Hey there! I wanted write a post-race log as soon as I got a chance. I am not so good with the short-term memory so I wanted to write it down before I forgot! My race day really went flawlessly. It was such a great experience. So here I go...
The morning started at around 4:50am on Sunday morning. I had a great full night sleep but I did have some really weird dreams about my already doing the race! But when I woke, it was not true!! So I packed a couple remaining things and headed for the transition area. It was great having such great friends to do the race with. They were going through the same feelings you were and you could feel a bit of fear in the air. We got body marked with our numbers and set all of our gear up at our spots in the transition. As the morning wore on, that fear soon faded into excitement. We had a long wait until my heat started at 8:50am. So I headed back the hotel room and got dressed and started over to the swim start location. We got to see almost everyone start at the swim and wished everyone good luck. It was very excited when the novice triathletes got to go because everyone was so pumped. Yelling "go team", clapping, and yelling! Most of the novice's were from Team in Training and it felt so great having all the newbie's together.
The swim went well. My family was close by taking video and pictures. I waved to them as I went into the water and got quickly into my rhythm. The swim went very smoothly around the first buoy and the second. On the home stretch the waves picked up a bit and I kept drifting right and having to aim back left to go in a straight line. As I was nearing the steps I spotted my dad sitting on the edge and yelling to me. I finally reached the steps out of the water and heard my mom and Mat yelling my name. I have no idea how they found me because we all looked the same in white swim caps and black wetsuits.
I walked to my bike just because I was worried about being light headed and didn't want to loose my balance. I got to my bike and found it easily among the other 3499 bikes around me. I threw on my jersey, plopped down and washed off my feet with water. Dried them off and put on my socks and shoes. I put on my helmet and sunglasses and headed to the exit. I jumped on my bike and saw Mat standing there so I gave a wave and I was off. The bike ride was really fun. I talked to people as I passed them and they passed me. After 25 miles you start seeing the same group of people who are going your same speed. I just took it easy and got a bite to eat. Drank lots of liquids and had fun. The wind picked up about midway through. It was really tough at times but I geared down and got through it. I really passed a bunch of people and felt good about doing it. I did my fastest bike yet at 1 hour 27 mins. As I came in and got off my bike, my family was there again waiting and cheering. Apparently my mom was to see me and give Mat and Dad a heads up that I was coming so they could get the camera and video ready. Mom missed me completely so the cameras did to. But that's okay. I saw them and that's all that matters. So I jumped off my bike and walked to the transition area once again. I walked because I didn't want to run. I wanted to stretch out a bit before the run began. I hung my bike back up and headed out for the run.
Dad and Mat were right there and asked me how I was doing. I was doing pretty well at that point. I ate a gel that tasted like butt!!! But I chugged some water and kept running. I walked through water stop #1 and #2 and didn't stop until I got to mile 3. Since it was an out and back run I saw almost my entire team on the other side. Since we all started at a different time, and I was in the last heat, I got to see so many teammates. Lots of TNT purple shirts passed me and wished me lots of good wishes. I even passed a couple people! There were lots of people standing in their driveways cheering us on. Even people with hoses who wanted to hose us down with water if we wanted. Near the turnaround there was a family who had a loud speaker and was blaring music from the rocky soundtrack. It brought laughter and a bit of a push for me and others. At the turnaround I started back. Chatted with some people. Walked through the rest of the water/Gatorade stops and then finally the home stretch. It was wonderful seeing the end near. And the whole team was on there feet screaming my name and clapping. It was so excited to see them all and I had the biggest smile on my face. As I turned the corner I saw my mom and she was yelling. Mat was near the finish line and I was blowing him kisses as I came in. Then dad was right at the finish line with the video camera. It was great! The announcer said my name and commented on my cool shirt! The volunteers gave me my medal and I was finally done! I started hyperventilating a bit but dad helped me calm down. I am sure that it was just because I was excited and it was all over. It was still scary and I was crying a bit. But I eventually caught my breath and got hugs from Mat and my family. After things calmed down I headed back over to cheer the rest of the team in.
It was so much fun and I had such a great time. I will totally do one again. I am thinking maybe doing an Olympic distance triathlon once a year and doing a sprint tri once a month. The race was not too difficult, but I have been training since November. So it was just really putting together what I have been training for so long. I am still pretty sore, stiff really, but I am taking aspirin and that is helping lots.
I can't say enough about my donors, my family and friends. They made this whole experience so much better. From the flowers at work from friends, to the massage from my co-workers, to the faces of Mom and Dad at the finish. It was so worth it. Thank you to all of you who helped me through all the training. Especially to Mat who believed in me always and kicked my butt out the door when I didn't want to ride at 8am or go to an open water swim in freezing cold water. He always knew I could do it even when I am pretty sure I couldn't.
My final times are 35 mins for my swim, 1 hour 27 min for bike, and a 1 hour 23 mins for my run for a total (with transitions) of 3 hours 33 mins.
I can't wait to do another and I would love to have someone join me! Let me know if you are interested!!
Email me if you didn't get pictures and I will send them to you!
I competed in the Novice catagory
In my catagory I came in 194 out of 322
Overall I was 2820 out of 3148
In the swim I was 158 out of 322 with a time of 35:59
T1 3:44
In the bike I was 93 out of 322 with a time of 1:27:31
T2 2:07
In the run I was 278 out of 322 with a time of 84:10
I was 194 overall out of 322 with a final time of 3:33:30
This was my friend Katie's first triathlon. She did great and blew by me in the run. I am going to spend most of the fall working on my running and trying to get better form and technique.
