This past weekend Chuckie and I drove down to Coronado, CA for the SuperFrog /SuperSeal races. I did the half-Ironman, the Frog.
First things first…what a GREAT event this is! I'm not just saying that because I was victorious but because it is! So many things made this a fun event but one of the main things that stuck out after the race was when Mitch Hall (the assistant race director) asked point-blank what he could do to improve the race. He didn't just do this with me; I overheard him asking dozens of athletes and bystanders! This is something you don't always hear (or hear of) at races and it shows why the SuperSeal is already such an outstanding event. Mitch is an ex-Navy SEAL (that in fact is the origin of the race with a big military presence competing), and you can tell he's motivated by getting the job done right. Plus, if any terrorists wanted to mess with this race, he'd personally kick their ass!
Speaking of ass-kicking, that is exactly what happened to me, with the ocean swells doing the beating. As soon as I hit water I was pummeled, immediately thrown upside down and with my goggles ending up wrapped around my neck. The day before the race, Kevin Koresky and Joe Barrus (from Finishline-Multisport fame; my home stay) took both Miranda Alldirtt (fellow competitor and Canadian) and myself to the beach side to practice our swim-surf technique, if you could call it that. I knew then I'd be scared the next day, but adrenaline helped combat it a ton.
As it was it was a two-loop swim, with a 200-meter run along the beach after each lap. I had no energy whatsoever on lap two, after having been beaten down by the waves---arms just flailing to stay afloat. I lost roughly 2:30 on each lap, according to those yelling out splits. My pacing, albeit slow, was at least consistently so! Consistency is important! :)
There were never any problems with crowding with the waves and the strong currents. The only time I could find a pair of feet to draft was at the turn buoys.
T1 was rough. It's hard to balance on one-leg to get the wetsuit off. I had to keep my eyes on the horizon like a pilot just so I didn't tip over because I still had my sea legs. But I was able to get out without too many minutes lost(!) and then settle in on the bike, where the horizon awaited.
The bike course was a 4-loop version so it was a great event to measure power on my bike, to see how consistent I stayed, or hoped to stay. I used a fast Rolf front wheel and a weighty PowerTap (the first time I've ever raced with a power meter) in the rear. It wasn't a "fast" setup by any means but the 4-loop course was an ideal learning experience for energy output and getting some splits for each lap. Chuckie won't allow me to post the data...sorry!
From what I saw there was only limited amounts of drafting despite the multi-loop layout. The wind was just challenging enough to break-up any would-be packs, as it came in from all angles. This helped me catch the women's leader, Hillary Biscay, and then take the lead halfway through the ride. From there it was just head-down grinding.
T2 was much smoother than my first transition. I came in with the fastest bike split and a 2 or so minute lead, so I didn't need to panic quite as much as when I was in T1! I'm hoping to pick up a bike sponsor this year (Fuji, please!), and with the fastest bike split in almost every triathlon I've ever done, I'm optimistic that I'm on my way. The proposals will continue to be sent out! But the main focus right now is getting that swim down!
The run was one of the most epic runs I've ever done, race or no race. It was a two-loop course that started with a 2-mile beach run. You had to finagle yourself around the surf as it came ashore. The key was to stay in the hard-packed sand but yet avoid getting your shoes soaked; not an easy task when redlining the whole way! After two miles of sand the competitors then made a quick turn onto hard gravel, then pavement, and finally onto a nice trail, before returning back to the beach once more. Overall, it made the run that much more pleasurable but VERY challenging.
After the first lap I had lost a sizeable chunk of my lead to Haley Cooper-Scott; she was just 200 meters back! But 200 meters on sand is still a ways away, so I kept pushing. Thankfully I found another gear during the second lap and was able to 'muscle my way through' the sand. This run course is all about strength and I think if it had been purely about speed I'd have lost the lead.
For my efforts I won an engraved paddle! I rarely keep material prizes but when they are unique as this, I send them home for keeps. Chuckie joked that if I ever find myself up Sh!t Creek, at least now I have a paddle! In addition to the paddle I picked up a nice little check, which will be donated straight to the next few races!
-----------------------------------------
Back to the home stay…
Finishline-Multisports is Kevin and Joe's brainchild and, I have to say, these two guys are first-class! I've had three amazing home-stays this year and each has been as memorable as the events themselves! I hope the streak continues!
Training notes…
This was essentially a training race for me (though I always race all-out!). Basically that just means I didn't taper for the race and yet felt better than any tapered-for event; I've noticed this every single time I "train through" a race. As such we plan to continue this trend for the next race or two. As Coach says, when you feel better you are better, though he didn't need to convince me of it. It had been a rough 10 days post-California 70.3, and I was overridden with many aches and pains and it started to mess with my head. Even the day before the race I was hobbling around a bit and grew apprehensive (and even a bit negative) because of it. One thing I now realize is that racing is a whole new level of hurt and all those niggles seem to disappear. I have to remind myself this now!
I'd like also to congratulate Jonas Colting for his victory. I know they have beaches in Sweden, but somehow I don't imagine they're quite ready to host a triathlon yet. And yet Jonas goes out and wins anyway!
Finally, I want to say thanks to Mike Kraus, Solvang Chiropractor Extraordinaire, who put me back into one piece so that I could tough it out for another half-Ironman just 13 days after my first in two years! Expect to see me more often Mike!
First things first…what a GREAT event this is! I'm not just saying that because I was victorious but because it is! So many things made this a fun event but one of the main things that stuck out after the race was when Mitch Hall (the assistant race director) asked point-blank what he could do to improve the race. He didn't just do this with me; I overheard him asking dozens of athletes and bystanders! This is something you don't always hear (or hear of) at races and it shows why the SuperSeal is already such an outstanding event. Mitch is an ex-Navy SEAL (that in fact is the origin of the race with a big military presence competing), and you can tell he's motivated by getting the job done right. Plus, if any terrorists wanted to mess with this race, he'd personally kick their ass!
Speaking of ass-kicking, that is exactly what happened to me, with the ocean swells doing the beating. As soon as I hit water I was pummeled, immediately thrown upside down and with my goggles ending up wrapped around my neck. The day before the race, Kevin Koresky and Joe Barrus (from Finishline-Multisport fame; my home stay) took both Miranda Alldirtt (fellow competitor and Canadian) and myself to the beach side to practice our swim-surf technique, if you could call it that. I knew then I'd be scared the next day, but adrenaline helped combat it a ton.
As it was it was a two-loop swim, with a 200-meter run along the beach after each lap. I had no energy whatsoever on lap two, after having been beaten down by the waves---arms just flailing to stay afloat. I lost roughly 2:30 on each lap, according to those yelling out splits. My pacing, albeit slow, was at least consistently so! Consistency is important! :)
There were never any problems with crowding with the waves and the strong currents. The only time I could find a pair of feet to draft was at the turn buoys.
T1 was rough. It's hard to balance on one-leg to get the wetsuit off. I had to keep my eyes on the horizon like a pilot just so I didn't tip over because I still had my sea legs. But I was able to get out without too many minutes lost(!) and then settle in on the bike, where the horizon awaited.
The bike course was a 4-loop version so it was a great event to measure power on my bike, to see how consistent I stayed, or hoped to stay. I used a fast Rolf front wheel and a weighty PowerTap (the first time I've ever raced with a power meter) in the rear. It wasn't a "fast" setup by any means but the 4-loop course was an ideal learning experience for energy output and getting some splits for each lap. Chuckie won't allow me to post the data...sorry!
From what I saw there was only limited amounts of drafting despite the multi-loop layout. The wind was just challenging enough to break-up any would-be packs, as it came in from all angles. This helped me catch the women's leader, Hillary Biscay, and then take the lead halfway through the ride. From there it was just head-down grinding.
T2 was much smoother than my first transition. I came in with the fastest bike split and a 2 or so minute lead, so I didn't need to panic quite as much as when I was in T1! I'm hoping to pick up a bike sponsor this year (Fuji, please!), and with the fastest bike split in almost every triathlon I've ever done, I'm optimistic that I'm on my way. The proposals will continue to be sent out! But the main focus right now is getting that swim down!
The run was one of the most epic runs I've ever done, race or no race. It was a two-loop course that started with a 2-mile beach run. You had to finagle yourself around the surf as it came ashore. The key was to stay in the hard-packed sand but yet avoid getting your shoes soaked; not an easy task when redlining the whole way! After two miles of sand the competitors then made a quick turn onto hard gravel, then pavement, and finally onto a nice trail, before returning back to the beach once more. Overall, it made the run that much more pleasurable but VERY challenging.
After the first lap I had lost a sizeable chunk of my lead to Haley Cooper-Scott; she was just 200 meters back! But 200 meters on sand is still a ways away, so I kept pushing. Thankfully I found another gear during the second lap and was able to 'muscle my way through' the sand. This run course is all about strength and I think if it had been purely about speed I'd have lost the lead.
For my efforts I won an engraved paddle! I rarely keep material prizes but when they are unique as this, I send them home for keeps. Chuckie joked that if I ever find myself up Sh!t Creek, at least now I have a paddle! In addition to the paddle I picked up a nice little check, which will be donated straight to the next few races!
-----------------------------------------
Back to the home stay…
Finishline-Multisports is Kevin and Joe's brainchild and, I have to say, these two guys are first-class! I've had three amazing home-stays this year and each has been as memorable as the events themselves! I hope the streak continues!
Training notes…
This was essentially a training race for me (though I always race all-out!). Basically that just means I didn't taper for the race and yet felt better than any tapered-for event; I've noticed this every single time I "train through" a race. As such we plan to continue this trend for the next race or two. As Coach says, when you feel better you are better, though he didn't need to convince me of it. It had been a rough 10 days post-California 70.3, and I was overridden with many aches and pains and it started to mess with my head. Even the day before the race I was hobbling around a bit and grew apprehensive (and even a bit negative) because of it. One thing I now realize is that racing is a whole new level of hurt and all those niggles seem to disappear. I have to remind myself this now!
I'd like also to congratulate Jonas Colting for his victory. I know they have beaches in Sweden, but somehow I don't imagine they're quite ready to host a triathlon yet. And yet Jonas goes out and wins anyway!
Finally, I want to say thanks to Mike Kraus, Solvang Chiropractor Extraordinaire, who put me back into one piece so that I could tough it out for another half-Ironman just 13 days after my first in two years! Expect to see me more often Mike!
3 comments:
Nice job Angela! Hopefully this is the one that catches the eye of Fuji!
I know what you mean about training through races and feeling better, I felt that way last year. There is something about the down time that brings all the aches and pains to the surface. Maybe our bodies are just happier in motion :)
Again, great job, it's awesome to see you back and kicking ass!
No wonder you were losing time in the swim, you were racing Biscay!
She does what you do on the bike in the water. First almost every time!
But take a look at your swim times compared to the rest of the pack and you were right there.
Nice job out there.
So what's next? There is a HIM in Las Vegas this weekend. Talk about some hills! (But no money though!)
It's good to see you racing (and winning!) again. I think you are right that 2010 will be a smasher!
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