 30th bdays and then again when I had a sore throat.
Moderation is key, but ice cream is the devil.
I just really, really love ice cream. I did keep some blood orange sorbet around for like a week, but that was mostly because it was so sour that it hurt my taste buds if I had a normal serving.
Plan for March:
-Keep up the good workouts
-For the love of God, eat better
-Crazy schedule = crazy rest (be responsible with my free time)
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