2 Races, 1 Post!

So lets play catch up! For the past three weeks in a row I have had races every weekend! Crazy I know! The last post I gave you the low down on the Philadelphia Women’s Tri. Great race! Last minute I decided I would take part in a race similar to this race, but in Jersey, Queen of the Hill.

Queen of the Hill is also an all women’s sprint triathlon. Here’s the breakdown

Swim- 400 meters

Bike-10 miles

Run-5k (3.1)

Here’s my numbers and how I think I performed. This is a much smaller race, but it’s growing a name for itself and the Mullica Hill Women’s Tri Club is now getting a bigger crowd to this race.

Swim 8:23. This is great for me! I am not a swimmer and I had a mild panic attack in the swim portion. Don’t ask me why, I have swam in this lake plenty of times! I think I was really psyched up to race and just couldn’t catch my breath. My garmin showed this swim as only 390 meters tho! So that could justify the 8:23 time!

Bike 35:18. Averaging around 18.7 mph on the bike. The bike is something I am constantly woking on. Since I am always on the go it can be hard to actually get on my bike and train. No excuses-I do get on the spin bikes while traveling, but come on you know it’s not the same! Happy to see progress

Run 24:28. My run times have been getting so much faster! That makes me so happy! This course had some small hills. When you get off your bike and start to run you just feel so stiff and like you are moving in slow motion. It usually takes me a quarter of a mile to really feel warmed up and like my legs are actually working.

Overall I finished Queen of the Hill in 1:13:13, 2nd in my Age Group and 10th Overall.

Now lets move on to this weekend, NJ State Tri.

Swim-500 meters

Bike-11.5 miles

Run-5k (3.1)

This is defiantly one of the most competitive triathlons I have ever been to. I mean these people will eat you up and spit you out with how fast they are. I know I had to really focus on doing my best if I wanted to be any where near the top of my age group who really are fast af. (GOALS!)

Swim 10:34. Ok, but not good, but a huge improvement from my time last year at this race. Which I will take. So, remember I said these people will eat you, lets start with they will swim over you and take you out before they even run you over with the bike! I know my time is nothing to brag about, but I actually had no issues on the swim this year or this weekend! No panicking and I didn’t let others push me around in the swim! (Small victories!)

Bike 36:16. Small improvements here! Averaged around 19.03 mph on the bike! I can’t exactly remember, but I feel like this course changed a little bit from last year. Nevertheless it is pretty flat for the most part. One issue I’ve never had before-I was leaving transition, helmet on (of course) and I felt something pop inside of my helmet! Oh shit I thought, as long as this thing stays on I can still ride, otherwise I will be DQ’ed! I rode all 11.5 miles with this bobbling helmet because the piece that lets you adjust the tension and tightness popped out. After the race it was an easy fix, but I was not stopping during the race!

Run 24:10. This number makes me so happy. Averaged 7:47 minute miles! My best 5k time from a year ago is 24:08 to see 24:10 at the end of a race means there’s progress happening! Yes! Solid finish!

Overall I finished NJ State Tri in 1:15:10, 11th Age Group, 48th Female, 267 out of 1381 participants. You can do the extra math if you like, but I am proud of those numbers, but want to continue to work and build to be stronger and faster.

Next weekend I have an organized bike ride and then just solid training until Atlantic City Olympic Tri then Ironman Atlantic City 70.3. Send all the positive training vibes my way please!

xx

Leann

 

Women’s Philadelphia Triathlon

Sunday was the first all women’s triathlon I had ever competed in. Let me just start this blog by saying-don’t under estimate the competition at one of these races! This race was the inaugural event by DelmoSports and if you aren’t familiar with the racing scene-DelmoSports has a hold on everything in the Jersey shore area and facilitates great races.

So let’s get to the nitty gritty and break it down! First year of this race and completely sold out! You have no idea what the competition is going to be like so you best bring your A game!

The Swim-

Normally in a triathlon the swim is in open water-put it in the city and your options are a bit limited. This was a pool swim at Kelly Pool next to the Please Touch Museum. The thing that makes it a bit difficult was it was serpent style-so you swim up and down each lane swimming underneath the lane lines at the end to enter the new lane. It was also self seeded meaning you had to know your approximate time it takes you to swim 400 meters. The swim was a bit of a cluster. They were letting two in at a time and if you started on the right you were already at a disadvantage trying to beat the person next to you to swim under the lane line at the end. I placed myself toward the beginning of the 8:00 minute group which I think was a bit of a mistake on my part. I am an okay swimmer, not my most confident part of the sport, but I’ve been working hard to improve. I normally can finish a 400 m swim just under 8 mins so I should have placed myself up further to avoid the mess at the end of the lane lines. There were times where it was almost impossible to pass people and I ended up swimming in the middle between two athletes to get ahead. With that being said I finished my swim in 7:22

Transition 1-

Sprinting out of the pool I heard a familiar voice encouraging me to get a move on it. Thanks Will! I got to my bike, plopped down on the ground and threw on my bike shoes on as quick as I could. Strapped my helmet on and starting running with my bike out of transition. Watch that big curb you had to step off of! Time 2:05-Could definitely use some improvement.

The Bike-

I just got a brand new triathlon bike from Liv-the Avow advanced pro. This baby makes a world of a difference when shifting! The course starts out on a nice down hill, but there are a few turns to be aware of. There was a slight climb on the way out of MLK drive and I actually had the road to myself to a bit which was really nice. The turn around point was pretty narrow so I was glad I didn’t have a crowd of bikes around me. You then bike to the other end of MLK and with a nice climb back up the hill to get into transition. I ended the bike in 29:05 which shows great room for improvement- someone light a fire under me please! I averaged around 19 mph on the bike which isn’t horrible, but I know I can put the pedal to the medal a little bit harder.

Transition 2-

2 sports down, one to go, and I was in my element for sure at this point. The run is “my thing.” Bike racked, helmet off, running shoes on, grab the hat, sunglasses, and race belt and go! 1:16 much better! Let’s run!

The Run-

5k=3.1 miles. At first your legs are tight from the bike, but with a short race like this you don’t have much time to really think about it. With only 3 miles to run-you have got to get moving. After about a quarter mile I was starting to get into my rhythm. I settled into a good pace at the first mile of 8:35 and kept pushing. I knew I was getting close to the end and yelled out where is the finish? A spectator yelled back 400m, ok I can let it go now and sprint, but when I turned the corner it was much longer than 400m! I held back some until I really made the final turn and then sprinted to the finish. My run time was 24:12. It felt great with no aches or pains.

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Overall finish time of 1:04:01 and placing 3rd in my AG. I would love to shave off those 4 minutes to make it a flat 1 hour race, but it’s going to take some work. I’ve got another sprint triathlon coming up in two weeks-NJ State. This race brings a great crowd and tough competitors.

I was happy with my performance with the Women’s Philadelphia Triathlon and it just shows me hard work does pay off, I’ve got a way to go to reach my goals, but this is just a stepping stone in the right direction.

Another huge element of this race for me was having 3 of my Savage Tri Team members also racing. I felt like a proud mother hen to have them there representing our amazing team. This group of women are totally relentless, motivated, and badass!

Stay tuned for more race recaps!

xx

Leann