Keuka Lake Tri Race Report

Pre-race

I got up at 4, showered, dressed, ate, and left at 5. I was wearing my new QT2 kit that I had just gotten in the mail and had yet to wear (classic mistake but it was a nice quality kit so I wasn't worried about trying it out first!). The drive to Penn Yan was uneventful, I just rocked out to my "running" playlist on the way down! While I was picking up my packet in the gym, I got a phone call from my dad (and of course my "You Can Call Me Al" ringtone was echoing all throughout the gym before I could dig it out of my bag to answer it!) saying that my mom didn't feel well and that they weren't going to come. I was disappointed because I haven't seen them in a while, AND they were going to bring the race T-shirt quilt that my cousin made me, and they usually bring the dog too, but it was a crappy day so I'm sure they had more fun at home and not standing in the rain in Penn Yan watching me do yet another race!

Solveig and I pre-race under the red tent

I set up my transition and then brought my bag to set it under Matt K's tent. It was pretty cold so Solveig and I wandered around with our wetsuits half on and coats on top. We watched the intermediate waves go off and then went back to put our stuff away. We were in the same wave which started at 8:30 - an hour after the first swim wave went off for the intermediate race. That's what sucks about the sprint.. standing around in your wetsuit while freezing your ass off for an hour!

I love seeing friends in transition before a race, or milling around the swim start. I am really in my element at a race and I am much more personable and outgoing than in other situations. I just think it's a lot of fun to see everyone!

Swim

The water was a lot warmer than it usually is at Keuka. I would say normally it is high 50s, maybe low 60s, but today it was 67 degrees. So basically, a bath. Our wave got in and only then did I realize how choppy the water was! I positioned myself in the front towards the outside (to avoid the crowd - ever since IMCDA I have been a little freaked out in the pack) and we were off! Once I started swimming, the chop wasn't too bad. I was swimming mid-pack for a while and then started passing girls once we rounded the first buoy. By the time I reached the 2nd buoy, I was catching swimmers from the previous wave and had pretty much settled in by myself - behind the fast ladies but ahead of the pack. That is usually how it goes for me.. I need to figure out how to jump to that next level! I was happy to finish the swim, like always!

15:32 - 11th OA, 2nd AG

T1

I ripped off my cap and goggles, ran up the stairs, got the top half of my wetsuit off, gave a wave to Mary who was announcing, and ran to my spot transition. I had a pretty shitty transition. First race of the year is always rough and I had to put my Garmin on my wrist, and my new Garmin (Gary the vibrating Garmin to be specific) has a wristband that has holes in it - not velcro like my old one, so it took me a few tries to get it on. Everything else was smooth enough I guess.

1:28 - 7th OA, 2nd AG

Bike

I saw Jeremy as I was running through bike out and got mounted and headed out onto the course. Since it was such a short race I started hammering immediately. It was raining by this point but I don't mind riding in the rain, and even though it was chilly, I felt fine in just my tri kit. I am almost never cold in races so I didn't bother with arm warmers or anything - most of the other people I saw out there had the same idea as me. As in all sprint races, it was mostly a man-passing-fest. I like passing men so I had a lot of fun with it. More than halfway down the "out" part of the course, I passed a woman wearing an Erie Triathlon Club outfit that was in my swim wave. I made a hard pass and didn't see here again during the bike leg. I had originally gone into this race to "have fun" but of course that went out the window when I started racing. Especially since I won the stupid race last year, I had it in my head that I could get on the podium again (maybe not in first but at least top 3). So once I passed that chick, I laid down the hammer going down the long descent on 54A. For a while it was fun - I am pretty bold on downhills, but then I started reflecting back on my crash that happened just 2 weeks prior and remembered how unpleasant it was. That combined with the wet course, the debris on the road, the other riders (many who were probably beginners), and the upcoming 180 turnaround at the bottom of the hill, I decided that I was being an idiot so I sat up and slowed down a bit. I made the turn and started back up the hill. Since I am small, I always make a lot of passes going up hills. One guy even commented on how strong I was climbing the hill and I yelled back at him that it was because I only weigh 115 lbs. Sometimes, I don't know why I say the things I say, but it's true anyways.

looking happy in the new QT2 kit!

41:34 - 20.2 mph, 4th OA, 1st AG

T2

I made it back into transition thoroughly soaked and sad that the bike was over. I had a little trouble finding my spot in transition, but got my stuff off easily enough, and grabbed my hat and race number. This transition should be under 1 minute and I just could not get my running sneakers on (they were soaked and  I could NOT figure out how to change my Garmin to "run" using the auto-multisport mode (this is one of those things that I need to learn BEFORE race day) so I had to reset it and just set it to run the regular way. As I was exiting transition and fiddling with my Garmin, Mary yelled to me, and then someone in front of me yelled "ALEXA" and turned to give me a high five. I had no idea who it was - turns out it was my friend Marty haha.

1:17 -  39th OA, 4th AG

Run

My goal for the run was just to run. I have barely run this entire year, I have had runner's knee and now a really sore right leg from the crash. I knew I COULD run 3 miles, just slowly. At least it was raining and not hot. I just tried to keep my head down and my pace as fast as possible. The Erie chick passed me back a little before the mile mark and she was going too fast for me to keep up with. Otherwise, I saw a bunch of Train-This and QT2 teammates out on the course so that was good. Dan Jareke and Rich Clark were watching/cheering and yelled for me too!

it's so pretty!

25:06 - 8:06 min/mile, 20th OA, 4th AG

Finish Time: 1:24:57 - 4th OA, 1st AG

F25-29 Sprint Podium

Matt Kellman in his mullet wig. sexy.

My performance at this race ended up being about 5 minutes slower than last year, where I finished in 1:19:53 and won the race. I will contribute part of it to the race conditions (choppier water and rain/wind on the bike) and part of it to my lack of in-shape-ness (last year I was in peak Ironman condition for the upcoming IMCDA). I still managed to do pretty well in the race - I did not make the podium but I was 4th OA female and won my age group. Prizes were pretty good too - instead of a plaque or a medal that would just get stuck in a drawer, I got a bottle of wine (YES MORE WINE) and a jar of almond butter. Yum! Greg also got on the podium with a win in his age group for the intermediate distance, which qualified him for Age Group Nationals, so congrats to GREG! Score-This always puts on a great race at Keuka!



Afterwards, I went to this ice cream place with Greg, his wife Amanda, his parents, and 2 of his friends that I met that day. Who turns down homemade ice cream? Not this girl!

On my drive home from Penn Yan, my windshield wipers broke and are now stuck halfway up my windshield. So that looks awesome when I am driving around. I have to take my car to the Hyundai dealer tomorrow to have it looked at. Thank god for warranties!