Spring Meadow Triathlon

Schedule-
Question: There is a ride that has been termed Three Sandwich Ride on Thursdays. It is a long mt bike ride leaving from town. Can I do that instead of the ride and the swim? And/or, can I do a long mt bike ride on Sunday? I have not been in the mountains this summer and am just dying to get out. Saturday should probably be a work on the house day mixed in with swimming and running or shorter riding.

No work conflicts next week. Waiting on an assay to start another experiment.

House- I am not sure if we talked about this yet. If we did just ignore it. My Dad wants us to go over the the house every evening and clean up and move wood around for him etc. Basically, I think it would be good to get him set up for the next morning. So, that is what we have been doing. Usually the very last thing of the day. It has been a little exhausting, but we are trying to do better with having more groceries on hand or easier food to cook so that the evening doesn't get too late. It is nice that the sun is up so late as well.

PT appointment on Tuesday for hamstring- I think I was still sore from racing Sunday so appointment may not have been as effective at is should have been. However, there may be some nervous system stuff going on. If I do upward facing dog it seems to relieve a bunch of the tension in my leg. Jason also gave me some stretches and strength exercises. He is on vacation next week but returns the following week and I have another appointment set up. For now I need to include those exercises into my routine for my achilles and plantar.

Comment: Have you ever seen those cartoons that talk about running and the funny things that runners think and do when running. My favorite is the one where they talk about runners comparing distances. The distance left in this race is 4 laps around a track. I do that all the time. I can do this again. Easy.


The week;

Wed- Longer run felt horrible. I almost went home early. However, I decided to stick it out. I think having terrible feeling runs are good comparables for racing.

Friday- Met a couple of friends at Hyalite for a swim on the 4th. It was frickin cold. I think 58 degrees. I had flashbacks to CDA. It was a good swim. My friend thought 2 miles but I don't think it was quite that long. Started to get cold when we turned around. My hands wouldn't close and I was afraid my wedding band was going to fall right off. It was a fun adventure though. Did a little lap on the trail by the lake right after and got warmed up.

Saturday- Rode in the morning and then drove over to Ennis. Cory took the Mule Van with all the poles for the racks for the race to Ennis. He thought it was conduit for our house. Worked it all out. Corey ended up going to Helena with us that day and driving the van back to Ennis Saturday evening. Stayed with Byron DeFord at his new house that Erik designed. It was fun to really see what Erik is thinking about for our house.

Race Report-
Swim- Didn't feel super great starting. Into the second lap though I decided I was going as fast as I  could go. If I tried to speed up I felt like I was pushing it too much. I get super anxious in the swim and just assume I am in the back of the pack. It's not like I can put my head up and really evaluate where the fast swimmers are. I think my swim time was about 27:30. I think that is exactly what I was aiming for. Also, I guess it wasn't too bad because I think I only passed two people on the bike and then there were 5 left in front. One guy and 4 girls. I seem to pass a lot of people in transition too. Funny. They should all work on that. Me too.

Bike- Didn't get my biking legs until mile 6. Same as last weekend. Finally at mile 6 I really noticed feeling good. That is also where the hills started. It was so much fun. I pretended I was in a road race trying not to get dropped up the hills. Even standing to really power over the tops and really tucking down on the steep hills. I like that ride and held those girls really well. Didn't gain much time but didn't lose any either. Did good with nutrition. Had water and food in a bottle. Made sure to eat and drink. My helmet was too tight and hurting so bad on the way back. I need to remember to loosen it for the next race. Came into T2 at 5th female overall. I did allow myself to get a little demoralized when I wasn't catching any of those girls on the ride. However, I just told myself to go as hard as I could and stay in the moment.

Run- Felt pretty good right away on the run. Maybe it was because of the long downhill at the end of the bike. Gave myself some time to settle in. My foot was a little tight for the first 10 minutes but that was all. Not pain, just tight. On lap # 1 I saw Renee in front of me. Stayed patient and just ran my pace. Passed her before 1.5 miles. Then another girls was in front. I stayed patient again and caught her at the beginning of lap 2. After that I couldn't see anybody else so I just ran my pace until probably the last 1/2 mile and I picked it up. It was hot so I stopped for a few steps at aid stations to take in food and water. I think that was important for keeping going. Wish I had remembered my gel flask. Next time. My run time was 1:45:30. Definitely happy with it. Still amazed at what healthy legs can do.

Was super stoked to make the podium. I guess that is only in my mind. They only recognized the top person. Bummer. Also, again my pet peeve. They have all these races going on Olympic, Sprint, Aquabike whatever and nobody knows who is finishing where. I think a race promoter should only do one distance and really engage the racers and the spectators at the finish.
Also, someday Holly W. is going down. I don't think she is getting faster. She is just fast enough that currently she keeps winning. Also, she isn't very nice. Or isn't friendly. Which makes me want to beat her more. Faster swimming, running, and biking for me.