Hof Karmel Triathlon - 1 October 2005
I think maybe this was a "breakthrough" race for me. I went into the race with two goals and I achieved both of them. The first was to run the entire run (no walk breaks). The second goal was to break 1:40, which I'd only done once before and I'm not entirely convinced that the distances in that particular race were correct.
The day actually started out badly. I had a lot of trouble getting out of bed at 2:50 a.m. (we left at 3:30), even after going to sleep really early. And when we got to the race site, it was pitch black out and very depressing. And I was cold and I hadn't brought a jacket or anything. In addition, someone had made a mistake with the age groups and I was listed as being in the 39 and under wave, whereas I was supposed to be 40+. This wasn't that big of a deal (in fact, the problem had been corrected before I even complained about it), but unlike any other race I've ever done, we were actually assigned specific spots in the transition area according to number and my spot was in the 39 and under group, far away from my teammates (and far away from the exit, meaning I'd have to run a lot with my bike). In fact, I was surrounded by kids. I didn't get that at all (none of them looked like they were in their 30s) until later on. Then I saw the sign at the end of my assigned rack: youth (16-19) sprint. LOL. Since the youth and 39 and unders started five minutes before the 40+ wave, it was very very easy to find my bike when I got to the transition area after the swim. :-)
We had a long wait before our start at 8:40. I watched the kids start and I watched the start of the Olympic distance. Then I went for a very short run, which was actually a run / stop and talk / run / stop and talk. Sort of a warmup. Finally, it was almost time. I got my stuff ready and went down to the beach to warm up in the water.
The swim start was very crowded. They had us all cramped into a tiny little area. I pushed my way to the back because I didn't want to be trampled running into the water. Finally they blew the horn and off we went. The swim started well. It wasn't a long run this time and I wasn't out of breath when I started swimming. It was a little bit crowded, but not too bad, and I managed to avoid getting hit or kicked too badly.
Just after rounding the first buoy, I saw two of my teammates, Gil and Ronit. Both are slightly slower swimmers than I am and both routinely beat me out of the water at races. In fact, this has been one of the most frustrating things for me this year. I just have not been able to understand how they get out of the water so much faster than I do. Gil ended up swimming next to me for the next 500 meters to the end. He tried drafting off of me, but he told me that in open water, his freestyle is faster than mine because he's got more upper body strength (there's my answer...) and every time he started swimming freestyle, he ended up swimming into me. Problem is, he's a lousy swimmer and he can't swim freestyle for too long. He gets tired and reverts to breastroke and every time that happened, I ended up passing him. So he gave up and just swam next to me. I think he hit and kicked me more than anyone else in the race. I couldn't see where Ronit was until I actually stood up to run out of the water. She was directly in front of me and all three of us left the water together. I checked my watch and was very pleased to see that I'd finished the swim in just over 16 minutes -- a good 750 meter time for me (and I hadn't really worked that hard in the swim).
The first transition went really smoothly. First of all, I was actually able to run pretty quickly to the transition area -- much faster than usual (and it was a fairly long run). I had no trouble getting my shoes and number on and I was out of there in no time. The entire transition -- exit from the water, run to the transition area, putting on shoes, my number, my sunglasses and my helmet and running out of the transition area with my bike (not really far, but not really close, either) took me, according to my chip time, just under three minutes. I actually spent less time in the transition area than Gil, who is usually very fast (he's a lousy swimmer, but he makes up for it in every other aspect of triathlon -- he took 1st place in his age group today). My chip time for the swim (including transition) was 19:06. That was 7/14 (or maybe 13 -- I only saw 13 in the results online, but there were 14 listed in the results at the race) in my age group, 51/126 overall for 40+ sprint. Finally, I was in the top half overall, including the men! :-)
Getting on my bike was a bit awkward. The mounting area was very crowded and people were stopped. One guy was being sent back because he'd mounted too soon. I found a spot on the side, but I couldn't jump on my bike -- it would have been too dangerous (especially since I'm not very skilled at jumping on the bike). So I got on rather slowly and then ended up weaving off the asphalt path and into the dirt. I was actually afraid I'd end up falling, because I was having trouble stabilizing my bike and keeping it on the path (I wasn't clipped in yet and my feet were sliding all over the pedals), but I didn't. Once I got moving, I got clipped in very quickly and I was off.
This was the best ride I've ever had in a race. Unfortunately, my bike computer once again decided not to work (it only does this in races!), so I had no idea how fast I was going. But I felt really good. I kept expecting to see Ronit, who is much faster than I am on the bike, but had been slow in transition. She only managed to catch up with me and pass me at 8 km and she never got far ahead of me -- she was still in the transition area when I got there. The route was a fast one -- mainly an out and back on a major highway, almost entirely flat. This is my favorite kind of route, though it's not normally the best kind for me, as I'm relatively fast on hills (going up), whereas I'm don't seem to be able to ride as well on flat roads. However, fast as I may be, I hate riding up hills. A peek at my watch halfway through proved what I had suspected -- I was flying (relatively flying -- I'm just not that fast!).
I finished the bike leg in 44:04 minutes for an average of about 27.2 kph (just under 17 mph). That's a minute faster than my previous best time at that distance. And I finished feeling really strong. I was 9/14 in my age group and 97/126 overall. Apparently, everyone had a good day on the bike. LOL. I got off the bike and had no trouble running into the transition area (I've even improved at running with my bike -- all those bricks and transition practices that I really hate seem to have helped me). In fact, as I was running into the transition area, the two men in front of me decided that they were going to walk with their bikes. Normally, I would say, "If they're walking, I can too!" but not today. Today, all I could think was, "Why are they WALKING! They'd better get out of my way!"
The second transition was a little more problematic than the first, as one of my running shoes decided not to cooperate. The back of my shoe kept collapsing when I put my foot in. I finally managed to get it worked out, though, and off I went.
The run was, as expected, the hardest part of the race for me. I was determined, however, to keep pushing forward. I started off strong and began struggling almost immediately. 5 minute kms were out of the question today. My legs didn't hurt, but I was breathing hard. I intentionally didn't wear my HR monitor, so I had no idea what my heart rate was and I really didn't want to know. I just kept running. There was sand. I hate running in sand. But I kept running. I felt like dying, but I kept running (I slowed down a bit to pull myself together, but I kept running). A lot of men passed me and one or two women. I tried to keep up with one woman who was in my age group, but she was eventually able to pull ahead of me. I was tired and I wanted to walk, but I kept running.
At the final water station, a group of kids who were volunteering started cheering me on. They screamed, "You're great! You're the best!" etc. I laughed, thinking these kids must have taken encouragement lessons from my former coach (who was also out there cheering me on today). Then, with maybe 500 meters to go, I saw my coach. He screamed at me to pick up my feet and sprint. I did and I was absolutely amazed when I heard him scream, "Yes! Just like that! Now do that until the finish line!" So that's what I did.
My run was slower than I would have liked. A little over 31 minutes on my watch and 33:23 for my chip time (that included T2). I was 11/14 in my age group and 89/126 overall. However, when I looked at my watch after crossing the finish line, all I could do was smile. It read 1:36:33. I'd beaten my goal by almost three and a half minutes. I was 9/14 in my age group and 86/126 overall. Since that overall includes a LOT of men, Being just past the 2/3 mark isn't bad.
I was a little bit disappointed in my age group placing until I saw the results online. The woman who took 1st place in my age group was 9th overall (and the first woman in the 40+ wave to finish). The 2nd place woman in my age group was 12th overall and the second woman to finish. And the 3rd place woman was the one who took 1st place in the previous two races. She was 22nd overall and the 3rd woman to finish. And her bike time was the 2nd fastest in the heat -- one second faster than Gil's (and I never even bother trying to ride with him because he's really fast). She averaged over 34 kph (21 mph) on the course. I don't know if that's fast for the rest of you, but it's fast in my book, especially for a 42-year-old woman. I think she was the fastest woman on the sprint course today, including both heats and the youth. She was faster than most of the men, too. So I had some really tough competition today. There were a few woman in my age group who finished not long before me, but with these three competing against me, I didn't have any chance of getting hardware today.
Anyway, the important thing is that I did everything I set out to do today and I finally had a decent swim (which was not one of today's goals -- I had decided that too many things connected to the swim are out of my control for me to set any kind of swim goal beyond "swim my best").
Oh, and I had fun, as you can see in the picture of me with a few of my teammates (that's me on the right).
My next planned race is a duathlon at the end of the month. I think I'll be skipping the duathlon after that (I think the entire adult team is skipping it) and then we have the national triathlon championships in Eilat on December 2nd to close the season.
The day actually started out badly. I had a lot of trouble getting out of bed at 2:50 a.m. (we left at 3:30), even after going to sleep really early. And when we got to the race site, it was pitch black out and very depressing. And I was cold and I hadn't brought a jacket or anything. In addition, someone had made a mistake with the age groups and I was listed as being in the 39 and under wave, whereas I was supposed to be 40+. This wasn't that big of a deal (in fact, the problem had been corrected before I even complained about it), but unlike any other race I've ever done, we were actually assigned specific spots in the transition area according to number and my spot was in the 39 and under group, far away from my teammates (and far away from the exit, meaning I'd have to run a lot with my bike). In fact, I was surrounded by kids. I didn't get that at all (none of them looked like they were in their 30s) until later on. Then I saw the sign at the end of my assigned rack: youth (16-19) sprint. LOL. Since the youth and 39 and unders started five minutes before the 40+ wave, it was very very easy to find my bike when I got to the transition area after the swim. :-)
We had a long wait before our start at 8:40. I watched the kids start and I watched the start of the Olympic distance. Then I went for a very short run, which was actually a run / stop and talk / run / stop and talk. Sort of a warmup. Finally, it was almost time. I got my stuff ready and went down to the beach to warm up in the water.
The swim start was very crowded. They had us all cramped into a tiny little area. I pushed my way to the back because I didn't want to be trampled running into the water. Finally they blew the horn and off we went. The swim started well. It wasn't a long run this time and I wasn't out of breath when I started swimming. It was a little bit crowded, but not too bad, and I managed to avoid getting hit or kicked too badly.
Just after rounding the first buoy, I saw two of my teammates, Gil and Ronit. Both are slightly slower swimmers than I am and both routinely beat me out of the water at races. In fact, this has been one of the most frustrating things for me this year. I just have not been able to understand how they get out of the water so much faster than I do. Gil ended up swimming next to me for the next 500 meters to the end. He tried drafting off of me, but he told me that in open water, his freestyle is faster than mine because he's got more upper body strength (there's my answer...) and every time he started swimming freestyle, he ended up swimming into me. Problem is, he's a lousy swimmer and he can't swim freestyle for too long. He gets tired and reverts to breastroke and every time that happened, I ended up passing him. So he gave up and just swam next to me. I think he hit and kicked me more than anyone else in the race. I couldn't see where Ronit was until I actually stood up to run out of the water. She was directly in front of me and all three of us left the water together. I checked my watch and was very pleased to see that I'd finished the swim in just over 16 minutes -- a good 750 meter time for me (and I hadn't really worked that hard in the swim).
The first transition went really smoothly. First of all, I was actually able to run pretty quickly to the transition area -- much faster than usual (and it was a fairly long run). I had no trouble getting my shoes and number on and I was out of there in no time. The entire transition -- exit from the water, run to the transition area, putting on shoes, my number, my sunglasses and my helmet and running out of the transition area with my bike (not really far, but not really close, either) took me, according to my chip time, just under three minutes. I actually spent less time in the transition area than Gil, who is usually very fast (he's a lousy swimmer, but he makes up for it in every other aspect of triathlon -- he took 1st place in his age group today). My chip time for the swim (including transition) was 19:06. That was 7/14 (or maybe 13 -- I only saw 13 in the results online, but there were 14 listed in the results at the race) in my age group, 51/126 overall for 40+ sprint. Finally, I was in the top half overall, including the men! :-)
Getting on my bike was a bit awkward. The mounting area was very crowded and people were stopped. One guy was being sent back because he'd mounted too soon. I found a spot on the side, but I couldn't jump on my bike -- it would have been too dangerous (especially since I'm not very skilled at jumping on the bike). So I got on rather slowly and then ended up weaving off the asphalt path and into the dirt. I was actually afraid I'd end up falling, because I was having trouble stabilizing my bike and keeping it on the path (I wasn't clipped in yet and my feet were sliding all over the pedals), but I didn't. Once I got moving, I got clipped in very quickly and I was off.
This was the best ride I've ever had in a race. Unfortunately, my bike computer once again decided not to work (it only does this in races!), so I had no idea how fast I was going. But I felt really good. I kept expecting to see Ronit, who is much faster than I am on the bike, but had been slow in transition. She only managed to catch up with me and pass me at 8 km and she never got far ahead of me -- she was still in the transition area when I got there. The route was a fast one -- mainly an out and back on a major highway, almost entirely flat. This is my favorite kind of route, though it's not normally the best kind for me, as I'm relatively fast on hills (going up), whereas I'm don't seem to be able to ride as well on flat roads. However, fast as I may be, I hate riding up hills. A peek at my watch halfway through proved what I had suspected -- I was flying (relatively flying -- I'm just not that fast!).
I finished the bike leg in 44:04 minutes for an average of about 27.2 kph (just under 17 mph). That's a minute faster than my previous best time at that distance. And I finished feeling really strong. I was 9/14 in my age group and 97/126 overall. Apparently, everyone had a good day on the bike. LOL. I got off the bike and had no trouble running into the transition area (I've even improved at running with my bike -- all those bricks and transition practices that I really hate seem to have helped me). In fact, as I was running into the transition area, the two men in front of me decided that they were going to walk with their bikes. Normally, I would say, "If they're walking, I can too!" but not today. Today, all I could think was, "Why are they WALKING! They'd better get out of my way!"
The second transition was a little more problematic than the first, as one of my running shoes decided not to cooperate. The back of my shoe kept collapsing when I put my foot in. I finally managed to get it worked out, though, and off I went.
The run was, as expected, the hardest part of the race for me. I was determined, however, to keep pushing forward. I started off strong and began struggling almost immediately. 5 minute kms were out of the question today. My legs didn't hurt, but I was breathing hard. I intentionally didn't wear my HR monitor, so I had no idea what my heart rate was and I really didn't want to know. I just kept running. There was sand. I hate running in sand. But I kept running. I felt like dying, but I kept running (I slowed down a bit to pull myself together, but I kept running). A lot of men passed me and one or two women. I tried to keep up with one woman who was in my age group, but she was eventually able to pull ahead of me. I was tired and I wanted to walk, but I kept running.
At the final water station, a group of kids who were volunteering started cheering me on. They screamed, "You're great! You're the best!" etc. I laughed, thinking these kids must have taken encouragement lessons from my former coach (who was also out there cheering me on today). Then, with maybe 500 meters to go, I saw my coach. He screamed at me to pick up my feet and sprint. I did and I was absolutely amazed when I heard him scream, "Yes! Just like that! Now do that until the finish line!" So that's what I did.
My run was slower than I would have liked. A little over 31 minutes on my watch and 33:23 for my chip time (that included T2). I was 11/14 in my age group and 89/126 overall. However, when I looked at my watch after crossing the finish line, all I could do was smile. It read 1:36:33. I'd beaten my goal by almost three and a half minutes. I was 9/14 in my age group and 86/126 overall. Since that overall includes a LOT of men, Being just past the 2/3 mark isn't bad.
I was a little bit disappointed in my age group placing until I saw the results online. The woman who took 1st place in my age group was 9th overall (and the first woman in the 40+ wave to finish). The 2nd place woman in my age group was 12th overall and the second woman to finish. And the 3rd place woman was the one who took 1st place in the previous two races. She was 22nd overall and the 3rd woman to finish. And her bike time was the 2nd fastest in the heat -- one second faster than Gil's (and I never even bother trying to ride with him because he's really fast). She averaged over 34 kph (21 mph) on the course. I don't know if that's fast for the rest of you, but it's fast in my book, especially for a 42-year-old woman. I think she was the fastest woman on the sprint course today, including both heats and the youth. She was faster than most of the men, too. So I had some really tough competition today. There were a few woman in my age group who finished not long before me, but with these three competing against me, I didn't have any chance of getting hardware today.
Anyway, the important thing is that I did everything I set out to do today and I finally had a decent swim (which was not one of today's goals -- I had decided that too many things connected to the swim are out of my control for me to set any kind of swim goal beyond "swim my best").
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Oh, and I had fun, as you can see in the picture of me with a few of my teammates (that's me on the right).My next planned race is a duathlon at the end of the month. I think I'll be skipping the duathlon after that (I think the entire adult team is skipping it) and then we have the national triathlon championships in Eilat on December 2nd to close the season.
posted by bari | 14:25
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