9/16/07
1st in AG, 2nd in Masters, 11th OA (missed Top Ten placing by 7 seconds)
Swim: 15:16
T1: 1:44
Bike: 40:51
T2: 1:17
Run: 22:09 (7:23 pace)
1st in AG, 2nd in Masters, 11th OA (missed Top Ten placing by 7 seconds)
Swim: 15:16
T1: 1:44
Bike: 40:51
T2: 1:17
Run: 22:09 (7:23 pace)
Total: 1:21:17
Photo: Does my Camille have a future in OW swimming? She best ditch the wet denim first.
Kirkland will probably be the last tri of the season for me (though I have been known to drop into races at the last minute and Black Diamond is lurking next weekend; knowing that it will definitely be the last of the season, I may get a restless urge to get one more in).
This is the second year I have chosen races that will earn me a ranking with Tri Northwest (Kirkland will be my 3rd Tri NW ranked race, with Seafair and Cascade's Edge sprints being the other two). I also try to earn a USAT ranking and so did the required 3 for that (USAT Age Group Nationals, Federal Escape and Heart of the Sound; I did do Danskin, also a USAT ranked race, but I went with the Elite wave there, so did not earn a ranking due to some rule about that). ANYWAY...Kirkland, my 7th and probably last race of '07.
As usual, I checked the online confirmations to see who was signed up in my age group. Since I am usually familiar with the local who's who for women near my AG, I was fairly confident I would place in this race, unless there were some ringers dropping in out of nowhere. Bridgit D. from Portland would be sure to surpass me by many minutes, but since this wasn't a USAT race (where you "age up" into the next division if your birthday puts you there anytime during the current calendar year), she would stay safely in the 45-49 AG and away from me! Sadly for me, she will be 50 next season and will dominate any race she shows up for and I will not enjoy quite the fabulous ride I have this season . Well, I'll have more to say about that another time since I believe my biggest goal is to improve on my own times more than capture as many podium finishes as I can.
It was a fairly routine race morning: arrive during darkness, set up transition, visit with people, jog, stretch and suit up. And then the long wait until my AG send off approximately 45 minutes after the first wave. My wave included all women 45 and older, just after the men, 45 and older. There was one wave behind mine, I believe it was the "Tri-It" wave. I toyed with the idea of going out with the Elite wave just to get out of this late start. I don't think I really belong there for this race since men and women start together, but I since I ended up 11th overall for the women, maybe I could have gotten away with it...? Maybe next year. After you see the photos of my swim exit, maybe you'll urge me to do that.
Kirkland will probably be the last tri of the season for me (though I have been known to drop into races at the last minute and Black Diamond is lurking next weekend; knowing that it will definitely be the last of the season, I may get a restless urge to get one more in).
This is the second year I have chosen races that will earn me a ranking with Tri Northwest (Kirkland will be my 3rd Tri NW ranked race, with Seafair and Cascade's Edge sprints being the other two). I also try to earn a USAT ranking and so did the required 3 for that (USAT Age Group Nationals, Federal Escape and Heart of the Sound; I did do Danskin, also a USAT ranked race, but I went with the Elite wave there, so did not earn a ranking due to some rule about that). ANYWAY...Kirkland, my 7th and probably last race of '07.
As usual, I checked the online confirmations to see who was signed up in my age group. Since I am usually familiar with the local who's who for women near my AG, I was fairly confident I would place in this race, unless there were some ringers dropping in out of nowhere. Bridgit D. from Portland would be sure to surpass me by many minutes, but since this wasn't a USAT race (where you "age up" into the next division if your birthday puts you there anytime during the current calendar year), she would stay safely in the 45-49 AG and away from me! Sadly for me, she will be 50 next season and will dominate any race she shows up for and I will not enjoy quite the fabulous ride I have this season . Well, I'll have more to say about that another time since I believe my biggest goal is to improve on my own times more than capture as many podium finishes as I can.
It was a fairly routine race morning: arrive during darkness, set up transition, visit with people, jog, stretch and suit up. And then the long wait until my AG send off approximately 45 minutes after the first wave. My wave included all women 45 and older, just after the men, 45 and older. There was one wave behind mine, I believe it was the "Tri-It" wave. I toyed with the idea of going out with the Elite wave just to get out of this late start. I don't think I really belong there for this race since men and women start together, but I since I ended up 11th overall for the women, maybe I could have gotten away with it...? Maybe next year. After you see the photos of my swim exit, maybe you'll urge me to do that.
There was a south wind and the water was choppy and challenging at first (and I belie
ve I swallowed more lake water than I have all season), but after the first turn it improved some and then a lot at the final turn when the wind was at my back. I think just 1 or two women from my wave were ahead of me... The end of the swim came and I was up and out and locked into a cluster of slower people jockeying for a way through.
ve I swallowed more lake water than I have all season), but after the first turn it improved some and then a lot at the final turn when the wind was at my back. I think just 1 or two women from my wave were ahead of me... The end of the swim came and I was up and out and locked into a cluster of slower people jockeying for a way through.These are pictures of my swim exit. That would be me on the far right with the orange cap trying to pass. Most people were, well, sort of, um, "recovering" from the swim, whilst I was attempting a speedier experience. The red-shirted dude apparently was too, and it looks like we got to jostling a bit (good thing I grew up with a brother, as I'm no stranger to shoving and elbowing). I yelled COME ON! COME ON! LET'S MOVE IT!" as I 
negotiated my way past people. Not my best sportsmanlike, role modeling moment, but geez! Really! This is a race! I really am supportive of people of any ability taking this on, but it's hard to shift from my competitive self to my nice, "no, after you, I insist" side in the middle of a race. After bumping around on the swim exit, I believe I could have a future in roller derby or mud wrestling. Actually, racing or not, there's no excuse to be rude. If I was, it was more about beng in a little overly excited and I'll hold a door open for someone this week to make up for it.
On to T1 and more dodging people with a bike in tow and then I'm off for a hilly 12 mile ride. It did feel like hard work and I didn't feel like I was very fast, but my time shows about a 50 second faster split from last year at this
race. OK, good! I had really slacked off on my training the previous 3 weeks, so was pleased to see this. On one particularly nasty hill, a petite woman with "55" on her calf (her age) passes me and that was the last time I saw her for awhile. I was puzzled - who had I missed in checking the pre-race confirmations? Would I be able to catch her on the run? Sure, she wasn't in my age group, but you try to do as well as possible and she would knock me down one notch in the Masters results if she stayed ahead of me. Down the big hill near the end and on to T2 and more dodging people....
Ah, t
he run now. Ugh! It started with a moderate hill and I immediately went to a mental chant of "settle in, settle in, settle in". I kept that particular mantra up for quite awhile since I felt like I was not in a settled in space at all, it was more like a frantic struggle to keep going. But the more I run, the more I learn that if it is feeling bad, it's probably for the very good reason that I am working it hard. And so I was: this would be my fastest 5K pace to date at 7:08. Yippee!!! OK, OK, since originally writing that sentence, it seems the timing company re-posted the run paces and I actually ran a 7:23 pace; apparently it wasn't a full 5K distance. So, no Yippee this time. I finally found "55" during the run. I knew she was good, so didn't want to pass her without some reserve in me to hang onto a lead. So I hung back for a minute or so and decided with about a mile to go that I cou
ld pick up the pace again and hang onto it or try increasing it if I had to. I don't know if I love or hate that feeling when someone tough is close behind you and you don't know quite what they are capable of. I 
must have picked up the pace since I finally dropped the man who kept me on his heels for 2.5 miles. Later when I checked results, I saw that "55" was Ginny P. a woman whose name I had noticed placing well in her division going back several years and beating me in earlier races. She's a consistent, tough competitor and one of the few people I had never bothered to look up a race photo for so didn't recognize her (sure, I on-line stalk, do reconnaisance or whatever you want to call it. Doesn't everyone? It's fun and a sign of respect for people you hope to be as good as! I hope others do the same about me.)I hope I can race like her in 5 years! I wish I could bike like her now!
A post-race chill set in on this cloudy, cool September day and fatigue stayed with me the rest of the day despite a nap. No sore muscles, just bone-tiredness.
Another good day at the races and so pleased with my run! I'm ready for some fall road races!
Hey, is that Ann & Gina at my actual "Aging Up" birthday get together last May? Why, yes, it is! I enjoy Ann's blog and was inspired to try it myself. So as I try to follow in her footsteps (actually both their footsteps as they are out there running 10-14 milers recently), I'll throw in photos to make this more interesting (I hope), whether they fit the theme of what I'm writing about or not.
negotiated my way past people. Not my best sportsmanlike, role modeling moment, but geez! Really! This is a race! I really am supportive of people of any ability taking this on, but it's hard to shift from my competitive self to my nice, "no, after you, I insist" side in the middle of a race. After bumping around on the swim exit, I believe I could have a future in roller derby or mud wrestling. Actually, racing or not, there's no excuse to be rude. If I was, it was more about beng in a little overly excited and I'll hold a door open for someone this week to make up for it.On to T1 and more dodging people with a bike in tow and then I'm off for a hilly 12 mile ride. It did feel like hard work and I didn't feel like I was very fast, but my time shows about a 50 second faster split from last year at this
race. OK, good! I had really slacked off on my training the previous 3 weeks, so was pleased to see this. On one particularly nasty hill, a petite woman with "55" on her calf (her age) passes me and that was the last time I saw her for awhile. I was puzzled - who had I missed in checking the pre-race confirmations? Would I be able to catch her on the run? Sure, she wasn't in my age group, but you try to do as well as possible and she would knock me down one notch in the Masters results if she stayed ahead of me. Down the big hill near the end and on to T2 and more dodging people....Ah, t
he run now. Ugh! It started with a moderate hill and I immediately went to a mental chant of "settle in, settle in, settle in". I kept that particular mantra up for quite awhile since I felt like I was not in a settled in space at all, it was more like a frantic struggle to keep going. But the more I run, the more I learn that if it is feeling bad, it's probably for the very good reason that I am working it hard. And so I was: this would be my fastest 5K pace to date at 7:08. Yippee!!! OK, OK, since originally writing that sentence, it seems the timing company re-posted the run paces and I actually ran a 7:23 pace; apparently it wasn't a full 5K distance. So, no Yippee this time. I finally found "55" during the run. I knew she was good, so didn't want to pass her without some reserve in me to hang onto a lead. So I hung back for a minute or so and decided with about a mile to go that I cou
ld pick up the pace again and hang onto it or try increasing it if I had to. I don't know if I love or hate that feeling when someone tough is close behind you and you don't know quite what they are capable of. I 
must have picked up the pace since I finally dropped the man who kept me on his heels for 2.5 miles. Later when I checked results, I saw that "55" was Ginny P. a woman whose name I had noticed placing well in her division going back several years and beating me in earlier races. She's a consistent, tough competitor and one of the few people I had never bothered to look up a race photo for so didn't recognize her (sure, I on-line stalk, do reconnaisance or whatever you want to call it. Doesn't everyone? It's fun and a sign of respect for people you hope to be as good as! I hope others do the same about me.)I hope I can race like her in 5 years! I wish I could bike like her now!A post-race chill set in on this cloudy, cool September day and fatigue stayed with me the rest of the day despite a nap. No sore muscles, just bone-tiredness.
Another good day at the races and so pleased with my run! I'm ready for some fall road races!
Hey, is that Ann & Gina at my actual "Aging Up" birthday get together last May? Why, yes, it is! I enjoy Ann's blog and was inspired to try it myself. So as I try to follow in her footsteps (actually both their footsteps as they are out there running 10-14 milers recently), I'll throw in photos to make this more interesting (I hope), whether they fit the theme of what I'm writing about or not. 
No comments:
Post a Comment