[This post is race report by our athlete Jen Miller on her experience at the General Smallwood Triathlon (Olympic Distance), held on May 19, 2018. Thanks, Jen, for allowing us to post it here!]
New Year.
New Age Group.
New Coach.
New expectations?
With Joe’s support (😘), this is this year I decided to do an Ironman. I’m turning 40 and thought, geez, I’m not getting any younger; let’s do this. With this massive, audacious goal I knew I needed better coaching, so after a search, No Limits Coach Lindsay and I started working together in January. A little premature for a race 10 months away, but I’m nothing, if not prepared.😉
She has been kicking my ass. Track workouts. 4 hour bricks. 3k+ swims on the regular.
I’ve loved every minute.
There is no better feeling then looking at something on paper thinking: “There’s no way I can do that” and then proving yourself wrong. Even the sucky days were money in the bank.
The General Smallwood Olympic Triathlon would be my first outing with the new training. And, frankly, my first Olympic race in 2 years. I was excited! I have done this race 3 times before, but not since 2014. It’s a small, easy venue, which suits me perfectly.
Last weekend my good friend Funky gave me a bracelet that says: “Get Shit Done” and tells me she immediately thought of me when she saw it. This was a PERFECT mantra for race day, and since I had to retire the socks she gave me 5 years ago (that I literally wore at every tri race) I thought this was a suitable, nay, replacement.
Pre-race – General Smallwood Triathlon
Absolutely nothing funny or remotely interesting about prerace.
The rain, rain, rain was a bit of a concern, but being the (ahem) veteran I am now, I’ve raced in the rain before. You just have to suck it up, buttercup.
Swim (.90 miles – 28:14)
In water start. Haaaaaayyyy! You know what that means!? Warmin’ up the ‘ol wetsuit, yessir. 😉
There were about 40 of us bobbing around waiting for the “gun” to go off. It was eerily quiet, so I yell, “Kick ass today, ladies!” and got a bunch of whoops. Good mojo for the day.
Coach wants me moderate-hard effort out of the gate, and I give it my best shot. Since it’s raining, no sun glare to be concerned about, and this race is small enough that contact was pretty minimal. Only got kicked in the face once. Score!
2 loops of decent effort, and I’m out. And out fast. Yay! Was shooting for sub 30:00 and hit that pretty easily.
Transition 1 (T1 4:32)
Takes forevvvvver. It’s 300 yards from the swim exit to my bike and I get there in due time. All my stuff is in huge zip lock bags to try and keep it as dry as possible. Takes me a while to get out of the sausage casing and get my bike shiz together, but then I’m off!
Bike (25 miles – 1:18)
Looking for some progress, here. I’ve been doing very structured bike workouts with watts and heartrate, and I typically hit it spot-on while on the trainer, then can’t pull it together when I’m on the road.
A wise friend once told me, “Good job inside, Jen, but no Ironman has ever been done in your basement.” Sigh. True story. Have to get the road worked out.
Anyway. This is where the bracelet gets comes in. Get shit done. That’s what I do. A simple glance reminded me to stay focused and work hard. Keep my watts up and my heartrate under control.
There is a guy in a Martha’s Vineyard “Black Dog” cycling jersey (not a tri kit, full on floppy jersey) who keeps standing up to stretch out, looking around, basically not even racing.
And I can’t pass him.
It is pissing me off to no end that I can’t muster enough strength as I’m spinning my heart out to pass this knucklehead.
So, in standard Jen fashion I start a conversation. Turns out he’s British. (of course he is) And we have a good chuckle about drafting. He (jokingly) threatens to have me reviewed if I end up placing. ha. ha. ha. 😐
Spin, spin, spin. Rolling hills, nothing too crazy, just trying not to make fun of all the people (several!) who wore white kits. Why oh why?!?!?
Circle back to the park and hit a 4 minute PR at this race. Woop woop! Crushing it today!
Transition 2 (T2 – 1:30)
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP.
I get into T2, and Bel Biv Devo is playing on the PA system, “Never trust a big butt and a smile.”
I swear.
I was grinning ear to ear!
***changes socks***
Although, why bother? It’s still raining, and I’m soaking wet. Well, at least for a few minutes I’ll have dry feet.
Run (6.2 miles, 45:33)
This. This is always my favorite part. 🏃
Coach tells me to pace out the first half, then pick ’em off the last 3. heh heh heh. Get shit done.
There’s a pretty tough hill right out of transition, and I’m the asshole talking to people as I pass them huffing and puffing so hard they can’t reply. Oops.
You may have noticed it’s been raining lately. There is a trail portion to this race I completely forgot about. So, lucky me, I got to “swim” again. Puddles. Mud. Oh, so much mud. I’m not sure my sneakers will ever recover.
Power through, feel good, feel strong, and with no sun or heat, I’m able to keep a great pace. Cruise to the fastest run in my age group! Yessss!
Finish 2:38:20 – a 9 minute PR at this race. Wowza!!
Moral: Coach Lindsay knows what she’s doing.
Expectations: met
Up next: Raleigh 70.3 where the weather will be sliiiighly different. ☀
In gratitude for you humoring my recaps. ❤
Strokes, Spokes & Strides,
Jen