Dude Girl Triathlon - Sept 20 '09

The Dude Girl Triathlon out at Pace Bend Park and hosted by Red Licorice events was last Sunday. I always look foward to the RLE events because the just seem to be more fun then other events. The RLE Events team run by Erin and Leilanie are full of life and a ton of fun and it always seems to rub off on everyone competing. AlsoThe ONLY women races they have always makes it more relaxed and enjoyable for me,which also means - takes the pressure off and have fun . Which is what this race was for me since i trained through it and had a long bike, easy run and swim the day before , which is gearing my up for my next two BIG races coming up.

I started out the day pretty tired but i felt excited to see what i could do since my new bike arrival, 2 weeks of having a training plan from my new coach under my belt, and have done many races out there to compare my splits too. I set some high goals going into it , and usually set higher goals than i usually am able to realistically accomplish at the time. But i would rather shoot high than low.

My three big goals were:
1. I wanted to be the first woman to cross the finish line ( even though i was the 3rd wave to start , which was 9 min back from 1st wave.
2. I was shooting for a 22-23mph bike split, which would have been 1st or 2nd amongst the pro's who did Champions Tri in April . My split in April was 19.6 i think.. so yes, a big goal.
3. I wanted to have a faster time than not only my time at Champions but than some if not most of the pro's who did Champion's Tri.

SWIM
So this is the area where i was able to achieve Goal no 3 easily. We could RUN the swim. The water levels were so shallow and the rulings state that as long as your feet are in the water , it is legal to run. So I DID :).. If there weren't many other competitive ladies that i wanted to beat at the race, i probably wouldnt have done it as seen what my true swim split was. But i am too competitive not too. I wanted to win.. I ended up running probably just less than half the swim route which explains my 1:17 swim split .

RUN FROM WATER TO BIKE AND T1
This is usually where i have to make up time lost in the swim. So i take pride in always having the fastest T1, and have to remind myself that as soon as i come out the water. I went as hard as i could up the hill for 5oo m , and everything went smoothly in T1 .yay . I had the fastest T1.

BIKE
Bike felt great. Usually i struggle the first lap since we start going up hills for the first 15 min. But i felt great. I was just focused on everything my coach had told me to think about and do on the bike, and it went smoothly. I was hoping to catch up to most people in the waves before me on the bike by the last lap at most. I didnt expect to catch them within the first lap and first 15 min. I was leading the race for the next 3 laps, and i was psyched about it . Goal 2 was achieved. I biked a 22.1 mph, faster than the next biker Missy Ruthven by 0.6mph, the same woman that flew by me at Captex beating me by over 15 min at Captex and 2mph on bike . So beating her was probably my 4th underlying goal for the day, and definately a good confimation of my improvement in 2009.

RUN
Ahh, the off road run. Never a great course to get a run PR since you never run on even ground, and have to jump over rocks here and there, but i enjoy the run out there. i think mostly because i know the course, and i know it is tough for everyone, so thinking about that helps me push through. I felt great on the run . the 1st 2 miles were an even 6:50 splits.the 3rd mile and turn around i pushed my split on my watch to see a 5:40 , surely not. My doubt was confimed at the next mile marker which put me at a 8.20 . so that evened it all up. My last 2 miles, i was feeling it . i didnt take in enough water and because of that , i hadnt taken in half of my energy gel which i was now needing. Dehydration and energy depletion set in and I slowed t a 7:15 for mile 5. Right about here i always have to remind myself that there is only 7 min to go , and i have just been going all out for 2h 08 min. 7 min is nothing , right !!! I tried to kick it in for the last mile and was starting to get into "the finish line is near rhythm", when while trying to avoid two ladies heading into the run, i tripped over a rock and fell. It was one of those slow - mo, sprawled out , face first falls. The poor ladies that i was running by stopped to see if i needed help, but as soon as i hit the ground i did a tuck and roll and got back up. Probably lost about 20 sec here and by sub 7 split i was hoping for , but i was just happy i didnt seriously hurt myself. I had a little hobble and could feel my right hamstring barking at me, but i was too close to stop now. i finished as strong as i could to finish with 7.03 ave pace and my best run split of the year - and it was off road. Elation :)

Finish time 2:15 ( New PR - kind of ) I figured i saved about 4-5min on swim , but then we had a way longer transition than most tri's ...so... i think i will count it. I intend to break it next week , so what does it matter right :)

Thanks again to Red Licorice for hosting another great event. Can't wait for the next one - The Ring of Fire Ride on Oct 31. Which will be a week after my last tri for the year, so i intend to fully enjoy the ride , and try not to get too competitive . We'll see ... :)

Thanks to all those who support me - PureSport, Jack And Adams, Sweet Leaf Tea, Red Licorice,Under Armour, Advanced Rehab. And lastly and most importantly my husband Steve, my family back home in South Africa, my friends, and to My Lord who continually astounds me with His Grace and Love. I do this all for HIM. Bringing Glory to him by using the talents He has given me is what He has created me for and the ONLY way to truly love and live.