Mossman Sprint Triathlon - July 10, 2016 - Katie's Race Report

SWIM

At the water's edge, with less than a minute to go, waiting for the bullhorn to sound our start, a woman looked over at me and said, "Didn't I meet you at the Wilton Y?"

"Maybe. I'm Katie."

She said, "I'm Flo."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! Sorry I didn't recognize you in your cap and goggles!"

This woman is a retired professional long course triathlete, who all the women in the Wilton Y pool said I needed to speak to when I asked if they knew of any swim coaches. When I finally met the infamous Flo one morning In the locker room - after seeing her Ironman bag and asking which course she raced - she was friendly, but seemed somewhat disinterested in coaching due to having a newborn at home, and an understandably stringent schedule. She did give me her phone number and suggested I could maybe touch base some time later. Anyway, it was nice to share the front line of the swim start with her.

0.5 mile swims are a nice change from my normal 1.2 mile distance. I hammered-out at a speed and cadence completely unsustainable for my normal long course racing. In fact, I managed a pace at only 4 seconds slower per 100 yards than my most recent t-pace test. I was incredibly happy with that.

T1

Just a short, quick run off the beach to where my trusty Tomahawk was waiting.

Something new I tried: baby powder in my socks. I've read people rave about how much quicker/easier it makes slipping into socks. Not the case for me. Could be because mine were damp from the drizzle. Perhaps worth another try on a clear day.

Setting up transition at 5:30 a.m. in the drizzling rain.

I had issues clipping-in at the mount line due to wet shoes/pedals. Took some patience and several tries, then geared up and went pedal-to-the-metal for the entire 12.5 miles, only easing up on a few sharper turns due to wet pavement. By my Garmin, I averaged 21.0 mph, and maxed out at 33.2.

I've been wanting to learn how to clean & lube my bike for a while, so the night before the race, Zach gave me a primer in our living room. :-) I can't be losing watts with a dirty chain!

T2

I nearly knocked the bike next to mine off the rack and about had a heart attack! I adjusted his handlebars to where they were before Tomahawk assaulted them. Sorry, dude.

RUN

I went as hard as my respiratory system could manage, which was thankfully sub-7min miles, like I wanted. I failed to switch my watch to run mode and thus have no mileage splits - just a 3.04 mile T2 that took over 20 minutes. Haha. (Note: I since converted the data file to a run and got my average splits).

On the out-and-back section, I took note that I was the 3rd place overall female, about 3 minutes behind teammate Caroline, and about 90 seconds behind another woman (who turned out to be Flo).

My goal going into this race was to secure my first overall female podium placement, and to also put in a really good run. I'd consider it a success on all levels, given I am truly not trained for short course racing.

Next up: New Jersey State Triathlon on July 24!

Coach, Caroline (1st Overall Female), and me (3rd Overall Female)