Jack's Generic Triathlon 2012 race report.
Last race before Ironman Mont-Tremblant! Exactly two weeks before, and so my goals were modest: don't do anything stupid.
I admit, when I saw how small my age group was, and how many of them had platform pedals on their bikes, I may have also hoped that I could place decently, but mostly the name of the game was staying upright and uninjured. While standing around waiting to start, I formulated one last goal, which was to hold off my fast 40-44 friends in the wave behind me as long as possible. I may have requested specifically that a few of them not pass me on the bike, since they're much stronger riders than I am.
Stood around while the open wave went off, then all the men's waves, then two waves of younger women, and then it was my turn to wade into the nasty, oily, opaque Texas Ski Ranch water. I made my way up to the front, stepping on some mysterious squishy objects I preferred not to think about, and settled in to wait for the countdown. I glanced to my left, and there was Heather! I've never seen Heather at a swim start before. Heather's not in my age group! I expressed that to her, and then remembered, duh, it's Heather's birthday, so she IS now in my age group! I said, "Oh yeah! It's your fucking birthday! Happy fucking birthday!" and folks around chimed in, possibly less profanely, and then our race began.
Swim 500m
I started off fast, as did lots of folks around me, but I really didn't have any contact with other swimmers. A delightfully clean start. I thought I was going to have a lot of company for the whole swim, but as we approached the first buoy, I noticed most folks had fallen back a bit, and there were only 2 fellow green caps ahead of me.
That basically continued for the rest of the swim. One girl was way out front, too far away to catch, and one girl was tantalizingly close to me, but I couldn't seem to catch her either. So I just stuck close to her and tried to stay strong. And take in as little of the nasty Ski Ranch water as possible.
As I came into shore, I was just right behind the 2nd girl in my age group, and we both struggled to pick our way through the obstacle course of waves ahead of us and get out of the water.
It felt like a solid swim, and I was pleased as punch with 3rd out of the water.
Happy to be out of that nasty water
T1
Aside from attempting to go the wrong way into T1, my transition was pretty smooth and quick. Found my bike (YAY), swapped swim gear for bike gear, and ran to Bike Out. I saw that I'd passed the girl who'd just beat me out of the swim, so I figured I was probably 2nd at that point.
Bike 13.8 miles
I ran over the mount line, foot on pedal, and swung my leg over successfully, then let out the breath I was holding, because I've not been great at this mount in the last few races. I figured this was a good sign, and had a big smile on my face. At least until I had to go up the frontage road hill.
I passed people going up the hill. I passed people as I turned the corner. I passed people as we didn't turn on the road I expected to turn on, and then I was completely lost. (Turns out I've never done Jack's Generic, and the 11.1 mile bike course I normally do out there is different than the 13.8 mile course, so I was pretty lost the whole time.) I passed people on the hills. I passed a lot of people on the bike, including a ton of guys. And some 10 year olds. I wanted to feel good about that. BUT..
A girl passed me a mile into the bike. I tried to look at her age on her calf, but I couldn't really read it. I thought she might have been in the wave before me, but she could have been in mine. Then later a girl definitely in my age group passed me. Okay, so that leaves me in either 3rd or 4th, unless I completely missed someone on the swim or in T1. Damn. But I felt like I was riding decently, so I just kept pushing.
Got through the hills and the nasty, chip seal road, and knew I had to be getting near the downhill back to transition. And then another girl in my age group passed me. I tried to stay close to her, but she was much faster than me. But still, I wanted to keep her as close as possible into transition, because maybe she was a weaker runner, and I could catch her on the run.
Halfway out of my shoes
Down the big hill, mostly out of my aerobars because the road is so seamed and horrible there. Got out of my shoes and prepared to transition my little heart out to try to catch this girl. I wasn't sure if that would put me in 4th or 3rd, but at least it gave me a goal.
Least-convincing fake smile ever, me.
Once again opted not to swing my leg over to dismount, but just stepped down. See how I'm being careful and smart? Then ran my bike into transition.
T2
Found my stuff again with no problem! Whee! To get to it, I ran by the girl who'd passed me on the bike, but as I shoved my shoes on, she was running out. A fast transitioner. But maybe a slower runner? Fingers crossed.
A MUCH better transition than at Couples, and I headed out (sockless! possibly a bad idea if I was trying to do nothing stupid, since I'd never run 3 miles without socks, but it ended up being okay) to run.
Run 3 miles
Out of transition and into the grassy, treacherous area. A volunteer told me to be careful, and I nodded and then turned my ankle. Not bad. Just that scary twinge as it starts to turn, but I recovered with no damage, and made it safely out onto the road.
I looked ahead of me to see if I could find the girl in my age group. I didn't see her. I didn't end up seeing her until she was coming back from the out and back, WAY ahead of me. So much for that idea.
So bad news is I didn't manage to pass anyone in my age group on the run. The GOOD news is, I don't think a single person passed me on the run. That might not be true. But if they did, it was maybe 1 or 2, max. And I passed a lot of people. STILL passing a ton of guys.
The run felt.. well, I hesitate to say "good". It was hot and humid and uphill on the way out, with a big hill right at the turnaround. But my legs didn't feel that crippled brick feeling, and I felt like I was pushing well without killing myself.
I cheered for the folks coming in as I was going out, then when I turned around I got to see how close some of those folks in the age group behind me had come to catching me. Red was right on my heels, and since I'd told her not to catch me on the bike, I told her she was now welcome to catch me on the run (she didn't, but it was a close thing, and she started 3 minutes after me). A lot of cheers and high-fives for people on my way back in. I love local events where I know so many people.
I think that's Kenny just behind me.
Then what seemed like 8 years later, I got back to the Ski Ranch and back onto the grassy area. Made it through unscathed and onto the sidewalk for one last push around the lake to the finish line. Matt was sitting right before the finish line, and I could hear him cheering as I approached, then telling me to kick it in, which I did as well as I could with what I had left.
Then into the awful sand finish, and across the finish line!
Mission accomplished: I finished the race without injuring myself.
Stupid sand at the finish line
Results
Since I'd watched the podium for my age group ride by my on the bike, I knew I hadn't placed, but I was curious where I'd ended up coming in, and it turned out to be 4th! Which we all now know, from the Olympics, is the worst place to come in. But even with Keri, who normally wins my age group, racing in the Open wave, some really strong women turned up that day, and I feel good about how I did in comparison to them.
Crossing the finish line, I felt good about my swim and great about my run (the only time I knew at the time, which was mid-7s, which I was thrilled with). So I figured that it must have been the bike that was my downfall. I'd ridden the day before and felt really sluggish and slow, and the bike is never my strong suit, so I expected to look at the results when I got home and see I averaged in the low 16s or so.
Results:
Swim: 9:23 (1:53/M) (3rd in AG)
T1: 1:18 (2nd in AG)
Bike: 43:49 (18.9mph) (6th in AG)
T2: 0:51 (4th in AG)
Run: 22:33 (7:31/M)
Total: 01:17:55
Solid swim. Solid run. And the bike? I was shocked when I saw my average speed. I wanted to be bummed about my comparatively slow bike, but damn, I can't complain about 18.9mph average. That's possibly my fastest bike split ever. So hurray! It may not have been great compared to the other women out there, but it's fantastic for me! (And my T2 gets Most Improved after the Couples fiasco.)
The woman who placed first in my age group also placed 8th overall. I can't compete with that.
Oh, and remember how I thought, "Maybe that girl sucks at running and I can catch her on the run"? Yeah, she ran a 17:50, which was the third fastest run overall (men and women), and 5:57/mile. Uh.. yeah. She didn't suck at running. Oops.
So overall, even though I didn't end up on the podium, it was a solid race and a nice last race before Ironman. And so much fun to hang out with friends before, during and after the race.
AND my husband, who always goes so much faster than me but tends to just miss the podium, got on the podium this time! And because he doesn't believe in half measures, he ended up on top of the podium. First in his age group! So proud.
The End.
Thanks for the buttshot, photographer! But you can see the happy face on my left calf here.
I admit, when I saw how small my age group was, and how many of them had platform pedals on their bikes, I may have also hoped that I could place decently, but mostly the name of the game was staying upright and uninjured. While standing around waiting to start, I formulated one last goal, which was to hold off my fast 40-44 friends in the wave behind me as long as possible. I may have requested specifically that a few of them not pass me on the bike, since they're much stronger riders than I am.
Stood around while the open wave went off, then all the men's waves, then two waves of younger women, and then it was my turn to wade into the nasty, oily, opaque Texas Ski Ranch water. I made my way up to the front, stepping on some mysterious squishy objects I preferred not to think about, and settled in to wait for the countdown. I glanced to my left, and there was Heather! I've never seen Heather at a swim start before. Heather's not in my age group! I expressed that to her, and then remembered, duh, it's Heather's birthday, so she IS now in my age group! I said, "Oh yeah! It's your fucking birthday! Happy fucking birthday!" and folks around chimed in, possibly less profanely, and then our race began.
Swim 500m
I started off fast, as did lots of folks around me, but I really didn't have any contact with other swimmers. A delightfully clean start. I thought I was going to have a lot of company for the whole swim, but as we approached the first buoy, I noticed most folks had fallen back a bit, and there were only 2 fellow green caps ahead of me.
That basically continued for the rest of the swim. One girl was way out front, too far away to catch, and one girl was tantalizingly close to me, but I couldn't seem to catch her either. So I just stuck close to her and tried to stay strong. And take in as little of the nasty Ski Ranch water as possible.
As I came into shore, I was just right behind the 2nd girl in my age group, and we both struggled to pick our way through the obstacle course of waves ahead of us and get out of the water.
It felt like a solid swim, and I was pleased as punch with 3rd out of the water.
Happy to be out of that nasty water
T1
Aside from attempting to go the wrong way into T1, my transition was pretty smooth and quick. Found my bike (YAY), swapped swim gear for bike gear, and ran to Bike Out. I saw that I'd passed the girl who'd just beat me out of the swim, so I figured I was probably 2nd at that point.
Bike 13.8 miles
I ran over the mount line, foot on pedal, and swung my leg over successfully, then let out the breath I was holding, because I've not been great at this mount in the last few races. I figured this was a good sign, and had a big smile on my face. At least until I had to go up the frontage road hill.
I passed people going up the hill. I passed people as I turned the corner. I passed people as we didn't turn on the road I expected to turn on, and then I was completely lost. (Turns out I've never done Jack's Generic, and the 11.1 mile bike course I normally do out there is different than the 13.8 mile course, so I was pretty lost the whole time.) I passed people on the hills. I passed a lot of people on the bike, including a ton of guys. And some 10 year olds. I wanted to feel good about that. BUT..
A girl passed me a mile into the bike. I tried to look at her age on her calf, but I couldn't really read it. I thought she might have been in the wave before me, but she could have been in mine. Then later a girl definitely in my age group passed me. Okay, so that leaves me in either 3rd or 4th, unless I completely missed someone on the swim or in T1. Damn. But I felt like I was riding decently, so I just kept pushing.
Got through the hills and the nasty, chip seal road, and knew I had to be getting near the downhill back to transition. And then another girl in my age group passed me. I tried to stay close to her, but she was much faster than me. But still, I wanted to keep her as close as possible into transition, because maybe she was a weaker runner, and I could catch her on the run.
Halfway out of my shoes
Down the big hill, mostly out of my aerobars because the road is so seamed and horrible there. Got out of my shoes and prepared to transition my little heart out to try to catch this girl. I wasn't sure if that would put me in 4th or 3rd, but at least it gave me a goal.
Least-convincing fake smile ever, me.
Once again opted not to swing my leg over to dismount, but just stepped down. See how I'm being careful and smart? Then ran my bike into transition.
T2
Found my stuff again with no problem! Whee! To get to it, I ran by the girl who'd passed me on the bike, but as I shoved my shoes on, she was running out. A fast transitioner. But maybe a slower runner? Fingers crossed.
A MUCH better transition than at Couples, and I headed out (sockless! possibly a bad idea if I was trying to do nothing stupid, since I'd never run 3 miles without socks, but it ended up being okay) to run.
Run 3 miles
Out of transition and into the grassy, treacherous area. A volunteer told me to be careful, and I nodded and then turned my ankle. Not bad. Just that scary twinge as it starts to turn, but I recovered with no damage, and made it safely out onto the road.
I looked ahead of me to see if I could find the girl in my age group. I didn't see her. I didn't end up seeing her until she was coming back from the out and back, WAY ahead of me. So much for that idea.
So bad news is I didn't manage to pass anyone in my age group on the run. The GOOD news is, I don't think a single person passed me on the run. That might not be true. But if they did, it was maybe 1 or 2, max. And I passed a lot of people. STILL passing a ton of guys.
The run felt.. well, I hesitate to say "good". It was hot and humid and uphill on the way out, with a big hill right at the turnaround. But my legs didn't feel that crippled brick feeling, and I felt like I was pushing well without killing myself.
I cheered for the folks coming in as I was going out, then when I turned around I got to see how close some of those folks in the age group behind me had come to catching me. Red was right on my heels, and since I'd told her not to catch me on the bike, I told her she was now welcome to catch me on the run (she didn't, but it was a close thing, and she started 3 minutes after me). A lot of cheers and high-fives for people on my way back in. I love local events where I know so many people.
I think that's Kenny just behind me.
Then what seemed like 8 years later, I got back to the Ski Ranch and back onto the grassy area. Made it through unscathed and onto the sidewalk for one last push around the lake to the finish line. Matt was sitting right before the finish line, and I could hear him cheering as I approached, then telling me to kick it in, which I did as well as I could with what I had left.
Then into the awful sand finish, and across the finish line!
Mission accomplished: I finished the race without injuring myself.
Stupid sand at the finish line
Results
Since I'd watched the podium for my age group ride by my on the bike, I knew I hadn't placed, but I was curious where I'd ended up coming in, and it turned out to be 4th! Which we all now know, from the Olympics, is the worst place to come in. But even with Keri, who normally wins my age group, racing in the Open wave, some really strong women turned up that day, and I feel good about how I did in comparison to them.
Crossing the finish line, I felt good about my swim and great about my run (the only time I knew at the time, which was mid-7s, which I was thrilled with). So I figured that it must have been the bike that was my downfall. I'd ridden the day before and felt really sluggish and slow, and the bike is never my strong suit, so I expected to look at the results when I got home and see I averaged in the low 16s or so.
Results:
Swim: 9:23 (1:53/M) (3rd in AG)
T1: 1:18 (2nd in AG)
Bike: 43:49 (18.9mph) (6th in AG)
T2: 0:51 (4th in AG)
Run: 22:33 (7:31/M)
Total: 01:17:55
Solid swim. Solid run. And the bike? I was shocked when I saw my average speed. I wanted to be bummed about my comparatively slow bike, but damn, I can't complain about 18.9mph average. That's possibly my fastest bike split ever. So hurray! It may not have been great compared to the other women out there, but it's fantastic for me! (And my T2 gets Most Improved after the Couples fiasco.)
The woman who placed first in my age group also placed 8th overall. I can't compete with that.
Oh, and remember how I thought, "Maybe that girl sucks at running and I can catch her on the run"? Yeah, she ran a 17:50, which was the third fastest run overall (men and women), and 5:57/mile. Uh.. yeah. She didn't suck at running. Oops.
So overall, even though I didn't end up on the podium, it was a solid race and a nice last race before Ironman. And so much fun to hang out with friends before, during and after the race.
AND my husband, who always goes so much faster than me but tends to just miss the podium, got on the podium this time! And because he doesn't believe in half measures, he ended up on top of the podium. First in his age group! So proud.
The End.
Thanks for the buttshot, photographer! But you can see the happy face on my left calf here.