Location: Pensacola Beach, FL
Class: F 20-24
Results: AG 2/7, Female 17/67, Overall 66/190 Time: 1:02:59
Local Knowledge and Conditions:
Race started out in the 60's with light wind. For the bike and run the sun was out, temps mid 70's, with a strong head wind going west for the bike. Flat course.
Pre-Race Strategy and Warm Up:
I got there as soon as transition opened so I could get done ASAP to be able to help out my friends who were there racing as well. I was really excited and getting pumped for this race. So much so that I pretty much danced throughout the transition area and was just saying hi to everyone. Once my station was set up, I did whatever I could to help my team mates and friends get ready for the race, even pumping two of their bike tires. I jokingly told them if my arms were too sore for my swim I'd kick their butts.
Race Break Down:
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| I'm on the left, dolphin dive up to shore |
Swim:
The swim took place in the sound of Pensacola Beach (Quietwater Beach). The water was very shallow, I think the "deepest" point was 4 feet. Which was awesome for first timers. The swim was only 300 yards. The water was chilly at first as we all waited but wasn't too bad at all. They had us start in the water, in 4 waves. This time the women were in the 2nd wave, right after elites. They had us go around a dock and then it was right back up to shore but the water got so shallow so soon that probably 1/4 of the swim I spent dolphin diving.
The swim is where I feel very comfortable at. For my wave I was one of the first few to get out of the water. It was an easy, and quick swim. I swam the 300 yards in 4:19 (1:27/100yd pace).
T-1:
For this transition, we had to run up the beach, cross a four lane road, then run into the parking lot where the transition area was. So T1 took longer than normal, thankfully though at this point there were maybe only a few other people in T1 at the time so it wasn't crowded. Otherwise, it went smooth and pretty quickly I felt, except when I tried to put my shoes on the wrong feet. Time 2:22
Bike:
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| Getting ready to dismount |
The bike course was extremely flat and only 10 miles. We had a tail wind going out, headwind coming back. It was a simple out and back course. Traffic was well taken care of I felt, especially compared to my last race. This time, I had my aero hydration system which I only had water in my bottle for this race but it was nice and easy to sip on that water the few times I did.
When I got on the bike I was in the top 10 females and stayed in the top 10 females for majority, if not, all of the bike. This is another area I feel strong in. Took me 29:14 (20.5 mph avg).
T-2:
I got off the bike very smoothly and got in and out pretty quickly. No problems or hick ups, except for the fact that I put my shoes on so fast that they weren't exactly on my feet in a normal way (No, I didn't mix the feet up), just half my shoe was still tucked in the shoe but I got them on fast! Time 45 seconds.
Run:
The run course as well, was very flat and an out back. There was a water/gatorade station at mile 1 (which also doubled for mile 2). It was clearly marked and smooth. The finish line of the run took a sharp right turn, right at the end. As I was nearing the finish line, I all of a sudden heard really loud run steps and man did my turbo come on to make sure that the person behind didn't pass me at the finish, and sure enough HE didn't.
The run is NOT my strongest area, I know this, I understand I need to work on my run and trust me I am, I have, and it shows via my results. But still, I'm not the fastest out there. The run is where I went from being in the top 10 females down to 16th. But I am improving, my last race my average pace was 9:25 and for this race it was 8:47! I didn't feel terrible, I'm just not a natural runner. I have to bust my butt to be able to even run decent. But its all good. My 5k run took me 26:19.
Lessons Learned:
I noticed I waste time in T2 putting on my race number belt and visor while in transition, where as next time and for all future races I need to just grab those items and start running, then put those items on while I'm running instead of standing in transition wasting time doing it.
Future Goals: Bring my run time down even more.
Something funny that Happened: I HATE sprint race distances. With a firey death passion but I race them to work on my transitions and to strengthen my anaerobic skills. I'm just a long distance athlete, I'll take an olympic distance race over a sprint any day. So, as I was coming around one of the last corners of the run with less then a 1/10 of a mile left, there was a friend of mine cheering me on and I yelled back to her "Shoot me!" haha.
I did take 2nd place, the girl who took first place beat me by 24 seconds and it was all in the run, she passed me right at the last stretch and I tried my best to keep with her but I was about to vomit everywhere and decided to save my vomit for the finish line, which I did.
I would like to thank the following for help with my success in this race:
Running Wild, Gulf Coast Cycle and Tri, Anytime Fitness Downtown/Pace, Pearl Izumi, TYR, Newton Running, Tifosi, and Moving Comfort.
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