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Nooblet Race Report
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So I have survived two sprint triathlons (1/2 mi swim, 16 mi bike ride, 3.1 mi run) and today did a super-sprint I had signed up for ages ago. Far less formal (yet very good volunteers) and shorter (1/4 mi swim, 8.5 mi bike, 3.1 mi run)... I feel like this should be required reading for anyone new to tri >.<;

and so our story begins.

Very little of today went as planned. All told, good learning experience and had a helluva good time on the bike.

I woke up bright and early (4:15am) and had coffee and 150 calories of oatmeal with apples and cranberries while en route to the event, 40 minutes away... in normal traffic. Because it was 5am, we arrived super way-too-early, which meant I got a great rack space. Because the race was informal, I could also have my bucket 'o gear right there and Kyle(my fiance I babble about all the time) could enter transition to help me set up.

Mistake 1 - I didn't warm up. I need to jog a quarter mile or something before a race like this.

Mistake 2 - My bike pump had a nice morning at home with the cats. Oops. Borrowed a fellow racer's. As Kyle pointed out, of all the things to forget, this was the best. Whew!

Mistake 3 - (Partially due to the way the race was run) didn't get in the water ahead of time to loosen up the wetsuit. They were actively keeping us OUT of the water to lecture the first-timers and brag about how long they'd been running this race.

Mistake 4 - (Because there weren't a ton of people in my wave - ladies under 40) was too near the front and took a LOT of elbows and fists to the head at the beginning of the swim. Owx8

Finished the swim in goal time of 10 min. woo. Felt nauseated and like I was going to throw up all the water I swallowed. It was green and I was freaked out seeing wooden spikes jutting out from below that must have been supports of an old pier. One stray hand and I would have had a bad cut/splinter/ew. Kyle explained later that the big waves that were messing with me were caused by the ski-doos fetching the 8 nitwits who bailed from the 1/4 mile swim. sheesh... I thought I was the wimp here!

T1 FELT slow but was on goal time - 2:30.

Mistake 5 - Was so dizzy and sick-feeling after the swim that I didn't remove anything but the cap and goggles until I was at my bike.

The bike was a BLAST. Fastest clip-in ever, eased up the S-curve (uphill but not bad - was surprised to see a lady walking her bike up it) to the main road, tucked into aero, and /flew/. I have never had that much fun on the bike. "On your left" were my watchwords. Wait, what? Coming into transition already? They said they had to cut the course "a mile or so" short because of construction, but there I was at 8.5 miles coming into T2. We were supposed to be out there for 11 miles. Sadface. I would have pushed harder. Still, I had a goal of 110 average watts and actually averaged 111 with leftover energy for the run. Had two small issues: continually burping that delicious lake water and shivering because the sun was hiding. brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

T2 ...

Mistake 6 - accidentally turned my Garmin watch off instead of holding the button to switch sports. *sigh* Chucked it in the bucket, Kyle pulled it out and fixed it and caught up to me as I was exiting T2. Thank goodness for a super-fast sherpa fiance who gets every little pain I go through!

Wait, what, hills? And trails? Sadface#2 FINE. I walk up the hills and try to jog as much as possible, but my ankles and calves are protesting. I am not prepared.

Mistake 7 - run on more diverse surfaces, do my damn PT exercises to help my ankles

Jogged through a few swarms of gnats, made the mistake of walking as I passed a dumpster (peee-ewwww). Miserable. I felt miserable. I carried one of the tiny waterbottles from my fuel belt and was very happy with that. Drank 3/4 of it at my own pace, so no issues with feeling compelled to drink when it was available.

Ran the last half mile into the finish and begged Kyle for arsenic. Couldn't decide if I was going to puke or shit my pants. Thankfully neither happened, but my stomach did not enjoy today at all. I'll mostly blame the reservoir water I drank accidentally, but just felt icky.

Thanks to adrenaline I didn't notice until getting home that my big toe has a big cut from a rock. Super glad I switched socks at both transitions, so it was cleanish. Once I got in the shower at home, it swelled up and was super owie, but nothing a Barbie bandaid can't fix.

I get my revenge on this course next month, but I was pleased with my overall time (1:20 when my goal was 1:30, though I'm annoyed because the 1:30 goal was with the expectation of an 11 mile bike ride) but frustrated with my mistakes and poor planning for the hilly run.

Excuse me while I go wallow in my pain :/


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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It's the races where things don't go as planned that we learned the most from! So I'm sure that means that you're going to totally dominate your next race, right?! :)

Beth @ http://www.racingrobsons.com/beth
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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I'm guessing from the 1) green water, 2) the construction, and 3) the hilly run that you may have been at Shadow Cliffs yesterday?

Those hills are not my favorite! But those races are great practice and I've learned a lot from doing them. (Add me to the list of people who are warming up in the water vs. listening to the talking.)
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats on your second finish! Your RR are always hilarious. Thanks for posting :-)

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [katcycle] [ In reply to ]
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Haha, dead on! This was my 3rd, and was interesting... I am actually glad my first two were more formal. The weird party atmosphere before the race (and the strange unshaven ladies in triangle bikinis) made it hard for me to get in race mindset. I suppose I have been spoiled with the water in Morgan Hill, because the Shadow Cliffs murk got to me. I can't understand the mentality of the people who gave up (and damn those ski-doos and their mega-wakes). I am a pitiful swimmer, and that distance was so short, I can't comprehend paying to sign up, getting there at the ass-crack of dawn, and giving up in under 5 minutes.

Tigerchik - thanks! I am really loving the aport and looking forward to longer distances. I am a complete wreck today after pushing SO hard for a short distance. Kyle is tempting me to sign up for Vineman next year and start 2015 with oly-distance to work up to the half. Granted, I quit the sport about 5 times yesterday during the washing machine start and trail run.

My coach is blaming poor nutrition (he'd have me eat a loaf of bread before a race if he had his druthers) and thinks I need to just run more in general. I just hate the texture of food at that early hour! Nothing tastes right. What are your fave pre-race foods? I have tried fiber one bars, leftover mashed potatos, oatmeal, gel chews, and none of it wants to stay down!!


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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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I knew it! Once I saw you were in the bay area, I knew it couldn't be anywhere else.

I'm probably really weird in this, but I usually eat a yogurt super early, I might nibble on a bar if I feel hungry on the way or during setup, and then have a gel about 30-45 minutes before my wave. Yogurt is the first thing I eat on a normal day, so I just go with it. I also hate food that early, so nothing solid really appeals to me. My fiance eats oatmeal, but I find that it just sits in my stomach and I hate it even when training. I'm allergic to bananas and peanut butter and lots of the other favorite pre-race foods, so I just make do.

Shadow Cliffs can get naaaasty in the summer, especially after bouts of hot weather. By September, once the nights are a bit cooler, it can be pretty nice there, but I hate swimming there in July and August. My very first race there I panicked a bit because the water was so murky (and I got kicked in the ribs...)
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [katcycle] [ In reply to ]
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Amen! My fiance blames it on me being a stronger swimmer now, but I have never been beat up to thay extent in the swim. It was also my first swim-in. At my Morgan Hill races, we did open water starts and I parked safely at the back to paddle along like the guppy I am. /sigh/ I have no problem being aggressive, but day-um those whacks to the head threw me off my game. Even my coach was surprised with my improved swim speed.

I signed up for the package and will be doing the same race in Aug... At least the water isn't freezing. I just need to pick a side to avoid MMA activity.

I will have to give yogurt a chance - harn't eaten it in a few years, but I definitely need SOMETHING even before a supet-sprint.


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Congratulations. Your report cracks me.


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DISH is how we do it.
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Good day for you, good learning. Makes you tougher. Now you know you can survive the swimming like that in crud water.

I'm really weird with food in the morning too. I have some weird issues with textures & tastes & just plain don't really want anything. But I was taught a secret a long time ago of the eggo PB&J. I take eggos & toast them (not to burnt...) & put peanut butter & jelly on them to make a sandwich. I normally don't like peanut butter that much so the fact that this works really well for me nice. Some sugar, some protein, some carb & mostly, something on my stomach before the onslaught.

AW
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats! As much as they suck at the time, those comedy-of-errors races are the ones you'll be laughing about years from now.

Out of curiosity - since you have a coach, is there a reason you don't seem to want to take their advice? If nothing else "run more in general" is good advice for pretty much anyone, and if I was paying someone to tell me how to race & train I'd probably at least give what they're saying a shot before deciding it's not for me.

As for pre-race food, I go with all liquids: I slam back 1 or 2 meal replacement shakes, either Boost or the store brand (240cal w/10g protein, 4g fat, 41g CHO each) about 3 hours before race time, then a cafe mocha (half coffee, half hot chocolate w/non-dairy whipped topping and some chocolate syrup) about 90mins before.

Cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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WOHOOO!!! Good job! The learning curve is steep for the first year. You can definitely step back and be proud of your improvement over your first tri a few months ago! You are hooked if you are thinking about a 1/2IM already!

On breakfast - you have to eat and I recommend eating something real as opposed to energy bars/gels about 3 hours before start time. My go to race day breakfast before a short race is 1/2 cinnamon raisen bagel slathered with PB, honey and banana slices. I also try to down a Gatorade or two. That usually gives me plenty of fuel for a sprint.
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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No, I completely agree with him - I do need to just RUN MORE. I'm just lazy and genuinely have some big time committments with work (10+ hour days are not unusual) and wedding prep (I'm spending this Saturday working with the venue and doing a hair/makeup trial - that's 5 hours of my day shot) so I just need to plan ahead and make the training happen.

There's a treadmill in my apartment complex's gym and we're going to become good friends :)


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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Man, you and I could be twins. Not only are we close geographically, but I also am challenged with long work days and am planning a wedding. On Saturday I bracketed my workouts around driving to Alameda for a dress fitting...
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [katcycle] [ In reply to ]
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That is awesome! Well, I'm super slow, but would always love a buddy for a ride. I do a lot of trips on the Guadalupe River trail.

Good luck with the dress fitting! I'm putting off my tailoring until 3-4 weeks before the date (I'd like to lose a few more lbs) and confirmed with a few tailors who can do it in 1-2 weeks. When's your date?


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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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I'm northeast of you, but I'm always happy to meet in the middle somewhere to have a buddy to ride with!

I pick my dress up in a month. You know, I never realized why people freaked out about fitting into their wedding dress. Now I do. The alterations lady had the bodice done yesterday, and it felt...tight. Apparently it has to be relatively tight to hold up a strapless dress and make it actually move with you, which I didn't realize since I've never had anything completely tailored to me before. I was all standing there wondering whether all of this swimming had done something to my back since I last came in a few weeks back. She explained it all to me and I feel much better now. It looks great, and I'm really excited about it.

She was politely horrified by my swim tan lines, which are...prominent. Oh well.
Last edited by: katcycle: Jul 22, 13 21:26
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Re: Nooblet Race Report [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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My husband has an issue eating on race morning and drinks ensure. You could try that.

I don't have eating issues - usually for races I'll prep an omelette the night before and re-heat it in the morning. Or an egg sandwich.

Thanks for sharing the race report! Enjoyed it! Congrats.
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