This is my 5th year at this race. I did not do it last year. Technically this is my 6th, one year I did the sprint. I walked the run due to my stress fracture. The first two years I had very good races. The last two races on this course were not as good. In 2012, it was one of my slowest times on an Olympic course. I had a bad swim, and bad bike, and I had to walk some of the run. I had nothing that day. 2013 was not great, but not terrible, still worse than the first two years. This year I was hoping to go under 2:30 at this race. I had come close in the past, with a 2:31.
I didn't go under 2:31, or under 2:30. I did surprise myself with the fastest swim and bike time on this course. The swim was my fastest by about 40 seconds and my bike was my fastest by about 6 seconds, so the bike was just a hair faster than my previous fastest. I was surprised to see that both were faster. When I was out on the course both seemed like a struggle. I think you can see from my run time, that it was a bit of struggle at the end. I just could not put the run out that was needed to go under 2:30.
I signed up for the race the week of the race, not sure I was going to do it. We are due for our first child soon, and I wanted to make sure everything was good before I signed up. Everything seemed good, so I signed up. The Wednesday before the race I did the first Salomon trail race of the year, about 4.18 miles. It was hot and humid and difficult. I had a pretty slow run at the trail race.
I didn't feel too bad on Saturday morning before the race, a little tired, not really more than usual. There was some lightning to the west, so that was concerning. Ended up looking like rain to the west, just on the other side of the river, and to the south, most of the morning, but we never got anything. I might of felt a few drops, but nothing really. It was humid, not too hot to start out with.
Devon Palmer, Peace Coffee representative, and self titled spokesmodel\triathlete, gave me some Peace Coffee to handout. One went to the race director, per Devon's orders, and after the race I gave out another bag to Ryan, a guy Devon knows and who I know from Tuesday Night Time Trials. I would have given out more, but I am not the type of person to walk up to strangers and handout coffee, and ask to take their picture. I ended up keeping two bags :) (Thanks Devon).
Back to the race, the swim is two loops, and the water is shallow enough to stand up at all points in the race. I was in the second wave, all the men. I went out decently and settled into my usual pace. Usual for this year. I have been slightly slower this year compared to last, not sure if it is due to the longer races I have done this year, or what. Just slower this year. The swim was pretty uneventful. Once on the beach, you have to go up a flight of stairs to transition. Nothing to exciting about transition, in and out.
The last few races, when getting out on the bike, the first five miles or so feel not so great. This one especially so, since you start out going up hill a lot. One of them is long. I checked my time at the 5 mile mark and was pretty disappointed. The wind was also pretty tough today, it has been that way the last few races it seems. I tried to push it hard on the flats and downhills. Getting in, in the time I did felt like a real struggle. When I saw my time, especially compared to times from my previous years, I felt pretty good about it.
I felt ok, coming off the bike. I knew my legs were going to be tired and it was going to be a long run. I just didn't want to walk it. This run isn't not the hardest run, but it is not easy either. It does have some shaded areas, so that is a relief. You come out of the park and it is flat for a bit, then you go uphill, short and moderately steep, then shallow uphill, a little flat, and then downhill. That is the first mile. After that you have a uphill, to short downhill, to a long flat. That is the end of mile two. Just beyond mile 2 is a steep uphill. Then you run a loop through a residential neighborhood that is a mix of flat, false flat up hill, and low grade downhills. After the loop, then back the way you came. I was really thirsty out on the course. I think it was more humid than I thought. As usual, I didn't drink as much on the bike as I should have. Considering how I felt on the run, my time was not that bad. I would have like to have gone about 50 minutes, but it is what it is. It wasn't that bad.
As usual, especially on an Olympic distance race, running over 8/mi is not going to help me in my AG placing. Not that I do this to place, but it is a little frustrating to get passed on the run, when you are able to create space on the swim and bike. Oh well, keep training and racing.
Overall, the last triathlon of the year went pretty good. Would like to have gone a bit faster, but, again, it was what it was. The weather was good and I was able to finish. Hopefully, I can do this race again in the future.
Last year, was by far my best year racing. This year was not my best, and it wasn't my worst. It was just a good year of racing. I didn't really set an goals, because I wasn't sure how things would go with us being pregnant, so that didn't put any pressure on me to push myself to hard in any particular area. I did want to go under 2:30 this year at an Olympic distance race, and I did that twice, so that worked out well. It was pretty good year.
2015 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 27:25 (1:41/100 yards)
T1 = 2:09
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:25 (21.2 MPH)
T2 = 1:10
Run (6.2 mi) = 52:06 (8:23/mi)
Total = 2:33:13
Overall = 26/102
AG = 7/16
Pace = 4:46/mi
2013 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 28:23 (1:44/100 yards)
T1 = 2:04
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:12:27 (20.6 MPH)
T2 = 1:01
Run (6.2 mi) = 53:48 (8:40/mi)
Total = 2:37:40
Overall = 34/98
AG = No official AG reported yet, looks like I was maybe 7th of 12?
Pace = 4:57/mi
2012 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:29 (1:48/100 yards)
T1 = 1:48
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:14:56 (19.9 MPH)
T2 = 0:58
Run (6.2 mi) = 58:01 (9:21/mi)
Total = 2:45:09
Overall = 57/108
AG = 6/12 (Normal 35-39 AG)
Pace = 5:11/mi
2011 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:00 (1:46/100 yards)
T1 = 2:22
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:31 (21.1 MPH)
T2 = 0:51
Run (6.2 mi) = 49:36 (7:59/mi)
Total = 2:32:17
Overall = 40/103
AG = 12/19 (AG 30 -39)
Pace = 4:46/mi
2010 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 28:12 (1:43/100 yards)
T1 = 1:41
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:49 (21 MPH)
T2 = 1:31
Run (6.2 mi) = 48:49 (7:51/mi)
Total = 2:31:00
Overall = 26/103
AG = 6/14 (AG 30-39)
Pace = 4:44/mi
2009 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Sprint (Walked the run due to stress fracture)
Swim (590 yards) = 9:13 (1:35\100 yards)
T1 = 1:56
Bike (10 mi) = 31:06 (19.3 MPH)
T2 = 2:05
Run (4 mi) = 57:52 (14:28/mi)
Total = 1:42:10
Overall = 409/502
AG = 61/65 (AG 30-39)
Pace = 7:14/mi
I didn't go under 2:31, or under 2:30. I did surprise myself with the fastest swim and bike time on this course. The swim was my fastest by about 40 seconds and my bike was my fastest by about 6 seconds, so the bike was just a hair faster than my previous fastest. I was surprised to see that both were faster. When I was out on the course both seemed like a struggle. I think you can see from my run time, that it was a bit of struggle at the end. I just could not put the run out that was needed to go under 2:30.
I signed up for the race the week of the race, not sure I was going to do it. We are due for our first child soon, and I wanted to make sure everything was good before I signed up. Everything seemed good, so I signed up. The Wednesday before the race I did the first Salomon trail race of the year, about 4.18 miles. It was hot and humid and difficult. I had a pretty slow run at the trail race.
I didn't feel too bad on Saturday morning before the race, a little tired, not really more than usual. There was some lightning to the west, so that was concerning. Ended up looking like rain to the west, just on the other side of the river, and to the south, most of the morning, but we never got anything. I might of felt a few drops, but nothing really. It was humid, not too hot to start out with.
Devon Palmer, Peace Coffee representative, and self titled spokesmodel\triathlete, gave me some Peace Coffee to handout. One went to the race director, per Devon's orders, and after the race I gave out another bag to Ryan, a guy Devon knows and who I know from Tuesday Night Time Trials. I would have given out more, but I am not the type of person to walk up to strangers and handout coffee, and ask to take their picture. I ended up keeping two bags :) (Thanks Devon).
Back to the race, the swim is two loops, and the water is shallow enough to stand up at all points in the race. I was in the second wave, all the men. I went out decently and settled into my usual pace. Usual for this year. I have been slightly slower this year compared to last, not sure if it is due to the longer races I have done this year, or what. Just slower this year. The swim was pretty uneventful. Once on the beach, you have to go up a flight of stairs to transition. Nothing to exciting about transition, in and out.
The last few races, when getting out on the bike, the first five miles or so feel not so great. This one especially so, since you start out going up hill a lot. One of them is long. I checked my time at the 5 mile mark and was pretty disappointed. The wind was also pretty tough today, it has been that way the last few races it seems. I tried to push it hard on the flats and downhills. Getting in, in the time I did felt like a real struggle. When I saw my time, especially compared to times from my previous years, I felt pretty good about it.
I felt ok, coming off the bike. I knew my legs were going to be tired and it was going to be a long run. I just didn't want to walk it. This run isn't not the hardest run, but it is not easy either. It does have some shaded areas, so that is a relief. You come out of the park and it is flat for a bit, then you go uphill, short and moderately steep, then shallow uphill, a little flat, and then downhill. That is the first mile. After that you have a uphill, to short downhill, to a long flat. That is the end of mile two. Just beyond mile 2 is a steep uphill. Then you run a loop through a residential neighborhood that is a mix of flat, false flat up hill, and low grade downhills. After the loop, then back the way you came. I was really thirsty out on the course. I think it was more humid than I thought. As usual, I didn't drink as much on the bike as I should have. Considering how I felt on the run, my time was not that bad. I would have like to have gone about 50 minutes, but it is what it is. It wasn't that bad.
As usual, especially on an Olympic distance race, running over 8/mi is not going to help me in my AG placing. Not that I do this to place, but it is a little frustrating to get passed on the run, when you are able to create space on the swim and bike. Oh well, keep training and racing.
Overall, the last triathlon of the year went pretty good. Would like to have gone a bit faster, but, again, it was what it was. The weather was good and I was able to finish. Hopefully, I can do this race again in the future.
Last year, was by far my best year racing. This year was not my best, and it wasn't my worst. It was just a good year of racing. I didn't really set an goals, because I wasn't sure how things would go with us being pregnant, so that didn't put any pressure on me to push myself to hard in any particular area. I did want to go under 2:30 this year at an Olympic distance race, and I did that twice, so that worked out well. It was pretty good year.
2015 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 27:25 (1:41/100 yards)
T1 = 2:09
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:25 (21.2 MPH)
T2 = 1:10
Run (6.2 mi) = 52:06 (8:23/mi)
Total = 2:33:13
Overall = 26/102
AG = 7/16
Pace = 4:46/mi
2013 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 28:23 (1:44/100 yards)
T1 = 2:04
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:12:27 (20.6 MPH)
T2 = 1:01
Run (6.2 mi) = 53:48 (8:40/mi)
Total = 2:37:40
Overall = 34/98
AG = No official AG reported yet, looks like I was maybe 7th of 12?
Pace = 4:57/mi
2012 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:29 (1:48/100 yards)
T1 = 1:48
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:14:56 (19.9 MPH)
T2 = 0:58
Run (6.2 mi) = 58:01 (9:21/mi)
Total = 2:45:09
Overall = 57/108
AG = 6/12 (Normal 35-39 AG)
Pace = 5:11/mi
2011 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 29:00 (1:46/100 yards)
T1 = 2:22
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:31 (21.1 MPH)
T2 = 0:51
Run (6.2 mi) = 49:36 (7:59/mi)
Total = 2:32:17
Overall = 40/103
AG = 12/19 (AG 30 -39)
Pace = 4:46/mi
2010 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Olympic
Swim (1640 yards) = 28:12 (1:43/100 yards)
T1 = 1:41
Bike (24.85 mi) = 1:10:49 (21 MPH)
T2 = 1:31
Run (6.2 mi) = 48:49 (7:51/mi)
Total = 2:31:00
Overall = 26/103
AG = 6/14 (AG 30-39)
Pace = 4:44/mi
2009 St. Croix Valley Triathlon - Sprint (Walked the run due to stress fracture)
Swim (590 yards) = 9:13 (1:35\100 yards)
T1 = 1:56
Bike (10 mi) = 31:06 (19.3 MPH)
T2 = 2:05
Run (4 mi) = 57:52 (14:28/mi)
Total = 1:42:10
Overall = 409/502
AG = 61/65 (AG 30-39)
Pace = 7:14/mi
