American Triple T:
So, I decided to do Triple T this year. Below is the
article and a cool video on it. It’s 4 triathlons in 3 days that equal the
140.6 miles, the same as an Ironman. Yeah, I got a lot of “You’re doing what?
Why?” when I told people about my awesome first race(s) for the season :)
- Friday: Super Sprint
- Saturday AM: Olympic #1 (swim, bike, run)
- Saturday PM: Olympic #2 (bike, swim, run)
- Sunday: Half Iron
My main strategy going into the race was to not think
about it too much, because it seemed pretty overwhelming and I thought it was
best to not be nervous. So, on the drive down Friday morning I started giving a
little thought to pacing… just enough to feel like I have some semblance of a
plan, but not so much that I got freaked out. I decided that half iron pace
would probably be a good bet… and confirmed that with TBC coaches and killer athletes Adam and Scott when
I saw them after the first race.
Friday: Super
Sprint
I have never done anything this short. And, really less
than 30 minutes? Why not just go balls out the entire time? So, that’s what I did.
Well, minus the swim because I’m pretty sure I only have one speed in open
water… something to work on (on-speed-wonder). 250 meter swim, 3.5 mile bike straight up a giant
hill to the lodge and back down, 1 mile run. I don’t see myself as much of a
sprinter… so, surprisingly, this was the one race I won all weekend.
 |
| That's my butt in this stolen picture. Start of the SUPER SPRINT! |
Saturday AM:
Olympic #1
 |
| Bike course = country roads with lots of HILLS |
This is the standard order Olympic… SWIM.BIKE.RUN. I found
my rack buddies, super speedy coed team 122 and 123, and started with them (I was
number 124). The bike course was SUPER hilly, so I tried to stay strong on the
uphills and focuses / not so afraid of the downhills. But, let me tell you, I get
OWNED on the downhills. Seriously. Owned. I ride the brakes like it’s my job.
Especially down this one corner that they made a huge deal out of… I went real
slow and got swallowed up by like 6 people. So, maybe I didn't really have to go THAT slow. It will come with experience maybe. Hopefully. Anyways, I pushed on and tried to keep some girls in my sights back into transition. Onto the run course... which is no joke… like 3 miles out uphill and 3 miles back mostly downhill. A
group of 3 girls were just ahead of me, so I had people to chase and probably
ran this a tad too fast (well, definitely too fast if I was following the “half
ironman” pace plan). So bike watts were right in my half IM range (also sadly,
not that far off of Olympic distance races from last year…) and the run was a
tad fast at a 6:40 average (maybe someday…).
Saturday PM:
Olympic #2
 |
| Run course = BRUTAL hills. |
Before the race I got to rest my legs in Adam Zucco’s
recovery boots. OH MY GOODNESS. They are freaking amazing. How have I never tried
those before?! So, I stretched, foam rolled, used recovery boots and ate a
bunch of food… and, decided that I was ready to rock the second race of the
day. The bike was a different course, but still hilly. My power ended up being
almost exactly the same. Which is super exciting… to me… and only me. But,
feeling like I have a handle on pacing and what hitting my target numbers is
awesome…. and, relatively new for me. THEN, after the bike, I PUT A WETSUIT ON
MY SWEATY BODY. I thought it would be impossible. But, with plastic bags over
my feet, it actually went relatively quickly. I'm proud of myself... can you tell? And, then I started swimming and
felt TIRED. So, decided that I would just chill out and swim. I pulled more
than I ever have in a race probably. Resting those legs for the run! And,
assume that I was maybe only a little slower (because I pretty much have one speed...). The run was really
where you could tell this hurt a lot more than the morning. I remember thinking
“this was so much more fun earlier”. Mission: run up the hills, who cares how
slow. Stay solid on the flats and descents. 3 minutes slower on the run, 5
minutes slower overall.
Sunday: Half Iron
My legs were DEAD Saturday night. So, goal switched to
hopefully holding Ironman pace… and not walking in the run. I swam with my rack
buddies again and that was pretty uneventful. I loved seeing the swim start
switch from the super charged sprint into the water of the first two races into
a slow slog into the water. Race life moved slower on Sunday :) My big fail from the
bike was a wrong turn that I took with 2 guys on the first loop. I followed one around a corner
and directly up this giant hill. I wasn't paying attention and was a little
thrown because I didn't notice an arrow. But, they were going that way… so it
must be right… right?! it wasn't. They took off once it was flat and I was solo
for maybe 8 miles. I knew it was wrong, but tried to keep my head in the game. I
sprinted past the house with crazy dogs and survived the crazy descent. AND,
met back up with the course a few miles before the turn around. I knew my way
was long when I re-passed a girl I had gone by towards the start of the loop.
Better to be long than short! And, I met up with another TBC guy before the
turn-around and we ended up riding together the second loop which was SO NICE.
Kept me moving on the downhills and pushed each other on the flats and uphills.
And, was nice having someone to chat with during the race. So, not normal… but,
that’s triple t I guess! And, then the run.... was survival mode. Ran the first
loop and died on the 2nd. I wasn't gaining on the girl in front of me
AT ALL during the first loop and then walked an aid station and was done for.
Lots of walking up the hills! And, wishing I was being tougher. But, my legs
were SO TIRED!! It was tough. I made it though and it wasn't my worst half
iron! Getting tougher?! Hopefully!!
 |
| I survived! That tri top was disgusting after 4 races though... I'm sure we all smelled lovely on Sunday. |
Overall, the weekend was really cool. I loved seeing the
sea of triple t race tops and that everyone was suffering together. It was
almost one of the more mellow races I've done. Getting to transition just
before the race starts… everyone just kind of working their way into a start
position and not being super spazzy about going in order of your numbers. It
was the hardest weekend I've ever done, but was a GREAT training weekend for
ironman and an excellent kick off to my season. I think I’m getting tougher and
this weekend helped prove that to myself a little (even if the run didn't go
quite as well as I would have liked). I think I ended up 3rd overall and 2nd in my division (women 25 to 39) which is awesome and better than I expected. Despite it being a painful weekend... I may be hooked and back again next year!
No comments:
Post a Comment