Revenge of the Prairie Man... It's Good To Be Back
Pre Race
The pre race jitters woke me up before the alarm was supposed to accomplish that job... a pinch before 3 am. The bag was packed but the water bottles needed to be filled with cold water and Nuun... the tires needed some air... and the helmet needed to be played with (the helmet number from CDA was still on it). Before making my way to Grand Prairie... I needed to stop at Wal Mart to get some tape for the bike number to be attached properly to my bike. After a quick in and out to Wal Mart... the trek to GP took forever.
I finally arrived but had to wait about 10 minutes before Jack Weiss of Ironhead Race Productions arrived to open the gate... finally he came and the line of at least 10 cars got into the park. Parked on the grass... got my gear and headed off to transition. Body marked... in transistion... found my rack... got my chip... warmed up on the run... the off to chit chat with those I hadn't seen since either CDA or back further Playtri Festival.
The jitters started to appear... and everyone noticed. This was a sprint for petes sake... its called Haul and Hurt. I didn't have to the chance to warm up in Joe Pool due to the jitters. I was figuring out every way to that could save seconds... since at this point my nerves were high and no one wanted to dare be around me. After the pre race meeting... I gave Jane a hug... and was off over the timing mat.
The Swim... 500 meters
After doing CDA... the wave start of 100 people was a piece of cake... and 500 was nothing. As soon as the horn blew I was focused... in the zone... in the moment. The swim to the first yellow buoy was anywhere near straight. As I made way toward it I kicked and smacked a few people as I started to get in the groove of the swim. I made my way around yellow buoy 1 and sped off. Along the line of orange buoys to the yellow buoy 2 was easy and smooth. For 200 or so meters... I barely looked up to sight the buoy... my swimming was straight. After we went around yellow buoy 2 it was straight toward home. The water was sooooooooo shallow approaching the ramp that walking was the only option... and didn't help my swim time... one bit. Made my way up the ramp... saw Jane... high fived and thought T1.
T1
Smooth and fast!
The Bike... 16.2 miles
If you want a FAST bike course... you need to do this... up and down Lakeridge Parkway is all it takes. Going out of the park I played it safe... due to twisty and turny roads the whole way. As soon as I turned right onto Lakeridge... I started hauling on the bike. The first section was flat and fast... my pace was around 24- 25 mph. My legs were already starting to hurt... but there was no holding back. Turned around to head south for the middle leg. I kept playing cat and mouse with one chick and one dude... but made sure not draft... no penalities would be accepted today. As I made the last U turn to finish up on Lakeridge... my legs were filled with lactic acid and all I thought was "how the hell can I do this 5k run all out?" As I headed back toward Lynn Creek Park I was passing eveyone in sight... left and right... it felt so good. Back in the park... slowed it down... got the HR down... got ready for a run I wasn't looking foward to one bit.
T2
Zoooooooooooooomed through it.
The Run... 3.2 Miles... Revenge of the Prairie Man
I hate this run with a passion. No matter the distance or the temperature... this run course seems to kill me unlike any other run I have ever done. I decided not to take the time to put on my HR montior or watch so I was on my own... not knowing what I was going to do. This was tough... it was time to get revenge on a shorter Prairie Man run course. The first part took us on a short loop in the back of the park. As I rounded the start of the loop I pin pointed the exact spot where I almost gave in at Prairie Man Half last year. The temps were rising... the sun was out... I wanted to give in... but there was no way I would ever do that on a sprint. I got passed by the chick who I played cat and mouse with on the bike... dang it... not good. I saw the girls who started in the first wave... they looked strong... shoot... I'm toast. I passed a few guys on the loop... that felt good. As I approched the aid stations... I was more out of breath and taking in fluids did not seem to be a good idea... I couldn't take in water... so it just went over my head. As I approached the turn around and completed it... I saw the other chicks... my competition. I was motivated and pushed it... and it hurt big time... my breathing more unstable than at the start of the run. I was soon being drafted off of by this one chick... she stayed on my heels from mile 2 to mile 3. I was thinking she would make a move sometime... but who knew when. The finish line came... I was in tears... yes tears. Being my first race since CDA I was overjoyed to be out there again competing... it felt so good... I really missed the sport. With 200 meters left to the finish... the chick who drafted off of me for the last mile made her move... how embarrasing... ugh! I collapsed across the finish line... ending up laying flat on the grass.
Results...
1:18:42
Overall Place 30/196
Gender Place 7/66
Division Place 1/9
500M Swim Time 09:02
500M Swim Pace 1:48/M
T1 Time 01:30
27K Bike Time 43:59
27K Bike Pace 22.8mph
T2 Time 00:59
5K Run Time 23:09
5K Run Pace 7:28/M
Not bad... eh?
More to come...
The pre race jitters woke me up before the alarm was supposed to accomplish that job... a pinch before 3 am. The bag was packed but the water bottles needed to be filled with cold water and Nuun... the tires needed some air... and the helmet needed to be played with (the helmet number from CDA was still on it). Before making my way to Grand Prairie... I needed to stop at Wal Mart to get some tape for the bike number to be attached properly to my bike. After a quick in and out to Wal Mart... the trek to GP took forever.
I finally arrived but had to wait about 10 minutes before Jack Weiss of Ironhead Race Productions arrived to open the gate... finally he came and the line of at least 10 cars got into the park. Parked on the grass... got my gear and headed off to transition. Body marked... in transistion... found my rack... got my chip... warmed up on the run... the off to chit chat with those I hadn't seen since either CDA or back further Playtri Festival.
The jitters started to appear... and everyone noticed. This was a sprint for petes sake... its called Haul and Hurt. I didn't have to the chance to warm up in Joe Pool due to the jitters. I was figuring out every way to that could save seconds... since at this point my nerves were high and no one wanted to dare be around me. After the pre race meeting... I gave Jane a hug... and was off over the timing mat.
The Swim... 500 meters
After doing CDA... the wave start of 100 people was a piece of cake... and 500 was nothing. As soon as the horn blew I was focused... in the zone... in the moment. The swim to the first yellow buoy was anywhere near straight. As I made way toward it I kicked and smacked a few people as I started to get in the groove of the swim. I made my way around yellow buoy 1 and sped off. Along the line of orange buoys to the yellow buoy 2 was easy and smooth. For 200 or so meters... I barely looked up to sight the buoy... my swimming was straight. After we went around yellow buoy 2 it was straight toward home. The water was sooooooooo shallow approaching the ramp that walking was the only option... and didn't help my swim time... one bit. Made my way up the ramp... saw Jane... high fived and thought T1.
T1
Smooth and fast!
The Bike... 16.2 miles
If you want a FAST bike course... you need to do this... up and down Lakeridge Parkway is all it takes. Going out of the park I played it safe... due to twisty and turny roads the whole way. As soon as I turned right onto Lakeridge... I started hauling on the bike. The first section was flat and fast... my pace was around 24- 25 mph. My legs were already starting to hurt... but there was no holding back. Turned around to head south for the middle leg. I kept playing cat and mouse with one chick and one dude... but made sure not draft... no penalities would be accepted today. As I made the last U turn to finish up on Lakeridge... my legs were filled with lactic acid and all I thought was "how the hell can I do this 5k run all out?" As I headed back toward Lynn Creek Park I was passing eveyone in sight... left and right... it felt so good. Back in the park... slowed it down... got the HR down... got ready for a run I wasn't looking foward to one bit.
T2
Zoooooooooooooomed through it.
The Run... 3.2 Miles... Revenge of the Prairie Man
I hate this run with a passion. No matter the distance or the temperature... this run course seems to kill me unlike any other run I have ever done. I decided not to take the time to put on my HR montior or watch so I was on my own... not knowing what I was going to do. This was tough... it was time to get revenge on a shorter Prairie Man run course. The first part took us on a short loop in the back of the park. As I rounded the start of the loop I pin pointed the exact spot where I almost gave in at Prairie Man Half last year. The temps were rising... the sun was out... I wanted to give in... but there was no way I would ever do that on a sprint. I got passed by the chick who I played cat and mouse with on the bike... dang it... not good. I saw the girls who started in the first wave... they looked strong... shoot... I'm toast. I passed a few guys on the loop... that felt good. As I approched the aid stations... I was more out of breath and taking in fluids did not seem to be a good idea... I couldn't take in water... so it just went over my head. As I approached the turn around and completed it... I saw the other chicks... my competition. I was motivated and pushed it... and it hurt big time... my breathing more unstable than at the start of the run. I was soon being drafted off of by this one chick... she stayed on my heels from mile 2 to mile 3. I was thinking she would make a move sometime... but who knew when. The finish line came... I was in tears... yes tears. Being my first race since CDA I was overjoyed to be out there again competing... it felt so good... I really missed the sport. With 200 meters left to the finish... the chick who drafted off of me for the last mile made her move... how embarrasing... ugh! I collapsed across the finish line... ending up laying flat on the grass.
Results...
1:18:42
Overall Place 30/196
Gender Place 7/66
Division Place 1/9
500M Swim Time 09:02
500M Swim Pace 1:48/M
T1 Time 01:30
27K Bike Time 43:59
27K Bike Pace 22.8mph
T2 Time 00:59
5K Run Time 23:09
5K Run Pace 7:28/M
Not bad... eh?
More to come...
Comments
Congrats!