Race Report: Frank Dunn Triathlon 2016
Vegan Triathlete
http://vegantriathlete.com
http://vegantriathlete.com/2016/08/race-report-frank-dunn-triathlon-2016/
2016, Frank Dunn triathlon, race review
Crystal Clarke
Another year of the Frank Dunn Triathlon! This was my 11th year of completion. I had absolutely NO IDEA how it was going to go. I figured it wouldn’t be pretty, which is basically how it turned out. Something I haven’t done in many many years is race without my GPS watch. I forgot it at home so was left with just my regular ol’ wristwatch with the ability to time me at least. It was strange and I think affected me a bit.
Pre-Race:
A beautiful morning! Seriously, it was absolutely perfect. It was the best lake conditions I’ve ever seen in all the years I’ve been doing this event. Last year was great too, but I think this year was better. I didn’t think it would be possible!
Swim:
The swim was great. Other than being kicked in the stomach by some jerk doing the breast stroke. NOTE TO ALL NEW TRIATHLETES: DO NOT DO BREAST STROKE! I know it seems like a nice break to catch your breath, but you take up double the amount of space. It’s rude and dangerous. Plus it takes up a lot of energy and you’re better off just doing freestyle the way that you trained to.
Anyway, I came out of the water at 34 minutes! A great time for me.
T1:
I need to practice taking off my wetsuit! The past couple of years it has become harder and harder. Does it get harder to take off as the wetsuit gets older or do I just need to lose some weight? Anyway, I have to figure out how to get it off easier. I put on my bike shorts over my tri shorts because I needed the extra padding.
Bike:
I had no game plan on the bike. Not having my watch made it that I couldn’t have a game plan. So I went by feel.
My race plan was to do the first lap slow and push on the second if I could. However, there was a sweet tail wind going out, so I went with that and spun slowly on the way back. I think it was a solid game plan as I had a good bike time. In the back of my mind was Randall yelling out “TWO AND A HALF!” After the first lap my average pace was about 26km/hr. I couldn’t believe it! I knew my second lap would be tougher mentally because of the distance that I wasn’t prepared for, but I kept going.
One of the main motivators of pushing harder was the thought of Shannon running on that lonely road that I have run so many times myself. As I was going up the last climb and my legs were shutting down, I thought of Shannon running for me and Randall yelling TWO AND A HALF! So I kept having to push myself. Once I turned the corner to get back into town I knew that my legs had given all they could. In the end I finished the bike in 2:28!
T2:
Easy as pie - took off bike shorts, put on hat and shoes. Gone and gone. That’s where things get ugly.
The Run:
Yikes. My legs were like jelly. Apparently the whole not training thing really hurts after a while. There were a few times when I could get my legs to do a slow run, but mostly it was a walk. Not even a fast walk, a regular mosey-around the block walk. So it was really a walk more than a run. I wanted to run more than I walked, but that did not happen. It’s true what they say (I can’t remember which coach says this, but I’ve heard it a few times) - you can’t have a good run without a good bike.
What I have taken away from this race is what I’ve taken away many times before: training makes a huge difference. Duh.
Another year of the Frank Dunn Triathlon! This was my 11th year of completion. I had absolutely NO IDEA how it was going to go. I figured it wouldn’t be pretty, which is basically how it turned out. Something I haven’t done in many many years is race without my GPS watch. I forgot it at home so was left with just my regular ol’ wristwatch with the ability to time me at least. It was strange and I think affected me a bit.
Pre-Race:
A beautiful morning! Seriously, it was absolutely perfect. It was the best lake conditions I’ve ever seen in all the years I’ve been doing this event. Last year was great too, but I think this year was better. I didn’t think it would be possible!
Swim:
The swim was great. Other than being kicked in the stomach by some jerk doing the breast stroke. NOTE TO ALL NEW TRIATHLETES: DO NOT DO BREAST STROKE! I know it seems like a nice break to catch your breath, but you take up double the amount of space. It’s rude and dangerous. Plus it takes up a lot of energy and you’re better off just doing freestyle the way that you trained to.
Anyway, I came out of the water at 34 minutes! A great time for me.
T1:
I need to practice taking off my wetsuit! The past couple of years it has become harder and harder. Does it get harder to take off as the wetsuit gets older or do I just need to lose some weight? Anyway, I have to figure out how to get it off easier. I put on my bike shorts over my tri shorts because I needed the extra padding.
Bike:
I had no game plan on the bike. Not having my watch made it that I couldn’t have a game plan. So I went by feel.
My race plan was to do the first lap slow and push on the second if I could. However, there was a sweet tail wind going out, so I went with that and spun slowly on the way back. I think it was a solid game plan as I had a good bike time. In the back of my mind was Randall yelling out “TWO AND A HALF!” After the first lap my average pace was about 26km/hr. I couldn’t believe it! I knew my second lap would be tougher mentally because of the distance that I wasn’t prepared for, but I kept going.
One of the main motivators of pushing harder was the thought of Shannon running on that lonely road that I have run so many times myself. As I was going up the last climb and my legs were shutting down, I thought of Shannon running for me and Randall yelling TWO AND A HALF! So I kept having to push myself. Once I turned the corner to get back into town I knew that my legs had given all they could. In the end I finished the bike in 2:28!
T2:
Easy as pie - took off bike shorts, put on hat and shoes. Gone and gone. That’s where things get ugly.
The Run:
Yikes. My legs were like jelly. Apparently the whole not training thing really hurts after a while. There were a few times when I could get my legs to do a slow run, but mostly it was a walk. Not even a fast walk, a regular mosey-around the block walk. So it was really a walk more than a run. I wanted to run more than I walked, but that did not happen. It’s true what they say (I can’t remember which coach says this, but I’ve heard it a few times) - you can’t have a good run without a good bike.
What I have taken away from this race is what I’ve taken away many times before: training makes a huge difference. Duh.