Queen City Triathlon: August 2021

 On to my 3rd triathlon of the year.  

1.  I got a bike fit for my TT bike the week of the race.  I know this isn't ideal, but I just have to fit it in when I can.   I have been having a lot of back pain and cannot tolerate more than an hour on the bike.  I thought we would raise the front end, etc.  Instead, the front end got drastically lowered and stretched.  I was (and maybe still am) skeptical.  But, Mark has more knowledge of bike fit than I do, so I let him make the decision and I decided to do the job of adapting.  

2.  I knew I needed to fix the water bottle issue, but...I forgot, or didn't, or didn't prioritize it.  So, come race day, with a new fit as the aerobars had been adjusted, I still didn't test this out.  Dumb.

3.  I used some new running shoes.  

4.  I used a new tri outfit, since I have been having trouble fitting in my clothes.  

So, those were my changes (or what I was supposed to change), and on to the race I went.  

Swim:  3rd fastest female, meaning either I had a good swim or no one there could swim.  But either way, I felt normal and fine in the water.  Nothing really to note. 

Bike:  4th fastest female.  It seems okay when you look at the result, but I was slower than some athletes I had been biking with in the previous race and my back hurt really, really badly by the end of it.  I am sure a new bike fit right before the race had something to do with that.  I didn't feel flat, just didn't feel like I was going anywhere plus I was fighting back pain.  But, the other problem was my water bottle would not stay in my aero bars, meaning I had to hold it the entire way in my hands.  What a nightmare!  It just goes to show, you have to get your equipment right- get the details right!  I should have been focusing on turning the pedals and staying aero, not holding a bottle.  I vowed I wouldn't race again without fixing it. 

As well, my new tri top was a parachute.  It was too big for me, and wind was just billowing in from the top the whole ride.  Just little details, but things that you notice on the bike and they have to be addressed. So, that outfit was one and done.

Run:  I think I had the 7th fastest female run.  So, still my limiter, but I went from 8:30s to avg 7:50s, so I thought maybe things were at least trending in the right direction again.  I felt more positive overall about the run and how I was able to manage it.  Using newer shoes that were a little heavier by more cushioned was a good choice, as my knee pain was much less.  For those of you that know me, you know I really never run pain free and haven't since maybe my teenage years and my first knee injuries.  But, when days are good, it is manageable and not a limiter, and today was one of those days.  

I know what I am capable of running, and I am used to just applying the training and seeing progress in this area.  I have been a really slow gainer in the run this time around, so I just continue to keep a patient and persistent mindset.  

I ended up 3rd OA Female.  So, it was my first time stepping on the podium in a long time.  But, of course there was a little asterisk next to this as the female that is constantly winning (and kicking my butt) every race went off course during the bike.  So, on a normal day I would have been 4th again. 

So, I left this race thinking maybe some things were turning around.  My swim was fine, my bike was concerning because my back hurt so much, but my run was better so that was good.  Onward I went to the next race in a few weeks...

Nashville Oly

First olympic distance since June of 2008.

I was told in so many words this week that my race reports are too long- I think that meant they are boring.
The quick end of it:
1. If you think triathlons are stupid and could care less what I did this weekend, stop here.
2. For those of you who only care about who placed where- I got 3rd in my AG.
3. Anyone interested in the details of the 3 events can read on and I will try to make it short.

-Swim: awesome in Cumberland River. I now- post race- realize that currents matter and there is some tactical positioning required to swimming rivers (it should not take 5 minutes to go 100 yards). My overall swim time looks stinky, but I had a lot of fun in the water ;)

-Bike: was fine- definitely a strength of mine at this point by default. Slow first loop...picked it up second loop when I had some guys to chase down. This is a fun course...good hills and headwinds made it challenging. I got my first penalty ever- the "overtaken" penalty, because some guy kept passing me and dramatically slowing down over and over again....just killing me. I kept dropping back each time, but I finally just had enough and had to get away from him. So, after about the fifth time he did that crap, I just barely dropped back and passed him immediately to get far away from him. I had a feeling I was getting a penalty when the motorcycle went by me slowly. F-me. Completely my bad...my frustrated self came out.

-Run: The hardest 10k course I have ever run. It was a monster. The temps were in the high 90s (thank goodness for the Splish), and the hills were gigantic. I was happy to run the whole thing, although the run was more like a shuffle up the hills. I went about a block off-course at one point because a volunteer did not direct me the right way- that wasn't cool. I have never done that in my life, and I swear it is because all of these bloggers (ahem...Angela and Kari) keep going off-course and it must just be catching on. Ice + water all over me at every aid station, and I made it to the finish. My time sucked, but I was happy to run my first 10k in well over a year.

And after years and years of my soccer teammates calling me "Bird"- I finally see that I do run with one chicken wing (see picture above). I now have enough running pictures to prove it and can deny it no longer- my awful left arm crossing my body. I am pretty sure it is in the position so I can elbow the crap out of someone on the field to shield the ball- can I erase 25 years of elbowing people? Looks like I will be doing some running form drills in the near future to see if you can retrain your muscles.