Saturday, March 12, 2011

70.3 shut out... making lemonade out of lemons

I had intended to do the Musselman 70.3 in Geneva, NY. Well, I had to check with school to see about my summer schedule before registering for races. Musselman was open last week when I checked, but it was closed when I went to register last night. I sought out any other 70.3 (which is a half-Ironman triathlon) races between Colorado and Vermont and found that all of them are full.

Plan B. I could have bumped up to Ironman, but I don't think I have the money for that. Also Ironman is inconsistent with my current training goals. I have to get faster before I can do any longer distance races. It takes me half of a day to run and recover from a 20 miler at my current pace. The combination of being short on time and having to cover long distances has had a detrimental effect on my overall fitness, I think.

In keeping with my desire for shorter, faster races, but wanting to try something new, I have registered for my first complete Xterra off-road triathlon. It will be August 27 at Lory State Park... but, if the mountain biking goes well, I may also register for the Indian Peaks Xterra earlier in August.

I have competed in 3 previous Xterras as part of relay teams. My teams have done pretty well (1st and 2nd) in the races that I have been the runner, but I was not stellar in the race in which I was a biker. I am not the strongest mountain biker in the world, but that race was rough... figuratively and literally. My front wheel rattled loose twice and, with about 3 miles left to go, my seat rattled loose and I ended up running a lot of that last 3 miles.

Lory State Park - Site of my first solo Xterra
I am pretty nervous about this race, but I have learned a lot about mountain biking since the 2009 Charlottesville Xterra. Now that I am registered, I will definitely get out there on the trails... but this should be interesting!
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4 comments:

  1. BrianMarch 12, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    Good job starting up a blog, Mindy. The more of my fellow nuts who keep up with their blogs, the guiltier I feel not keeping mine up to date!

    If I ever do a 70.3 I think it's going to be the Door County Triathlon in Wisconsin. I'm too in love with running on dirt to take the time to swim though. Plus my swimming makes me look fast on the trail.

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  2. ChristineMarch 12, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    yahoo! if it makes you feel better i am also thinking about the xterra tri (solo) thru ex2 at rocky gap in july - so need to get up there and practice! and need a new mtn bike! (i also need it for the tour de canal in the fall). i will need to strike a balance between the running (prepping for a longer trail run - maybe with you :)) and getting out on the bike too. i am thinking about throwing a road tri (maybe sprint) in there too. keep up the awesome work Mindy, you rock ! xoxo C (& ps miss you !)

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  3. ChristineMarch 12, 2011 at 2:06 PM

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  4. ChristineMarch 12, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    also, i like the look and feel (background) and title of the blog! and race dates. something handy i can refer back to :)

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