Y Dam Tri - Sprint Triathlon
750m swim / 17 mile bike / 3.1 mile run
Date of Race: 06/30/2012
Total Race Time = 2h 01m 58s
Overall Place = 49/70
Age Group = Female 30-34
Age Group Place = 6/8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-race:
I drove from Atlanta to Hartwell the night before. It was about two hours to get there. I booked a room at the Jameson Inn in Hartwell the Tuesday before the race on Orbitz. When we arrived at the hotel, we went to check in and we were told they didn't have our reservation. She asked if we booked directly through the Inn or through another site. It turns out that the hotel had been booked up for that night since June 11. Our reservation never went through to the hotel even though we had a confirmation from Orbitz. Apparently we were the 4th group of people she had to turn away because of this.
I knew of only one other hotel in town, the Best Western, and it was full as I had tried to book it first. The woman at the desk said there was another hotel in town, the DayNite Inn. I quickly gave them a call and we grabbed their last room! We pulled up to the hotel, which was about a mile down the road and checked in. This is the first time I have ever checked into a hotel by writing my name and address on a slip of paper! There was no computer at this motel. We stayed in a clean room that was adequate. The only thing was that the AC was very loud. I took two Tylenol PM to help me sleep, because I knew there was no way I was sleeping without it.
I woke up at 5:30 AM to get ready for the race. We left the room at 6:15 to try to find the race site. I didn't eat anything. The first hotel was supposed to have breakfast, so I hadn't planned on trying to eat first. I had already packed up my transition bag the night before, so once I got out of bed, I put on my tri suit, fixed my hair, and loaded my bike on the bike rack.
We got the race site, parked and headed to pick up my number. I got a pink cap; I was in the 4th wave. I found my rack in transition and began to set everything up to my liking. I ate about 5 or 6 powerbar chews right before we met for the pre-race briefing.
Warm-up:
I'm not much of a warm up person for a tri, but I got in the water and swam for about 5 minutes just to get my arms loosened up. I stretched out a bit, but otherwise, that was it.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Swim:
I started off the swim pretty fast, in a group with 3 other girls. I haven't practiced very much with open water swims, so I wasn't used to the choppiness of the water. I peeked my head up every 3 or so breaths to make sure I was headed towards the big yellow buoy. For the most part, I was. I found myself on my own for most of the swim, not in a pack with others. As I got to the first buoy, it seemed very awkward to turn at it. I had been swimming in a straight line the whole time, so I made a very deliberate 90 degree left turn. At this point, I began to come across swimmers from the wave in front of me. They were very spread out, so I didn't have any trouble getting around them. A few times when I was sighting, I got water up my nose. I guess that is something I need to work on!
I felt that I was keeping a steady pace for the most part. I focused on one stroke at a time and making sure I was kicking. As long as I was going in a straight line, I was ok. When I got o the second buoy, there were two swimmers also turning left. I had to slow down so I didn't run into them at my left turn. Once I got around them, I was headed in a straight line for the shore. Once I realized I was almost there, I kicked it up a notch. I got to a place where I saw that it was too shallow to swim and proceeded to run up the boat ramp to transition. There was a tiny hill and I was breathing heavy, so I don't think I was moving very fast up the hill.
Swim Time: 14m:10s
T1: I entered transition and headed straight for my spot. I had a towel set up that I could step on and dry the bottoms of my feet. The first thing I did was put on my socks, even though the tops of my feet were still wet. Next I put on my shoes. I grabbed my sunglasses out of my helmet and then strapped on the helmet. I was still breathing heavy here, so it was very hard to gather my thoughts and figure out what I needed to do next. I grabbed my bike of the rack and started to run out of transition. I don't have much experience doing this in my bike shoes, so it was more of a quick walk with my bike to the end. Once I left transition, I didn't hear my timing chip beep, but I was able to get the lap on my watch. The below numbers reflect the official time and my time.
T1 Time: 3m:54s (official time)
T1 Time: 1m:29s (Sheryl's time) - I'm pretty sure this one is the more accurate time
Bike:
Once I made it past the pink mount line, I hopped on my bike and I was off! I made my way out of the race site and went to aero. I stayed in aero the entire time except during the hills. The route was an out and back 17 miles into South Carolina. For the most part, it was either flat or very gradual hills. There were about 2 or 3 hills that were tough. For every hill I went down on the way out, I knew that I would have to come back up! I was passed on the bike by a number of racers, but I think for the most part, I held my own.
I raced at a steady pace on the flat parts, around 20mph, and then on the downhills, I was able to get up to 35mph. It was absolutely exhilarating and a little scary! The road wasn't in the best condition, so I was a little afraid that I would go flying off the bike, especially since I was in aero. There were a few hills that had a downhill right before the uphill and I was able to get enough momentum on the downhill to make getting up the uphill a piece of cake. The other ones, not so much. My legs were burning on the other hills, but I knew I had to get through it, so I just pushed along until I reached the top.
On the bike I drank a 24oz bottle of water and ate the rest of the pack of powerbar gels. Since I have been doing a few longer rides, the 17 miles felt like nothing! I headed back to transition feeling really good about my bike. Once again, because my timing chip didn't go off when I left transition, the time on my bike was not the same as my watch. Both times are below.
Bike Time: 1h:01m:49s (official time)
Bike Time: 1h04m:16s (Sheryl's time)
T2:
Coming back in from the bike, I walked my bike to my rack. Running at that point in time with cycle shoes was out of the question! I racked my bike and took off my helmet. I grabbed my visor and put it on. Next, I took of my cycle shoes and put on my running shoes. I will say that it was much easier to deal with the Yankz than to tie shoes. I put on the brace for my IT band next and last was my race belt. I also threw a powerbar gel into the back of my tri top. I grabbed my 24 oz handheld water bottle and headed out of transition.
T2 Time: 1m:45s
Run:
The run started off well. I couldn't feel my legs, so I just willed them to keep going. I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace, but I really wasn't. I slowed myself down to about an 11 minute mile because I didn't want to wear myself out at the beginning. At this point, the weather was getting hot. The run was right on the water up high. We ran out to the Hartwell dam and back. There was no shade on this route. I had planned on running the entire thing, but my body won out over my head and I had to stop to walk. I spend the entire run alternating between running and walking. I couldn't catch my breath on the run and it was so hot. The sun was beating down on me in the front on the way there and on my back at the end. Once I poured water over my head at the last water station, I started to run. I knew I was running all the way to the end. I picked up my speed a lot and sprinted to the end.
This makes me think I didn't really push myself on the run. There is something about running where my body wins every time and I walk. It is certainly something I need to work on. While I wasn't thrilled with my run performance, it was the fastest run I have done in a tri, so I am ok with it.
Run Time: 40m:18s
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Race:
I finished the race completely out of breath. A member of the event team took my timing chip off and another handed me an ice cold wet towel. I put it on the back of my neck right away to keep me cool. I was handed a cold bottle of water.
I was hoping to grab something that would be good for recovery, but I wasn't thrilled with the choices. There were bagels, oranges, bananas, and grapes. I had a slice of orange and a half of a banana. Because of the heat, the event coordinators had a local fire truck misting water. I moved into the water and it felt amazing.
There were a few race times posted when I finished, but it looked like I had just missed the latest round of posts. I waited for about 20 minutes for the next round of times to be posted. I headed back to transition to pack up my stuff, and I left. I stopped back at the hotel to shower and change before driving the 2 hours back home to Atlanta.
There are a few things I would do differently for this race or the next race. I would make sure that I had breakfast prepared so I would have a little bit of substance in my stomach before starting the race. I compete better with even a banana. I would also try to swim for a few more minutes than I actually did. I didn't feel that it was enough.
I would rate this event as 4 out of 5. The only reason it didn't get a 5 is because the communication prior to the race was not very good. I got one email after my confirmation email letting me know of some of the changes they made with the heat. They gave an address to the race site, instead of driving directions. The problem with this address was that when plugged in to Google maps, marked an incorrect location. I had to look closely at the bike and run maps to know exactly where to go for the race. I also would have liked to see more food at the finish. Maybe some energy bars or even cookies. I needed something other than fruit to put in my system immediately after finishing.
I really enjoyed the race venue. It was a beautiful setting and there was no sand to deal with after the run. The bike was easy to follow, out and back on the same road; no turns. There were very few hills. The hills that were there, were long and gradual instead of short and steep. The run was completely flat and right on the water. It couldn't have been a more beautiful setting.
“There’s always stuff to work on. You’re never there.”
― Tiger Woods
750m swim / 17 mile bike / 3.1 mile run
Date of Race: 06/30/2012
Total Race Time = 2h 01m 58s
Overall Place = 49/70
Age Group = Female 30-34
Age Group Place = 6/8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-race:
I drove from Atlanta to Hartwell the night before. It was about two hours to get there. I booked a room at the Jameson Inn in Hartwell the Tuesday before the race on Orbitz. When we arrived at the hotel, we went to check in and we were told they didn't have our reservation. She asked if we booked directly through the Inn or through another site. It turns out that the hotel had been booked up for that night since June 11. Our reservation never went through to the hotel even though we had a confirmation from Orbitz. Apparently we were the 4th group of people she had to turn away because of this.
I knew of only one other hotel in town, the Best Western, and it was full as I had tried to book it first. The woman at the desk said there was another hotel in town, the DayNite Inn. I quickly gave them a call and we grabbed their last room! We pulled up to the hotel, which was about a mile down the road and checked in. This is the first time I have ever checked into a hotel by writing my name and address on a slip of paper! There was no computer at this motel. We stayed in a clean room that was adequate. The only thing was that the AC was very loud. I took two Tylenol PM to help me sleep, because I knew there was no way I was sleeping without it.
We got the race site, parked and headed to pick up my number. I got a pink cap; I was in the 4th wave. I found my rack in transition and began to set everything up to my liking. I ate about 5 or 6 powerbar chews right before we met for the pre-race briefing.Warm-up:
I'm not much of a warm up person for a tri, but I got in the water and swam for about 5 minutes just to get my arms loosened up. I stretched out a bit, but otherwise, that was it.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Swim: I started off the swim pretty fast, in a group with 3 other girls. I haven't practiced very much with open water swims, so I wasn't used to the choppiness of the water. I peeked my head up every 3 or so breaths to make sure I was headed towards the big yellow buoy. For the most part, I was. I found myself on my own for most of the swim, not in a pack with others. As I got to the first buoy, it seemed very awkward to turn at it. I had been swimming in a straight line the whole time, so I made a very deliberate 90 degree left turn. At this point, I began to come across swimmers from the wave in front of me. They were very spread out, so I didn't have any trouble getting around them. A few times when I was sighting, I got water up my nose. I guess that is something I need to work on!
I felt that I was keeping a steady pace for the most part. I focused on one stroke at a time and making sure I was kicking. As long as I was going in a straight line, I was ok. When I got o the second buoy, there were two swimmers also turning left. I had to slow down so I didn't run into them at my left turn. Once I got around them, I was headed in a straight line for the shore. Once I realized I was almost there, I kicked it up a notch. I got to a place where I saw that it was too shallow to swim and proceeded to run up the boat ramp to transition. There was a tiny hill and I was breathing heavy, so I don't think I was moving very fast up the hill.
Swim Time: 14m:10s
T1: I entered transition and headed straight for my spot. I had a towel set up that I could step on and dry the bottoms of my feet. The first thing I did was put on my socks, even though the tops of my feet were still wet. Next I put on my shoes. I grabbed my sunglasses out of my helmet and then strapped on the helmet. I was still breathing heavy here, so it was very hard to gather my thoughts and figure out what I needed to do next. I grabbed my bike of the rack and started to run out of transition. I don't have much experience doing this in my bike shoes, so it was more of a quick walk with my bike to the end. Once I left transition, I didn't hear my timing chip beep, but I was able to get the lap on my watch. The below numbers reflect the official time and my time.T1 Time: 3m:54s (official time)
T1 Time: 1m:29s (Sheryl's time) - I'm pretty sure this one is the more accurate time
Bike: Once I made it past the pink mount line, I hopped on my bike and I was off! I made my way out of the race site and went to aero. I stayed in aero the entire time except during the hills. The route was an out and back 17 miles into South Carolina. For the most part, it was either flat or very gradual hills. There were about 2 or 3 hills that were tough. For every hill I went down on the way out, I knew that I would have to come back up! I was passed on the bike by a number of racers, but I think for the most part, I held my own.
I raced at a steady pace on the flat parts, around 20mph, and then on the downhills, I was able to get up to 35mph. It was absolutely exhilarating and a little scary! The road wasn't in the best condition, so I was a little afraid that I would go flying off the bike, especially since I was in aero. There were a few hills that had a downhill right before the uphill and I was able to get enough momentum on the downhill to make getting up the uphill a piece of cake. The other ones, not so much. My legs were burning on the other hills, but I knew I had to get through it, so I just pushed along until I reached the top.On the bike I drank a 24oz bottle of water and ate the rest of the pack of powerbar gels. Since I have been doing a few longer rides, the 17 miles felt like nothing! I headed back to transition feeling really good about my bike. Once again, because my timing chip didn't go off when I left transition, the time on my bike was not the same as my watch. Both times are below.
Bike Time: 1h04m:16s (Sheryl's time)
T2: Coming back in from the bike, I walked my bike to my rack. Running at that point in time with cycle shoes was out of the question! I racked my bike and took off my helmet. I grabbed my visor and put it on. Next, I took of my cycle shoes and put on my running shoes. I will say that it was much easier to deal with the Yankz than to tie shoes. I put on the brace for my IT band next and last was my race belt. I also threw a powerbar gel into the back of my tri top. I grabbed my 24 oz handheld water bottle and headed out of transition.
T2 Time: 1m:45s
Run: The run started off well. I couldn't feel my legs, so I just willed them to keep going. I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace, but I really wasn't. I slowed myself down to about an 11 minute mile because I didn't want to wear myself out at the beginning. At this point, the weather was getting hot. The run was right on the water up high. We ran out to the Hartwell dam and back. There was no shade on this route. I had planned on running the entire thing, but my body won out over my head and I had to stop to walk. I spend the entire run alternating between running and walking. I couldn't catch my breath on the run and it was so hot. The sun was beating down on me in the front on the way there and on my back at the end. Once I poured water over my head at the last water station, I started to run. I knew I was running all the way to the end. I picked up my speed a lot and sprinted to the end.
This makes me think I didn't really push myself on the run. There is something about running where my body wins every time and I walk. It is certainly something I need to work on. While I wasn't thrilled with my run performance, it was the fastest run I have done in a tri, so I am ok with it.
Run Time: 40m:18s
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Race: I was hoping to grab something that would be good for recovery, but I wasn't thrilled with the choices. There were bagels, oranges, bananas, and grapes. I had a slice of orange and a half of a banana. Because of the heat, the event coordinators had a local fire truck misting water. I moved into the water and it felt amazing.
There were a few race times posted when I finished, but it looked like I had just missed the latest round of posts. I waited for about 20 minutes for the next round of times to be posted. I headed back to transition to pack up my stuff, and I left. I stopped back at the hotel to shower and change before driving the 2 hours back home to Atlanta.
There are a few things I would do differently for this race or the next race. I would make sure that I had breakfast prepared so I would have a little bit of substance in my stomach before starting the race. I compete better with even a banana. I would also try to swim for a few more minutes than I actually did. I didn't feel that it was enough.
I would rate this event as 4 out of 5. The only reason it didn't get a 5 is because the communication prior to the race was not very good. I got one email after my confirmation email letting me know of some of the changes they made with the heat. They gave an address to the race site, instead of driving directions. The problem with this address was that when plugged in to Google maps, marked an incorrect location. I had to look closely at the bike and run maps to know exactly where to go for the race. I also would have liked to see more food at the finish. Maybe some energy bars or even cookies. I needed something other than fruit to put in my system immediately after finishing.
I really enjoyed the race venue. It was a beautiful setting and there was no sand to deal with after the run. The bike was easy to follow, out and back on the same road; no turns. There were very few hills. The hills that were there, were long and gradual instead of short and steep. The run was completely flat and right on the water. It couldn't have been a more beautiful setting.
“There’s always stuff to work on. You’re never there.”
― Tiger Woods
nice job sheryl!
ReplyDelete