2007 Uvas South Bay Tri Race Report
by GoBevGo @ Beverly's Adventures in Ironland 2.0
Let's hear it for the classic tri mantra: Nothing New on Race Day! Let's count the new items I used at Uvas: saddle, chain, rear cassette, toe clips, run socks. . .not just new, but the first time I'd used them ever! Not too shabby, eh?! I also rode without socks in a race for the first time. Woo hoo!
Sunday was my second year participating in the Uvas sprint in Morgan Hill. After Saturday's crash, I wasn't sure I'd do it. I spent Saturday afternoon at the bike shop having the damage repaired, cleaning the road debris out of my skin, picked up my packet and had an early dinner with T & O. I went to bed Saturday night with Advil on the nightstand ready for morning. I decided to see how I felt when I woke up and then decide. I was still stiff and sore in the morning but I popped the Advil (4) right away and had breakfast. The good news is I was sore from the crash, not Saturday's 50 mile marker set!
By the time I got to the reservoir I was moving better and knew I'd do the whole thing. I told myself: it's a sprint, so suck it up, pansy! Putting on my wetsuit wasn't much fun! Ouch! My old lady wave was combined with W30-34, W35-40, relays, mtn bikes, athenas, clydesdales and a random men's division. Why do they do that?! At one point before our wave, the announcer said, "Anyone with a swim cap on, get in the water, you're going next!" Due to lack of rain (drought?), the swim route was altered and the first leg was straight into the sun, but it was pretty short. Our wave was so full, it took a while to get away from the thrashing. I was never too far from clumps of bodies, but it felt good to pass a few people on the final leg. The water was as nice as ever, I love swimming there.
I had a fairly quick transition (for me) and got out on the road. My bike felt sluggish and a few people passed me that surprised me. About mile 5, I realized my rear brake was flush against my rim. duh! Had to stop and fix it. Then I felt a lot better and managed to pick up the pace. I passed an older guy weaving up Sycamore Hill. I shouted "on your left" and he moved over and then swerved right back into me and hit my handlebars. I peddled harder and stayed up. I looked back later and he hadn't fallen, whew!
I got back into transition and pulled on my socks & shoes. I stopped wearing lace locks last year training for Ironman and still haven't put them back on my shoes. I think I'll put some on my new pair. It did suck to stop and tie them. I ran out of transition and kept a steady pace out to the turn around. Several of the people I passed on the bike, now passed me on the run. I hate that! My toes stayed numb until mile four. I just didn't feel peppy running at all. The last half mile, I picked up the pace and sprinted the last 100 yards. I definitely didn't leave enough out on the course.
2007 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:31:20.8 T1 -- Bike 01:01:32.6 T2 00:02:07.7 Run 00:51:36.3 Finish 02:26:37.4
2006 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:29:50.7 Bike 01:01:39.9 Run 00:49:26.3 Finish 02:20:56.9
Last year's splits include transition times which makes this year's times even slower. Next year, I really will shave off some time-- hopefully!
To sum it all up: I'm thankful I was able to race at all. Saturday's crash could have been so much worse. I'm lucky I didn't seriously hurt myself.
Sunday was my second year participating in the Uvas sprint in Morgan Hill. After Saturday's crash, I wasn't sure I'd do it. I spent Saturday afternoon at the bike shop having the damage repaired, cleaning the road debris out of my skin, picked up my packet and had an early dinner with T & O. I went to bed Saturday night with Advil on the nightstand ready for morning. I decided to see how I felt when I woke up and then decide. I was still stiff and sore in the morning but I popped the Advil (4) right away and had breakfast. The good news is I was sore from the crash, not Saturday's 50 mile marker set!
By the time I got to the reservoir I was moving better and knew I'd do the whole thing. I told myself: it's a sprint, so suck it up, pansy! Putting on my wetsuit wasn't much fun! Ouch! My old lady wave was combined with W30-34, W35-40, relays, mtn bikes, athenas, clydesdales and a random men's division. Why do they do that?! At one point before our wave, the announcer said, "Anyone with a swim cap on, get in the water, you're going next!" Due to lack of rain (drought?), the swim route was altered and the first leg was straight into the sun, but it was pretty short. Our wave was so full, it took a while to get away from the thrashing. I was never too far from clumps of bodies, but it felt good to pass a few people on the final leg. The water was as nice as ever, I love swimming there.
I had a fairly quick transition (for me) and got out on the road. My bike felt sluggish and a few people passed me that surprised me. About mile 5, I realized my rear brake was flush against my rim. duh! Had to stop and fix it. Then I felt a lot better and managed to pick up the pace. I passed an older guy weaving up Sycamore Hill. I shouted "on your left" and he moved over and then swerved right back into me and hit my handlebars. I peddled harder and stayed up. I looked back later and he hadn't fallen, whew!
I got back into transition and pulled on my socks & shoes. I stopped wearing lace locks last year training for Ironman and still haven't put them back on my shoes. I think I'll put some on my new pair. It did suck to stop and tie them. I ran out of transition and kept a steady pace out to the turn around. Several of the people I passed on the bike, now passed me on the run. I hate that! My toes stayed numb until mile four. I just didn't feel peppy running at all. The last half mile, I picked up the pace and sprinted the last 100 yards. I definitely didn't leave enough out on the course.
2007 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:31:20.8 T1 -- Bike 01:01:32.6 T2 00:02:07.7 Run 00:51:36.3 Finish 02:26:37.4
2006 Uvas Stats:
Swim 00:29:50.7 Bike 01:01:39.9 Run 00:49:26.3 Finish 02:20:56.9
Last year's splits include transition times which makes this year's times even slower. Next year, I really will shave off some time-- hopefully!
To sum it all up: I'm thankful I was able to race at all. Saturday's crash could have been so much worse. I'm lucky I didn't seriously hurt myself.