Thanks to Shannon for suggesting the title. I did the Stroke and Stride this evening. I saw Shannon at the pool last night during masters and was relaying my Vineman story. She saw me tonight and came up to me after the race and said "You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you?". And yes, I guess I am.
It actually wasn't too bad. I ran into Jess and Kristina beforehand - it always helps to have someone to pass the time with, especially since I hate waiting for the start. The swim ran a little long this time, but at least the buoys stayed in place. I tried out the new wetsuit in the smaller size. It didn't feel like a fatsuit this time. I think I like it, but I need another swim in it. I think I need to pull the right sleeve up a little more. I felt a little water coming in. But it fits so much better at the neck than my current one, so I really hope it works out. The water was a little choppy and I think I experienced the queasy feeling that Petra had during IM Florida. At one point I started to breathe to the other side and the combination of this and the waves was not a good one. Fortunately it passed quickly. The swim was otherwise uneventful. I felt pretty good but certainly wasn't pushing myself too hard. Swim time: 29:10 (the course ran a little long, but at least they told us).
I had a little difficulty spotting my transition spot. It didn't occur to me to find landmarks beforehand. I finally saw BJ and thus my spot. I sort of lolly-gagged through the transition talking to BJ about Vineman as I was getting on my shoes. I really wasn't sure how the run was going to go, but off I went. The first mile felt really good, but I forced myself to slow down and tried to stay in what I thought was Z3. I didn't have my HR monitor on, so it was totally by feel. I knew my legs were still recovering and I didn't want to push things. We got some cloud cover on the run, so the heat didn't bother me too much. I could feel the tiredness kicking in on the run back as well as the remnants of my being sick. There's still some crap in my throat. But I kept thinking of the last mile at Vineman and it got me through the rest of the run. Run time: 25:10 (8:08 pace).
Overall I'd say it went well. It is a fun event and doesn't have nearly as much pressure - at least for me. I know there are many out there that take this very seriously. So serious in fact, that I've heard they once started off one of the races with "Welcome to the Stroke and Stride World Championships."
Of course, I then got home and found an email from my coach saying "make sure you take it easy this week". Oops.
No comments:
Post a Comment