Pre Race Ramblings

I couldn't find much of my pre-race thoughts from last year regarding the Tri for Real #1. The one thing I did come across made me laugh...

So, Sunday June 2 will be my first olympic distance triathlon. I was on the fence about signing up but F'n James insisted...no, ORDERED me to do this race! Whatever! I'll do it...I need to do it. I need to do the swim and get it over with.

Coming out of the water last year...best feeling ever!

James didn't have to "order" me to do this race this year. I was looking forward to it...well, I was looking forward to it up until I got injured running the Avenue of the Vines 1/2 marathon 2 weeks ago :-(

Since my injury I've been doing my best to rehab my right calf muscle so I can make it through the run at the Tri for Real on Sunday. At this point, I would say that my calf is at about 70-80%. I was seriously considering switching from the triathlon to the aqua bike. Unfortunately, I waited until Tuesday to make up my mind and when I checked the TBF website, I found out that they don't do any transfers on race week...so it's a triathlon for me.

Goals 

I re-read my race report from last year. Obviously my biggest worry last year was the swim. Honestly, after completing two olympic distance races and a half iron distance, the swim still makes me nervous...don't know why, but it just does.

2013 Tri for Real Race Report

I didn't set any goals last year, probably because my one and only goal was to finish. This year, my main goal was to be faster than last year. This goal has changed in light of my injury. While I want to do well at this race, I don't want it to negatively affect Barb's Race. So here is my list of goals for Sunday's race:

• Don't swim slower than last year LOL
• Have a strong bike leg. Last year I averaged 18.5 mph. This year I want to average 20 mph.
• Don't make matters worse on the run. If it hurts, STOP!!!

Honestly, out of my three goals listed above, the bike speed is probably the most important to me. If I can pull off a fast split on the bike, I would be extremely happy...even if I have to walk the "run".

Avenue of the Vines 2014 - Race Report

This was my third time running the Avenue of the Vines half marathon.  I was apprehensive going into the race. I had been babying my left achilles and calf because they were both a little sore and twitchy. However, it was my right calf that threw the race for me right around the end of mile 9 :-(

My plan for today was to run 8:30 miles for the first half and then kick it up to 8:17 for the second half. This would give me a finish time of 1:50 give or take a few seconds. Unfortunately, this didn't work out. In fact, this race was so disappointing, that I don't even feel like writing a normal race report.

All I can tell you is it started off great. My planned 8:30 pace turned into an 8:22 average and I was feeling strong. Since I was running faster than I had planned, I wasn't going to speed up until mile 10. Mile 9 ruined that plan.

At the end of mile 9, my right leg cramped and I tried to walk it out. My pace dropped to 8:46. Things got worse from there. I walked/jogged the rest of the race. Mike and James found me coming down Woodbridge Rd with tears in my eyes. I can't believe how much this cramp hurt and how long it held on! Perhaps completing the race wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I couldn't imagine stopping.

My goal now is to rehab my leg in time for the Tri for Real #1 on June 1. My only goal is to beat my time last year (and not cramp up).