Triathlon Race Report. Boo. Fricking. Yah.
Ok, so you may have heard by now that I did my first triathlon.
I was lucky in that I found one that was all women -- the Pink Power Triathlon in Richmond. I cannot rave enough about the staff, volunteers and other athletes. Total Love-In.
450 women entered -- apparently 200 were first-time triathletes. (Don't know for sure, since I was stuck in traffic on I-95 for 4 freaking hours and missed the pre-race meeting and barely made it in time for packet pick up.)
Unfortunately with an all-female field, that meant these guys weren't there:
(Those are photos from the Malibu Tri, in case you aren't obsessed with celebs who tri.)
How much would I have given for a DM Bike Jersey like this?
Here was my plan:
I'm gonna start fast on the swim, then I'm gonna run fast in the middle, then I'm gonna end fast on the run.
Why did I think I could do that?
Cause I'm just stupid.
Ok, so I swam
I do a mean back stroke, no? It was a pool swim, which means everyone starts one at a time, based on your submitted swim time. I submitted 12 minutes as my estimate to swim 400 m (16 laps). Which meant I got in the pool about 90 minutes after the first swimmer -- yes, women were crossing the finish line before I even got in the pool. I'm not sure if that's inspirational or disheartening. Yes, I had my knitting with me -- which outed me as a total couch potato, but at least 5 different women stopped and told me what a great idea that was. Hey, it kept me sort of calm while everyone else was really antsy.
Panic #1 -- crap, how do I get this swim cap on? I'd never used one before. Yikes. Got it and my goggles on just in time. I was doing pretty well on the swim, even did freestyle for the first few laps, but a woman a few spots ahead of me was so freaking slow, and she wouldn't pause at the wall and let people pass. So I spent way too much energy trying to pass her and then stay ahead of her. *grumble* I ended up doing the swim leg in just under 14 minutes.
Out of the pool and on to T1: Yay, the husband had both girls standing by the orange fencing outside the transition area. (Part of the reason I wanted to do this race was so my girls would see that mommies run races & do triathlons too, not just daddies.) I took my time in transition (I needed to catch my breath big time before the bike leg) -- over 5 minutes I found out later. Yikes. Note to self: need to improve cardio health so I don't waste too much time in transition.
Bike leg: (Hey, nice basket!)
This was a freaking brutal bike course for a beginner -- very hilly and desolate, like that section in the Tour de France they call 'Mars'. There wasn't anyone out there but the traffic control cops & volunteers (who were all men, BTW, and had these blue t-shirts that read "Triathlon Chicks are Hot". Heh.)
Got to the bottom of the first third of the course, and my freaking shoe lace gets caught in my gears. I slipped one foot out of the toe clips, but I couldn't get the one with the caught lace loose, luckily there was grass on the shoulder.
Everyone who passed me while I was off my bike asked if I was OK. While they're huffing & puffing up this monster hill. Once I got back on the bike, I got to face that hill from a dead stop & no momentum. Goody. Oh and I have this monster bruise on my right hip.
The middle third of the bike course is also very hilly and isolated. It went right past a hospital, so I was very proud of myself when I passed without needing the ER. Good thing there wasn't a cemetery on the course. At this point, I was repeating to myself "pain is temporary, quitting is forever", over and over again. There was a spot where the course goes over a highway overpass, so while I'm pedaling uphill, the gals approaching on the other side of the road are also going uphill -- and almost every single one would shout out some words of encouragement as we passed each other. (Doing great! Good job!) How awesome is that?
At the bleakest spot on the course, I look up and my silly husband has traipsed out (this is around mile 8 of 11.8) to boost my spirits. How sweet is that? As Susanita would say, he's a total Halpert. Hee. Right afterward was a short, but very steep hill I was dreading, and I made it up without having to get off my bike & push. Score!
The last third of the bike leg was pretty much flat. Yay. Hey, and I finally passed someone!
OK, it was an 11 year old girl, but still, I passed someone! Woo!
OK, back to transition, get off the bike, get ready for the run. By this time, my hair (which was NOT protected by the swim cap) has completely dried under my bike helmet. Oh, and I can't wear a hat when I run; I just get too freaking hot.
Yup. Looking good.
Which brings us to the 5K run:
First, let's cleanse the palate with a happy photo to get that Karen image out of our minds. Yikes.
Again -- the 5K:
But I didn't have a cute boy holding my hand as my excuse for why I was so slow. I'm just slow.
Have I mentioned that I had never run before this summer? Not a 5K, not anything. And I can't even run an entire 5K when I haven't already been out in the summer heat for 2 hours, so all things considered, I didn't do too badly. There was a water stop at the beginning of the run course, which was great because my Gatorade had been sitting in the sun getting warm. (This is where I discovered that Blue Powerade is gross. Just my opinion, but it's a fact.) But I think the water at the stop was too cold, because I could feel my stomach sloshing around a bit. Ruh-roh.
Don't want to be this guy.
So I walked most of the course, met a nice lady and we chatted while power walking as best we could. At the last water station, the guys were hooting and hollering for us to hurry up and get there already, so we ran for a while -- we get there and all the volunteer guys had their shirts off, and a few even had bow ties.
How adorable is that? Silly boys. So, I was in a little better spirits for the next part, which trailed through a neighborhood. Oh, crap, witnesses! There was a guy standing in his front yard cheering as we went by -- I asked him if he had 450 women run past his front door every Sunday morning. Heh, I crack myself up. ;o)
Finally get back to the YMCA, which is home base for the race. I think I'm almost done, but nooo... I still have to run all the way around the soccer field, and it's this squishy soft grass, which might be nice to play soccer on, but it's a shock after the paved trails I was on, so I felt like I was running in this:
Panic #2 -- I'm running along (yes, I saved some run for that last bit where people were watching) and all of a sudden, I don't feel that plastic strap that holds my timing chip around my ankle. Damn, I'm lucky I was still somewhat alert. So I had to turn around and look for the damned thing -- and I had only run back like 20 yards. *phew* I heard the officials were laughing at me (you're going the wrong way!) Great. I love that.
I look up and I see the race clock is almost at 4 hours (that's since the first athlete hit the water), but still, I want to beat that 4 hour mark, so I pour on whatever juice I have left.
Wow, I feel God at this finish line this afternoon. I have to thank my Keds running shoes...
They had this nifty mist tent at the finish -- A-W-E (clap-clap) S-O-M-E.
I looked like a drowned rat, but with fewer clothes, and no indie rock hipster band by my side. Didn't care. It was awesome.
Oh, and they had a bouncy castle so my girls were seriously entertained.
In fact, we got a mini-trampoline for our oldest for her 5th birthday, which is today. Bounce, bounce, bounce....
Oh, and it took for-freaking-ever for the results to get posted:
So, yeah, I didn't exactly make the podium. In fact, I think I was dead last. Or second to last. Which puzzles me because the official said there were still folks out on the course -- I guess they DNF'ed.
That 11 year old girl must have caught me on the run -- she beat me by three minutes. *more grumbling* I'd like to see that girl in 30 years after she's had a couple of kids & see how fast she is then....
Oh well -- I did finish, in a little over 2 hours & 15 minutes -- so I am officially a triathlete:
Woo.
And then I took a nap:
And it was good.
Postscript: I think the husband & I are going to both do another triathlon in October. Of course, he'll have finished before I even hit the water. But he can make sure to get the good bagels for me before they're all gone.
I was lucky in that I found one that was all women -- the Pink Power Triathlon in Richmond. I cannot rave enough about the staff, volunteers and other athletes. Total Love-In.
450 women entered -- apparently 200 were first-time triathletes. (Don't know for sure, since I was stuck in traffic on I-95 for 4 freaking hours and missed the pre-race meeting and barely made it in time for packet pick up.)
Unfortunately with an all-female field, that meant these guys weren't there:
(Those are photos from the Malibu Tri, in case you aren't obsessed with celebs who tri.)
How much would I have given for a DM Bike Jersey like this?
Here was my plan:
I'm gonna start fast on the swim, then I'm gonna run fast in the middle, then I'm gonna end fast on the run.
Why did I think I could do that?
Cause I'm just stupid.
Ok, so I swam
I do a mean back stroke, no? It was a pool swim, which means everyone starts one at a time, based on your submitted swim time. I submitted 12 minutes as my estimate to swim 400 m (16 laps). Which meant I got in the pool about 90 minutes after the first swimmer -- yes, women were crossing the finish line before I even got in the pool. I'm not sure if that's inspirational or disheartening. Yes, I had my knitting with me -- which outed me as a total couch potato, but at least 5 different women stopped and told me what a great idea that was. Hey, it kept me sort of calm while everyone else was really antsy.
Panic #1 -- crap, how do I get this swim cap on? I'd never used one before. Yikes. Got it and my goggles on just in time. I was doing pretty well on the swim, even did freestyle for the first few laps, but a woman a few spots ahead of me was so freaking slow, and she wouldn't pause at the wall and let people pass. So I spent way too much energy trying to pass her and then stay ahead of her. *grumble* I ended up doing the swim leg in just under 14 minutes.
Out of the pool and on to T1: Yay, the husband had both girls standing by the orange fencing outside the transition area. (Part of the reason I wanted to do this race was so my girls would see that mommies run races & do triathlons too, not just daddies.) I took my time in transition (I needed to catch my breath big time before the bike leg) -- over 5 minutes I found out later. Yikes. Note to self: need to improve cardio health so I don't waste too much time in transition.
Bike leg: (Hey, nice basket!)
This was a freaking brutal bike course for a beginner -- very hilly and desolate, like that section in the Tour de France they call 'Mars'. There wasn't anyone out there but the traffic control cops & volunteers (who were all men, BTW, and had these blue t-shirts that read "Triathlon Chicks are Hot". Heh.)
Got to the bottom of the first third of the course, and my freaking shoe lace gets caught in my gears. I slipped one foot out of the toe clips, but I couldn't get the one with the caught lace loose, luckily there was grass on the shoulder.
Everyone who passed me while I was off my bike asked if I was OK. While they're huffing & puffing up this monster hill. Once I got back on the bike, I got to face that hill from a dead stop & no momentum. Goody. Oh and I have this monster bruise on my right hip.
The middle third of the bike course is also very hilly and isolated. It went right past a hospital, so I was very proud of myself when I passed without needing the ER. Good thing there wasn't a cemetery on the course. At this point, I was repeating to myself "pain is temporary, quitting is forever", over and over again. There was a spot where the course goes over a highway overpass, so while I'm pedaling uphill, the gals approaching on the other side of the road are also going uphill -- and almost every single one would shout out some words of encouragement as we passed each other. (Doing great! Good job!) How awesome is that?
At the bleakest spot on the course, I look up and my silly husband has traipsed out (this is around mile 8 of 11.8) to boost my spirits. How sweet is that? As Susanita would say, he's a total Halpert. Hee. Right afterward was a short, but very steep hill I was dreading, and I made it up without having to get off my bike & push. Score!
The last third of the bike leg was pretty much flat. Yay. Hey, and I finally passed someone!
OK, it was an 11 year old girl, but still, I passed someone! Woo!
OK, back to transition, get off the bike, get ready for the run. By this time, my hair (which was NOT protected by the swim cap) has completely dried under my bike helmet. Oh, and I can't wear a hat when I run; I just get too freaking hot.
Yup. Looking good.
Which brings us to the 5K run:
First, let's cleanse the palate with a happy photo to get that Karen image out of our minds. Yikes.
Again -- the 5K:
But I didn't have a cute boy holding my hand as my excuse for why I was so slow. I'm just slow.
Have I mentioned that I had never run before this summer? Not a 5K, not anything. And I can't even run an entire 5K when I haven't already been out in the summer heat for 2 hours, so all things considered, I didn't do too badly. There was a water stop at the beginning of the run course, which was great because my Gatorade had been sitting in the sun getting warm. (This is where I discovered that Blue Powerade is gross. Just my opinion, but it's a fact.) But I think the water at the stop was too cold, because I could feel my stomach sloshing around a bit. Ruh-roh.
Don't want to be this guy.
So I walked most of the course, met a nice lady and we chatted while power walking as best we could. At the last water station, the guys were hooting and hollering for us to hurry up and get there already, so we ran for a while -- we get there and all the volunteer guys had their shirts off, and a few even had bow ties.
How adorable is that? Silly boys. So, I was in a little better spirits for the next part, which trailed through a neighborhood. Oh, crap, witnesses! There was a guy standing in his front yard cheering as we went by -- I asked him if he had 450 women run past his front door every Sunday morning. Heh, I crack myself up. ;o)
Finally get back to the YMCA, which is home base for the race. I think I'm almost done, but nooo... I still have to run all the way around the soccer field, and it's this squishy soft grass, which might be nice to play soccer on, but it's a shock after the paved trails I was on, so I felt like I was running in this:
Panic #2 -- I'm running along (yes, I saved some run for that last bit where people were watching) and all of a sudden, I don't feel that plastic strap that holds my timing chip around my ankle. Damn, I'm lucky I was still somewhat alert. So I had to turn around and look for the damned thing -- and I had only run back like 20 yards. *phew* I heard the officials were laughing at me (you're going the wrong way!) Great. I love that.
I look up and I see the race clock is almost at 4 hours (that's since the first athlete hit the water), but still, I want to beat that 4 hour mark, so I pour on whatever juice I have left.
Wow, I feel God at this finish line this afternoon. I have to thank my Keds running shoes...
They had this nifty mist tent at the finish -- A-W-E (clap-clap) S-O-M-E.
I looked like a drowned rat, but with fewer clothes, and no indie rock hipster band by my side. Didn't care. It was awesome.
Oh, and they had a bouncy castle so my girls were seriously entertained.
In fact, we got a mini-trampoline for our oldest for her 5th birthday, which is today. Bounce, bounce, bounce....
Oh, and it took for-freaking-ever for the results to get posted:
So, yeah, I didn't exactly make the podium. In fact, I think I was dead last. Or second to last. Which puzzles me because the official said there were still folks out on the course -- I guess they DNF'ed.
That 11 year old girl must have caught me on the run -- she beat me by three minutes. *more grumbling* I'd like to see that girl in 30 years after she's had a couple of kids & see how fast she is then....
Oh well -- I did finish, in a little over 2 hours & 15 minutes -- so I am officially a triathlete:
Woo.
And then I took a nap:
And it was good.
Postscript: I think the husband & I are going to both do another triathlon in October. Of course, he'll have finished before I even hit the water. But he can make sure to get the good bagels for me before they're all gone.