in the days leading up to the race I started freaking out. I even contemplated switching to the sprint distance. I was fearful of the cold lake water and my first open water swim. and I had seemingly twisted my ankle slightly while running around at work a few days before. was I ready for a 1500 meter swim + 24.8 mile bike + 6.2 mile run? it all sounded overwhelming.
transitional lovetriathlon is so much different than pure running races. there's just so much to think about. so much gear. I love just showing up at the starting line with some shorts and my running shoes. and obviously a top. plus a race bib. but in triathlon? you need a wetsuit. you need a bike. you need running crap. not to mention all the other little stuff that goes with each discipline. it's a lot to think about.
me + jer pre swimthe swim | 1500 meters | 26:31:300
the water was surprisingly warmer than expected. my feet and hands didn't go numb. my inner ear didn't hurt and I didn't get all dizzy and disoriented when I exited the water. for my first open water swim, I think it all went quite well. especially since they all say you can train and train in the pool, but the open water swim is completely different. yikes! you can see why I was nervous. but other than having a slight problem sighting the buoys and swimming in a relative straight line, it wasn't hard. the distance was definitely doable. my left shoulder hurt with each stroke for a little while, but I think that had something to do with not warming up. and it was pretty fun negotiating other swimmers without getting kicked in the face. I actually loved the swim. I'm all about the open water now.
T1 | 3:42:200
okay, I can probably work on this a little. wearing what I'll be running and biking in under the wetsuit would help. I had to pull on my shorts + tank, which is a little hard while still mostly wet. but at least I didn't forget my helmet {or put it on backwards like this poor soul}
biking out of T1the bike | 24.8 miles | 1:25:47:900
what can I say about the bike? man, was this section of the course beautiful! seriously. the olympic distance took two laps. so that was two times up the hills at the beginning. but the rest of the course was pretty flat and slightly downhill. nothing too scary, which was good. I tried to push it while not pushing it too hard that I wouldn't have anything left for the run. I liked getting passed by all the men and thinking how at least I was a faster swimmer. hey, you have to be positive in some way out there!
T2 | 1:36:400
this transition was much better. all I had to do was switch shoes and trade the helmet for the visor. easy cheesy.
the jello legs of the T2 runthe run | 6.2 miles | 56:32:100
man. the run. definitely the worst of the three. I should have probably done a few more brick workouts to get used to that bike to run transition. I had the jelly legs and I had it bad. I don't think they ever fully loosened up. and the heat. oh how I can't run in the heat. my body just shuts down. and not to mention the large hill within the first mile. I could have done without that. this is where I wished I had switched to the sprint distance. when I ran past their turnaround point I almost cried. I wish I could say I didn't walk, but I did. man, I need to toughen up. I feel I've lost some of my edge. it's not like I was hurting. my legs and foot felt fine. I was just not lovin' the heat, I guess. even though my legs felt like dead weight and I felt like I was just chugging along at an extremely slow pace, I had actually averaged a little over a 9 minute mile. which isn't too bad under the circumstances.
more cowbell!the finish | 2:54:09
it was good enough for a second place finish in my age division. I love the cowbell medals. this was totally a fun race and I would recommend it to anyone. and in the end, I'm glad I stuck with the olympic distance. just think what I could do with a little training!
it was good enough for a second place finish in my age division. I love the cowbell medals. this was totally a fun race and I would recommend it to anyone. and in the end, I'm glad I stuck with the olympic distance. just think what I could do with a little training!
me + jer + mallory + the gun show
8 comments:
congratulations!!! awesome job- and so brave to do the tri!!! i would freak out during the swim. maybe if i swam AT all i would change my mind! :)
i love the play by play- let's me know what to anticipate should i ever decide to do this! :)
way to go miss anna! i love the photos and am glad you stuck with it. way to work the tricky transitions..
i am jealous you got to do it with mal and jer too! what a super fun event. and second place is pretty rad, sista. good going! congrats to you!
You did great! It was funny, as I was reading your thoughts about nearly crying at the sprint turnaround I was laughing cause I was doing the same exact thing. Except replace crying with cursing like a sailor! I too need more brick workouts, gonna have to step up the efforts for the next race. If you are looking for another race I hear the Scofield Tri is voted Utah's favorite tri for like the past 3 years, and they claim to have the best swag.
way to go! maybe we could get together sometime and you could teach me to swim. my 1500 m swim took 51 minutes. embarrassing! i was the last girl out of the water.i wasn't tired and i even freestyled the whole way and stayed pretty straight, i was just SLOW. luckily, i could only move up from there. the bike to run is fun isn't it? jer and mallory are fun to tri with.
And boy can mallory swim!
you should have mallory teach you to swim, because she's pretty much a pro! she was guarding at steiner yesterday when pete was at the pool and she totally gave him some pointers on his stroke and told him what drills to do to help. maybe she should be my swim coach too!
Wow! Great report! I am totally impressed with your swimming abilities! And I've always wondered how the whole transitioning thing works. Great job and congrats on the 2nd place! That's really awesome for your first tri!
sorry i hope you don't mind i stole your tri report idea. i love your whole blog idea and i may steal the whole idea. i wouldn't expect many to read it, but if nothing else it would make me accountable and i could look back and see my progression or digression.
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