I used to think it was a monumental chore and I'd get stressed out with it all but after discovering the nightmare of dog agility trials this is a piece of cake. And I don't have to obsess about whether or not my mountain bike has taken a dump first thing in the morning.
I decided on a tri-suit to save time in transition because I'm for sure wearing the swim socks and those will cost me some time to get off. Socks but no gloves. 2 swim caps. Too bad I can't go with 2 wetsuits.
I have some very rough goals but that last race taught me that it's hard to anticipate pace when you're dealing with mountainous courses. I think a better plan is to have a strategy and the times will fall where they will. I'm going to go fast enough on the swim to stay warm but not get too aggressive. It's going to be a long day and a 'fast' swim will only earn me a couple of minutes. Better to save it for the bike/run. Another reason not to go out too fast is that the race is at around 9500 feet elevation.
I'm going to go hard as I can on the bike and not save too much for the run. The run would be slow even on fresh legs and until I can build up my training there isn't much I can do about it right now so may as well make good time on the bike. I'll push myself on the run but it'll be what it is. I'm going to force myself to walk the steep uphills. Running up them only wastes energy and doesn't gain me much time. Mentally that's hard for met to accept but I need to be smart and accept it.
Predicted finish time is hopefully under 3 hours 30 minutes, hopefully more towards 3:10 but could be 3:25. Would love to finish under 3:00 but that's a huge stretch goal.
1000 m (1100 yard) Swim: 22-23 mins.
650 m (711 yard) uphill dash to transition: 6:00
T1: 2:00
14 mile Bike: 2:00 (1:45 stretch)
T2: 1:00
4.1 mile Run: 53:00 mins.
Overall: 3:10-3:25 hours
According to the start list there are 8 people in my age group which is a lot for Xterra. At least 3 of them are way way faster than me so the chance of hardware is non-existent so no goals related to placement. It's a time trial start anyway so it's possible I'll never see another woman from my age group for the whole race. That's happened on several occasions. I beat a woman at the Lookout Mountain Triathlon by 1 second but it wasn't a run off at the finish line. Hard to say how things would have turned out if we'd been racing head to head. So I'll have to focus on my own race and see how it all turns out.
Weather should be perfect, 60's and sunny, won't have to worry about getting too hot. A day on the trails is a great day one way or the other.
Cool to see all your gear laid out like that. Do I see a stick of deodorant? Do you take a moment to "freshen up" between the bike and run or something?? :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine being active non-stop for 3:30. Well I could, if it were 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Maybe *that* I could handle.
Anyway, have a great race! Break a -- spoke? or whatever the appropriate tri saying is.
No, that's Body Glide. It's a lubricant. You rub it on your body to make it easier to put on/take off your wetsuit. I also put it on my feet and other sensitive areas to help prevent blisters. Nobody worries about how bad they smell. At least I don't.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope I don't break Anything.
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ReplyDeleteI *heart* Body Glide.
ReplyDeleteAh, okay. That makes a lot more sense. I wouldn't think deodorant would be allllll that effective anyway under those circumstances.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that does look simple compared to dog agility--I've been to a couple of dog events without my dogs and it's amazing how simple it suddenly gets--and good observation about bikes vs dogs first thing in the morning. And DeRailleurs are easier to reassemble than ACLs. Do bikes still have derailleurs?
ReplyDelete