James made it clear that this was a "no taper" race for those of us doing Vineman/Barb's. Fine! On Friday, I did a two hour Spinervals workout called "Muscular Endurance" in the morning (actually it was 2:20, but who's counting) and followed that with a long course swim workout in the afternoon.On Saturday, HS and I took a 20 mile ride around town. Later that day, Lindsey and Max came in to town which meant a little too much eating and little too much wine. After Saturday night, it appeared that not only would I be racing un-rested but I would also be racing a little hung over. Shame on me!
Pre-Race
When I got up this morning, I was not feeling that hungry. I made my usual eggs on toast, but could only eat about half of what I fixed. Coffee also proved hard to get down, so I opted for the sugar free Red Bull I had chilling in the fridge. This seemed to hit the spot and gave me enough energy to get out the door. As we neared Rancho Seco, I drank my chia fresca.
Swim
Swim
The only thing that made me nervous about the swim today was the fact that I had Stephanie in my wave...time to get my butt kicked. Our wave was male and females age 30-49. I still remember the thrashing I got from some male competitors at the start last year, so I made my way to the outside. To my right was a pack of testosterone crazed men ready to jump out ahead of everyone...be my guest...I'm not going to get close to you guys.
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| Lots of orange caps |
I turned around to see what was behind me and was shocked to see so many people. Wait a second! I don't want to be in front!! It was too late at that point to do anything, so I stayed put and prepared mentally to have someone dude try and swim over the top of me.
Once we started, I did my best to try to avoid my male competitors. However, I kept touching the feet of the guy in front of me. I moved to my right knowing that I was putting myself in line with the "racers". Thankfully the herd had thinned out and wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. As I neared the turn buoy, I tried to settle my racing heart and get into a groove. This is easier said than done, but before I knew it, I could see the bottom of the lake and it was time to get out. Finished over a minute faster than last year!
Father's Day - Swim by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details
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| Hit the ground running |
I could see Stephanie ahead of me going up the grassy bank. I unzipped and started to run up the hill. I continued running all the way to my bike and quickly slipped my wet suit off of my legs...stepping on it to pull my feet free. I slipped on my riding shoes (no socks), my helmet, and my sunglasses and was on my way.
Bike
This is a relatively short ride. I was hoping to average 20 mph but I knew this would be a challenge since a good portion of the eight mile ride is in the park and you have to go over several speed bumps coming and going. After clearing the speed bumps leaving the park, I rode hard to try and catch as many riders as I could. My Garmin showed an average speed of 20.6 mph...not too shabby.
This is a relatively short ride. I was hoping to average 20 mph but I knew this would be a challenge since a good portion of the eight mile ride is in the park and you have to go over several speed bumps coming and going. After clearing the speed bumps leaving the park, I rode hard to try and catch as many riders as I could. My Garmin showed an average speed of 20.6 mph...not too shabby.
T2
I think this was my fastest transition to date... :34 seconds! Even the announcer made a comment about how fast it was. I was third female coming into transition and second leaving...no time to mess around. Bike helmet and shoes off...running shoes and cap on, race belt clipped on the fly.
I think this was my fastest transition to date... :34 seconds! Even the announcer made a comment about how fast it was. I was third female coming into transition and second leaving...no time to mess around. Bike helmet and shoes off...running shoes and cap on, race belt clipped on the fly.
As I was leaving transition the announcer also commented about how I was trying to defend my title and then I heard Lindsey yell "Don't disappoint us!" Gee thanks...no pressure!
Run
My plan for the run was to take it easy so I didn't re-injure my Achilles. I purposely did not look at my Garmin because I was afraid if I saw how slow I was going I would push it and get hurt. I could see a female in front of me, and I was slowly gaining on her. About a half mile into the run, I was passed by a female with a 20 something number on her leg. I told myself that it was OK...she started 5 minutes before me...she should be in front.
I tried unsuccessfully to do some race math to see if the girl that passed me could finish the two mile run more than five minutes faster than me. After a couple of attempts I gave up on number crunching and decided that if I could still see her, she didn't have more than a minute or two on me.
I saw several teammates along the run course...a couple of them reminded me to stop running if it hurt. Yeah, right...like that is a possibility. I reminded myself that it was a short run and that it would be over sooner than I thought....so I kept going...doing my best to keep the girl that passed me in my sights. As I neared the finish line I honestly thought I was going to puke...hmmm, I may be running faster than I thought.
8:09 minutes per mile average...OK, I was definitely running faster than I thought :-)
Father's Day - Run by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details
My plan for the run was to take it easy so I didn't re-injure my Achilles. I purposely did not look at my Garmin because I was afraid if I saw how slow I was going I would push it and get hurt. I could see a female in front of me, and I was slowly gaining on her. About a half mile into the run, I was passed by a female with a 20 something number on her leg. I told myself that it was OK...she started 5 minutes before me...she should be in front.
I tried unsuccessfully to do some race math to see if the girl that passed me could finish the two mile run more than five minutes faster than me. After a couple of attempts I gave up on number crunching and decided that if I could still see her, she didn't have more than a minute or two on me.
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| Yay! Finished!!! |
8:09 minutes per mile average...OK, I was definitely running faster than I thought :-)
Father's Day - Run by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details
Post Race
Personally, this race was a success. My official time was 47:21.3 which is roughly 4 minutes faster than last year. However, that is not what I will remember most about this day. My memories are going to be seeing all of my teammates out on the course. I'm not sure how many of us were racing today, but it seemed like every 100 yards or so I would see someone and we would cheer for each other. Heck, even strangers were cheering for us with shouts of "Go Lodi!" (Our team was very well represented at this race and many of us were wearing our new team gear).
Twelve Lodi athletes made the podium, and yes, I was able to defend my title and not disappoint my daughter ;-)
Personally, this race was a success. My official time was 47:21.3 which is roughly 4 minutes faster than last year. However, that is not what I will remember most about this day. My memories are going to be seeing all of my teammates out on the course. I'm not sure how many of us were racing today, but it seemed like every 100 yards or so I would see someone and we would cheer for each other. Heck, even strangers were cheering for us with shouts of "Go Lodi!" (Our team was very well represented at this race and many of us were wearing our new team gear).
Twelve Lodi athletes made the podium, and yes, I was able to defend my title and not disappoint my daughter ;-)
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