Outdoor Divas Tri Like a Girl - Sprint Triathlon

Outdoor Divas Tri Like a Girl - Sprint Triathlon
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Union Reservoir, Longmont CO

The Training
Last May, I decided that I wanted to take on a new challenge. I decided not to train for a Fall marathon because I wanted to give my body a rest from the perpetual training I’ve done for more than 12 continuous months. All that being said - I knew I’d have a LOT of time on my hands during my time away from school this summer. So, the idea of doing a triathlon popped in to my head.

I cruised around on line to find one that would be a good first time experience - triathletes are a bit intimidating, in my opinion. My criteria were, a small race (approximately 500 athletes), an all women’s event, and nearby. Outdoor Divas fit the bill to a T! The max registration was set at 500, all women, and in Longmont. Check, check, check!

I can’t remember which plan I decided to follow - however, it was a pretty basic plan. All of the training for each discipline was based on time. There were no specific workouts for speed, intervals, etc. I knew that swimming would be my weakest event so I really worked on my breathing and keeping my strokes even when I was in the pool. I didn’t invest in a road bike but I supped up my mountain bike to have a little less resistance on the road. I locked out my shocks and switched to 1.5” slicks. Made it a bit quicker. My plan for running included some easy runs and “longer” runs of about 50 minutes. I also continued my year of “streaking” while I was training for this triathlon.

I felt pretty confident in my training through the summer - swim was good (I was able to do a couple of open water swim in addition to laps at the pool), biking was good, running was great! I did a few races this summer to gauge my fitness. I had a PR in my Half-Marathon in early June (1:45:48) and a near PR at a 5K in late July (22:14, 30 seconds off of my PR). During the past couple weeks of July and early August my traveling and work schedules got in the way of training - but I did the best I could.

Goals
Since this was my first tri I wasn’t sure what to expect, however, I had some goals in mind. For the swim - I told myself that I would be happy finishing the 1/2 mile in about 20 minutes. For the bike - I thought I could finish between 45-50 minutes based on my rides over the summer. And for the run - I wanted to finish in under 25 minutes. I was guessing I could finish the whole race between 1:30:00 and 1:45:00.

The Race
My friend and colleague, Cindy, agreed to do the race with me. She is a seasoned veteran of Triathlons and it was reassuring and helpful to have her guidance and experience as I prepared for this race. Cindy gave me great pointers on gear and training in addition to being a calming force on the day of the race!

We got on the road early to head to Boulder to pick up our packets and check out “the scene”. We stopped by Boulder Running Company and Whole Foods before heading out to Union Reservoir to check out the course. We were both a little concerned by the dirt/rock paths leading to and from the transition area. Ouch!

I got up nice and early on Sunday morning after a short night of sleep. After a hearty breakfast (oatmeal, surprise!) we headed to the reservoir to get ready for the race!

Cindy gave me great tips and pointers of how to set up my transition area. We chose a rack close to the entry from the swim. After getting everything set up we checked out the course. It was extremely well marked and very user friendly for first timers!



The swim waves were arranged by age groups. Since there were many first timers at this event they had specific waves for age group first timers - so I was in Wave 7 out of 8. It was really helpful to see the other waves go before me so I could sort of visualize what I was in for out there!



The water temperature was 77 degrees on race morning! It was pretty funny when my wave stepped up to the start - everyone wanted to hang back and not be “first”! When the horn blew all of us took off. It got a little crowded until we got to the first buoy. I had to remind myself that I was not “racing” this part of the triathlon, merely surviving! I think a lot of the other girls had this realization too. I was seeing a lot of surprised looks on their faces too that they were working a little bit too hard. I had a quick talk with myself to get it under control and decided that I would do 20 strokes of freestyle, then 10 strokes of breast and alternate until I could stick with all freestyle. When we turned left at the second buoy the swim was seeming a little bit easier. I forgot to take the wind in to consideration. The first leg of the swim we were swimming into the waves - after the turn the waves were on our right side making it a little bit easier. I continued with the 20-10 alternating strokes until we turned the 3rd buoy. At that point the waves were at our backs and I was able to switch to all free. I was actually feeling pretty good about my swim at this point.

As I approached the exit point I removed my cap and earplugs and took a quick dunk under so my hair could look mildly presentable (I know, vain!). After I exited the water I got my legs under me as I jogged to the transition area. Luckily they laid outdoor carpet over the rocks and dirt (save the tootsies!). I was soaking wet and trying to pull on my tank top and shorts. My next challenge was getting my socks on - I dried my feet as best I could, but it was still difficult. My shoes also were trouble some as my bike shoes have laces. Once I got myself put together I jogged my bike through the transition area to the start of the bike course.

Once I was on the bike I attempted to get my Garmin around my wrist while trying not to fall. Finally got that in place and took my Chocolate Honey Stinger. I ended up getting the Stinger down the wrong pipe and spent the rest of the ride coughing and getting my throat cleared. Annoying. I had my chain set on the middle ring in the front for the entire first lap of the course. As I started the second lap I switched to my big ring so I could pick up a little speed. While I was riding I played leap frog with a couple of other ladies but didn’t get passed by many other riders. That felt pretty good! The course meandered through a residential area and we made three loops before returning to the transition area.

After I dismounted I jogged my bike back to the rack so I could get my muscles ready for the run. I switched out shoes grabbed my visor and started my Garmin. The course started with a few turns and then went out to a county road for an out and back. I glanced down at my Garmin and saw that my pace was 7:22 - oops. Needed to slow it down if I didn’t want to crash and burn before mile one! On the run I realized how quickly the temperature was rising. The forecast included record high temperatures for the Denver area - ooh! lucky me! I was sort of surprised by how many people were walking the course. I was definitely set on running the whole 5K no matter how tired I was feeling or how hot I was. There was a slight incline to the turn around point and I told myself that I had to earn that downhill! Not ONE person passed me on the run! With about a half-mile to go I was getting so excited about finishing my first triathlon! I
enjoyed a most spectacular view of Long’s Peak as I crossed the finish line - at 1:28:36!

The Results
Swim: 18:55, 237/449 Overall
Transition 1: 2:52
Bike: 40:55, 18.2 MPH, 174/449 Overall
Transition 2: 1:35
Run: 24:23, 7:52/mile, 33/449 Overall

Overall Place: 113/449
Age Group Place: 24/74
Age Group First Timer Place: 4th



I was absolutely ecstatic that I met all of my goals for this race and even surpassed some of them. I had a great experience this first time out and have already been hunting around for my next race! Perhaps I’ll tackle and Olympic distance next time out. :)