Lake in the Hills #3

I think this race was good. Right before the swim I had felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again (even though I had already gone twice) but I figured I'd be ok without.

The swim I thought I had started out strong. I stayed to the right of the pack so that I had more of a direct line to the first buoy out of the shoot. I felt like I was sighting well and that I was right on the buoy line the whole time. I felt like the front pack got away from me SUPER fast. I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't realize it was going to be that quick. From the start to the first turn buoy I again (like Fox Lake) couldn't get my natural rhythm. I was breathing every time to my right instead of my every 3rd stroke. Once I turned at the first buoy, I was back to my normal rhythm, but still felt like the front pack was so far away. Once I got out I knew I had a lot to make up. I felt like my wet suit came off easier than the last race, but I was still a bit clumsy with it. I think the worst part of my transition is getting on my bike.

Once I was on the bike I almost ate it after the first hill because my elbows slipped off my aerobar pad. Thankfully I caught it. I felt like every time I started I was slow. I felt like my swim start was slow, my bike start was slow and my run start was slow. On the bike I felt like I couldn't get my legs to turn over without a heavy feeling. I also feel like I have a hard time keeping the power I want with the matched cadence I want. I am either too high with cadence and not high enough on the watts, or I am where I want the watts to be but the cadence is lower than I'd like. And this is between 1 gear. I have a hard time finding the happy medium. I took a salt tab at the beginning of the bike because I was worried about the heat. I kept sipping my nutrition as well and I wonder if I should have drank more plain water. I kept telling myself that I like the heat and hills and just keep working. I really wanted to see 21 mph average and at the beginning I was struggling to get my average over 19.5. I felt like I was pushing better watts than I had in the last 2 races, but I was a little discouraged that my speed wasn't quite there at first. I think I could have been a bit more consistent in pushing the higher watts on the more flat sections as this course does have some inclines.

I saw the leaders coming at me after the turn around and it felt like they were really far ahead. After I turned around, I saw the ladies that were chasing me down and I felt like they were close. I started to feel the pressure that I had a lot of work to do. I took my feet out of my shoes a little prematurely but I knew that last section was a bit of a downhill, so it was ok. I was happy to see my average on my bike computer at 21, but disappointed that my watch and the race had me different. Of course it's all relative. With the overall results, I think I was 4th or 5th fastest bike split for the ladies. I am proud that my bike is getting stronger, but I want it even stronger still.

I've overall OK with my 2nd transition. My first transition is what really blows.

Going in to the run my first thought was, uh oh. My body felt rough. I felt slow, my stomach was not feeling right. My pace felt like it was getting slower and slower. As soon as I looked down and saw 7:45, I kind of felt defeated. I knew I needed to be running closer to 7s to have any kind of chance because I knew I was far away after the swim and I had no real clue even where I was on the bike (and honestly, I didn't really think my bike was even fast enough. After the turn around when I started to see the age groupers, I was worried. I didn't feel confident I had enough of a gap knowing they started after me and I felt like they were going faster than I was). I had some negative thoughts on the first half of the run and I finally just told myself to keep my legs moving forward and keep going. During the race, I remember thinking to keep working and do what I could, looking back I always wonder, could I have pushed more, did I have more in the tank and I kept myself from going harder? I did take water at each station. I only took a teeny sip of it really and then poured the rest on myself. I also took ice at the turn around and put it down my back to try and keep cool. I was happy that my mile splits were going down after that first mile, but I still wasn't as fast as I wanted to be. I was hoping for 6:45/6:50, but I guess it was a much hotter and hillier run in comparison to Fox Lake (which I ran 6:52). I'm not going to lie, I wanted to catch my coach who finished right in front of me, but at the same time I am not as disappointed as I was with Fox Lake. I know my swim is horrible and I could have a faster bike too. I KNOW my run can get faster, but I am glad that I am getting where I want it again. It is encouraging that my speed and fitness is coming back, especially with the lack of training I had in the spring.

To finish 3rd overall to 2 stud triathletes, that's a win in my book. Now hopefully I'll discipline myself to get in the pool...

I sure do love my support crew!