C'ville Sprint Tri

What a great day to get back into the sport. The weather was great and no flat tires!

0.3 mi swim, 16 mi bike, 3 mi run

I slept only 4 hours before the race, but arrived with plenty of time to set up my bike and transition stuff. Then I asked the nice guys from C'ville Bike and Tri to double check the air pressure in my tires. Amy and Mattie raced too, and Liz was there to cheer us on.

The weather was great. No rain, low humidity, and only a little hot on the run, but we were under the tree cover so that helped a lot.

I ate 1.5-2 hours before the race, but my stomach was very upset by the middle of the swim. Then I threw up as I was leaving the water, but I worked through it and finished with a decent swim time. I just hope the photographer does not post it.

The bike portion was great. I felt confident from all of my bike training for the MS150, and familiar with the route. I knew when the hills were coming and I could mentally prepare myself for them, and I powered through the down-hills. Passing people felt great too, even though most of them were over 40 or under 20 (ages are written on athletes' legs). My stomach calmed down a little, but I could not tolerate the Gatorade more than a small sip at a time.

The run was hard. My stomach was really upset again, but I was not thinking about my legs, which usually feel like lead weights after the bike. Things calmed down by the first mile (thanks to the mile markers on the trail). My asthma kicked in and I used my inhaler at least 4 times. But I felt great being on the trail in the woods and I was transformed back to hiking NZ in my mind. I fell only once, and surprised myself with a great karate spin-side fall, and with nothing hurt, I jumped up and kept running.

I competed in the Athena group, for women over 150 lbs, all ages. Several in my group beat me by only a few minutes which was frustrating. But looking back on my race, I gave it my all, and had a great time.

Word of the day: Don't try anything new for a race until it is tested in
training. Down to the smallest detail.

Rank/Time:
Swim: 61 00:12:51
T1: 54 00:02:07
Bike: 71 01:08:02
T2: 72 00:01:24
Run: 86 00:36:50
Overall time: 02:01:12
Overall rank: 77/112 women

Cville Sprint Tri

Tomorrow I am racing my first triathlon in almost two years (and since my back injury). The last time I raced this course, the Cville Sprint Tri, was in 2006, my first race ever. I blew my tire and had all the tools to repair it, but could not get the tire off (it was the very stiff Armadillo style tire). It had rained heavily that morning and there was a lot of debris on the road, and I might have under-inflated my tire, causing a pinch-flat. A race volunteer drove me back and I finished the run portion.

From Hampton Triathlon

So now I have a chance to redeem myself, and hopefully improve my times. I am better prepared physically because I have a lot of practice biking on the hills.

This race is special because the run is all on trails at Walnut Creek Park, mostly flat and well covered with trees. The soft ground is easier on the joints and the shade is nice in the heat. But the trail can be uneven and requires you to pick up your feet more than on the road. But this time I promise not to hold anything back on the bike portion, and let whatever happen on the run.

From MS 150 Rides

Trying not to overdo it.

Things have been very busy here. My mind has finally returned to this world (and country, time zone, etc), and I am in full gear training mode. The spring weather is good for the mood, but hard on the sinuses. I seem to have a perpetual sore throat from the pollen too. But I still love springtime in central Virginia.

Wednesday was a great training ride (for the MS150 Tour), this time from Amy's house (our team leader). The route lead us past some nice houses, country churches, farms, country clubs, and the Foxfield horse race track. I am really enjoying these rides because I am seeing some parts of the area that I have never seen or appreciated before. You absorb your surrounding so much more on a bike than when you drive fast in a car. I wish I could have taken pictures along the way.

From MS 150 Rides

Thursday was me and Tom at BeerRun with Jere and the club. A spring thunderstorm made things interesting. We got an awesome bottle of Pinot Noir from Central Otago, NZ, a region we visited near Queenstown.

Friday was a great Karate practice. I spent the first hour teaching Basic One to a pair of 10-year-old white belts. The next 1-1/2 hours I spent working on my One-Steps and knife defenses with Amir (sp?), an awesome black belt whom I had not worked with much before now.

Saturday morning was another successful training ride. We rode 22 miles from Walnut Creek Park, the route of the Charlottesville Triathlon International Distance. My longest ride yet, and I managed to keep up my previous average speed. Again the scenery was beautiful with the trees in full bloom. We drove past several creeks along the side of the road that were flowing well due to the recent spring showers. The road itself was in bad shape and made for a rough ride. I felt pretty good afterward, and thought, "Maybe I can do the International Distance Triathlon," but then I would have to now run 7 miles, and that does not sound like fun.

From MS 150 Rides

Saturday night Tom and I went to wine tasting (NZ wines), a club event, and sushi afterward.

Sunday was a 10 mile hike in the Shenandoah, but those pictures will have to wait for another day.

Today was an easy swim in the pool.

A small summary of my last 5 days. I am getting tired just writing about it. Time to get some well deserved sleep.

Today's bike ride

Today was the first of my MS150 Tour De Vine training rides.  It was with the OASC team and they were very nice to stay with me even though I was a little slow.  We went 13.5 miles, and my average speed was 13 mph.  The last hill was hard, but I managed it just fine without stopping.  The ride made me realize how easy my commute really is!  I still have a way to go for training, but I am committed to completing the tour.

Thanks James for letting me borrow your GPS.

From MS 150 Rides

From MS 150 Rides

Please consider sponsoring my bike tour by donating to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Your help is much appreciated.