Buffalo Springs Lake Half Ironman RR - 6/26/05

Executive Summary:
Swim: 37:20
T1: 2:20
Bike: 3:00:57 (18.6 mph)
T2: 1:30
Run: 2:00:06 (9:10 min/mile)
Total 5:42:16
1/3 Athena - would've been 10/42 AG
PR by 5+ min. on this course
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TriFilly/BuffSprings05/photo#s5118350549381470834

Long Version:
Once again, as this wasn't an A race, I'd not tapered. My coach was VERY unhappy I was racing this race at all as he wanted me to do a peak workout this weekend. So, those peak workouts were moved to the Wednesday (4 hour bike) and Thursday (21 mi. run) before the race. Needless to say, I wasn't too "fresh", but nor did I feel burnt out coming into the race.

While most of my friends & training partners were off to IMCDA, I was off to Lubbock - oh joy. Kym (training partner & roomie for the weekend) & I made the six hour drive out on Friday night & checked into our hotel w. no major incidents. Rode an hour Sat. morning (only had to stop twice during the ride to adjust my saddle - very long story, but I think I'm making progress) and then jogged about 8 min. Temperature was in the low 70s & quite nice for Lubbock. Headed to IHOP for breakfast, did some shopping & then to packet pickup. All done and back to hotel to rest by 1 pm. I took a quick trip to Cap Rock winery to buy a few gifts, tasted a few wines and bought two cases of wine (oops).
Saturday night I'd set up a dinner with a few TRI-DRS folks, some members of the Inside Triathlon Age Group team I'm on and also some local Dallas athletes that would be racing. Well, it sorta snowballed & we ended up w. about 30 athletes - although I'd planned on 18, so wasn't that outta hand. Luckily, I'd called ahead for reservations and the restaurant wasn't too busy. They took great care of us and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves - although I didn't get to spend nearly enough time w. the people I'd never met before both from the TRI-DRS List & the Inside Tri people...
Race day arrives and Kym & I arrive at the race site on time, get set-up, take care of business, etc. I'm off in the last wave w. the Clydes - that wasn't too fun. Was pretty rough through the first buoy, including a kick in the nose, but I didn't lose my goggles or my cool :) At the time, I thought the swim was long, but was likely right on, just my own lack of swimming that made it feel a bit long.
Got on the bike & decided that since I'd had such a big training week & didn't want to really punish my body too much, I'd ride the bike at "training" pace. Got up all the hills just fine & flew by a lot of people (being in the last wave tends to allow for a lot of passing). Saddle "issues" were tolerable, but thought about my fellow friends racing IMCDA and was really glad I wasn't going six hours on the bike this day!
Onto the run & had the same philosophy as the bike. No need to push too hard, but don't get lazy either. Stuck w. my plan to run from water stop to water stop and walk the uphills and ended up w. a 2 hour half marathon - so was quite pleased with that. No where a near Half IM PR, but 5 min. better than my time here last year.

Oh yeah, most important race note - got my first IV. WOOHOO! I knew I didn't need one, but with IMLP just four weeks away and knowing I need to train hard the next two weeks, the volunteer asked me "Do you want an IV?" Well, heck, I sure wasn't going to say no. Then I drank a few post-race beers, chatted w. friends, got some food, showered & Kym and I drove back to Dallas. After about five hours in the car I was ready to be home, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought the drive right after the race would be. Today, I have the day off from training, although I feel fine & could workout if it was scheduled. Not sure if I can attribute that to the race strategy or the IV, but either way, pretty happy about it.

Thanks for reading,
Katie in Hot Dallas

Metroplex Sprint RR - 6/13/05

Executive Summary - Metroplex Sprint (800m, 16.7m, 5K):
Swim: 12:44
T1 1:16
Bike: 43:29 (23.2 mph 5th fastest female bike split)
T2: 1:00
Run: 24:16 (7:47 pace)
Total: 1:22:47
1/8 Athena, 3/18 AG, 10/115 Female OA
Really pleased w. my bike split & overall time, almost 4 min. PR over last year.
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TriFilly/Metroplex05/photo#s5118347714703054818

Long Version:
For someone who is training for IM LP (in just six short weeks), I really didn't know what to expect going into this sprint. I'd done a long run (18+ miles) on Thursday and a 2.5 hour ride on Saturday (after a major bike re-fit w. the saddle raised 3/4" and handlebars dropped 1/2"), so I wasn't exactly "fresh" for yesterday's race. Despite new "fit" on bike, didn't have any issues, except my saddle which has been on-going.

Got us to the race site on time and got set up. Todd & I were set up on the same rack, which I knew would be a good indicator of how my swim went (I didn't expect his bike to be there when I got to mine). Got in my warm-up run by jogging to the bathrooms a couple times & then headed for a quick swim.

Pre-race meeting & off we go. I was in the third wave with Michelle & Todd and it was pretty rough & crowded at the buoys. But, outta the water and into T1 to find Todd's bike still there - woohoo, must've had a good swim.

Climbed on the bike & immediately realized that I MUST address the saddle issue this week. But, put the hammer down & tried the push the whole time to distract me. It worked & my quads didn't burn nearly as much as they had in my last two races, so apparently my intervals are paying off. Saw lots of teammates out there (out & back) and despite three construction areas, had no issues.

Started running w. a teammate who's had a knee injury for the last month or so, just a few yards in front of me. She's a faster runner than I am, but thought maybe today could be my day to catch her on the run - NOT! Despite her not running much, she still just ran away from me. At least she served as a good rabbit for my run & I kept her in sight the whole time (her run time was about 45 sec. faster than mine, but she was also in the wave in front of me).

Stuck around for the hardware, since both Michelle & I got some & they actually did the Relays & then Athenas - how cool that we were not the last awards like usual :)

Overall, pleased with my performance and happy that both Todd & Michelle had good races too, despite Todd's run-in w. wildlife on the bike (look for his RR later). Lots of teammates out there cheering really helped me push too. Too bad IM LP won't as flat as this course was....

Thanks for reading,
Katie