Miami Race
This past weekend, I kicked off my 2008 race season with the inaugural Miami International Distance triathlon. The race took place near downtown Miami, near Key Biscayne. We swam in the ocean (although it was a calm inlet), rode on the streets of the Rickenbacker Bridge, and ran around the ocean inlet on a shaded trail.
I also got the opportunity to see family while in Miami. My Dad flew in from St. Louis, as he is always a big help and great company. My Aunt, Uncle and cousins were also vacationing on their spring break, so I got the opportunity to hang out with them and they cheered me on during the race. My younger cousins (11 and 8) even made cheering signs for me! Miami is a great city with so much diversity and culture----and it is beautiful with the white beaches and turquoise-colored Atlantic Ocean. I hope to be back next year to race!
The race began exactly at 7:00AM with the Pro Men, and we followed two minutes after the men. Although this is my fourth year racing, I am still learning---this time the lesson was to have a variety of goggles! At 7:00AM, it is still dark in Miami this time of year and the only pairs of goggles I had were tinted, so it made navigating the swim course quite difficult and a bit scary. I need to invest in some clear goggles!
Although it was very challenging to sight the buoys (had to stop several times during the swim portion to find my bearings), the water was perfect race temperature (76 degrees). It was also a very short swim (probably closer to 1000meters than 1500meters, because our swim time was around 13:00. I exited the swim water in first position, feeling comfortable and good in the water, and headed out onto the bike portion. I started off the bike pushing myself and a few miles into the bik, we had our first turn-around, so I could assess where the other women were on the bike. Throughout the bike, I was building a lead on the other athletes. I felt strong on the bike and comfortable, especially on my new Zipp race wheels. During the bike section, I thought about my cadence, but also making sure I was applying pressure on the pedals. The bike course was mostly flat, with four small climbs (up a bridge). The second lap was a bit challenging, because the age groupers were on the course at the same time as the pros, so it was a bit crowded while riding and passing was a little tight. But, everyone finished the bike safely and no major problems occurred.
I exited into T2 with about a 2 minute lead and headed off onto the run. I felt good on the run and kept the pace a solid tempo. I was able to see my position and where the other athletes were at several spots (the run was a 2 loop out and back). The run course was a mixture of pavement, but also had about 50% of trail running. We ran almost the entire run in the shade, so although it was extremely humid, temperatures did not climb too high.
Beginning the season with a win is a great way to start off the season. My overall time was 1:58:12. Although times in triathlon are not exactly relevant because there are so many variables, especially when the distances are not exactly 1500m, 40K 10K. It had been four months since I competed in my last triathlon, so it was great opportunity to go through my pre-race routine and remind my body and mind how to get into “race mode”. It is easy to forget how much you have to do to prepare for a triathlon; such as remembering all your gear (even down to the fine details like rubber bands for your bike shoes in transition). Preparing for a race is mentally challenging just as much as physically challenging such as; the metal prep of going through your race warm up routine, setting up in transition, knowing where Bike In, Bike Out…etc is located, knowing the course, nutrition, etc.!!!
I wanted to use this race to check up on my race fitness and prepare for the Olympic Trials race approaching on April 19th. . Now the priority is to get back into a hard training block these next few weeks (after some recovery time) and continue on with the 2008 race season. USA Triathlon is hosting a training camp in Tucson, Arizona the over the next month, so I will be spending time down in south and enjoying some warmer weather.
Good luck to everyone with there 2008 race season!
Sarah
