mini-Mussel 2011 Race Report

This post has been delayed due to my computer dying and needing to be replaced. All of my race photos were on my MacBook which was being held hostage at the Apple store, and then they were transferred to my new MacBook Pro, which is now in my possession so I am able to finally post this race report!

Anyways, onto the mini-Mussel! I did this race last year and had the sprint race of my life, placing 5th OA. At the time, I was on an Ironman taper and I was coming into this race with peak volume under my belt and nicely rested legs. This year was totally different - I was 3 weeks post-Ironman, had been working out very lightly for 2 of those weeks (the first week post-IM was a complete rest week), and my legs were still feeling a bit iffy. Not bad, but not great. I had done maybe one outdoor ride and had been running a little slower than usual. Even so, it's hard to not want to take down your time from last year, to do better, to be competitive.

Train-This was in RARE form for this race. I got to transition at 7 am sharp and saw Mary. She was having issues with her tubulars. I went in, got racked, chatted with Tim, got my chip, and then by that point, Greg was setting up his bike on the rack next to mine. Mary came over and showed us her body marking FAIL where she sharpied her number on her arm completely backwards because she looked in a mirror while doing it. Also, she was wearing a practically see-through swim suit that she found in her car because she forgot her race suit. Like, the thing was probably going to disintegrate while she was racing. THEN, Greg one-ups her by showing us the tiny pair of triathlon short shorts that he was "forced" to wear (I think he secretly likes the attention) because his mom washed the wrong pair. THEN, we are literally about to walk out of transition and a girl comes over to me and says "I think you are in my spot." I look at her like "WTF, I am a triathlon pro, I have done 2 Ironmans, I would never make that rookie mistake." Then I looked at the spot in transition. 1724. Looked at the number on my bike. 1794. F$%&. I grabbed my bike and bag, Mary and Greg grabbed the gear that was laid out, and we moved me down to the other end of the rack where I actually belonged. As I was doing the walk of shame across transition with my entourage and gear, another local triathlete (and someone who works at the same place I do), Alan Hatch, yells "that's weak, Alexa!" I think I would rather walk home from a blackout night of drinking without my pants than have to do the transition walk of shame ever again. Luckily, my actual spot in transition was WAY better than the pretend one.

Swim
Mary, Greg, and I headed down to the swim start where we hooked up with various other members of the team. I was in Mary's swim wave so when it was our turn, we got in the water and made our way out to the buoy. I will take the time now to say that that was the last time I saw Mary during the race, except when I saw her on the out-and-back run, where she was ~1 mile ahead of me. Jeff Henderson yelled "GO" and we started swimming. I have been working hard at my swimming all year - my 400 yd time trial has decreased by 20 seconds and I am swimming 3x per week instead of 2x. I made it halfway through this 750 m swim hanging with the front pack of ladies, but halfway through I drifted to the left and lost them. Still managed to have a good swim!

Swim: 11:19, 1:31 min/100 m
T1: 1:21

Bike
Got on the bike and was feeling good. I pushed it the entire time, and passed TONS of people. It was windier this year. Not much to say about the bike other than I felt good. Matt Curbeau blew by me about halfway through, and then Greg passed me a bit later. I yelled "nice shorts" as he went by. My time was a little slower than last year.

Bike: 47:42, 20.4 mph
T2: 1:16

Run
Got to the run and finally started to feel the effects of an Ironman 3 weeks prior. My legs just didn't want to move. I started the race at 7:40 pace. Last year I averaged the race at 7:20 pace, so I knew I was not going to run like I wanted to. As I kept running, I felt worse and worse. It was hot and my legs were DEAD. At one point I saw 9:XX on my Garmin - YIKES. Whatever, I just wanted to be done with it.

testing out the Train-This crop top!

Run: 25:55, 8:06 min/mile - SO SLOW
Time: 1:27:40

After crossing the finish line, there was a wonderful sight - kiddie pools filled with ice cold water. Greg was sitting in one - he had raced well and then puked his guts out at the finish line. I got in and we were soon joined by some other teammates, and I think we definitely creeped out the other people in the pool.

Ended up 2nd in my AG, and 14th OA female. Big drop, but.. it happens!

I also met one of my blog friends, Anne-Marie, who was there and was racing Musselman the next day! So it was super awesome to meet her and she did great racing in the 95 degree heat!