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As far as ‘not ideal starts’ go, this was up there! I woke up at 3.30am, made up my nutrition, had breakfast and started loading up the car. I’ve recently started using CurraNZ and had been advised to double up on Race Day, so threw those in too! Fingers crossed the lack of muscle fatigue I had experienced in training would manifest in race mode! During racking, my stomach decided to inform me of some mild issues, next port of call, the loo! I dashed out of transition just as the race started and joined a very long queue for the toilets, not ideal but I had 40 minutes until I needed to be at the waters edge. After a quick race briefing we were allowed in to the water 5 minutes before the start to acclimatise and warm up. To make matters worse my goggles were starting to fog up. Towards the middle of the swim I started to catch the slower swimmers from the wave ahead. One of whom was doing backstroke. In the last third I started to push harder as any concerns of breathing issues had all settled by now. Making my way to the turnaround was good, although I got stopped at a junction by the police only to be nearly knocked off my bike by a guy who went sailing past me and the office, barely acknowledging what he had done! At the start of the second lap I took a moment to mentally assess how things were going; really good. During Lap 2 I noticed that my HR was starting to drop into high Z2 rather than Z3. The power and speed numbers were steady though. About miles 9 things started to get tough and my run splits started to slow.
As triathletes swim in Presumpscot River, many eyes will be on snake watch
WESTBROOK – Dozens of triathletes from across Maine and the country who will be competing in the Presumpscot River this weekend will have bragging rights after swimming in waters where a giant snake, nicknamed Wessie, has been spotted. Several snake sightings have been reported in the park and a large snakeskin was discovered near the river on Aug. 20. Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts sent the snakeskin to an associate professor of biology at the University of Texas, where DNA tests determined that it belonged to an 8- to 9-foot, juvenile anaconda. Daniel Cassidy, the CEO of Major League Triathlon, and his wife, Sarah Cassidy, are using the snake to promote the triathlon and plan to award race winners a 4-foot stuffed anaconda toy. The Westbrook Community Center will receive 10 percent of the proceeds from T-shirt sales. The Cassidys said some of the triathletes had expressed concern about the presence of a giant snake in the river, but in the end the couple decided to hold the swimming portion of the race in the Presumpscot. Placyk, the biologist, told Westbrook police in his report that anacondas’ primary defense against people is flight. Westbrook is hosting the league’s last triathlon this year. Wilson, the Westbrook Community Center recreation coordinator, said she worked with her son, Justin Irish, to design the Wessie T-shirt. Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said Westbrook approved use of Riverbank Park for the event, but also offered an alternative swimming site – an outdoor swimming pool near the Sappi paper mill.
Lisa Ulrich
About 4 weeks before race day, my hip problem that I’d had under good control resurfaced and 3 weeks out I had to cut my last long run short. As I had planned, I raced the first mid week tri series race on June 9 which was great for some speedwork, then I raced the Westlock sprint tri on June 13 in miserable conditions. With the extreme heat wave that blasted its way into CDA, race day was looking to be the hottest day at 41C, so race start was moved an hour earlier. Although for all of my other typical races, I normally sleep very well the night before, I have never been able to sleep the night before Ironman. I made sure to swim at a comfortable pace, and to ‘race my own race’. I kept repeating to myself ‘Don’t be a hero on the bike’, and ‘Don’t overextend’, and of course ‘race your own race’. My Coeur team race kit was fabulous, very comfortable and looks great too! Thank you to Coeur for your support this year! Also, it was awesome to see a bunch of other Coeur team members out there in their race kits! My mantra for the run was ‘Run when you can, walk if you have to’, and ‘Run the mile you’re in’, and ‘Be Tough’. Every time a female passed me, I just continued on with my own race and didn’t worry about it, I had no idea who was in my AG as everyone’s numbers were washed off their legs by that point. Kona wasn’t really even on my radar prior to this race, as I wasn’t sure how my body would hold up during the marathon without the run build that is necessary to perform well. Huge thanks to Geoff for being my super supportive race sherpa 🙂 xoxo.
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