Tri Rock Philly Olympic Duathlon

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So per my prediction- the swim portion was canceled… I wasn’t super disappointed since I was pretty positive that it was going to happen and the weather was disgusting! It rained allllllll day long on Saturday and was still raining Sunday morning as we made our way into transition.  Instead of the swim start each corral/wave started at their bikes.  This worked smoother than I thought… we ended up going off about 30 minutes later than our swim start schedule but it all worked out okay. And eventually is stopped rain (thank goodness).

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Well I was one of like 2 people in my age group not clipping in because I’m a big baby. I’m determined to learn asap and am open to any free lessons- leave comments below 🙂 But oh well… so I wore my running shoes to save a step later. I’d like to note I wore different shoes to the start and in transition prior to the race which was a great decision- putting on clean and dry socks and shoes prior to the start was pleasant. Per usual my husband aka my #1 fan was there supporting me- good thing he brought an umbrella before we started. He also captured all these awesome pics- thanks love<3

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Out on the first mile of the bike- I’m excited and pumped! I knew I would get passed a lot on the bike and thought oh well, I would catch those people on the run! I did a little passing myself…  yay me! Since I was the second to last group to go the roads were starting to dry up… although it did mean it would be sunny and warm for the run.

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Finishing up my 1st  loop fasted than anticipated, about 40 minutes- hence the blurry shot, Pat wasn’t ready for me. I started my 2nd loop and the course started to get a little lonely since most people had finished up the bike from starting earlier. I actually think an more open course slowed me down… there wasn’t anyone to try to catch or to push me to bike harder, so it took me close to 45 minutes, oops.

25 mile bike: 1:25:52

Pace: 17.3 mph

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Into transition and overall pleased with my bike time. Looking at my two Olympic races last year, doing the swim doesn’t really slow me down on the bike or run since you use different muscle groups. Plus last year I also had a swim cancelled and my bike mph went from 16.9 to 17.3! I thought that was good improvement and know I will be faster once I master clipping in!

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Since I didn’t have to change shoes here I had a super quick transition, just grabbed my belt and a throw away water bottle and I was off. I wore my watch for the first time ever during a triathlon and I found it definitely helps me run faster. I’ll need to buy a waterproof watch soon for events where I’ll be swimming first. Anyways the run was 1.5 out and back west and then 1.5 out and back east… also a quarter of a mile took place in the middle on the mud, I mean grass outside transition.

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The first mile is always tough try to get to a good pace and stop jelly in your legs from biking but I settled in just under 8:40 min/mi pace. I did a good job maintaining 8:20-8:45 mi pace most of the race… my goal would’ve been 8:30 but the mud and grass portion definitely slowed me down to almost 9:00 mile pace around mile 3. Pat saw that I was struggling a little coming out of the mud and ran on the side walk encouraging me as I ran on the course.

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The second half of the run is completely in the run where the first part was shaded… it was near 11:00am around then so it was starting to warm up. I really need to buy a hat for running to keep the sun off my face. I should note I passed A LOT of girls in my age group on the run… I didn’t keep track but I’d guess close to 10 girls. It’s a lot easier to read age group numbers running than biking. Every time I passed someone I felt so pumped and promised I wouldn’t get passed by them later. Going up the finish chute I did my best to sprint and raised my arms in a successful finish!!

10k run: 53:09

Pace: 8:35/mile

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Someone once told me your 10k off the bike should be your 10 miler time. I disagree but I guess I will make that my goal. However this is the fastest I’ve ever run a 10k off the bike. Really makes me want to race just a 10k and see what I could do! Last year’s times were 2-3 minutes slower (one with the swim also being canceled).

Final time: 2:20:28

Overall: 570/921

Gender: 130/322

Division (25-29): 11th place!

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Soooooo close to a top ten finish and I wasn’t even aiming for it! I missed 10th by like 20 seconds and 9th by less than a minute, ahhh! Top 25% of my age group though which was awesome because usually I strive to finish in the top 50%. The top 3 finished like 20 minutes ahead of me so clearly I’m not going to podium any time soon in that large of a race but I can definitely work for top ten.

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Although even when I was passing people on the run, I reminded myself, this is my race, not my race with my competition. I had rough time goals that I accomplished and more though and that’s what matters! I love seeing how much I can improve and know that I can work harder than I have been so I should!  I’m hoping to race two more Olympic tris this year before I get too deep into marathon training. If anyone has any tips for tri training and marathon training at the same time, share in the comments!

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Also thanks for all the congrats and good lucks over the weekend! And a special thank you to my husband Pat for getting up early, standing in the rain, and cheering me on morning!

Linking up with Janelle from Run with No Regrets, Jessica at the Silvah Lining, and Dee at The Hesitant Runner with my #racerecap! Check out their recaps and more for some running and racing inspiration 🙂

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