Train-n-Tri: What a Year of Training Can Do for You!!! PR!

Today I set a new PR at the LA Tri-Series Championship Event #3.

In my blog the other day I said I wasn't going to compare my stats from last year to this year.

I lied.

I also said in my blog that I wanted to complete today's tri in less than 3 hours and 52 minutes.

In case you missed the blog where I lied and set my time goal here it is:

http://train-n-tri.blogspot.com/2013/06/two-fer.html

Today I did complete the Olympic Distance Triathlon in less than 3 hours and 52 minutes.....

(officially it was 3:52:09 last year)

My finish was recorded at 3:51:25, a decrease of less than one minute - 44 seconds to be exact.

But I'll take it.

In my blog yesterday, I said I just wanted to have a Happy swim and a Happy bike and a Happy Run (aka jog/walk) and have fun spending Happy time with my triathlete friends.

I am happy to report that I was happy the entire day.

I think it was the first open water swim I have ever had that I was NOT nervous at all. Not at the beginning. Not in the middle. Not at the end. I enjoyed my swim and never once felt as if I was pushing it or was out of breath or even racing. I just had a nice even paced swim in the lake.

I was even happier when I saw that I cut 2 minutes and 10 seconds off my last year's swim time. Just to point out, I was NOT that happy last year during the swim.

(Yes, I am throwing some statistical comparisons in, but it will all make sense at the end)

Last year I rode Sarah, my road bike at this tri. This year I rode Hector, my tri bike. On Friday Hector got surgery and got his cassette switched from an 11/25 to an 11/28. My guy suggested I ride him around the block a couple of times last night to make sure everything was okay, but I was tired after work and had to pack and I didn't do it.

Our first lap at the tri today was a reintroduction.
Hello Henry.
He was a little different.

I didn't know his gears and we had to get reacquainted.

By the third lap we were becoming friends and though he doesn't like hills as much as Sarah, he LOVES downhills and flats.

At one downhill, no one was around me - no other cyclists or cars and the SLOW DOWN sign started to flash....

This wasn't the sign, but it is representative of the sign.

I figured the flashing SLOW DOWN sign was a sign from above to slow down and I did....a little.

Unlike other triathlons at Bonelli Park where I think how great it would be do be riding the horses instead of bike riding, I didn't think that today.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=489460221981185313#editor/target=post;postID=3175665255681537897;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=119;src=postname

(blog about last year's LA Tri-Series is the link above)

As I rode past the golf course today THREE TIMES, I did think about how nice it would be to be riding around in a golf cart with a little ice chest full of beer.

I actually yelled at a couple of players asking if they needed a driver for their cart.

They ignored me.

F%^#*& golfers.....they need to get out on a bike and have some fun.

Here's the stats: I decreased my bike time by 3 minutes and 3 seconds.

Oh, let's not get too happy.

I smiled when I saw that I decreased my T1 time (first transition) by 11 seconds. I spent a lot of my T1 time today practically laid out flat on the asphalt with cramps in both my calves. Luckily, I had an overripe banana waiting for me and it did the trick.

Maybe T1 was faster this year because I wasn't peeing on a towel while I was changing into my bike shoes.

(You have to read last year's blog to hear about that because I am NOT revisiting that story now).

T2 this year was another story - 1:45 longer than last year.

I think it was because I went out of transition and hit the porta-potty before I went over the timing mat.

What's a race without a porta-potty?

Last stat - my run was 2 minutes 53 seconds longer than last years......

but last year I didn't stop and lean against a tree and pee..oh, yeah, I did that this year. I just could not run one more mile with a sloshing bladder.

I am sure my mother would not like to know it was just as if I was in first grade and stood at the lunch table and peed my pants...except this time I had it planned and I leaned so it wouldn't go in my shoes.

Give me a gold star.

Here is the biggest comparison of them all.

This year I am a year OLDER than last year.

So, if I can shave any time off my event while adding a year on to my life....I am HAPPY!!!!

Now just for some fun pics of the day!

The first timing chip they gave Barb. It looked as if a shark had eaten part of it off a swimming triathlete, or maybe a pit bull had eaten part of it off a running triathlete. We made her turn it in and get a new ankle bracelet.

Before the race - predictions?

Sorry, Jeanne and Shirley, you are in the wrong place. Barb is in the right place.

Photo: 2nd place! 3 hrs 15 min 6 seconds. Took a fall on the 5 mile of the run, but still finished strong! Boom!

Barb finished second in her age group, even after taking a tumble on mile 5 of her run. She only wonders why there were not a lot of cute paramedics around to help her out with her contusions.