Race Report - Triathlon Trilogy #2

I feel like its been forever since I've written a race report.  Probably because it has been.  It's been six weeks since my last race (Trilogy 1) and THAT alone seemed like forever.  The last race I blogged about was Ragnar back in February and I never even finished writing about that.  Sigh.  Have to do better on the balance.

This race was by far my BEST race this season, so far anyway.  Also my best race on this course.  This is my third season doing the Triathon Trilogy, although the course was changed up this season by the return of the Rickenbacker Causeway to the bike course.  I actually miss all the loops of the old course--the Uturns made it a technically challenging course it was slightly longer.  The challenge presented by the climb is fantastic though.

Here's the low-down on the course.

 And how things shaped up for me.

The swim--AWESOME.  I have been spending a lot of time in the water focusing on improving my technique.  My friend Julie is an AWESOME teacher.  This was a PR on this course for me by 1:07.  Which is HUGE for a 400m swim.  The conditions were near perfect too. 

The bike-I had hubby's road bike for this race.  I am flat out floored by what a different ride it is, between the carbon fiber frame and the upgraded components.  The climb over the Rickenbacker Causeway was SO MUCH EASIER on his bike than it was on mine.  Its just crazy.  The pace above is incorrect though (as much as I would like to say I really did break 20) because the course distance is incorrect.  Either way, using his bike shaved 2+ minutes off my bike time from last race.  The only downside is that his bike is a bit too big for me and my shoulders/back are SCREAMING today.

T2-My T2 times used to be under a minute, but since switching to clips on the bike (I used to ride in cages) I can't seem to trim T2 down.  12 second improvement this time, so I'll take it.  I also managed to run in my cleats this go-round, which is a bonus.   Lots of room for improvement here.

Th run- by the time I hit the run course, it was hot.  I ran most of the first mile and then switched to Galloway 3/1.  Best thing I ever did.  I felt physically strong for the duration of the run, and this time was only 3 seconds off my personal best for this run course.  It's a challenging multi-surface run course--part of it is over sand.  Looking forward to breaking the 11 minute mile barrier in September, since I hope marathon training will continue to make me a stronger runner.

All in all, good enough for an almost 7 minute course improvement over last race, a 3 minute PR for this particular race, and 3rd in my division.  My friend Julie rocked it out for 2nd, despite back pain and a nagging knee injury. 146th overall and 47th female. 

This was my first race with my bia.  It's still a work-in-progress, learning how to use it.  I really enjoy the fact that it can automatically post my tracks (it has a built in cellular connection, which is pretty freaking cool).  The Triathlon mode is on rollout and I missed the shout out to get it in time for this race, so I missed getting that in time. As a result I missed the first .6 miles of the run while my bia was doing an upgrade.  But its all good--The go stick stayed snug during every stage of the race. 

The place medals were super fun this go-round--a spinning place number with a spinning multirace emblem inside it.  Loved them!  Here's a pic of the goodies.

 I am totally bummed that I will miss the 3rd round of the trilogy because of our vacation.  I have done every race in the trilogy for the past 2 years.