Race report: A very rainy Heartland Triathlon (and an age group award)!

2008 Heartland Triathlon

Sebring, FL
July 13, 2008
1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.1 mile run

Finish Time: 1:28:24Age Group Rank: 3/13Gender Rank: 23/108 Overall placement: 128

Holy rain, Batman!
Swim Clinic with Dave Scott- Saturday
Scott and I arrived in Sebring, FL for the Heartland Tri early Saturday afternoon. We were hoping to make it there by 9:30 AM in time for Dave Scott's swim clinic, but we got a wee-bit lost in the center of the state. We were able to observe Dave's "kids swim clinic" but it sure would have been nice to actually 'be' out there for him to analyze my stroke. Bummer! So things really started off with a bang! After all, how many newbie triathletes actually get to hang with Dave Scott for a while? I mean, it was sort of like a weekend group cyclist hanging out with Lance Armstrong. Genius!

Swim clinic with Dave "The Man" Scott

Pasta Bash with Dave Scott- Saturday evening
We attended a fun-filled Pasta Bash with Dave Scott on Saturday evening. He was the guest speaker and he showed us a short film about his racing career. There was so much early (aka hard to find) footage... it was fantastic! Dave isn't the best motivational speaker in the world, but he is very charismatic. He just sort of draws you in with his presence all while being so very genuine. You can tell that he's passionate about this sport. His 11-year-old daughter was with him and she participated in her first triathlon during the Kids race on Saturday. It was neat to watch him interact with her.

Race day always comes so early- Sunday
A bit tired, but ready...

Scott and I made our way to the race venue for 6:30AM. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30AM (and it did). I was cool as a cucumber. I wonder why I don't get overly nervous for these things? Maybe I should... some nervous jitters might help to improve my run! This race was my first taste of playing with more seasoned racers and I learned quickly that unlike the Danskin (where you could throw your bike anywhere on the rack that held your bib # range), here we had individually numbered slots for racking. I, um, had to be 'told' this after racking my bike where it wasn't supposed to be. I set my items out for transition and quickly made a make-shift cover for my aerobottle. I was not about to purchase another mesh plug AND I was tired of getting fluids splashed all over me. This was my solution and it worked like a charm! I should patent it!

Certainly not pretty, but very functional

1/4 mile swim in Jackson Lake Swim Time: 9:33
Although the swim was the same length as the Danskin, the elements were more challenging. It began as a running start off of a sandbar. So we had to swim out to the sandbar, stand on top of it for a bit, wait for the horn, and then run out into the water beyond the bar. My wave contained all female entrants from ages 14 through 49 plus Athena. That was basically most of the women in the event. It was a large wave. When the horn blew, I couldn't get my dang watch started. Waisted a bit of time fiddling with that while sprinting before I got in 2 dolphin dives and started the swim. I had a hard time finding 'feet' to draft off of for this swim, but I later realized that was because I was in the lead pack of swimmers and we were spread out pretty well laterally. We eventually caught up to some men from the wave before and I felt badly for a few of them. They were really struggling. My heart was telling me to stop and offer words of encouragement, but my brain was like no... race!!!!

You can see how far back people are running in the water. Nuts!
The swim exit was grueling! It was a good 100 meters of water running (which is so tiring) and then nearly a 1/4 mile run up hill to the transition area. Up hill! Oh, Gawd! Yes, I walked for about 5 steps half way before I heard my husband yelling at me to get my ass moving. LOL!

Transition 1- Swim to Bike T1 Time- 3:05
When I finally made it up the hill to the transition area, things went smoothly enough. I opted not to wear socks during the bike or run to save time. Totally took a chance on this b/c it's something that I've never done before, but I figured that with a Sprint distance race taking a few chances just kept things lively. I hopped on my bike and was off!

14 mile bike Time- 43:04 19.5 MPH average

I don't cycle nearly enough, but it may be quickly becoming my leg of choice in the triathlon. I gobbled down an Accel Gel after I finished my first mile and sucked down some fluids. Unlike the Danskin, riders were spread out nicely. I rode mostly with slower swimming men from the waves that started before me and only saw one female (who passed me) on the entire course. Knowing what sort of speed I was averaging, I knew that I was having a good race so far. This course actually had some hills (which I normally only get in spin class) and I was able to maintain a good pace riding up all of them except for one. Yay!

And then the rain came... and OMG did it pour! Morning storms like this one are rare. These types of torrential downpours usually occur in the afternoon. It was raining so hard by mile 11 that it became difficult to see. Basically white out conditions. The water wasn't sheeting off the road either. I slowed things down a bit but tried to remain confident. I'm pretty sure the pro photo guy captured a picture of me right at the height of the rain. Can't wait to see that one! LOL!

Transition 2- Bike to Run T2 Time- 3:04

The event must have had some problems with the timing mats because they lumped bike and T2 into one time which for me was 46:08. I split them apart based on the average speed that they calculated for me. When the results were e-mailed they said the following, "*Due to the rain storms, your bike time includes your bike to run transition." I'm not sure how accurate all of this is. T2 went well despite the fact that everything was soaked. I had to pull on a drenched running skirt with race number attached (after trying to wring the water out of it) and obviously soaking wet shoes. Looks like the water got the best of my footpod b/c it wouldn't turn on for me. Scott snapped the picture below of me leaving T2 from undercover. Poor guy was helpless in the photo dept. with all of the rain.

That's me leaving T2-- between the tree and lightpost

5K Run Time- 29:40 (eek) 9:35 min/mile

My run was slow... and I knew it while it was happening despite the fact that my footpod wasn't working. This run was more XTERRA than road race. Sloshing through puddles, routing around puddles, trying not to slip. Still, I was sluggish. My shoulders were very tense from the bike ride during the heaviest part of the rain and it felt difficult for me to take in a proper breath because of it.

I don't have a whole lot to write about the run other than the fact that the run is my weakest triathlon leg. I was 2nd overall in the swim & in the bike for my age group and SIXTH overall in my age group for the run. Obviously things are not balanced. I'm pretty much at a loss, though. I just don't know how to get my legs to move any faster. I suppose a 29:40 5K isn't 'terrible' after having already exercised pretty darn hard for an hour, but someone with more experience here... please tell me that I will improve in time. All I'm asking is to be able to run an 8 min/mile at the end of a tri. That's 1:30 second drop from where I'm at now. That's not too much to ask, right???

Look how cute my flouncy running skirt is! Even in the rain!!

Good Swim, Awesome Bike, Crappy Run = Age Group Award!

I have no finish line photos to show b/c Scott had to put the camera away due to the rain. I'm sure the pros snapped some and I'll high jack those as soon as I can. Much to my surprise, I managed to capture third place in my age group. I was totally not expecting this... especially under these conditions and knowing how slow my run felt. So anyway, yay for me! The highlight of said age-group award was receiving it from "The Man" himself.

Happy me... receiving my age group award from Dave Scott