Hey everyone. Sorry for the lapse in blogging. It's been a crazy past few weeks!! There are only 61 days until Ironman Cozumel! Going forward, I will post a blog at least once every 2 weeks, more often if I can find the time.
I think this is the first Monday night in a very long time that I am actually home! I was in Boston one week, HRTC meeting another, and Labor Day stuck in there somewhere too.
I think I will start with Prairieman, since that's been the most noteworthy training endeavor since I last posted.
Prairieman Triathlon is a half iron distance triathlon in Grand Praire, Texas. It it notorious for its unyielding heat and the damn dam! Two years ago, the air temps were over 110F. I try not to think about the temperature of the asphalt. And, the run course is a sure test of mental strength along a barren dam at Joe Pool lake. An out and back course where the only think you have to look forward to is the next tiny red tent off in the distance.
This year, we got lucky. A cold front came through the night before, bringing the high for the day down to the very manageable high 80s. I was a tad disappointed to be honest. I had heard so much about how brutal the heat was, and I kind of felt jipped. Little did I know, the weather still had other plans for us!
As we stood around waiting for the start of our race, the skies started to spout. It was already quite cool (high 50s to mid 60s when we got to there in the morning) so the threat of rain was only making me worry. The wind had picked up and the waves on the lake were picking up.
I was hoping to go about 32 minutes for my swim. But with the waves picking up, I only managed about 37 minutes. Quite the disappointment, since I am hoping to go under 1:10 for my Ironman swim.
Leaving transition I noticed again that the wind had picked up quite a bit. The crosswinds were pretty intense as I rolled through the park. These are the kind of winds that blow you sideways off your bike and into vehicle traffic. Women (and lighter men) are at a disadvantage in strong winds against heaver men because the lighter you are the easier it is for the wind to pick you up and whip you around.
The bike course is a 4 loop course. That means that 50% of the time you have a crosswind of some sort. The other 50%, you either have a headwind or a tailwind. I found out later that winds were somewhere around 25mph that day. In comparison, the Galveston half back in April had winds around 17mph.
All things considered, I was very pleased with my bike performance. I wasn't passed by a woman on until the end of my 2nd loop.
When at last my 4 loops were complete, I headed into transition. As usual, I was so glad to be off of the bike!
As I hit the run course, I was relieved to find that the winds I had dealt with on the bike were going to keep me quite cool during the run. They were handing out cool, wet rags at an aid station and I grabbed one of those. At first, I had it tucked into the back of my kit, but the rag bouncing around was uncomfortable so I wrapped it around my hand and used it to wipe my eyes and mouth. It kept me cool the entire run (and the sweat out of my eyes). I will certainly plan to use a rag at Cozumel!!
Even though the heat that we had hoped for didn't show up for race day, the run was still the mental test we were looking for. As you hit the dam, all you can see is the next little red tent.. wayyyy off in the distance. It's really only one mile, but for the first time I realized just how far a mile really is. Those tents never seem to get any bigger either, until you are about 100 yards away. Then they seem to stop moving all together! As you pass under one tent, you would finally be able to see the next tent, just 1 mile away!
No matter how short or long the run, the last mile is always the hardest. As I finally rounded the corner to head towards teh finish line, I was elated! All of my friends were sitting underneath the trees wiating for teh rest of us to finish! They hopped up and cheered me into the finish, where I was greeted by my mom and Coach Wendy!
Not since my first triathalon had I ever fel such a sense of accomplishment! As I crossed the finish line, I knew that if Cozumel were the next day I would have been just fine! Not only that, I beat my personal best by 30 minutes!
Thank you to everyone who has donated or made a pledge to Team COCI so far, and for your ongoing support!
Feel free to leave comments below! :-)
I think this is the first Monday night in a very long time that I am actually home! I was in Boston one week, HRTC meeting another, and Labor Day stuck in there somewhere too.
I think I will start with Prairieman, since that's been the most noteworthy training endeavor since I last posted.
Prairieman Triathlon is a half iron distance triathlon in Grand Praire, Texas. It it notorious for its unyielding heat and the damn dam! Two years ago, the air temps were over 110F. I try not to think about the temperature of the asphalt. And, the run course is a sure test of mental strength along a barren dam at Joe Pool lake. An out and back course where the only think you have to look forward to is the next tiny red tent off in the distance.
This year, we got lucky. A cold front came through the night before, bringing the high for the day down to the very manageable high 80s. I was a tad disappointed to be honest. I had heard so much about how brutal the heat was, and I kind of felt jipped. Little did I know, the weather still had other plans for us!
As we stood around waiting for the start of our race, the skies started to spout. It was already quite cool (high 50s to mid 60s when we got to there in the morning) so the threat of rain was only making me worry. The wind had picked up and the waves on the lake were picking up.
I was hoping to go about 32 minutes for my swim. But with the waves picking up, I only managed about 37 minutes. Quite the disappointment, since I am hoping to go under 1:10 for my Ironman swim.
Leaving transition I noticed again that the wind had picked up quite a bit. The crosswinds were pretty intense as I rolled through the park. These are the kind of winds that blow you sideways off your bike and into vehicle traffic. Women (and lighter men) are at a disadvantage in strong winds against heaver men because the lighter you are the easier it is for the wind to pick you up and whip you around.
The bike course is a 4 loop course. That means that 50% of the time you have a crosswind of some sort. The other 50%, you either have a headwind or a tailwind. I found out later that winds were somewhere around 25mph that day. In comparison, the Galveston half back in April had winds around 17mph.
All things considered, I was very pleased with my bike performance. I wasn't passed by a woman on until the end of my 2nd loop.
When at last my 4 loops were complete, I headed into transition. As usual, I was so glad to be off of the bike!
As I hit the run course, I was relieved to find that the winds I had dealt with on the bike were going to keep me quite cool during the run. They were handing out cool, wet rags at an aid station and I grabbed one of those. At first, I had it tucked into the back of my kit, but the rag bouncing around was uncomfortable so I wrapped it around my hand and used it to wipe my eyes and mouth. It kept me cool the entire run (and the sweat out of my eyes). I will certainly plan to use a rag at Cozumel!!
Even though the heat that we had hoped for didn't show up for race day, the run was still the mental test we were looking for. As you hit the dam, all you can see is the next little red tent.. wayyyy off in the distance. It's really only one mile, but for the first time I realized just how far a mile really is. Those tents never seem to get any bigger either, until you are about 100 yards away. Then they seem to stop moving all together! As you pass under one tent, you would finally be able to see the next tent, just 1 mile away!
No matter how short or long the run, the last mile is always the hardest. As I finally rounded the corner to head towards teh finish line, I was elated! All of my friends were sitting underneath the trees wiating for teh rest of us to finish! They hopped up and cheered me into the finish, where I was greeted by my mom and Coach Wendy!
Not since my first triathalon had I ever fel such a sense of accomplishment! As I crossed the finish line, I knew that if Cozumel were the next day I would have been just fine! Not only that, I beat my personal best by 30 minutes!
Thank you to everyone who has donated or made a pledge to Team COCI so far, and for your ongoing support!
Feel free to leave comments below! :-)
