Hope you are all having a great summer and good training! I know most of you are not interested in tri's or du's but for the few that are thought I would give you an update on my new tri-athlon career (hahaha).
Haven't been posting much for months. Finding the full time work and training for tri's and a marathon simultaneously is very time consuming.....eat, drink, sleep, work, run, bike, swim, laundry...........that's about it!
I had done one in 2011 but said I would never do one again until my swimming was much better. Spent all winter swimming 3-4 times a weeks at the same time I was training for another full, which I ran another PB, with an almost even split and finished in 4:10. I am 100% confident the swimming boosted my fitness another notch.
So thought I would give you a small RR on the tri we did last weekend. Did a pool tri June 9th, a lake tri June 16th and last weekend was our first ocean tri.
See photos of the venue below. Looks oh so innocent here after the winds and ginormous waves had died down much later in the day. Gorgeous venue, the finish mat was just at the end of the boardwalk facing the ocean.
The wind was so fierce that they had to delay the race until they could retrieve the race buoys which had blown halfway down the beach. The waves were huge, you couldn't really swim properly or see other swimmers until you crested a wave.
Wind was equally brutal on the "out" portion of the bike but much faster on the way back.
I finished the last 1/2 mile of the run with this really cool super-fit older tri-guy....we ran our asses off and sprinted to the finish laughing on the nice springy boardwalk to where hubby was waiting (after having already finished of course).
Despite the winds, waves, swallowing generous amounts of salty sea water and being stung 3 times by jelly fish (once in the face) I look back on it fondly!LOL
Have not yet been able to find any photos from the race but I am sure they will turn up eventually.
Despite the obstacles I still finished in 1:41, only 1 minute slower than my hilly tri a few weeks earlier. I was able to turn in a 27:26 5k run after the hard swim and bike so I was very happy with that.
And I totally feel like a bad ass triathlon girl after going thru all that and not giving up.
Also a couple of photos of me racing from the other tri's.
Don't call me Buttercup!
Bad jellyfish! Bad! =)
You rocked it, as always. Love the pics!
Slow and steady wins the.... wait a second! I've been lied to!
Swimming in the ocean? Uh yeah, no. Not for this city boy!
Good stuff Beth! What were the distances for the swim and bike?
It was a sprint ..sometimes the distances can vary a bit due to the course restrictions , distance between transitions etc. Makes it hard to compare races for PB purposes, Esoecially since each course can be drastically different. This was 750 meter swim , 22 k bike, 5 k run
From the Internet.
Nice job under tough conditions! Thanks for sharing
The idea of triathlons intrigues me but I'm still a terrible swimmer (don't like when my feet can't touch the bottom) and I haven't owned or ridden a bike since high school. I will be content just to read about them for now!
Will run for scenery.
Yoiks! Jellyfish in the face ! That's BadAss, B.S.
Stupid feet!
Stupid elbow!
Meh, pretty much everyone got stung. Feels like a stinging slap in the face, not that I've ever
been slapped in the face but that's what I imagine it would feel like.
The water was full of them before the race and with the waves it was impossible to even try to
look out for them.
My main goal was to not have one get inside my mouth. Cause that would have really
sucked rocks.
Great job Beth & to your husband as well! Congratulations. Such a strong finish in the run, sounds like you paced yourself well across the three disciplines. I'm also juggling marathon & tri training at the same time, but kind of feel like I'm cheating both.
I'm curious...was the water temperature an issue for you at all? Good luck in your upcoming Olympic. Is this also an ocean event?
Hip Redux
I draw the line at jelly fish!! Damn, great job. Ocean swims are no joke.
Ouch at the jellyfish! Congrats.
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
You can say that again sister!
Great job Beth & to your husband as well! Congratulations. Such a strong finish in the run, sounds like you paced yourself well across the three disciplines. I'm also juggling marathon & tri training at the same time, but kind of feel like I'm cheating both. I'm curious...was the water temperature an issue for you at all? Good luck in your upcoming Olympic. Is this also an ocean event?
Thanks! I can say that I'm very happy that at 51 1/2 I can run a 5k time in a triathlon that is faster than what my
5K PR used to be when I was a young thing of 48. My 5k PR from last fall is 25:29, so this tri 5K was only 2
minutes slower. I know I have a faster 5K in me now but I don't know if I can fit a 5K race into my schedule this
year to see for sure.
The water temp was 60 which is super warm for ocean water up here. We were wearing wetsuits so not
an issue at all except for the first shock of water going inside the suit. Good thing or there would have been
a lot more jellyfish stings on the body.
The Olympic is a river/lake swim...........that's the best way I can describe it. We are driving 12 hours to
Ottawa to visit our son for the Labour Day weekend and doing the race that Saturday morning. There is a
section were the Rideau River widens called "Mooney Bay" out drastically and they call it a "bay" although
it's inland. Check it out on google maps.
So will be doing the tri right in the middle of Ottawa. It's going to be superfun!!
You are amazing. Wonderful job!
Thanks WIP, or maybe just crazy but whatever. We are having a hell of a lot of fun!
Smaller By The Day
My neighbor does tri's. I have a lot of respect for anybody who does. Sounds like you're making great progress, but you've convinced me to stay out of the ocean. Congrats!
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013