Tuesday, October 23, 2012

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


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Pelican Athletic Club Masters Meet Race Report

Pelican Athletic Club Masters Meet
Mandeville, Louisiana


Mandeville is located about 100 miles southwest of Hattiesburg. There were a few people from our Monday/Wednesday/Friday masters group heading down, so I was able to catch a ride with one of the couples, Elizabeth & Joseph Tullos. Kyle's mom surprised me with a delicious peanut butter flake snack that is apparently a swim meet staple. DELICIOUS!

I was feeling a little anxious, since my only experience with swim meets were with Kyle's club meets in Virginia with HUNDREDS of kids crammed onto a pool deck and mass chaos. Other anxiety factors included the starts (I kept seeing stars during practice) and those DANG FLIP TURNS (I had been forcing myself to do them over the past week and a half in preparation for the meet, but each pool length still felt like preparation for the next flip turn and hoping not to get a nose full of water). FORTUNATELY, the meet would be outside, so at least it would be a cheery atmosphere...

Not long after we hit the road, it started POURING. Apparently Mandeville is really close to Abita, a brewery that I have become increasingly fond of. We decided that if the swim meet was canceled, we would just tour the brewery and do a few tastings... My idea of a few tastings is to enjoy a taste of EVERYTHING, then do it a few more times. I think we were all on the same page. During the ride I pretty much convinced myself that the meet was going to be a bust and that I would be spending my morning drinking. I got my hopes up.

We got to the athletic club and were told the meet would go on as planned. It wasn't storming- just on and off downpour and they had a few canopy tents set up for coverage. After warm-ups, I got ready for my first event- the 50 Free. I was pretty nervous for the first race... wobbly legs and everything... But the buzzard blew and it was over before I realized it had started. The meet was extremely laid back, and all the events I raced in went by pretty quick-even the 50 breast where I choked on water...

 EXCEPT THE 1000 FREE. I was doing this one so that I would have an updated time for that distance so I could get some idea of where my swimming stands. I was dreading this one because I knew it was going to be 15-ish minutes of pain. And it was. My breathing felt labored in the first 100, and it stayed there, and I got lapped by the women on either side of me.... BUT I finished 20 seconds faster than my predicted time, and I hit ALL my flip turns :) Success.

Here are my times.
50 FREE- 30.49
200 FREE- 2:32.08
50 BREAST- 45.29
100 FREE- 1:08.72
1000FREE- 14:19.74