Timberman Sprint Summary

Timberman Sprint 2011 is in the books. This was my first time participating in this particular event (last year I watched Mark complete the grueling 70.3 course) and I have to say that it was a really fun race! This was also my first triathlon that I got to race in with my friend Melissa! Melissa has been my awesome training buddy for about two years now and I owe much of my triathlon success to her. She has been willing to get up early and go for long rides or early morning swims. In fact, I think this race went very well because of our 60 mile bike ride last week. That course was so hilly and challenging that Timberman felt like a mild jog in comparison. Melissa also had a great race with a very strong swim early on. Great job, Melissa!

Ok, so the race report. Melissa and I headed up to Gunstock for a 5:00am arrival. We gathered our gear, had our bikes jammed into the school bus shuttle, and hopped into the shuttle for our short ride to Ellacoya State Park in Gilford, NH. We arrived with plenty of time to spare--which was good because I had a snag in the beginning. In trying to get my bike into transition, I was stopped because the handlebar plugs had both fallen out. The volunteers couldn't get those to stay in, so I had to go over to the MC Cyclery tent for a quick tape fix. Crisis averted thanks to the helpful crew from MC--thanks guys! I was then able to get into transition and started to set up my little area. I didn't take any pictures this year, but it was definitely a tight squeeze with well over 1000 participants (I am still trying to find the exact # and figure out my overall rank). I waited in line for the bathroom for awhile, but decided it was not worth the wait and maneuvered into my wetsuit. Melissa and I had plenty of time to acclimate in the water as we were both in later swim waves. I think this really helped to calm my nerves. If you have been reading my blog, or know what happened to me in June, then you would know I have had some serious issues with the swim this year. However, this was not going to be one of those days! We observed the earlier swim waves and watched a lot of people running or dolphin diving because the water was very shallow. Luckily, I am short and can swim in super shallow water. When it was time for my swim wave, I stayed to the edge of the inside and started swimming early on. This really helped conserve my energy. I also breathed only on the right side as another strategy to calm my nerves. All of these seemed to work! I noticed I was ahead of most of my other age group swimmers, and then the passing began! I passed people of all different age groups and this really boosted my confidence. I had one little glitch in that I ended up veering way to the left (probably as a result of the one side breathing/lack of sighting) and had to quickly make up some time and return to the inside of the course. Once I did that, I pushed really hard to the finish. I noticed another white cap trying to catch me, so I pushed it even harder. I ended up 5th out of the water for my age group! This was my best swim to date! I am still waiting for the final rank on my swim, but I definitely was in the top 100 on this swim (men and women)! Considering where I was in June, this was a huge success. My total swim time for .33 miles was 9:50.

Next, the bike ride. As I mentioned earlier, Melissa and I have been doing some pretty intense bike rides over the last three weeks (including the 70.3 course), so this 15 mile ride was nothing to worry about. I did have another mechanical glitch in the beginning, before I was able to get on my bike, I noticed my chain had fallen off. I do know how to put it back on, but since I was in front of people and filled with adrenaline, I ran over to MC again and they quickly helped me out. After I jumped on my bike, I easily passed many riders on the hills because I've been training on huge hills lately. I knew where to gain speed and momentum. Overall, the ride was not overly eventful--I felt like it just kind of flew by. I completed the bike ride in 53:05 and averaged 17mph. I still was in pretty good shape in my age group on the bike.

Finally, the run. Oh running, how I loathe you. Ok, I don't totally dislike running, but I prefer a nice 2 mile decompressing jog vs. a fast run after swimming and biking, But it had to be done. I started out fairly slow, but as I noticed many of my age groupers (30-35) passing me, I knew I was going to have to step it up a bit. I am really not a fast runner. I do try, but I just never seem to get the results I want in the run. Anyway, I did pick up my pace and finished in 25:31 for a pace of 8:31. I actually consider this to be relatively fast, but it is definitely an area where I lose time to the other athletes.

My overall race time was 1:35:31, so I am pretty pleased with how the race went. I will add my overall age group rank when they post the results.

There is only one more race for the 2011 season and it is a big one--Pumpkinman 70.3!!!

Week 23 Workouts:
Monday-REST
Tuesday- 15 min swim/40 minute bike ride
Wednesday- 20 minute run
Thursday- 10 minute swim/20 minute bike ride
Friday-REST
Saturday- Timberman Sprint Triathlon!
Sunday-REST