Finally
getting around to blogging about my latest race experience: first race of 2013,
first race as a Vancouverite, the UBC triathlon. I was afraid to blog about goals prior to
this race due to my injury that stopped me from run training for the past 8
weeks. It was a big disappointment because
I had felt that my run had improved significantly in the past 6 months, however
due to IT band syndrome I’ve had 8 weeks off running, short of 3 dry practices
(one of which was a small aquathon) prior to the UBC triathlon. My goals were simply to PB in each of the
three disciplines since my training volume has gone up so much since last
year. Spoiler alert: I succeeded in that
J I was hoping to do the Olympic length race
but settled on sprint in case my pain flared up, didn’t want to have to DNF due
to a 10km run.
Pre-Race. No warm up since it was a pool swim, I didn’t
even go for a jog, however I did ride my TT bike with a heavy backpack to the
race site, so I think that counts.
SWIM – The
UBC triathlon was held in a pool since it’s… you know… March… and really
cold. I was a bit nervous about a pool
swim, I’m used to open water now, didn’t know how the passing would work, I can’t
flip turn and my dolphin kicks leave something to be desired. However I have been swimming coached twice a
week with the amazing UBC triathlon club and often another time on my own. I was more than prepared for the distance
though, and all the training paid off. I
put myself in the 15 minute group thinking that the swim was 750m, but it
turned out to be a 700m swim so I placed myself near the front of the line
(they set people off 20 seconds apart).
Only 4 people went ahead of me in my heat. I felt very confident in the water and was
able to push myself and easily passed 3 of the people ahead of me. My swim coach timed me wall-wall at 13:10 for
700m which was better than I could have hoped.
My official swim time which included my run out of the pool and out to
transition was 14:03.
T1 – Right out
of the pool they hand you a bag with whatever you wanted post swim in it. It was only around 6 degrees out so I had a
wind breaker, my race number, towel and flipflops. I abandoned the towel and flipflops because
adrenaline was running high and sprinted barefoot the 200 or 300m across the
pavement to the bike transition area. I
left leg warmers at my bike but abandoned these as well. I threw on my gloves and helmet and took off,
shoes pre-clipped in, and attempted my first ever “flying start”. Getting on the bike and getting going was no
problem, but getting my feet in my shoes was a bit tough since they were wet
and a bit numb, but I finally managed…. Good thing I practised my transition a
bunch before the race!
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| transition practice at jericho beach |
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| T1 ready |
BIKE – Not much
to say, I can’t say enough amazing things about my TT bike. I love it so much and this was my first
chance to really stretch her legs. I
blew by everyone, felt invincible, first time I’ve never had anyone pass me
(not even the boys). Bike time including
transition to run was 40:29 for a 22km course, so averaging probably a bit
better than 33km/hr (I reaaaaallly need a garmin).
T2 – Since I
also managed to get my shoes off while on the bike my transition was faster
than ever. Got in, helmet, gloves and
jacket off, my new slip on zoot shoes on (still no socks) and jetted out of
there. I can’t imagine my T2 was more than
1 min. (including putting my IT band strap on)
RUN –
Again, not much to say about this.
Usually during the run I can’t wait for the race to be over. Not this time. I was a bit tentative for the first 1-2km
testing out my knee, once it felt pain free I picked up the pace as much as I
thought I could sustain, but once I got to the crowd and the finish I found
another gear and absolutely annihilated my previous race PB and came in at
22:40 for the 5km run (average around 4:30/km).
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| Running with IT band syndrome :P |
Finished
the race 1/43 for the female 25-29 AGE.
2/151 for all females in the race (until today they had declared me the
winner, but the timing chips were all messed up and now apparently a U19 was
faster than me :P) and overall 13/330.
Final time 1:17, by far my best finish!
The
training is working, my knee is getting better and I couldn’t be happier and
more excited for the season! Can’t wait
for VOWSA open water swims to start, planning on running a bunch of running
races, bike races and other fun things amidst my triathlon journey so stay
tuned for more adventures and training!
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| Lise and Tiffany, Triclub winners! |
