Nothing Beats a Tri

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before. ~Jacob August Riis

I've had some ups and downs in both training and racing over the past few months. In fact, the last time I updated my blog was back in April. I had just finished a half marathon and although I PR'd by 44 seconds, I still did not reach my goal of going under 1 hour and 30 minutes (official time: 1:30:26). Considering the fact that I can hold 5 minutes and 56 second pace for 3.1 miles, you would think 6:50 pace per mile for 13 miles wouldn't be so bad. Wrong! I had trouble getting into a groove, it was hot, humid, and I struggled. Here's a before and after:


Dad and I at the start of the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon.

Me in the medical tent at the finish. Thank you for capturing this moment Father.

I actually did this race back in 2009 at the age of 25 and ran a 1:36:44. Five years later, 6 minutes faster, not too shabby. Still, I think I'm capable of running much faster so my time was a disappointment. The only saving grace was that I came in 5th -- top 5 men and women earn prize money. After the race ended ...shout out to my Mom who did her first half marathon...my family and I went to the awards ceremony. After they finished handing out prize money to the top 5 and my name was never called my Dad and I were totally confused and didn't understand why people who ran minutes slower won money. When we asked the people in charge they went on to explain that the results were "age-graded". Basically they apply some factor to each participant's time based on their age. So even though I came in 5th based on time, I really came in 8th because someone older ran a good time for their age ... or something to that effect. Trying to explain this is starting to make my head hurt :-( Moving on, I was very frustrated. I am still frustrated. I feel like they should have done a better job of explaining this on their website and include the calculations that were used. I've also never heard of "age-grading" especially when prize money is at stake. One of the things I love about road racing is that you know exactly how you did and how you placed when you cross the finish line. If I had to wait for a race to end and then formulas applied to my time and age before I could find out how I placed, well, I just wouldn't race. And don't get me wrong, I think it's great for runners in older age categories to be given a chance at earning prize money, but isn't that what they have the "Masters Category" for??

To make matters worse, when my Dad left a comment on the event's Facebook page, they were very rude and unprofessional (exchange below). Needless to say, we won't be participating in that race ever again which is a shame because I really do like a lot of Mettle Events races.

Now to the fun stuff :) I did my first triathlon of the season last month. It was a very hilly Sprint Triathlon in Spotsylvania, VA - a 750 meter swim (slightly less than a half mile), 15.5 mile bike, 5K run (3.1 miles). Lake Anna State Park, while very pretty, definitely has a fair share of hills.

Time to head down to the Swim Start. Over 600 participants.

My first time racing in a wetsuit. Thanks for the birthday gift Mom and Dad!
I had a decent swim. Of the 260 women, I came out of the water in 55th. I was pleased with this considering how violent the swim was. I was kicked in the face so hard that I thought my goggles may have been permanently suctioned on to my face. 

Making my way to the first Transition.

I'll be honest with you. I tend to feel a bit disoriented after the swim. It usually takes me awhile to get my barings after having my head down in the water for so long and then having to stand up.

Here I am struggling to get my wetsuit off. I guess that's why they say you should practice these things before race day. I was in transition for a whopping 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Not good! I really wanted to ask the guy next to me to help me pull it off.

 

The mount. Now this was just ridiculous. I already have difficulties mounting the bike. Why would they make it uphill? I later spoke to someone who said they ran with their bike up the hill then mounted. Maybe next time.

Transition 2: After a hilly and difficult bike ride I was glad to be back.

My love, the run :) I'm about a mile from the finish line at this point.

This race tested me both mentally and physically. The distance was bearable, but the hills were not. Biking is by far my weakest leg so when I saw my speed drop below 10 mph on climbs I felt defeated. But I know if I can hang in there and just make it to the run then I can finish the race.

I ended up coming in 51st out of 260 women. Of course that is not what I had hoped for. I've been training my butt off. I've gotten stronger and I honestly thought I had a shot at top 20. But it was my first race of the season, third triathlon ever, and I still had the fourth fastest run split. Racing is great because it helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses. If nothing else, I learned that my swim is gradually improving, biking will be my biggest battle and needs to be my focus if I want to place higher, and running is my biggest strength and I need to take advantage of that in races.

Nothing beats a Tri