Race Report {Maple Grove International Triathlon}

I’m not sure if I’m the only one like this, but with lots of fitness and a disappointing result, I wondered if I should do one last triathlon before the season ended in Minnesota. For a half second I considered Superior Man 70.3 again but I knew that was too much. But an International distance was doable and I signed up for the Maple Grove Triathlon a few days before the race on August 25th, 2018.

This race was 3 weeks after Ironman 70.3 Boulder and I was still in my ‘post race period’ and didn’t do any specific training other than riding my bike to work almost every day and enjoying the last weeks of Open Swim Minneapolis. My daily workouts didn’t include a lot of running; I think I was (am) a little scared of my running ability after Ironman 70.3 Boulder. But I was looking to this shorter distance triathlon to bring my confidence back up!

I had not completed in an International (similar to Olympic) distance since my very first triathlon in June of 2015 so I wasn’t sure how hard to go in the swim and bike and what changes to make in my pre and race day nutrition. My pre day nutrition was unique in that I went to the MN State Fair with my work team and volunteered. I couldn’t go to the MN State Fair (first time in 10 years) without trying a couple of the new food items so I had the All Day Breakfast Nordic Waffle for breakfast, the pulled pork sliders from The Hanger for lunch, and purchased a pail of Sweet Martha’s cookies to take home. This day included a decent amount of walking and standing as well. Not ideal the day before a race but I wasn’t going to miss out on this team building volunteer event! I stopped for sushi en route home after packet pick-up. Sushi the night before was a first as well. After my cramping issues at Ironman 70.3 Boulder, I purchased Osmo Preload Hydration for women to use as it was forecasted to be warm and knew I’d be pushing intense efforts again. I drank a serving with water before bed as described on the outside of the container.

Day Day!

I kept my race day morning nutrition the same – overnight oats (oats with almond milk, banana, cinnamon and dash of salt) which I ate on my drive to the venue and drank 8 oz of water with a Nuun Energy tablet as I was sitting up my transition area. The best move I made during setup was to use the port-a-potty at the elementary school I parked in before heading to the race venue! No lines and clean – big bonus!

Swim

We were out of transition at 6:30am with the race officially starting at 6:45am. I drank another serving of Osmo Preload Hydration for women after I left transition and before the race started (this was prescribed on the container as well). I did jump into the water during the practice time allotted to familiarize myself with the water temperature. Good move and I was ready to hit the water….after I waited on the hillside for my wave to be called at 7:10am.

We entered the water 2 by 2 and we were off! It was an overcast day with the threat of heating up and the humidity increasing but it was a great morning to start a race. I settled into my swim early and without much issue; focusing on my form, breathing, and sighting in order to swim a straight line. I knew that 1.2 miles was 2,112 yards but I forgot to do the conversion for .93 miles so I wasn’t sure exactly how far I was suppose to swim – which was probably a good thing! We swam in a triangle of sorts and soon I was sighting the beach and the finish line.

T1

Smooth transition from swim to bike – took off my wetsuit, put on cycling shoes, helmet, sunglasses, put two Lara Bar in my pockets – and I was off!

Bike

I love to ride! It always feels so good after getting out of the water – I like the freedom on being on the open road and not surrounds by others as you are in the water! The course was well marked and I enjoyed riding through Western Maple Grove and Corcoran on the local country roads. The International Course eventually met up the Sprint Course for the last miles as we rode into T2.

PS – I remembered to spin my wheels before jumping on my bike but I must not have spun them enough because I didn’t have power AGAIN! Arghh!

T2

Smooth transition from bike to run – racked my bike, took off my helmet and glasses, put on my race belt, shoes, Patagonia hat, and Nathan Handheld water flask filled with Skratch Labs Hydration and a Honey Stinger Organic Chews– and I was off!

Run

I was nervous as to how my body would hold up given my experience at Ironman 70.3 Boulder. I pushed the bike a bit harder but I only covered 23.2 miles instead of 56 so I hoped my legs would be fine. And they were! Yes! I could run again! I started slow and took the first several minutes to ease into it. I got passed by several people but I didn’t care. I wasn’t cramping and had a smile on my face.

It was a 2 loop – 3.1 mile course and felt good coming around the finish the first time (what a tease!). I picked up my pace a bit and ended up a slight negative split which never happens to me! That told me a could have gone a bit faster on the first lap but I was too nervous to do so.

Finish

When I checked online I saw that I received a 2:00 minute penalty. 2:39:34 without, 2:41:34 with and my official time. I’m not sure where I got the penalty but could have been going up a hill on the last mile or so when I was surrounded by several riders and didn’t want to brake going up a hill. A USAT motorcycle went by as I was going up the hill and I don’t think I was 3 bike lengths away from the other riders. It didn’t cost me in this race but something I’ll keep in mind going forward.

Takeaways from Maple Grove International Triathlon

I needed this day for my confidence. I needed to prove that I can bike hard and run after. I needed to believe I had made improvements since I started 3 sessions ago (I have – almost 30 minutes off my first race). Cheers to perfect race weather, a great course, and a big smile as I crossed the finish line. Bring on 2019!