Memphis in May

This weekend marked my first back-to-back racing attempt at Memphis in May.  This is the 4th race in the 5150 Triathlon series - professionals earn points at each race in the series to qualify for the championship race later in the season at Hyvee.  Memphis in May (MIM) is a well known race throughout the country, however this year Start2Finish Events moved the course to a new venue in Tunica, MS. 

This race is unique as participants are sent off in a time trial fashion (leaving one at a time, every few seconds) rather than a mass start (everyone participating leaves at the same time) or wave starts (people leave according to their race division or age group).  At MIM the age groupers begin their race at 7am, while the pros start at 10:30.  Or so we thought...

Thunderstorms cut our warm-ups short and landed us in the nearby tent for an hour while we waited to see if we'd be racing.  Race directors saw a break in the weather and quickly got us started.  No warm up- let's race!  (Truthfully, I'm just thankful the race directors made the decision to keep the race as a triathlon rather than eliminate the swim portion or cancelling the entire race, which were the 2 options we were told.  Changing the race to a duathlon seems to be a trend in the recent months for various reasons.  My opinions on the subject another time...)

The pros were sent off every 10 seconds; men and women mixed amongst each other.  This kind of start adds the element of the unknown- you have no clue what place you're in since everyone left at different times.  You have to wait until everyone is finished to compare times. 

The lake was perfect temperature and since the rain clouds blocked the sun, the buoys were easily spotted.  Great swim course!  No wetsuit this time, but my Aquaman speedsuit was perfect.  swim = 20.39  There is nothing else to be said about the bike course except that it is flat.  FLAAATTT.  Except for the series of reflector strips and paying attention to the stagger rule, this was the type of course you could just put your head down and push the pedals.  bike = 59:38  The run course was the same - flat - but long.  Racers wearing GPS watches measured the run at 6.68 miles, nearly .5 miles too long for my taste :)  run = 42.52

Total time = 2:04.55.  I ended up in 9th place (8th place beat me by a fraction of a second -grr!  Note to self: don't run around the mud puddles next time).  My past 3 races have been consistent in that I know how to focus my training over the next month.  I am enjoying this distance in racing- I've raced 4 tri's this season already, am improving each race, and it's not even June! 


8hr drive home after race.  Recovery
snacks in the car: almonds, cherry
craisins and chocolate milk.  MMM :)

Big thanks to Gayle Minard, my homestay in Memphis (who also happens to be a surgeon, nutrition specialist, IM triathlete, dog lover, and...and...and... I couldn't keep track of her resume.  Very interesting lady).  Was glad to see you made it through the thunderstorms and back pains-  whew!  It was great to meet you and I wish you the best of luck at IM Louisville this year! 


back to training - hope everyone has a fun, safe Memorial weekend! 
miss

Rev3 Knoxville

I had debated between 2 races this weekend (5150 New Orleans and Rev3 Knoxville)- I think I chose the right one.  New Orleans turned into a duathlon... 

6 of us headed down to Knoxville Friday afternoon from Wheelie Fun, rode part of the bike course, got some great food and went our separate ways to sleep.  The logistics with 6 people and 2 cars can throw some unforseen details into the mix, so I ended up staying with another family rather than my original homestay.  (Thank you Ramona for understanding...)  Sean and Stephanie graciously opened their home to 2 pros (Matt Mangen and myself) AND their parents (by the way, Sean's father Bob competed in Kona IM 4x between 1982 and 2006).  Great race Sunday Sean! 

I raced Rev3 Knoxville as an age grouper last year and loved it!  With all the new details thrown at me so far this year, it was good to have one familiarity.  The water temperature was 65 degrees so we were in wetsuits.  I got to wear my Aquaman Cell Gold for the first time and LOVED IT!!  Fit perfect, especially around the neck- no water leaking in and pooling in my lower back like other wetsuits I've tried.  Thank you Aquaman!  4 women broke away from the pack early.  I stayed with 2 other women, but they eventually dropped off pace and I was 5th into T1.  Swim time was 20:33 (3 1/2 min slower than last year...hmm...buoy shift?)

Onto the bike- the course was changed slightly from last year due to construction.  This weaved us a different way through town, added rollers up/down exit ramps, and unfortunately some confusion.  Several riders went off course at the start of the bike leg...I took a wrong turn at the end of the course and did a U-turn.  Otherwise I loved this course!  Hills to climb, sweeping descents, plenty of rollers to raise your HR.  Favorite part of the bike: at the turn-around Julie Dibens passes me.  Wha?  First thought: I took a wrong somewhere because she should not be behind me.  Second thought: sweet- I'm riding with Julie Dibens...for a little while.  Bike split: 1:05 (10 minutes faster than last year)  I left T2 in 5th position. 

The run course was relatively unchanged- just a few improvements.  The course is flat along a 4-lane road, up a roller, onto a bike path, reverse it, and then uphill for the last 1/2 mile to the finish line (ugh).  I felt sooo much better than 2 weeks ago.  I'm still gaining confidence on the run- learning how to push hard versus hold steady in long distance racing.  I have no doubt it'll come around- I learn quickly.  I was a minute faster than last year at 42:11.

I ended up 8th overall at 2:10.  Nine minutes faster than last year.  Not bad.






Actually, the majority of our group (and others I knew racing on Sunday) had a good race.  And if not, they learned some valuable lessons to take to the next race.  (At the very least, we had a great time traveling and entertaining amongst the 6 of us).  Big thanks to GU for the Peach Tea Chomps, Cherry Lime and Chocolate Mint energy gels during the race and 110% recovery for the ice and compression before/afterwards.  Nutrition and recovery are two KEY ELEMENTS to racing well :) 



We packed all of our gear and headed back north...



...of course after large amounts of food and ice cream :)



St Anthony's

I don’t know who showed up on Sunday to race at St Anthony’s, but next time let’s tell her to leave the sinus issues at home.  I had a friend ask me, “So are you motivated or devastated?”  Shoot… if one disappointment was all it took to break my spirit I’d have dropped out of college, stopped swimming, quit my job, and vowed to never date again.  In triathlon, it’s the “off” races we endure and the things that go wrong that make us stronger, motivate us to try harder, and teach us how to race smarter. 

St Anthony’s triathlon is an amazing race venue.  The race has been held for 28 years and this year hosted one of the largest and most competitive pro fields.  The level of organization for such a large race (including the expo, transition area, meetings, set-up, volunteers, etc.) was impressive.  The course is amazing- ocean swim; flat and technical bike; fast out-and-back run… I was ready and excited for St Anthony’s.  Too bad I didn’t get to race it.  Let’s just say I left my pro race debut quite differently than I had expected.  I’m not talking about the “eye opening experience” some people expected I’d have racing against some of the best pro triathletes in the world.  Neither am I talking about the “shock” other people thought I’d have attempting the switch from IM distance to Olympic distance racing.  I was prepared for those to creep in.  No, my first taste of pro racing was quite different than I’d expected. 

What I mean is I was ready to RACE.  Ready to hang on for dear life to swimmers around me, knowing there were some even further ahead.  Ready to push harder than ever on the bike just to stay amongst the other racers, knowing I wouldn’t be able to hang with some.  Ready to gut out my fastest 10k to date, knowing my run split would fall short in comparison to the “runners” in the sport. 

 

Instead, I was playing catch up to the middle swim pack after the long run into the water and having my goggles torn off.   Ironman mass starts were tame in comparison to the frenzy at buoy #1.  Next, let’s discuss the ½ mile run to T1 (since the swim was cut in half and location changed at 5am race morning).  T1 for age groupers= a transition from the swim to the bike.  T1 for pro racers= another opportunity to get ahead of the competition and one step closer to prize money.  Lesson learned.  My bike was relatively uneventful unfortunately.  I caught 3-4 women but didn’t have that extra gear to light things up and push harder.  As for the run, I was confused why my body was physically shutting down when mentally I was ready to go.  Legs were heavy and I was shuffling along at what felt like marathon pace.  Afterwards, I spoke with coaches discussing the race but was still quite confused.  I am the type of person who likes to figure out what went wrong so I can plan around it for the next race.  It wasn’t until later that night when I lost my voice and was congested that I figured it out.  I thought staying hydrated, off my feet, and napping would help what felt like the start of something.  Guess not.  The same thing had happened in 2009 at Kona- able to finish the race, but well below my expectations and abilities.  Oh well- it happens.  Just glad to know why things were out of sorts and ready to move on. 

There were plenty of great things about the weekend, so let’s focus on those. 

1.   I met with a new sponsor: 110% recovery gear.  They provide comfortable apparel that not only provides compression but has pockets to hold cold/warm packs for convenient and effective recovery.  Click on the link to the right to get to their website. 

2.  Got to experience racing at the professional level and loved it!!  This is exactly the motivation in racing I need to step my game up. 

3.  The condo I stayed at was above and beyond my expectations in terms of convenience and quality.  Extended family members from the Regal Boat company graciously let me stay there.  It turned out to be the “hub” of activity since it was mere yards away from the transition area.  Thank you again!

4.  First race wearing my Aquaman speedsuit- it fit great and had no hassles getting out of it in T1.

5.  New TriSports.com uniform shorts fit great!!  Thank you!

6.  Got to coin the term “Scoot n Sniff” (for better or worse).

7.  First time racing on my new Zipp disc wheel- love the sound of race wheels! 

8.  Met new people, enjoyed catching up with other racers I hadn’t seen yet this season, spent a great weekend in the sun.
9.  Learned that every detail of the sport counts at the professional level- transitions, nutrition, recovery, strength, motivation, etc.  Let's make them all count!
10. Met Paul Phillips of Competitive Image (http://www.competitiveimage.us/).  For an AMAZING video highlighting the pro race check out this link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1980258587406&comments

miss