Mighty Magnolia Race Report

Mighty Magnolia Triathlon
.3 Mile Swim, 16.5 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run
October 13, 2012
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

This weekend wrapped up the 2012 tri season with the Mighty Magnolia Triathlon in my new hometown, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

I had several reasons to be excited about this race. #1, my two favorite men (husband, Kyle and rocketdad, Mike) were going to be racing with me. #2, the race was local, so we would be surrounded by new friends. #3,...

This was an extremely important race for me. At this point, I've been training consistently for about 6 weeks, so this was a chance to track my improvements and see where I need to focus in the preseason. I think because I've actually been working hard I felt a lot of added pressure to perform well, so I was feeling a little anxious.

The weekend kicked off with a pasta party on Thursday night. We had a blast.... I've missed being around people with similar interests! Conversation topics included racing strategies, swimming in general, goals/expectations, and making a bet with one of the slackers at masters to start swimming again if I beat him (his idea, not mine... BTW Lee, I still haven't seen you at 5:30!)

My dad arrived late Friday evening, so we socialized briefly before hitting the hay. We got an early start Saturday and made it to the race site with plenty of time to warm up and get situated prior to race start.

The swim was wetsuit legal, so I opted to wear mine mainly because I don't like cold water. I figured the extra buoyancy might help a little, too. The fog was REALLY thick. During my warm up, I swam out towards the center of the lake, aiming towards a kayak to practice some open water sighting. Within about 100 yards I lost sight of the kayak... I kept going, and when I finished my warm up I was told they were delaying the race start until some of the fog cleared up.

The Race:

SWIM: 8:22.3
Swim entry was seeded by the order of race entry, so I was #178. Prior to race start, I was nervous about getting caught up by slower swimmers ahead of me, but it seemed to spread out pretty well and I didn't have much of a problem getting around people. The course was pretty much a straight shot- you enter the water on one side of the lake and follow the crescent to a beach area. I stayed on the inside, closest to the buoys and hugging the curve. The only trouble I had with the swim was after I passed the last buoy- It was difficult to see the swim exit, so I'm pretty sure my path wasn't as direct as I would have liked. I thought somewhere between 8 & 8:30 would be a realistic swim time for me. The timing mat was away from the beach right in front of the transition area, so my watch time read 7:54+, official time 8:22.3. I'll take that!

T1 :57.4
Once in the transition area I stripped my wetsuit as fast as I could. Unfortunately, it got caught up around my ankles and I had a hard time getting it around my timing chip. It didn't bother me too much at the time-  I was pretty tired after that swim, and a couple seconds wouldn't make THAT much of a difference in the end (wrong...).

BIKE: 46:15.4   21.4mph
This is a TOUGH bike course. Rolling hills, rough roads, headwind that seems to stay in front no matter what direction you're going, and a couple of steeper hills that'll get you out of the saddle. Last years' participants warned me how difficult it really was, and after a couple of practice rides, I told myself I wouldn't be disappointed if I averaged 20mph. That was my goal. Maybe my bike computer needs to be re-calibrated,  because I really didn't think I was in the 21 range... (but I'll take that, too!)

T2 :33.9
Get in, get out.

RUN: 22:12.6   7:24min/mile
I found the run course challenging, too. Lots of rolling hills. The first mile and a half my legs were just screaming and all I could think about was willing myself to not walk. The second half I finally found my legs. I knew I was having a great run (for me), and that kept me going. At the end, I was grateful for those speed-work sessions, asthma attack and all, especially if it means less time of running.

Finish: 1:18:21.6
I placed 2nd overall, finishing just 5 seconds behind first. It was a little disappointing being THAT close and falling short, but overall I was extremely pleased with my times. What's more, I actually tied to the 10th of a second with one other girl, so we "shared" second. Can I just say, that NEVER happens!? I don't think I've EVER seen a sprint tri with times that close... Hindsight, the times in Clermont ARE going to be that close, so I need to get used to the idea of training and racing HARD like the seconds actually count (at least I'm realizing sooner than later that they DO).

As difficult as that race was, I'll definitely be back next year! Let's face it, EVERY triathlon is hard- if it's not, you're not racing hard enough! I loved this race, and am proud that we have such a well organized event here in Hattiesburg.  I met participants from Louisiana, Texas, and Tennessee, but many of the participants were from Hattiesburg- I LOVE seeing this sport gain popularity in our community. Many thanks to USAT certified RD Ben Hughes, sponsors, and volunteers for giving us a great race! Look forward to coming back in 2013!

See Race Results