Sue Reynolds
● Race Report
April 26, 2015
400
meter pool swim / 10 mile bike
/ 3.1 mile run
Temperature: 39o F /
Wind: 10 mph
OFFICIAL
RACE STATS
RACE STATS
SWIM
8:59.4
2:14 / 100 meters
Overall Rank: 159 /
254 = 63%ile
T1
3:28.2
188/254 = 74%
BIKE
32:31.5
18.4 mph
Overall Rank:
105/254 = 41%ile
T2
1:49.2
177/254 = 70%ile
RUN
31:52.2
10:15 min/mile
Overall Rank 212/254 = 84%ile
OVERALL
1:18:40.5
Overall Rank 157 /
254 = 62%ile
60-64 FEMALE RANK = 1/2
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PRE-RACE
WEEK
This was a great pre-race week. My coach and I did a “sit down” a couple of
weeks ago during which I explained how miserable I become during pre- and post-
race weeks. I don’t know if it’s fatigue
or stress or both, but during the week prior to and after a race, I have the
emotional stamina of a three-year-old.
Ha. My coach is good at keeping
me centered and our discussion helped a lot.
I appreciate that part of his coaching.
I hang on to his words (which I call touch-words) when my brain starts
to go south. I was pleased that I was
able to talk myself out of a couple of pre-race meltdowns. I also read a wonderful article about mental
strength. My take-away is that rather
than saying, “This is hard,” or “This is challenging,” I should say, “This is
an opportunity to prove what I am made of.”
In my bike fit blog, I reported how Dave "Rip" Ripley at 51 Speedshop in Indianapolis told me that I was strong and that it would be an injustice to me if someone gave me less than an aggressive fit on the bike. I took those words into race week too, repeating over and over again, "You are strong! Would be an injustice!"
The not-so-good part of pre-race week was that once again, I
got sick. Same thing with each race –
sinus headache and runny nose.
Lessons Learned:
- My brain shuts down on Tuesday prior to a
race. All thinking about race strategies
needs to be complete prior to Tuesday.
DAY
BEFORE THE RACE
We arrived at the race venue at 2:30 and listened to the
training for first-time triathletes presented by the coach of Phoenix Training
and Fitness in Indianapolis. I was
surprised that there were probably 150 there.
I was pleased that I knew what was being explained, but the coach did give
some specific tips about the race course which I appreciated. When then drove the bike course so I could
think about where to take off my shoes prior to the dismount. Where I had planned to take them off ended up
being a downhill so I decided to wait until after that hill so I could take
advantage of the speed. Then we drove
the run course and went to the hotel and had dinner in the room at 6:30 pm.
I really did not plan my food well for the day. Prior to dinner, I had only eaten 595
calories and I wanted to have 1,400 for the day so I ended up eating 818
calories at dinner. I was STUFFED.
- Egg whites (13)
- Brown rice (1/2 C)
- ½ bagel
- Sweet potato
- Peanut butter (1T)
- Oatmeal (1C)
- Banana
After dinner, I spent time reducing my detailed race plan
into a few words that I could write on the back of my hand, putting my HR and Power zones on my water
bottle, and charging my bike battery. No
down time before bed at 10:00.
For some strange reason, I always sleep pretty well the
night before a race. I think I know all
the work is done and at this point, it will be what it will be – and I let go
of all the planning and preparing, and sleep.
I sleep pretty soundly after falling asleep to when the alarm went off
at 4:45.
Lessons Learned:
- Charge bike battery prior to leaving home.
- I don’t like to eat a lot food volume the night
before a race. Talk to the IU dietician
about pre-race day menu.
- Get everything done before pre-race day
so you can pick up your packet, drive the course, watch TV and go to bed.
- Go to bed at 9:00 to get almost 8 hours of
sleep.
- Attach bike pump to tri transition bag in the
car so you don’t forget it!
RACE
DAY MORNING
Woke up at 4:45 and ate breakfast at 5:00:
- ½ Bagel
- Peanut butter (1T)
- Banana
- Plain yogurt (1C)
- Power Aide Zero (16 oz)
We had intended to leave at 6:00 am but didn’t get away
until 6:15.
Clothing:
Race
- Tri shorts
- Tri top
- Wind breaker (yellow)
- Thin bike glove
Warm up
- Lined running slacks
- Hoodie
- 51 Speedshop t-shirt
- Winter jacket
- Shoes & socks
Lessons Learned:
- Add 15 minutes to whatever time I think I need
to leave in the morning for unexpected things
- Given intestinal issues during warm-up (see
below), rethink dinner & breakfast.
WARM-UP
The mandatory athlete meeting was at 8:30. I arrived at the race venue at 6:30. I spent a lot of time setting up transition
because I was just afraid that I had forgotten something. I also practiced bike-in and run-out a few
times.
My warm up did not go as planned which disappointed me
because my coach was testing a warming protocol. I was supposed to do a bike, run and swim
warm-up. I rode my bike for a while on
the drive where I would be mounting and dismounting. I practiced mounting and dismounting at the
same time. I lost track of time and when
I got back to transition to do the run warm-up, there wasn’t enough time to do
the both the swim and run warm-ups. I
figured swim was more important since that was the first event and I would be
warmed up from the bike prior to running, so I did the swim warm-up. I only did race pace on the first half of
each 50. I also practiced getting in and
out of the pool a bit.
NOTE: I had an “intestinal
issues” at 7:50 am and had to RUN to the bathroom.
VERY COOL !!! I ran
into an educator while warming up that attended some workshops that I
facilitated last year during which I talked about triathlon. She said that I had inspired her and this was
her first triathlon! Wow. I think it takes so much courage to do your
first triathlon. So cool that she toed
the start line. Can’t wait to talk to
her.
Lessons Learned:
- Warm-up needs to be on a schedule and needs to
be practiced so it’s natural at the races.
- Get more comfortable with transition so you know
what to do.
- Learn how to put helmet, glasses on areo bars.
- Roll down shortie socks so they will go on wet
feet.
- Consider riding and running without socks.
- If wearing gloves, practice putting them on wet
hands.
SWIM
I was freezing (as in shivering uncontrollably) in the
waiting room prior to the swim even though I had on sweat pants, a hoodie, and
my winter jacket. The pool was a little
warmer as the group I was in snaked around to the start point – but then the
line went in front of fans and I started freezing again. I later discovered that there was a gear
table right at the start so I could have worn my cloths until the last moment.
At the start, I jumped in the pool and did a dolphin dive to
begin. That seemed pretty
efficient. I had planned to swim the
first 200 at 2:15 and the second 200 at sub 2:10. I had to stop at the end of the first length
because there were a million people all hanging on to the end of the lane. I ended up breast-stroking to the wall. Bummer.
On the next six lengths, I had a hard time getting into a rhythm or focusing
on my form. It was kind of like an open
water swim with each lane-end being a buoy to negotiate. I did manage to flip on the rest of the ends
but really didn’t get into a rhythm until the last 100.
With all of the commotion and distraction, I had no sense
how fast I was swimming. I thought about
speeding up, but I was afraid that I’d exhaust myself prior to the bike and run.
I did a safe pace.
I talked to the ref prior to the swim and learned that I
could swim straight to the ladder at the end and climb out so that’s what I
did. Ran immediately at a conservative
clip.
Lessons Learned:
- IMPORTANT:
Learn how fast I can do the swim without jeopardizing the bike and run.
- Practice focusing on pace and form when in the
middle of chaos.
T1
T1 was a mess. I
practice transitioning for about 2 hours a couple days before the race, but it
didn’t seem to help. I want everything
to happen faster than my brain can process.
Then, it seems like it’s time to go before my brain is ready for me to
go. Strange.
Normally, I think: 1)
Shoes, 2) Helmet, 3) Glasses. 4) GO! But today with the cold temperatures, I also
put on a jacket and gloves. I could not
get my socks to slide on my feet evenly because my feet were wet. And I had even more trouble getting my gloves
to go on. It was so frustrating just
standing there trying to get those gloves on.
A friend (Tom Mangia) racked his bike next to mine. He arrived at T1 after me and left before
me. So frustrating. To add to the problem, my run is slow which
adds to the transition problem.
Lessons learned:
- Practice transition at race pace.
- Practice putting socks on wet feet
- Practice putting gloves on wet hands.
BIKE
NOTE:
132 Average Power = Zone 3
144 Average HR = Zone 5B (Aerobic
capacity)
MOUNT: I had no
trouble running with my bike and per plan, ran considerably past the mount line
to get a space to myself prior to mounting.
Threw my leg over, braced, missed the clip-in on the first try, reset,
and then clipped in. I was on my way,
but my brain was still behind. It was
all happening so fast.
The course was basically an out-and-back with a few little
loops in the middle, thirteen turns, and five round-abouts. The
first mile was mainly uphill. Then the next
4 miles were slightly downhill. On the
way back, it was reversed.
I had no trouble being in areo or with the electronic
shifters. Love, love, love my new bike! I spent 98% of my time in the larger front
ring. The only time I used my small ring
was on steeper climbs (not many). It
took me about a mile to get my bearings.
I passed a TON of bikes which was a LOT of fun. Only a couple passed me.
I was supposed to be paying attention to my watts. The plan was to do low z4 for the first 3
miles, and then high z4 for the last 7 miles.
However, I found myself so wrapped up in racing that I wasn’t watching
my computer very much. I was just going
at an effort that felt like the most I could do for 10 miles and still have
something left for the run.
I was watching my
speed. My coach mentioned that he
thought I would be in the 18’s. I was
hoping to do 19. For the first half of
the race, I did average 19 mph and was thrilled, but on the way back on the
slight uphill, I only averaged 17.7.
A woman passed me early in the bike and I tried to keep
behind her the entire way. She slowed
down in the turns / round-abouts and I’d catch her. I discovered that I could really push my
speed in the corners and round-abouts if I went to the hoods. So I just powered through them and caught the
woman. Then she would go faster than me
in the straights and pull away.
At one point, when there was no one in front of me, the
route turned left. It was a four-lane
road and we were in the center lane going with traffic with cars in the outside
lane. As I approached the intersection,
volunteers were shouting, “Left lane!” I
assumed that meant that when I turned the corner, I should be in the left lane
of the two lanes on the right side of the road – traveling with traffic. I started to cross the intersection in a left
hand turn and noticed that the cop wasn’t stopping traffic. I shouted, “STOP THE CARS!!” as I was tearing
into the intersection. He yelled
angrily, “LEFT LANE! WHAT ARE YOU
DOING?!!!” I then realized that I was
supposed to be in the left lane of the two lanes that were coming toward me, on
the wrong side of the road. I was
already into the intersection and quickly turned, but I had to slow down a ton
to make the turn. I was SO ticked. That was unclear and dangerous – and it
slowed me down! On the chart above,
you’ll see my watts go down and then up at mile 3.7. That’s the turn.
I kept passing tons of people – so much fun. One young man on a tri bike started racing
when he heard me yell, “LEFT!” We were
side by side for a bit and I knew that I only had 15 seconds to pass so I
really put the hammer down. On the
chart, that’s where my watts go up at 5.61 miles.
Somewhere in the last two miles when I was no longer going
19 mph, I started looking at my watts.
To my total dismay, I realized that I was not always in z4, especially
in the downhills. I scolded myself for
not being more disciplined and started trying to do z4 at all times which
really worked my legs a little harder. I
think I could have done that effort for all 10 miles, but I didn’t know what
that would do to me in the run. I really nailed the last mile and did 20.9
mph. However, at one point when I was
switching to the big gear, my chain sounded like it had fallen off. Lots of rattling. I was heartbroken. But I switched gears again and somehow
everything connected properly. Phew!
DISMOUNT: When I turned
into the uphill drive approaching the dismount, there were tons of bikes in
front of me – all going very slow. I had
to slow down much more than I wanted to prior to taking off my shoes. Shoes came off with no problems. But at that point, I had to follow the slow
bikes in. Bummer. I had checked with the timing company prior
to the race about where to dismount. I
was told that they put up a dismount sign but as long as I dismounted prior to
the matts, I could go past that sign. The
slow bikes stopped well before the dismount sign. I was going to ride by them, but one suddenly
veered in front of me. I yelled, “On
your right!” Then everyone started screaming at me to dismount. I said, “I am!” Swung my leg over and hit the ground running
before my bike had stopped moving. Had
no problem running in my socks! I must
say that dismount was rather sweet. But
in my lessons learned below, I’ve added that I must be more cautious at
dismount since I can’t predict what people are going to do.
Totally forgot nutrition on the bike. I did eat one Shot Blok but it was hard as a
rock in the cold and I had trouble swallowing it. I drank a few times (maybe five times) but
only one swallow each time. I was just
too busy focusing on racing. More
lessons learned!
Lessons Learned:
- IMPORTANT:
Learn how fast I can go on the bike without jeopardizing the run.
- Look at your computer. Try pushing the watts to 150-155 and see if
you have enough gas left for the run
- Be more cautious at dismount because I can’t
tell what other people are going to do.
(But dang, that was a great dismount.
I can’t imagine it going any better.
- Fine a different way to get nutrition on bike –
drink?
- Remember to drink.
- Practice mounting at race pace.
T2
No real problems in T2 other than running slow and taking
time to take off my gloves and jacket.
Went through my count: 1. Shoes,
2) Water bottle, 3) Race belt. 4).
Go. I did take the time to blow my nose. I debated that but thought the run would be
so much better without a full, runny nose.
RUN
Quickly noticed that my heartrate was not displaying on my
watch. That made no sense since it was
totally wet from the swim. I tried
adjusting it several times, but that didn’t help. I thought about restarting my watch, but my guess
was that wouldn’t help. So I just
decided to just run on pace. Felt
grateful that I understood my body well enough to have a sense of what my HR
was doing without a HR monitor.
Took my time running up the hill from T1. Again, I was grateful that I learned how to
run hills without spiking my HR in preparation for the Muncie Olympic Tri.
At the top of the hill, I just started running at a sub
11:00 pace. Perfect. I remember thinking that I was running on
autopilot. Just remembered head up, arms
back, 95+ cadence. I was breathing with
every two steps but not winded. I’ve had
pain under my lower ribs occasionally in the last couple of weeks as I run. It ends immediately when I stop running. This time, the pain started under my right
lower rib, then traveled to the middle of my tummy. I was so worried that it would get worse and
I wouldn’t be able to finish. But I told
myself to ignore it and just keep my cadence up. By mile 1.5, the pain was gone. Phew.
My pace seemed to be around 10:45. Usually, I speed up over time without trying
to speed up. I was hoping that would
happen and it did. I started noting some
10:30’s and then a lot of 10:30’s. I
seemed to be running faster on slight uphill than on flats. I wondered if that was because the uphills
somehow changed my stride.
A couple of times, I noted that my pace was at 11:05. It wasn’t that I was tired. I had just lost focus and my cadence had
slowed. So when I notice a slower pace, I
just increased my cadence and got back on track.
At 2 miles, there was an uphill that I slowed a bit
for. Was a little pooped at that
point. Then I remembered, “This is an
opportunity to show what you are made of,” and started chanting in my head,
“You – are – made – of” in rhythm with my run.
My brother taught me to chant to focus your mind. That really helped – and my pace increased.
I felt so grateful for my improved fitness. While I was tired, I didn’t feel like I was
going to die. I didn’t run with my eyes
closed. I never doubted that I was going
to make it to the end.
At mile 2.5, I knew I was supposed to speed up, but I didn’t
think I could do much more than I was.
But . . . when I started looking at my watch, I found I was in the 9:00’s. How did that happen? LOL. I
remembered what my coach said about being able to maintain z5 for six minutes –
so I just hit it as hard as I could. I
did the entire last half mile in the 9:00’s.
How did that happen? I almost
caught a young girl who had passed me earlier.
Cool!
Note: My official
race results show my average pace at 10:15 but I don’t think that’s right. I think the course was short. According to my Garmin, I only ran 3.03
miles. I think my Garmin pace (10:30) is
probably the accurate one. I am
incredibly pleased with my negative splits, but I can’t take credit for that. It just kind of happened. J
I am super pleased with my run improvement. My previous best in a tri run was at USAT
Nationals (11:58) on a totally flat course in relatively cool weather (warmer
than today but not hot and humid). So
based on my Garmin pace of 10:30, I improved my pace by 1:28 per mile. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought that
could happen. And given that the final
mile was 10:13, I have much hope for the future. So, so pleased.
Lessons learned:
- When I load an update into my Garmin computer, I
need to make sure my watch is still synced with my devices. I
think this was the problem with my HR not showing.
FINISH
I hate it when you have to stand still as soon as you cross
the finish line so a volunteer can take the electronic tracker off your
ankle. When I finish, my legs don’t want
to stop moving. I told the woman trying
to take off my tracker that I didn’t want to stop moving. She was so nice and told me to keep moving
and that she’d get it. So I just kept
stepping side to side while she somehow managed to get if off. :-)
I was surprised by how many people there were at the finish
line cheering us in. But, I guess when
you’re not dead last, there are people waiting for the people behind you. Nice that it was not just me and the
timer! :-)
I was kind of surprised by how I felt at the end. I was tired, but it was a different kind of
tired. It’s hard to describe. Last season, it was kind of a cardio tired
while today, it was more like a muscular tired.
Love having muscles.
OVERALL
Overall, I am satisfied with this race. I really had no sense of how my off-season
training would impact my race. I was so
eager to see what seven months of training would do. Very pleased. I am happy with my pacing too. I have LOTS to learn about pacing and today
was a great start. Today made me want to discover my limits. How hard can I push in the swim without
destroying my bike and run? How hard can
I push in the bike, before I destroy my run?
How far can I push at the beginning of the run before I am unable to run
the entire race?
Mostly, I am happy today because I see places where I can
improve. Of course, improvement starts
with building the engine (as my coach says).
But there are so many little things I can do, like being better in T1,
remembering to monitor my watts on the bike, and not being reckless as I
dismount the bike.
Finally, I am so blessed to be supported by a wonderful
family (especially my husband who is a saint).
So grateful for the financial
means to participate in a rather expensive sport, the opportunity to live in a
country where order and freedom are the norm, colleagues who are genuinely
happy for me and understand why I am no longer working 16-hour days, a brother
who looks out for me, and a wonderful coach.
I am abundantly blessed. Life is
good.
FEEDBACK
From my coach’s Facebook page. So cool that the two people he had racing
today both had age-group wins! Don’t
get to celebrate very long however. A
swim workout is scheduled for tomorrow.
LOL!
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