Summer Roundup Tri

So, I went back to the Summer Roundup  for the third time. This race is put on by Rufus Racing out of Joplin and was my very first triathlon in 2009. I was attracted to it because the swim was in a pool, but unlike the indoor tris, the bike and run legs were outside. As an added bonus was that the swim was only 250 yards, easily doable for this girl afraid of the water.

This year, the race moved to a lake and an Olympic distance was offered. It was held at a beautiful private late near Jasper, Missouri. The swim was two 750 meter loops with a 50 meter run in between loops. Interesting. The plus side was that breaking the 1500 meters into two loops made the distance seem less intimidating, but getting out and having to get back in was not something I was looking forward to.

The lake was like glass, and the water was warm. I didn't have any issues at all, aside from still having a feeling that the buoys were a long way away. I plugged along and eventually I made it to the turn and back to shore. Getting back in for the second loop wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, and I even managed to finish that loop a little stronger. Yay!

A loooong run to transition, and I was on the bike. The bike course had a few rolling hills but was mostly flat. It was great course for me. My bike legs took about 7-8 miles to kick in, but I had a great ride. The Garmin recorded 19.5 mph, but we'll see what the official time was. Nineteen and a half miles per hour over 25 miles! Yes!

Unfortunately, my run, my strongest aspect of this sport, seems to be going downhill. It was hot by the time I strapped on my running shoes, but Louisville will be hot. The course was flat, but it literally went straight out for 3 miles and back again. For whatever reason, that was tough mentally. There was not enough water on the course and not a speck of shade. I walked a bit and would be surprised if I did better than a 9.5 minute pace. (YUK!). My coach tells me that this is typical of IM training, and that my running legs will come back. Though I'm thrilled that my biking has improved, but I hate that it's coming at a bit of cost to my running. I'm waiting for those running legs...

My time came in at 3:01, eleven minutes faster than my only other 5150 time at HyVee last year. I'm happy with the time. I'm ecstatic that I had no issues whatsoever on the swim. And, I won my age group agian (3 for 3). Who cares that no one else was in my age group?  :-)



The Red Ladies cleaned up today. We all won awards!