Race Goals

Tomorrow we (momo, S, Heather & Sara) leave for Las Vegas to do the Rage in the Sage Triathlon.

I have actually raced on this course 3 times before. My very first triathlon was at this course. It wasn't the Rage race, it was put on by Mountain Man Events. I did the sprint triathlon. I had NO idea what I was doing.


I wore a 2 piece swimsuit, threw some running shorts on top of them for the bike & run. I was riding this:



Are you laughing yet? It gets better....
I had only used my clip less pedals/shoes about twice...
I didn't use body glide
I barely new how to shift....
WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING? Well, I'm pretty sure I wasn't. Unfortunately, I can't find the race results in old archives to tell you about it. But I remember the bike leg being something like 56mins.... the swim (600m) was like 17mins..
I guess, I've come a LOOOONNNG way :-)
The next time I raced on this course was in September of 05. This was my first triathlon since my IT band surgery. First race in a couple of years, in fact. It was the same course (Mountain Man Events), but the Olympic Distance.

A few things to note about this race. I was nervous as heck. My training was going well, BUT I had only been "running" for about 4.5months, post surgery... My training was focused around swimming time to give my body more healing time.

S & I had bought new tri-bikes (oh, yes.. we had rode bikes too - that was decided about 2 sprint races AFTER the Hybrid purchases). S got a fantastic deal on a Felt B2. The guy at the bike shop bought one, and ended up changing his mind that he wanted the QR Lucero. So, he was selling his B2 for over $1000 off MSRP.
Well, if S was getting a fancy bike I just had to have one too. This is what I landed with...


I was convinced the flames were going to make me SO fast!!!

Well, All I had was problem after problem with this bike. It was a constant battle with the gears. I was in & out of the bike shop for like 3 weeks. I'm sure they thought I didn't deserve this bike. Well, FINALLY the owner take a look at it.... He said, there is no way the gears should be slipping like this. He told me to come back in about 20mins. I did.... When I walked in he said, do you want the good news or the bad news?

I said, I'm racing in 2 weeks JUST TELL ME! The frame was cracked. I guess when the manufacturer put together the bike, they did something wrong & cracked it. Had something to do with the real derailleur. They said they would call QR & get new one shipped out ASAP.

So, what was next... a 4 hour bike ride on my road bike that I had not ridden in a LONG time... OUCH.... that hurt. Don't get me wrong, I love this bike. BUT, it was not set up in a good aero position & I had never been on her for more than 3 hours.

Anyway - About 2 days later I received a call from my LBS. QR had NO more Calientes in my size. I had 2 choices. Keep my components & put them on the QR Tequilo (which they said was the SAME frame) or QR would upgrade me to the all Carbon Lucero for only $100.

UGh... was there REALLY a choice :-)

Back to my point. I received my new bike just 2 days before the race. Oh, an also my wheels. They are 650's and QR sent 700s so had been borrowing a set from the LBS. So, I did this race on 2 days of getting to know my new bike (mini-me).

This is a LONG story.. sorry, but it's not over with. I got a couple of flats during those 2 days. I went thru about 5 tubes. In LV we went for a test ride the day before the race. I got yet another flat. I was freaking out. So, we drove into Vegas (about 45mins) to hit a bike shop. I bought a new tire, they changed the tube (again) and I was on my way. Wait - BANG!!!! The tire blue in my hand before I was even out the door.

They took it apart, again... Found that one of the spokes was poking thru the wheel & popping the tire.

Why do these weird things happen to me? I don't know, but they do.....

The race was pretty good. It was HOT, like 90+degs Overall, I was happy with my time. Much to improve on, but I was just starting out again (my runs are SLOWLY getting a little better) -

Swim 26:55 T1 4:17 Bike 1:31:03 T2 2:24 Run 1:05:00 TT 3:09:36

Last year we headed out to the same course, only it was a different Race Director (Rage). I have to say, this was by far one of the nicest Tris I've done. It was small, well organized, plenty of support and the transition was right out of the water, vs the Mountain Man one where you had to run UP to a parking lot that was about .25mile up out of the water.

They made the bike course a little more difficult by adding a pretty tough hill at the end. I even saw people walking their bikes up it. It was crazy...

My swim & bike were not as fast. The water was COLD - under 60degs. But, Improved my run & overall time a couple of minutes. And, I got 2nd place in my age group.

Swim 29:03 T1 1:56 Bike 1:32:15 T2 1:28 Run 1:02:16 TT 3:07:33

So, what's up for this year? Well, I've set some goals, which I have NEVER done in the past. I'm not going to share them with you though :-) I will after the race when I tell you if I reached them or not.

I'm hoping She-rahs borrowed ZootSuit makes me swim like a fish, Mini-me powers me up those hills (see course)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=876944

And I make myself run like I know I can. No wussing out....

Wish us all luck, and do the "no wind dance" :-)




Comments

Paul said…
Good luck! Let's hope the no wind dance works. If so I need to learn it.
April 21, 2007 at 12:24 PM
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