6/7/10

REV3 Half Iron RR




If you magifny this above picture you can see the lovely expression on my face as I start the run. I cruised by these guys.













What were they thinking when they approved this course? Ok, I don't want to sound like a wuss. LOTS of courses are hard. That's part of the allure. And some people do indeed do well on hills. I'm actually one of those people. To have bragging rights and to relish in the accomplishment brings some satisfaction BUT this course takes the cake. Is Heather Golinick a hard core buggersnot or what? She is the CEO of the Rev3 so I can only assume she approved the course. That said, I am still smitten with her because she gave me a water bottle. Oh ya.





Aren't morning photos awesome.

Kathy and I drove up on Saturday early. We ran around eating lunch at Wendy's (chicken sandwich, no frys) checked in, picked up the number, racked the bike, ... ect...ect.. For dinner we ate at this lil traditional italian restaurant. It was nice to be away.

All day long I stayed hydrated. I added a nuun tab to every other water bottle that I drank. I read an article that day by Heather that said it was a good idea to do that if you KNOW it's going to be hot. It was going to be 80 so I figured it would be ok to do so. In hind sight I think it saved me from feeling bad on the run.

My swim was s l o w. I have been swimming a lot lately but my swim was actually slower by a whole minute. That makes me cringe. While in the water I actually THOUGHT I was doing REALLY good and just gliding along really fast. Ah, ignorance really is bliss.

After previewing the course on Saturday I was ready to go easy for the first half then pick it up. There was a stretch right around half way that just went up for about 3 miles. It was reminiscent of grinding up Mount Lemon.



The day before the race I sparked up a conversation with this one woman (in my age group) who had been trying on tops at the expo. She was next to me in transition as well. On race day we chatted and I gave her my apporoval on her new top. She caught up to me on the bike that day and told me that her bike was broken and she had been sidelined for 20 minutes. In other words she was way behind where she should be. So basically she was saying "You, Melissa Caron, are really slow and I am really fast.". I got what she was saying real good. So, I said "well I wouldn't give up now, you aren't that far behind (in defense of myself). Then, she shot off like a rocket. I quickly found out that we had a very similar bike pace. I wasn't trying to stay with her but we were basically back and forth for the entire first half of the race. Maybe I did allow her to be my rabbit. She deserved it after that comment.





Later on, at the dreaded half way mark I asked her if she had previewed the course. She says "No". So I say "I just want to give you a heads up. This is where the real fun begins. There's a stretch here of 3 miles that is really non-stop except for a bit of a lull in the middle.". She basically slowed way down and yelled out "I'm a flat course rider, Oh No!!" I never saw her again! I'm so evil.



My hope was that I could up my average pace on the decents. Which I did to some degree. I was descending like a bat out of hell looking blood. I realized I need to do more uphill work for Timberman in August if I am to do well on the next hilly course.

On the run I was FINE! I was like, ok, miles 1-3 went by quickly. I was not being tortured. My problem was that I could not get my legs to pick up and turn over. I think they were burnt out from the hills. Eventually they loosened up a bit. Even still, I never walked and I passed a ton of people because they were walking.

I started from the last wave so anyone I passed was all mine to keep. Not a bad spot to start from after all.

My transitions were much better. 2 min. and something for both!!

After I crossed the finish line I felt like the race had taken so much out of me that I cried. I needed to run away like a baby for a minute. I though "that course was down right rude. What were they thinking when they made that course."

In the end I was ESTATIC that I placed 4th in my age group 45-49. My overall time is so disheartening that I really don't want to focus on that. You can look me up at www.rev3tri.com if you need to.

My coach and I had a nice chat regarding my training and have decided that I need more rest than most people. That's the bottom line if I am to have the UMPH going into the races. That's what happens after age 44. You need more rest. It doesn't necesarily mean you will get slower it just means that your body has different needs than it had before.

8 comments:

Running and living said...

4th in your age group, that is wonderful! i am learning that time does not matter in tries, bc every course is different, and this one was a hell of a course. i checked overall results and not many people ran sub 8 min miles, which speaks to how tough the bike and run were. great job!

GoBigGreen said...

I cry when i am totally DONE. I did it last year at Pigman and did it again sunday. I dont plan to, I just do. Good job, it sounds like you really had a tough course and you did it!!! Check to the rest. I think i am either resting or racing at 44yo:) LOL. no more training. hahaha.

GetBackJoJo said...

I think most people had a finish time a good 30-45 minutes slower than their regular 1/2 time, so don't be discouraged about that. What you need to focus on is the 4th place finish. THAT is what matters. Every course is so different that even the same distance course is like comparing apples and oranges.
I bet your swim WAS faster. What are you comparing it to? Remember, swim courses are NEVER exactly the same. It is tough to measure a swim course exactly--so some are short, some are long. I had a GREAT swim in Florida, but it was still 4 min. off my regular swim time. It was just a longish swim.. you know? I know it was a good swim b/c of where I placed in AG. In tri is PLACE that matters--not time. That is why clearwater and kona slots are based on place!
You did great. I'm very, very proud of you. That course was epic!

mjcaron said...

I apoloigize for this post. I had revised and edited it so it wasn't so long and disorganzied but for some reason my revised edition never got saved. :(

Bert said...

Wonderful achievement to end up 4th in your age group - I wouldn't know what a good tri time is if you hit me in the head with it anyway... As for needing more time to recover, I keep learning and then conveniently forgetting that lesson over and over again...

maria conley said...

Hi Mel, don't be discourage about your time. You are out there working it and you are working it, girl.

Linda said...

Great job, Mel!

Jennifer Harrison said...

I mean seriously! I know you got 4th but that is SO awesome and, yeah, REV3 was not necessarily an easy course - so KUDOS to you, Mel. You really had a great great day! Hope you are enjoying your rest! :)

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