Here are a few notes about today's race.
- Nice seeing BuckeyeRunner out there. I watched TriEric blow by me on the bike as I was slipping my feet into my shoes on a hill. I know I saw Papa Louie out there, but he was finished long before I strolled through the chute. I believe DaisyDuc made her duathlon debut today too. NICE JOB NEO bloggers!!!
- I never sleep well the night before a big event. Saturday night was no different. I remeber looking at the clock reading 3:36 and my wake up call was 7:05.
- I probably should do longer warmups, but since this was a "training day," I used the first two miles of the first run as a warmup. I literally started in the back of the pack and said hi to many of the people I knew as I passed them. I probably did not hit a Zone 3 HR till near the end of the first run. In other terms, my RPE was probably around 11-12 out of 20 for most of that first run.
- Did a good job keeping the heart rate down. Even with some rolling hills, no major spikes in the HR. In hindsight, I probably should have worn my HR monitor to make it feel even more like a training day.
- I really need to work on my biking. I did okay; I think I averaged just under 20 mph, but I have a ton of room for improvement. I tried spinning and not mashing as much today; I could feel the hamstrings working hard today. But I need to learn how to just tuck into an aero position and just cruise. Yeah I get a ton more power when I stand up out of the saddle, but I need to realize doing that too often will drain the legs pretty fast.
- According to Papa Louie's race report the temperature was about 38 degrees F (3.3 C). I don't own tights, never have, probably never will. I did the bike portion and second run in shorts. So it's my own damn fault that my calves were trying to roll up into my stomach on the last few miles of the bike. Coming out of the second transition was even more brutal as I crawled up the first hill. I will admit to walking a bit and not just because my calves were not cooperating.
- I usually don't run with sunglasses, but choose to do so today. That might have thrown me off my rhythm coming out of T2. So I am walking up that first hill because my calves were screaming at me and I just realized I made a fashion faux pas. I was trying to hide my mistake somewhere. Running with your bike helmet securely fastened to your head makes you:
a.) Feel safe
b.) Feel sleek
c.) Feel stupid
d.) Feel sexy
e.) all of the above.
I don't think there is any evidence out there, but we'll see when folks start posting some pictures.
- There's a phrase that I utter sometimes: It's bad luck to be superstitious. So I don't have many pre race/race day routines. I don't even have my race morning nutrition figured out. But the one thing I consistently do on race day is shower and shave in the morning. Maybe the feeling of a clean shave makes me feel faster. I don't know, but I do it anyways. As I try to focus in on the morning of Ironman, I would love to hear about some of your pre race routines.
- Official posted time: 1:31:07.8. Not excellent, but good for today.
No promises, but maybe I will post some pictures (other than one of a buzzard). BuckeyeRunner has a few though.
Have a Happy Holy W
eek everyone!!!
eek everyone!!!Addendum:
Okay so there is evidence out there. Can't you see I really enjoy playing football? Click on the image and if you can zoom in on my hands; you may notice something interesting about those gloves.
10 comments:
Great race report and well done out there! Somehow I can't sleep too well before events too - must be nerves. Praying helps heaps. :)
You just have to post the pictures of you running with your helmet on!
you left your helmet on! suhweet! we will have to start calling you martha. another cleveland triathlete who managed to leave her goggles on for a whole tri!
did you go back and get your helmet from where you hid it after the race?
good job on your first race of the season!
Yeah I just decided to run with it instead of stashing it. Figured if this was a big USAT event with marshalls and people everywhere I could have gotten a penalty. Took it off before coming in to the finish line area, so sadly I don't think anyone got a picture of me running with it strapped on. But I am pretty sure everyone there saw and took notice.
Ok I'm not the only one that has ever taken off from transition with my helmet on. I felt like running with mine on because my fingers were so frozen to unbuckle chin-strap.
My race morning rituals include:
Sh%t, shower, shave. Breakfast is the same as every other morning, banana, high fiber cereal w/flaxseed & honey, juice, maybe toat.
toat is the same as toast
38 degrees and *riding* in shorts?! Heck... 38 degrees and *running* in shorts is cold enough.
Too funny about the bike helmet. Hopefully, there is no evidence that it ever happened. :)
Shave and shower?>.of course..u wanan look good when the ladies are checking you out :). I do that too. :D
Running in shorts are cold as they say.
Running w/ your hlemet..hilarious..i gotta do that sometime :)..for jokes.
Thanks for the laugh! Even with your leisurely 1st lap, riding in shorts and then the final lap with that sleek, sexy helmet on, you were able to post a respectable time. Way to go!
HA! that is too funny. I reminded myself about that too. You were just ultra focused on the race!
And great job by the way! It was fun to meet you - hopefully we'll get together again at the next great race!
You should have struck a 'Heisman' pose the way you were holding that helmet. You seriously wore it until near the finish? Ha!
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