The most recent event will be at the top, oldest at the bottom. If I can ever figure it out how to do it I will have a list of events and link them to the report. Within each report I will have the event name, location and date. Distance, goals and results will be followed by the actual report. Finally I'll post select pictures from the events, be prepared, post triathlon euphoria can cause crazy pictures!
As always, learn from my mistakes PLEASE! :)
Iron Girl Racine - Racine, WI - July 31, 2011
Festival Foods Turkey Trot - Green Bay, WI - November 24, 2010
Distance: 5mi run
Goal: Maintain a 15m/mi pace or lower
Results: 1h:19m:24s Pace: 15m:34s/mile
Race Report Coming!
Aflac Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon - Racine, WI - July 31, 2010
Distances: 400m swim, 22k bike, 5k run
Goal: Finish in under 2h:30m
Results: S: 8m:58s, T1: 5m:42s, B: 55m:36s, T2: 2m:09s, R: 47m:28s Total: 1h:59m:53s
IT is within us all. It's what makes women heroic, charming and limitless. It is with us in difficult times and happy times, silly times and sad times. It is with us physically, mentally and emotionally. IT is GRACE. (From the IronGirl website.)
This race starts the day before race day! The Aflac Iron Girl, which is an ALL WOMENS' race, has a full expo where athletes must go to pick up their race packets, and of course buy cool stuff and receive all the fun race goodies (including the Aflac Duck pictured later)... You see where I am going on this. It was originally stated that we would be required to rack our bikes the day before the race, they decided against this for the 2010 race however. I was prepared to rack that day but decided to have the bike come to the hotel room with us. We did go to the race site and check things out and drove the bike course. You'll read some of my opinions on that later. I settled in to the hotel that night and got what sleep I could.
Race day dawned... WET and more than breezy. WET WET WET and still raining. Doesn't really matter, you're going to get wet anyway! I set up my transition area (in the rain) and became okay with the fact that nothing was going to be dry, debated going without socks (since they'd be virtually pointless) but decided against that because I'd never trained sockless. Everything was neatly placed where it belonged in my area, a little more concealed than before mostly just to keep some things (granola bars I usually unwrap during this time) drier. I met up with the other Foxes who were also doing the Iron Girl race, did mandatory pictures, put on my wetsuit and started the long trek down to the beach where the race would start. Did I mention it was a long trek?
The water was choppy. The popular question at the race talk the day before was 'will the race be cancelled if the waves are big'. Answer, no. This is Lake Michigan folks, the waves we had were very little compared to what they could have been! I went for a little swim, discovered that I could touch the entire course, did some warm up strokes (official race day water temperature was 65 degrees) and got out to gather with the rest of the women to wait for the race to start. There were going to be a whole whopping four waves for this race (of a total possible of 1000 entrants there were only ~400 that started the race) and they were rather large. Listening to the other ladies talk I realized that many were wearing wetsuits for the first time ever (there were no strippers here). The starting call was 'Ready, Set, AFLAAAAAAAAAAC' Trust me, it was funny.
The start of the swim was alright. It's a very nice beach without many zebra muscles, so no split feet to worry about. I started swimming and ran into a wall. A wall of aquajoggers. Evidently if they can touch they were going to walk. I'm faster if I can swim so I tried darting around them and going out further or in further to get around some of them. It kind of worked and I got a decent time in the swim for once. I felt good with the swim and didn't feel like the waves (which were maybe 2' high) had much, if any, effect on my swimming today. I got into a nice rhythm for a while and kept with it, until I hit another wall of walkers, then I quit trying to put my face in the water to breathe and could look out for people easier.
T1, for all of us, was HORRIBLE. The walk from the swim exit to the transition area was in DEEP sand and LONG. (Remember, I mentioned it was a long trek to the swim start, this was just as long.) We were given little towels to dry our faces and kiddie pools of water to get the sand off our feet once we got to the road... Those were great perks. Also remember, I mentioned that it was raining during my transition set-up... It finally quit, but all my stuff - including the towel I usually use to dry my feet, was soaked. So I used the little Aflac towel we were given at swim exit for that too! Ok... Helmet on, granola bar down, water down, sunglasses on, socks on, shoes on... Let's go! Walked the bike out of the transition area, mounted, waved to those who were there to cheer for me, and was off on the bike...
Up a hill to the main road. Great start...! Fortunately it is the only hill on the entire bike course. The main road however, left something to be desired. It was full of HUGE pot holes, I could have curled into the fetal position and fit IN some of them. No big deal, I have the mighty hybrid with great wide tires, honestly. With the wet conditions those with road bikes were taking it easy and with the pot holes they had to dart more than I did - and I still saw blown tires on several. Being July, and the sun was trying to make an appearance, it was getting pretty humid. This is a good time to point out, there were no aid stations on the bike course - carry extra water with you if you can I used up all my 24oz on the bike course. Everything is VERY well marked, volunteers and police are at EVERY intersection and they give you total right-of-way, and there are tons of people out there supporting you. I don't know if it is because it is all women or what it was, but there were uber excited kids EVERYWHERE cheering for not only their mommy but EVERY woman that passed by them. They were awesome! Back on the other side of the main road it wasn't much better, but I was still in a pretty big group so I was still in the thick of this one. Definitely not in the hunt for an award, but I wouldn't finish alone!
My T2 was relatively slow, and I can explain that. I had forgotten to put my bib on my race belt and had to do that with post-bike jelly legs weeble wobbling under me... And I might have almost left the transition area without it. Lesson learned - put it on the belt when setting up transition (as I had in Door County) and put the belt on before the bike (also as I had in Door County). Finally, ditched the helmet put on the hat, grabbed the water bottle and I'm off on the run...
Despite the claims, the run isn't totally flat. There are 3 pretty decent little hills that you must tackle... Not that they are bad, but they're there and you're jelly legged. It is, however, a beautiful run. Next to the zoo along the beach, through a very cute little neighborhood... Wonderful women all around you... It does not get any better! The run was nice. I ran over half of it before my hot spots and shin splints got the best of me and I was 'wogging'. It was okay, there were wonderful women with awesome stories to share. My mom found me about a 1/4 mile from the finish and ran about 200 yards with me - which I was thankful for - and I finished by running through the chute and then 'whoop whoop'ing to Junius (as is reflected in one of the pictures). At the finish line they give you a really cool wet sponge and a finisher medal.
I had made a goal to finish these two (Door County and Iron Girl) tri's within 2 weeks of one another, and both in under 2.5hours... I smashed that goal with this one and if the feeling coming through that finish line and hearing "Dana Laufenberg, You Are An IronGirl' is anything like what I'll feel when I finish an Ironman... I'm all over it!
Door County Sprint Triathlon - Egg Harbor, WI - July 17, 2010
Distances: 1/4mi swim, 18mi bike, 5k run
Goal: Finish in under 2h:30m
Results: S: 13m:38s, T1: 3m:30s, B: 1h:11m:54s, T2: 1m:50s, R: 48m26s Total: 2h:19m:19s
Race day dawned bright and slightly windy, more breezy than windy really. We arrived at Frank Murphy park plenty early, which granted us a really nice parking spot in the main lot/field across from the park. I had mentally prepared my transition area millions of times for this race and set-up went nice and smooth. Everything was in it's proper spot and easily accessible, my nutrition items were easy to grab, and any other gear I'd need was readily available. This time around I had made some awesome gear improvements over the last tri. I've moved up to a hybrid bike (we have lots of gravel trails, a road bike is in the near future), true triathlon shorts and a triathlon jersey. Proper running shoes, a race belt to hold the bib number, and lots of different energy gels which I have tried in training to know that they agree with my stomach. I've also added a water bottle for on the run since I got dehydrated during the Hudson triathlon. Finally, after a very cold training swim at Murphy Park in June I've added a basic wetsuit, not quite triathlon specific, but it will keep my core much, much warmer.
Once I have my transition area set up I slide into my wetsuit and go for a little swim. Despite my first training swim (where the water was a whopping 55 degrees) at this location this time the water was warm! Official race day temperature of the water was 73 degrees... It was almost tropical!
My wave was way towards the end so I was able to see some of the strategies of the other swimmers. Remember I mentioned it was breezy... That means big waves in the water. Being that the swim is in Horseshoe Bay of the Green Bay that actually means HUGE waves. They weren't whitecapping this year, as I heard they had been last year, but they were 4-5' rollers. Every swimmer was a bobber out there and some interesting strategies came about. My wave started and I was off... I figured it was fruitless to waste too much energy fighting the waves on the way out to the turning point, so I didn't. I did whatever I needed to do to get around that buoy and then I let the waves help me on the way back to the dock/swim exit. I did still have to stop to catch my breath a couple times (happens when you turn to breath and you get slapped with a wave) and by stop I mean grabbing one of the kayaks and stopping because the water is 10-16' deep, and I did get cut off by a lifeguard in a kayak staring at me as I'm yelling 'trying to swim here'... After I could touch again I began the process of finding my land legs again, which after the waves out there was an interesting process to say the least. Exiting the swim you are greeted by the 'strippers' who's purpose in the race is to help you strip off your wetsuit, thank goodness, I'd have been stuck in mine.
My T1 was pretty good. Everything was right where I needed it to be and I was able to get my feet relatively dry before I put on my socks then shoes this time. Slap on the helmet and sunglasses and I was walking my bike to the mounting zone.
Of course there were bikers already coming back, but again there was 42 minutes between the elite wave and my wave, 42 minutes is a long span of time for them to complete the swim and bike. I mounted and was off on the bike course. This is a VERY FLAT course, so hill work isn't the issue, it's the wind that can become an issue. Having a lighter and faster bike this time around really, and I mean really, made a difference. I was able to settle into a nice cadence and let myself enjoy the scenery and the residents who line their driveways to cheer us all on. I was in a relatively large group and since USAT rules state that you can't draft making significant moves up in the rankings gets dicey. They want you in a single file line, but you can't be closer than 6' to the bike in front of you and if you are going to pass you must complete the entire pass within 30s... You see where I'm getting here. I was able to pass a few people and make some headway though, most of all, I enjoyed the bike ride. The sun felt great, the crowd was awesome, and I was having a great time. Coming back in to transition I did forget to check myself and when I dismounted I had the classic jelly legs that couldn't quite function running my bike back to my transition area. Classic, just classic. I didn't biff it though.
T2 was, once again, speedy. Ditch the bike and helmet, stuff more gels into my jersey pocket, grab water bottle, put on hat and go.
The run was also VERY FLAT. The only tough part, you run right by the finish chute on your way... I heard some rather fantastic times (I thought so anyway) and kept right on running. On the bike I'd developed a funny tingling in my left foot, mostly my toes, that I thought would go away as I started moving... However, on the run it was almost getting worse. I knew it wasn't my shin splints (those were aggravated, but not furious with me yet) but I couldn't figure it out. It made me feel like I was slapping my foot down on the ground as I ran, kind of like you would if it were asleep. But it wasn't asleep, it was almost like it was on fire. I continued to run as much as I could, run 1min walk a little bit... Basically, my run was kind of dismal. About a 1/4 mile from the finish I decided that I was going to run the rest of the way - so I did. I'm glad I did, I wouldn't have been any less sore if I hadn't ran that last little bit and I felt good for doing it.
All in all I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Door County Sprint course. It was fun, it was well staffed, and it couldn't have been better! This was my first race as a Fox (technically still a Kit to Miss Jenny who also did Door County and was my mentor since I started with the Foxes) and it was awesome to wear such a visible jersey and hear "GO FOX" throughout the course from fellow Foxes and non-Foxes who just like our gear. That made it that much easier to get through some of the discomforts I had encountered. I have decided that my foot problem probably is 'hot spots' that develop as I work, I don't know if it is the socks or the shoes but I'll figure it out eventually!
There isn't enough that I can say about this race. It's a great destination race (Door County is the Cape Cod of the Midwest) but it's also very well run. Worth the trip and I'll be back next year!!!
St. Croix Valley Sprint Triathlon - Hudson, WI - September 5, 2009
Distances: 1/3mi swim, 10mi bike, 4mi run
Goal: Finish in under 2h:30m
Results: S: 16m:34s, T1: 4m:28s, B: 59m:31s, T2: 1m:12s, R: 1h:00m:17s Total: 2h:21m:29s
What can I say, my first attempt at a triathlon is in the books and I somehow stayed under my goal time!
This race was absolutely packed with DON'Ts, I'll point them out as I go along.
Race day dawned early and COLD. My dear friends George and Rachael came to pick up my gear and myself at 6am - which I later learned is actually late for most triathlons, thank goodness my first triathlon was a late starting one. We had one heckuva packed truck with us and the gear so, my parents got to drive themselves to the race.
I felt a bit like a lost puppy after we got there following the Walkers (George and Rachael) around and learning as I went. Where and how to rack a bike, where all the in's and out's of the transition area are, getting our packets picked up and body marked... All that crazy stuff half of which I didn't remember past doing it. My mind was definitely not present that morning. I got my transition area set up and had everything where I could see it and quickly grab it.
Heading down to the beach I was pleasantly surprised to see all shapes and sizes of people, I was not the most round person there! We're all on the beach, shivering, listening to last minute course reminders and rules, and waiting for race start. I'm thinking 'what have I gotten into... I'm going to do what... I'm going to do what after what after what... I don't remember the roads... I don't think I can move... Why are women getting in the water in shorts...' I was told that a swim suit would be okay but to remember there wasn't time to totally change so it would be better to wear something that you can do all three events in. I wore a workout tank top and bikini bottoms, I figured I was going to learn some kind of lesson out of that. Not long after that the air horn for my wave went off... Guess it's do or die time! Needless to say, I didn't get categorized as a DNS (did not start).
The swim was... Interesting. It was in the St. Croix River (which provides the WI/MN border north of where it meets with the Mississippi River, despite common belief, the 'muddy' Mississippi indeed holds it's name and while the St. Croix is a bit cleaner it's not by much) which was hovering right around 65-68 degrees that morning and was much warmer than the air. What one does not realize is that while we started in the swimming area beach we went beyond the swimming area boundaries, which are usually roped off and (what I didn't know) have the weeds 'mowed'. Beyond those ropes the weeds are not 'mowed' and they come nearly to the surface of the water, you will touch them every swim stroke and if you put your feet down for a rest (you can touch the entire course) you will be totally in the weeds. It was great encouragement to continue swimming the entire course. Weeds are my real water phobia, really the water itself. Coming out of the water everyone looked like sea monsters, that made me feel a lot better as I did put my feet down once and a bunch of weeds were wrapped around my legs and arms because of it. Overall I was satisfied with my swim, I swam all of it, I only rested once and there were still people from my wave in the water. Success!!
T1 was rather fast. I got most of the sand off my feet, shoved my damp feet into socks and put on my shoes... Gobbled down a banana, had some Gatorade, slapped on my bike helmet and sunglasses. After thought was to put on my shorts - I had almost forgot them and they had my bib number on them (which at this race you MUST have on you for the bike and run portions)... Good thing they're mesh basketball shorts and fit over my shoes. (Note - my lessons learned will be the last portion of the report.) I did remember to walk my bike to the mounting area - THERE WERE PEOPLE COMING BACK FROM THE BIKE ALREADY. Now I felt slow only to realize that there was 40 minutes between the first waves and my wave, I didn't feel as bad then. I mounted the bike and was off. I was borrowing a bike from the Walkers a really nice sturdy steel framed Murray old school mountain bike with 18 total gears, 15 that work. For my first triathlon it was awesome and I didn't have to invest money in something that I didn't know if I would like. I trained on it all summer and felt confident riding it. I kept my mantra of 'Just keep pedaling' going and did well enough. There were hills and then there was THE HILL which was monstrous, about a mile long, and right at the midway point. I passed one athlete on the way up the hill - she was carrying her bike because the chain broke... She passed me on the way down and I didn't see her again. I ended up walking the last 1/4 of the hill, I didn't have any gears left and wasn't really moving forward... The way back was much easier it was mostly down hill and went faster. Considering the course and the bike I felt good about the bike portion for myself. There were no longer people from my wave around me, most were well ahead of me. A couple of stragglers and mostly those from waves after mine were around me... But I wasn't alone yet!
T2 was EASY! Rack the bike, ditch the helmet and take off... Gobble banana in there somewhere and slam some Gatorade. I read the words of my tattoo before I took off... "Let us run with endurance the race which is set before us..." It was what I needed to keep my head held high and continue on... I was not going to be listed as a DNF (did not finish).
I took off on the run feeling pretty good. I don't expect much of myself on runs, I am not a runner and have a love hate relationship with running. My goal was to just survive this run/jog/walk/wog and make it to the finish line. It's 4 miles and done. I knew I was capable of 9m:30s miles but also knew that at this point in the day that would be a lot to expect. There were many many people finishing at this point and on the first mile I saw A LOT of people from waves after mine on their way to the finish. I was determined to finish... Even though my shins were screaming at me and my head was pounding (which I later determined was due to dehydration) I was going to finish. I also had this HORRIBLE feeling on the insides of my thighs and panty line, which I will later discover is chaffing... Really really bad chaffing. I walked 90% of the run leg, which I was fine with. About 1/2 mile left I knew I was DFL (dead f*n last) and I wanted to finish the triathlon running... So I took off. About 1/4 mile left Rachael met me coming to find me and she ran with me (I needed that, she has no idea how much that lifted me) and I FINISHED.
The state of delirium I was in means that I don't remember much of what else went on that day. I do remember finally waking up from a nap (wrapped up in a blanket, heavy sweatshirt, heavy sweatpants on my couch) going to shower, and the water coming off me was green... Thank you St. Croix River for that lovely sight.
Lessons learned here were many. First and foremost, triathlon shorts can be found on the cheap and are well worth the tiny investment for pure comfort. Bikini bottoms and basketball shorts will only render you immobile the next day due to chaffing. Not only the chaffing, triathlon shorts have some padding to protect your booty from becoming saddle sore on the bike portion. Next lesson was importance of the bike you use. I was grateful for the bike I had as it was loaned to me, however I will have a lighter, swifter bike for the next time I tri! Hydration, hydration, hydration... My headache was purely because I was dehydrated. I utilized every water station along the way but I should have had a water bottle with me on the run portion and utilized my water bottle more on the bike portion. Proper shoes, I am confident that my shin splints would not have been near as bad if I had gotten proper shoes and used them from the beginning.
