Lakeside Double Sprint Triathlon - Race Recap

 

Reason for racing
After finishing my May racing block (3 races in 15 days), I looked forward to nine weeks of training en route to XTRI Norseman which will be on August 3rd in Eidfjord, Norway. Training has been going really well and I'm thankful that my body has been absorbing the load without any issues. I do struggle mentally with Campy's declining health but I keep reminding myself that he is still here and all I can do is continue to love him and take care of him. I had heard about the local doube sprint triathlon but it wasn't something that interested me as I was training for other events. However, with such a long time between races, I thought this would be the perfect way to keep me in the race environment, treat it as an intense training session and to change up the typical long workout training routine. Plus, I love our Greenville cycling/triathlon community and it's always nice to see familiar faces and to meet other triathletes. Over the years, I'm always looking for ways to step out of my comfort zone, try new things and stress my body (in a good way) in different ways. I felt like this double sprint checked all the boxes and I was looking forward to it all week. I really enjoy evening workouts (specifically bike workouts, group rides or bike/run workouts) and this race was the perfect opportunity to do an intense "workout" in the evening. 

Training going into the event 
Race week was challenging because Campy was not doing well. This made it incredibly hard to show up and to complete workouts. Karel and I really leaned on one another and while there were a lot of tears, we knew exercising was needed to help our mental health. I like to keep my training similar but different in that I always keep Monday as an active recovery day (typically a swim but sometimes also a bike) and Friday is only a swim (an intense masters swim group session in the morning). Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are double workout days and Saturday and Sunday are my longest sessions of the week. With the race on Saturday evening, my training schedule was as follows: 
Monday afternoon: 21 mile/1:23 bike (we had to pick something up at Run In so we biked there)
Tuesday: 5300yard AM swim followed by an easy 7 mile/58 min run. PM trainer session (55 min)
Wednesday: 3700 yard AM swim. PM 1:36 trainer session followed by a 5.2 mile/43 min run. 
Thursday: 2:04, 15 mile long run
Friday: AM 4976 yards (converted from long course meters) masters swim
Saturday: AM 2:24 bike (45.8 miles) followed by a 4 mile/34 min run. I met up with local cyclist Nate Morse while riding and we rode together for ~1 hour and I finished the ride alone and did a few 4 min strong efforts w/ 90 sec EZ. I kept the run super easy. 
Saturday: PM Race! 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run, 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run.
Sunday: Early afternoon: 2:20 bike (37.6 miles) followed by a 6.12 mile (51 min) run

Total: 
18:33 hours 
Swim: 14476 yards
Bike: 9:22 hours
Run: 42.4 miles

Race day nutrition
My primary objective was to not go into the race in a depleted state so I focused on my eating/fueling on Friday and Saturday. I had pasta for dinner on Friday and on Saturday morning, I had my typical bagel + PB + syrup + a little yogurt before my bike workout. During the bike I had two bottles, each with ~75g of INFINIT Fructose (~300 calories) and refilled one bottle w/ water for the last 20 minutes as it was getting really hot out. For the run, I had 1 x 10 ounce flask with water and another 10 ounce flask with 1 scoop Never Second C30 berry (120 calories). 
After the workout, I had a poptart and recovery drink (2 scoops GU vanilla recovery powder + 8 ounce 1% milk) while walking Campy and then I had a meal of a bagel (local) w/ half PB and the other half butter. I also had a banana and a little yogurt. I ate this meal around 2pm and I didn't eat anything else until after the race. 
I sipped on a bottle of Never Second while setting up my transition around 5pm. 
During the race I had 1 bottle on my bike with 1.5 scoop (~68g, 272 calories INFINIT Fructose Grape).  I also had an extra bottle in my transition area of the same amount in case I dropped that bottle on the first bike segment. I also had a small flask of ~100 calories Never Second C30 in case I needed it for the run. I ended up not needing the extra bottle or flask. In addition to my bottle on the bike (which I finished between the two x 8 mile segments) I had a few sips of water on the run. 
After the race, while waiting for the awardss, I had a Dr. Pepper and Rice Krispie treat from the post race area and had a recovery drink (that I brought) of ~30g protein. 

The Race! 
When I left, Karel was finishing up his 7-hour workout as he prepares his upcoming XTRI event Stonebrixiaman XTRI on June 29th (we leave for Italy on June 23rd). My mom and her partner Allen came with me for my race. I picked them up around 4pm and we arrived to the race venue around 4:40pm. The transition area was small but there were still 130+ athletes in the race. I picked up my race packet and timing chip and got body marked (it's been a while since I had that done, brought back so many memories from my early days). I then went into the transition area and set up my transition by my designated bike rack number. I had planned and practiced to do a flying dismount (with my cycling shoes still attached to the pedals) after bike number one and flying mount and dismount after bike number two and while I stuck with my plan, looking back I should have kept my shoes on as there was a lot of gravel/rocks on the ground and I lost time carefully walking with my bike and fumbling with my shoes. It was very hot and sunny while setting up my transition area so I was happy I had a bottle of water and a bottle of sport drink to sip on in the hour before the race start. After I was finished setting things up, I went for a short jog (~.76 miles) to warm up. I found a MTB trail next to the transition area to run on, which was shaded and had a soft impact. Around 5:40pm I walked to the pool area and got into the water to warmup. 
My trisuit isn't ideal for swimming without a swimskin/wetsuit so I got myself comfortable in the warm water and adjusted my timing chip so that it wasn't dragging in the water. I did a few laps and practiced a flip turn under the lane line to "snake" through the pool. The race started at 6:03pm. 

I was seeded 2nd for the swim and we started ~5-10 seconds apart. Although I was happy to be near the front for the swim, I don't have very good take out speed and I was being caught quickly by the swimmer behind me. The water was very choppy as the lane lines were lines with small plastic balls on them and I found it really hard to settle into a rhythm. 

SWIM #1: 250 yards: 3:47, 1:31 pace

I had no idea what lane/lap I was in as I was swimming as I was focused on swimming the reverse direction in the lane than what I am used it. I just paid attention to when I got to the last lane. I was relieved to survived that swim - it was rather chaotic. As I ran to the transition area, I was passed by another girl Kayla. I was actually happy to be passed as I love racing with competition as it brings the best out of myself. 

T1: 0:35
BIKE #1: 8.11 miles: 23.8 mph, 195NP, 20:18

I removed my cap and goggles as I was running into transition and I had a fairly quick transition (all I had to do was put on my helmet and cycling shoes). I carefully "ran" my bike out of transition and started my computer. Kayla was a little ahead of me and I worked really hard for around 2 miles to catch her. I wasn't familiar with the course but it was well marked. I also studied the course the night prior by looking at the course on Google Maps to get oriented with the roads and turns. I really liked the course as it was mostly rolling hills on quiet country roads. The last stretch was on a hwy-like road but because it was after 6pm, it wasn't too busy. I really enjoyed the course. I didn't feel great on the bike. My legs were heavy and tired but I pushed as hard as I could. It was literally a power test for me. I had to slow down a bit getting back into the parking lot as there was a car stopped in front of me. I drank ~1/2 bottle of my sport drink. I didn't think too much about the run as I was focused on staying draft legal behind the guy in front of me and I was also trying to lengthen my gap to Kayla as I knew she would run well (considering she ran fast to pass me out of the swim). 

T2: 0:52
RUN #1: 2.11 miles, 14:54 (6:59, 6:58)

I had put baby powder in my running shoes prior to the race to help them slide on easily (and to reduce the risk for blisters). This was my first time running without socks (or compression) in over 15 years. I grabbed my race bib belt (although I later learned we didn't have to wear it on run #1) and sunglasses and accidentally started to head toward the bike exit. Some volunteers yelled at me and I quickly turned around and ran near the swim out exit of the transition area. When I started running, I put on my sunglasses and bib number belt. Immediately my legs felt great. I loved the run course. It was up and down with tight turns and even some sand on the sidewalk. The run course was two one-mile loops which made it fun to see other athletes on the course and to pass by the transition area to see the spectators and to get cheers from my mom and Allen. The only downside was there was a big festival/party on the backside of the course with a lot of people and cars which we had to navigate through. I took a look behind me on the first loop and noticed that Kayla was just a few minutes behind me. I continued to run as strong as I could. I felt like I was in control of my form and it felt good. When my watch buzzed at the first mile I was expecting to see something around 7:30 min/mile as that is "fast" for me right now so when I saw 6:59, I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. On the second run, I felt even stronger and ran 6:58. My mouth was getting dry so I took a sip of water from the aid station on lap two. I couldn't believe my run - my legs haven't ran this fast in many many years (like over 5 years!). 

T3: 0:16
SWIM #2: 250 yards, 3:50 (1:32 pace)

My mom gave me a cheer at the pool and I told her "wow this is hard." I knew the second swim would be rough and although it felt amazing to jump into the pool to cool off, it was hard to start swimming. Plus, the top of my feet were scratched from running without socks so when I jumped into the pool, my feet burned for a few seconds. The nice thing was the pool was a bit more empty. It was just me and a few guys so it was a lot easier to snake my way through the pool. To make things less confusing, every time we got to the other side of the pool, we changed lanes (so lanes 2, 3,4,5 we swam back and forth in the same lane). I caught Joe Wilson around half way and passed him in the middle of the pool. I actually started to feel better as the swim went on and wished the swim was a bit longer as I was starting to feel like my body was in a better groove. 

T4: 0:37
BIKE #2: 8.11 miles, 22.3 mph, 175NP, 21:48

Joe passed me in transition as I was slow to exit and when I got on my bike, it took me a few minutes to get into my shoes. My average speed was 23.2 mph outside of the parking lot so looking back, I lost time doing the flying mount. I worked really hard to catch back up to Joe and I worked hard to stay draft legal behind him. I was able to stay behind him for all of the second bike but my legs were screaming at me as they were really tired. Each loop had ~420 feet and there were some punchy climbs. The sun was starting to set as it was nearing 7pm, which is my favorite time to be on the bike. I love sunset riding. It was still humid out but not as hot since the sun was setting. Again, I shouldn't have done a flying dismount as it was very rocky and I struggled to run with my bike to my rack. I finished most of my bottle on my bike. I also had a gel in my bento box on my bike (just in case I lost the bottle but I didn't need it). 

T5: 1:04
RUN #3: 2.11 miles, 14:37 (6:53, 6:59)

I struggled to put on my shoes as my feet were dry and I likely had my laces too tight. I lost some time in this transition. Plus, my feet were all scratched up on top which hurt when I put on my shoes. But the adrenaline of racing made that go away. I wore the Saucony Endorphin Speed running shoes (from Run In). At this point in the race, I had extended my lead but I didn't want to ease up. I felt even better on this run than the first run segment and I couldn't believe it when I saw 6:53 min/mile. I couldn't try to run this fast in training even if I went all out! This is why I love to race....I always seem to surprise myself. On the last loop, I started to feel like I was settling into a good rhythm and clocked another sub 7 split at 6:59. I finished the race with a smile on my face and told my mom that it was so much fun and really really hard. 

RESULTS
1st Overall Female
9th Overall 
Total Time: 1:25.40

I called Karel when I finished and gave him the play by play of the event. I was really happy with how I performed and most of all, I had so much fun. This event reminded me why I got into the sport of triathlon and why I have stayed with it for over 20 years (my first sprint triathlon was in 2003). When it comes to long distance racing, race day isn't necessarily fun. It's hard and challenging. But that is why I love long distance racing - you get to rise to the challenge and push through limits (or discover your limits). But when it comes to short distance racing, it's short, quick, dynamic and fun. 

The awards didn't start until almost 9pm so it was a late evening but it was worth it. I didn't something for the first time and I am really proud of my body for what it allowed me to do. 

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Andy's Sprint Triathlon Race Recap - surviving the cold

 

We find it beneficial for our early season campers to participate in a race on the last day of camp. It's a great opportunity to dust of the rust in an early season race, applying everything learned from camp. Not surprisingly, every time we combine a race with a camp, our campers do incredibly well at the race. By removing any expectations or pressure to perform, our campers can simply focus on the small details while staying in the present moment. If only athletes could do this at the longer distance races and not get so overwhelmed by outcomes! 😁

We also find great value in doing a "short" distance race. For many long distance triathletes, short races become "not worth it" and are brushed to the side in favor of more training for half or full distance triathlon events. But in the short events, there's less breakdown and risk for setbacks alongside so many incredible opportunities to go through the motions and emotions that are experienced in long distance racing. 

Karel's knee was bothering him running last week so he stayed on the sidelines to cheer for our campers and I decided to race. My last sprint triathlon was in 2006 and my one and only triathlon with a pool swim was in 2003. I was excited to set out of my comfort zone and do something that was unfamiliar to me. Additionally, with predicted temps in the 30's, I knew this race would really be uncomfortable for me. 

Human instinct tells us to stay safe in our comfort zone but I don't think I'm wired this way. Maybe it's a swimmer thing (as swimming is not the most comfortable sport) but I enjoy putting myself in new and unfamiliar situations. There's always a bit of nervous and apprehension but I love the feeling of being challenging. Although I don't always enjoy the discomfort of uncomfortable situations, I crave the feeling of satisfaction when it's over. Perhaps that's why I've completed 17 Ironman distance triathlon events. 

Over the past year, I've put myself in a lot of different uncomfortable situations but I knew that this sprint triathlon would test me in ways that I've never been tested before. With a predicted race morning temperature of 33 degrees, I found myself thinking "how am I going to do this!?!?!"

In the afternoon of our third day of camp, Campy and I got in the car to drive the bike course. We drove the last four miles of the course in route to the aquatic center to pick up my race packet and then the first 10 miles on the way home. Not knowing the bike route brought a little anxiety prior to the race but after driving the course, I felt much more comfortable knowing where the turns were as well as the descends and hills. 

With my last triathlon happening 6 months ago, it took some time to pack my transition bag but it felt good to have to go through the stress of packing for a 3-sport event. Karel worked on my bike while I was out to make sure it was race ready. I ate similar meals/snacks to what I would do for a long distance triathlon and kept with a normal routine of getting to bed early and clearing my mind by watching something on Netflix. I was asleep before 9pm but that early morning alarm was still a shocker to the system. 

I woke up at 4:45am and had my typical long workout/pre-race meal of a bagel w/ peanut butter and jam a few spoonfuls of yogurt. I dressed myself in layers to stay warm and I spent some time foam rolling and doing a few of my go-to ECFit moves before we left the house at 5:15am. Unlike normal training, having a routine and sticking to a tight schedule is something that you only experience on race day. Plus there are the swings of emotions from "why am I doing this?" to "I'm excited to race." 

We cranked up the heat in the car and during our 15-minute drive, I kept my mind free of negative thoughts. This was really helpful as I knew once I started to get into a negative spiral of thoughts, it would be hard to get out of it. I made sure to keep myself as warm as possible while setting up my transition area - although I was still a little cold. 

Having thought of all the possible clothing combinations for the bike, I decided to go with a tech shirt, long sleeve jersey and vest. I draped the items on my bike handlebar so that it would be easy to put on each item. Even though I wanted to have a quick transition, I also wanted to have an efficient transition. I also had a large towel to dry myself off as well as a small towel to stand on after the swim to keep my feet from getting too cold. I had one pair of Hot Hands (which I've never used before) for my shoes (under my toe covers) but my athlete Therese saved the day and gave me two more to put inside my gloves. I jogged to get my chip and still couldn't get myself warm but once I stepped into the aquatic center, I finally felt warm. Just that quick change in temperature changed everything. It was the relief needed that no matter how cold I was going to be, I knew that the cold feeling wouldn't last forever. 

My style of racing is to get stronger in the back half of long distance racing as it takes me a while to warm-up so I knew it would be hard for me to go hard from the beginning as the distances were too short for my physiology and how I've trained my body for the past 16 years (400 meter swim/14-mile bike/3-mile run). I made sure to get in as much of a warmup as possible so that I could swim somewhat hard from the start of the race. I did my stretch cord exercises that I normally do before I swim in training and then I was the first one in the pool for a ~10-minute swim warmup. I found it really important to get in the water before the race as my body would not allow me to go hard without some type of swim warm-up. Several of our campers joined me and nearing 6:45am, the pool had several more athletes swimming. I practiced snaking under the lane line as well as diving in. 

Nearing 7am, the race director told us that this would be a very tough and miserable race but that we were all strong enough to do it. I lined up near the front as it was a seeded start and I was racing in the open category. I was the 5th athlete in the water and just like that, the race started. 

I had one girl swimming strong in front of me so that was great motivation to keep me pushing. I didn't focus on any times/paces/watts throughout this race as my focus was staying present and just going through the motions of racing. It felt a little strange swimming with so many eyes of the other participants watching from the pool deck but I stayed focused on the girl ahead of me. She was really fast and I was unable to catch her.

As I was nearing the end of the 400, I started to get scared about what was about to come. Although I warmed up in the pool from my effort, as soon as I pulled myself out of the pool and ran outside, the shock of the cold on my wet body nearly took my breathe away. I even said outload "OMG this is crazy." 

I removed my swim skin and dried off my shorts and my sports bra with my towel and then put on socks, my shirt, long sleeve jersey, vest, gloves, helmet and cycling shoes. I jogged my bike to the mount line and headed out to the coldest bike ride of my life. 

The girl ahead of me was several minutes ahead as she had a quicker transition than me but I wasn't focused on her as I was cold and I didn't want to make any careless mistakes. My upper body was somewhat comfortable but my thighs were so cold, it felt like knives sticking into my legs. I was hoping that as the ride continued, I would get warmer and although my upper body felt ok, my hands got colder and colder. It was hard to grip my bars and change my gears so my focus was on staying safe. It was really hard for me to push hard as my body wasn't really working well but I stayed focused on whatever I could control. I ended up passing the girl ahead of me in the first few miles (she was on a road bike) which gave me a little energy boost. The downhills were hard because I was so cold and couldn't use my bike skills like I wanted but I still tried to execute the best I could on the course. Although some of the roads are normally really busy, traffic control was great, the course was well-marked and I didn't find any issues in the course - the roads were quiet. 

The bike ride was short compared to what I am used to racing so I kept reminding myself that it would be over soon. I sipped on INFINIT in my hydration bottle (trying to take a few gulps every 15 minutes) throughout the bike. As I was nearing the end of the bike, my feet were actually a little warm and I didn't want to remove them from the shoes but I knew it would be beneficial to practice a flying dismount so I made myself remove my feet from my shoes and perform a flying dismount at the dismount line. 

After running my bike to my rack and racking my bike, I went to unclip my helmet and I could not feel my hands. I tried and tried to unbuckle my helmet but I could not get my hands to work. Karel told me to come to the fencing and he would help but I didn't want to get in trouble for outside assistance. He told me that it was ok as others were getting help with things so I had him undo my helmet as my hands were not working. It took time for me to put on my shoes and hydration belt. Although I didn't need my hydration belt for the run, I wanted to rehearse everything as if it was a long distance triathlon. I put my gloves back on as I was still a bit cold but I removed my vest and jacket as I knew I'd warmup on the run. 

I was the first female out of the transition area and almost missed the exit out as I was so disoriented from being so cold. I kept a smile on my face because I felt so accomplished from finishing the bike. I really only had one speed for the run and didn't push it because well, I wasn't able to find any more gears. I just ran what I felt was strong in the moment. The run course was a two loop run with a fun off-road hill in the middle of each loop. I really enjoyed the run. I was passed by the girl who beat me in the water around half way in the 2nd loop and she was flying. I finished the race feeling accomplished and went out to cheer for our athletes. 

Although I had nightmares of the cold for the next 48 hours, the feeling has passed and this race is now an experience in my catalog of racing. 

Life is hard and sometimes it's really difficult. Life forces us to deal with a lot of uncomfortable situations and experiences, along with other uncomfortable emotions like pain, loneliness, fear, worries, anxieties, frustration and sadness. As an athlete, sport gives us opportunities to experience similar emotions - but in the context of doing something that we enjoy. If we always avoid uncomfortable, new and unfamiliar scenarios, there's no growth. Racing gives us the reason to embrace challenges. 

I survived the race. I went through the familiar motions of racing but I also proved to myself that I am a lot tougher than I ever thought I could be. Feeling uncomfortable is a sign that you are trying. Don't be scared of being uncomfortable. Stepping out of your comfort zone is how you improve, develop and grow. Be motivated by self-growth. 

Do you need fuel during a sprint triathlon?

When you think of a "sprint" you may imagine feeling out-of-breath with an uncomfortable lactic acid burn, going as hard and fast as possible for a very short period of time (perhaps 10-60 seconds). Although the intensity at which you race a sprint triathlon dictates how much you will suffer, a sprint triathlon is not technically a "short" race when it may take you over 60 minutes to complete the swim/bike/run distance.

I find that many triathletes, especially newbies, assume that a "sprint" triathlon does not require the need for calories or fluids during the race because the race is completed in a quick amount of time. While you can complete the distance sans sport nutrition and you won't fully deplete your glycogen stores enough to sabotage your performance, ingesting carbs during a sprint triathlon may still give you the competitive edge. 

You can learn more about my nutrition/fueling strategies and tips for performing at your best in a sprint distance triathlon in the January/February 2018 issue of Triathlete Magazine, Pg. 47.
Any questions, just send me an email.

And while we are talking about sprint triathlons, I'll share a throwback to my very first sprint triathlon circa 2004......

                                                   

And now today.......still smiling, thanking my body and enjoying the journey.