Let me preface with saying that May historically is one of my favorite months on the calendar: it's warming up, it stays light out later, and school winds down (who knew I'd be excited about that once again?). May also means summer training and racing; far from PR season, but still enjoyable and with lots of memories to be had. Just like Ten for Texas in October signifies the beginning of the Fall season in The Woodlands, the CB&I Triathlon usually means summertime's around the corner in these parts.These events seem to bring out athletes of all abilities in droves to either race some fast competition or try their hand at something they normally wouldn't do. Trust me-there was plenty on both extremes and a lot in between!
Given that I have a fairly new Quintana Roo who has never actually been raced, I jumped at the chance to participate on a relay team for this year's sprint event. Even though I'm all about racing under the radar this year-I have no problem advertising my relay race exploits.
So here we have it: Dawn S. leading us off for the 500 meter swim, Yours Truly taking on the 15 mile bike, and Kelley D. (of Galveston 70.3 fame) on the run. Our team name (see above) was affectionately and meticulously chosen as all of us are now known for being, ahem, necessarily laid back! I give myself credit, however, as I'm not as Type-A as I used to be. Progress is possible!
Oddly enough, we were anything but Type-A in the hours leading up to the race. Numerous over-the-top pictures were taken pre-race-I will refrain from sharing but they involved posing according to our relative disciplines (ok, don't model the aero position while not on a bike-it just doesn't look right!) and Kelley's Texas Rangers snuggie. Yes, a Rangers snuggie! Did I mention that it was about 40 degrees at the start of a triathlon? In May? In Southeast Texas?!
We also had an unfortunate delay in the start time of the race as there were some chip issues. I almost wish I had a snuggie. Ok not really, but I did run a few miles to avoid getting on the bike with cold, stiff muscles. Despite our silly dispositions (who says Type-A personalities can't have fun?!) beforehand, we all wanted to compete and all committed to going pretty hard out there. Dawn started out solidly despite some rude encounters and crowding in the cold swim. I give her the purple heart for yesterday! Did I mention she left early to get her long bike in for Ironman? Stud!
Kelley and I hung out in the transition area as we cheered her on, soon enough- aero helmet strapped tight, flying the Volte colors with Brooks arm warmers-I was off to hammer the bike leg. One thing, however; I really haven't biked too much over the past few weeks as I have been running some mileage and dealing with a tight quad/kneecap issue. That fact was in the back of my mind for the first few miles, but I soon realized that a couple 50-mile run weeks could serve as some decent time trial training. I had wanted to put down a 44:00 ish split, roughly 20 MPH for the 15 miles. I was immediately pleased and felt good (and like I was flying!) hitting easily 22-24 MPH in most spots. Luckily, I still had a pedal stroke to work with and made quick work of the course; only being passed by two guys-both looking like serious roadies. I used my "like a boss" mantra again when I got tired or wanted to let up-we had a race to complete! Soon enough, accelerating through some increasing quad burning-ness, it was time to pass the chip. Final split was under goal: 42:40 for a 21.1 Mph average.
One brief note-to self, however: more electrolytes! It was a cool but dry day, and I kept thinking about how thirsty I was on the bike while regularly nursing my PowerBar bottle (plain water due to short duration) and found it strange. This is a bit gross-but upon getting off the bike, I found I was covered in salt. Looks like I have a nutritional project on my hands this summer!
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| T2: Do I look like a tri-geek in this get-up? |
Into T2, I sprinted in, jumping over an esplande in the parking lot and telling Kelley to "go hard out there-we got this"....She too did well and finished nicely with a low 7:00 pace average on the 5k course. It was fun to watch her close us out and laugh a little when our team name was announced by Jon Walk (the one and only!). Soon enough, we found out that we had gotten 2nd place to a classy and top-notch Outrival racing team (Congrats ladies!). Bottom line: we had a great time, raced hard, and made more memories to start the summer off right!
Also, my congratulations go out to everyone who raced-especially my Volte Teammates those first timers-many of whom I know and respect. Hiccups aside, it was a great day at the races. It's races like these that put things in perspective about the importance of camraderie and the pure joy of sport. Refreshing!
Go Team Type-A-you know we'll get it right!
Stay the course.
2 comments:
Sweet mercy! You are FAST on that bike! Way to go out there! I just love that helmet so much. I can't help but to laugh every time I see it. And no, you don't look like a dork in that outfit. Those look cool. Notice I'm not including the hat in that...
Great racing, Adrienne!
Let me know when how your summer nutritional experiments go. I have gone out before and returned as a salt-encrusted runner.
You should have posted the photos! :)
Well done for 2nd!
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