It's done, my first real triathlon is done. Leading up to the race I wasn't nervous or even thinking much about it. The butterflies didn't hit until late on Friday afternoon. I wasn't nervous about the bike or running leg, just the swim. 500M is not that long unless you have never done a 500M open water swim before.
I had a nice pasta dinner followed by frozen yogurt and my favorite froyo shop. BJ and I chatted with Thomas and did a final Q&A session. Any nervousness I was feeling was concentrated in my stomach. I kept reminding myself that this was just a training day that involved all three sports. I told myself it was my first race, all I had to do was try my hardest and we'd work from there. I practiced breathing. Nothing worked. I lay awake at night listening to the crickets and thinking "omg do I really have to swim with a herd of other people?". When I eventually did fall asleep I had a nightmare that my racing buddy had failed to complete the one task I has assigned him, print the directions to the park. We had to run back home and find them on the computer. While I was busy looking up directions he made himself a sandwich and sat down to eat it. I was flabbergasted and he said he was hungry. I checked my watch and it was after 9AM, we had missed the race. Is there a training plan for dealing with pre race anxiety? I need it!
The alarm clock went off, we ate a wholesome race breakfast of oatmeal, packed and we're on our way without issue. As we checked in I tried to not focus on the two buoys in the water. Those large yellow blow up pyramids looked really far away! It'll be over in no time, just like in the pool. That was my mantra for the swim and I began repeating it early on along with a bunch of other self motivating thoughts. There was a lot of confusion about which way we were running in and out of the transition area for each leg. They announced the plan for the swim but not after that. I'd just follow the person in front of me and hoped they had a clue what they were doing. Once you are checked in and your transition area set up it's a bunch of sit and wait....
Finally the gun went off for the first group. Melle and I were in the old lady group so we'd be going last. 5 minutes between each leg, more hurry up and wait. When the wave before us went off I got in the water to warm up. It would be a deep water start and many gals were at the buoys treading water immediately. I stood at the back just like my friend Chris has suggested and fought for the last position with another two gals. We laughed about starting in deep water, how far the buoys were and other nervous talk. Once the announcer did the final 10 second count down I paddled out and started swimming. It never fails, when I put my face into open water and see green murk my technique goes to hell. I could not breathe out my nose and couldn't find a rhythm. "just like in the pool, just like in the pool, oh crap is that a leg in front of me". Even with my horrible technique and rhythm I began to catch girls. I kept forcing myself to not give up and stay calm. I felt a hand brush up again my thigh so I swam faster, not to beat her but so that I could find a spot where no one would touch me. I looked up once to make sure I was on track for the yellow pyramid and was surprised I was swimming in a straight line. Head down off again... It was windy that day and the buoys moved 5-8 feet. Many girls had reached the buoy and were hanging onto it. As I set myself up to swim around it I had several girls on my left, I would be on the inside position to make the turn. As I began to change strokes to get around the buoy a gust of wind forced it 5+ feet out of the way. The girls on my right had already begun the turn and were going to swim over me. It appeared we all had assumed the buoy would stay in the same position. It felt like cheating but I swam to the inside of where the buoy was currently but what would have been the outside of the buoys original position. But I had several cheaters with me so my race karma is equal right? ;-)
I kept going and going. I wasn't tired but my breathing wasn't as calm as I would of liked. Adrenaline was certainly pushing the HR up. I was a race of patience and stick-to-it-ness. I made sure to properly round the next buoy and headed for the dock. Mid way there I couldn't get my breathing to calm down and settle into a nice rhythm so I began a side stroke. I noticed I was swimming faster than the girls around me doing this so I just kept at it. I was relieved to reach the sand and be done with that!!
I hustled to transition and geared up for the bike. This part I'd like. I immediately took off and began passing girls. The course was pavement, fire road and singletrack. Each time I saw someone in front of me the thought of 'there is your rabbit, go get the rabbit' was in my mind. One by one I picked the women off until I began catching men. The only significant hill was a paved climb and many folks were walking up it. HR follows exertion, don't blow up on the climb. I geared down and focused on strong pedal strokes without pushing super hard. Next up was a steep downhill so into big chain ring I shifted. There was a car following a male cyclist who appeared terrified of speed. Damn it this is where we FLY! Once I saw it was safe I hammered it passing the car and the rider. There was a male in front of me as we approached the dirt. The minute his tires hit dirt he about launched himself off the bike. I'm convinced this might have been his first time riding dirt! Now I was scared, passing a newbie can be dangerous. I called out to give him plenty of warning and gave him a 3 foot wide birth riding off the trail and into the tall grass. Not the safest option but I was not getting stuck behind this guy! Ah dirt, my favorite. I was sailing on the course when we came to a stream crossing. The guys in front of me screamed like girls over a little bit of water. Following polite racing etiquette I screamed "I'm riding it" and the boys scattered like cockroaches. More singletrack with tight turns and few quick climbs, really poor sight lines and some annoying tree that jumped out in front of me. Okay, I went into the turn way to hot and it was a bit sharper than I expected. :-) I especially enjoyed the kickers that someone built on the track and nailed some nice jumps! Back onto pavement for a bit. I manualled off the curb and heard the officer say "I guess she knows what's she's doing". LOL! Then we had to ride up a curb. As I watched the guy in front of me attempt this it brought back memories of how scary high those curbs look. I sailed up the curb past him as he said 'you should go in front'. Thanks buddy! :-) There were several spots on the trail where people were walking their bikes. One was a short but steep downhill section. Again, "I'm riding it". :-)
I came into the transition area where we had to slow down and dismount. You know that competitive monster that resides in me? Well, he makes a grand appearance at this point and decides to attempt a cyclecross dismount. WTF? It's been a year since I practiced that. Fortunately I managed to pull it off without leaving a DNA sample on the pavement and embarrassing myself in front of the support crew.
My main goal during T2 was to make sure my shoes were tied!! It's not uncommon for my shoes to come untied once, twice, half a dozen times on a run. I took the few extra seconds to focus on my shoe tying, grabbed my hat, water bottle and I was off. Ack! It always takes me some time to find my face legs. I had one gal in front of me that I immediately passed and then reminded myself to run my own race and find my pace. It wasn't long into the run that my left side began screaming at me. The ankle was tight as well as that pea that has been living in my left glute for the last 6 months. The upset stomach I had had since yesterday afternoon now became apparent. I asked myself if this was bad pain or just discomfort. I decided on discomfort and kept going but I knew my pace was off. Eventually there was a dirt shoulder and I began to run there. It was like floating on clouds compared to running on pavement. The men who had already made the turn made eye contact with me, smiled and yelled encouragements. I kept my eye out for BJ and other women. I knew I has passed a significant amount of women on the bike leg and I hadn't seen any for quite some time. I saw BJ running at me. He was all smiles and we exchanged encouraging words. Shortly after him was the first woman. She was RIPPED and obviously had done this before. She looked strong. A few minutes behind her was the next woman. Ok...I can handle that. I made the turn and decided I'd really push hard the last mile. At the aid station I dropped my water bottle since it was annoying me and I went for a kick. I was passing men and they yelled out encouraging words. I hadn't seen another woman but I knew there was a girl pretty close behind me. I kept imagining my crazy fast runner friend Molly behind me and told myself whatever discomfort I was feeling would be gone shortly. As my breathing became more rapid I was letting out little squeaks on the exhales. As I crossed the bridge and made the final turn I really pushed hard to cross the finish line where BJ was waiting. The announcer, as typical, said my first name followed by a "ummmmm". If you say it phonetically it ain't so bad mister! When he announced I was the fourth woman in I was a bit disappointed. I thought I had seen all the women in front of me.
At that point my stomach was still bugging me and I wasn't feeling too great. I knew I needed to get something in me so I walked back to the TA to get my favorite recovery drink, chocolate milk specially packed and waiting for me in the cooler. Ah...that hit the spot.
Overall a good first race. I'm glad I waiting until I was more mentally and physically confident.
Results : Overall 47/177
Woman 3/57
F35-39 1/14
Official finish 01:25:54
Swim : 00:12:29
T1 : 02:41:4
Bike : 38:59
T2 : 1:51
Run : 29:52
Monday, June 22, 2009
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