Last Tri of my 2016 Season - Greenville Sprint Tri

I DID IT!!!  My first triathlon season is in the books, and what a physical & mental roller coaster ride it has been!!  Greenville Sprint Tri was this past weekend and my last tri of the season.  I was tired, nervous, edgy and truly just didn't really want to do this last triathlon.  I had just had a great race at Lake Logan the weekend before and thought that was the perfect way to end my first triathlon season.  But HUB was the sponsor for the race, many teammates were racing, this would be my 5th race in the South Carolina Series - seriously, how could I not race??  My workouts for this week were pretty light, still trying to recover from Logan but still needed to be ready for Sunday's race.  I had an awful swim on Wednesday which totally wigged me out.  I was so frustrated when I left, why did I sign up for this race, I could have ended this season being a superstar and just be done with this craziness!!!  Ugh!

Trey had a business trip in Tallahassee so I tagged along with him, took a day off of exercise and tried to refocus and tell myself all I had to do was swim one last 400m and if I didn't want to, well I really never had to swim again - ha!ha! Sometimes you really just need a break...Trey and I went to the pool on Friday night (wow - haven't our Friday nights changed??) and I was able to swim my 400 with little to no problem at all - yay!  Then I swam it again...okay - I can do this!!  It started storming so we were kicked out of the pool, but I didn't care - I CAN still swim 400m.

My main focus for this race was reaching that blue blow up thing that says FINISH!!  I needed this race for the points in the series and of course, I really wanted to end my season on a positive swimming note!  Race morning came early as always...this was the first triathlon that Trey and I have raced together so I really had to have myself together for this one because he would not be poolside to cheer me on and on standby for any panic issues.  My great friend Kelly T was going to be there though so I knew I was in good hands, as long as she could stay focused enough to watch me...LOL!

Practice Swim

REAL Friend...
Can you believe this??? Joanna was doing the bike portion of Team Kelly relay, but she warmed up with me.
Who swims when they don't have to...LOL!

I have no explanation of why this swim went great - maybe, just maybe all the hours I have struggled with this and put in the pool is finally paying off.  Maybe, it was knowing it was my last race - who knows?  Who cares?  All I know is that I like it:)  This swim was in the deep pool so everyone was diving in, everyone but me, that is...I did my granny slide in and off I go!!  I had practiced in this pool for a couple of weeks prior to this race so I knew the pool and knew where the 25m mark was, before I knew it I had made it to the other end (50m) and then saw the 25m mark on the bottom and BAM made it to 100m....I thought to myself, I am actually enjoying this swim - what is going on, I have never enjoyed swimming...another 100m done (halfway!!)  I stayed focus on my swimming, I did not try to push it, I didn't want to change a thing...oh my!  There's the ladder and I actually enjoyed that.  I came out of the water and of course let everyone know that that was my best swim EVER!!  I just ended my 2016 triathlon season with a smile on my face.

I ran to transition still smiling!! Did that really just happen?  Then of course I reminded myself I do still have to ride the bike and run.  I ran out of transition and saw another friend and told her how great I felt during that swim, it is really ridiculous how giddy I was about that - ha!  So, onto the bike I go for the 15 mile bike (actually 14.4).   I was reminded once again on the bike that I am definitely an endurance girl, I couldn't find a groove at all on the bike, but I was fine with it.  All I had to do was cover the distance!

And I'm off!

Now time to run!  This is not an easy run...starts out through the parking lot then UP a trail, make a hilly block of a neighborhood in the blaring sun and back down the trail-that's loop #1...we got to do this twice.  I do love a two loop or an out/back run in a triathlon because you get to see teammates and other athletes that you know and get that extra "boost" to make it to the Finish Line.  I didn't push this run, I didn't have to...in my mind I was already a winner!  I had a good run on this course and made my way to the Finish Line with all the cheers from Team HUB!!  It is always an awesome feeling finishing a race and hearing your name called out!

One of my biggest fans that day...thanks for your cheers and the pics!

Kelly T is AWESOME!!

We hung out for the awards which Team HUB pretty much dominated at this race!!  And a huge shout out to Trey for placing 3rd in his age group...this was his first pool swim triathlon since 2003 - he's not a huge fan of pool swim triathlons or the shorter distance, but he ROCKED it anyway.

3rd place in his age group!

We had a post race team gathering at Shortfields since this was the last race for alot of us!

Some of Team HUB!! 

This has been a great first year and I am already thinking about what races I want to do in 2017.  I'm super proud of myself for not giving up & facing my fear of swimming and not letting it keep me from triathlon any longer!  I'm blessed with awesome friends and teammates.  I have a GREAT coach that has put up with me these last several months, she is also known as the "ghost", she seriously appears out of nowhere, I respect her and her knowledge of the sport, she pushed me to do what I wasn't sure I could do...she pretty much scares me...LOL!  It's been awesome - Coach Rose:)

Next Up:  Who knows?

Lake Logan 1/2 Ironman

There is a huge difference in being nervous about a race and being scared...removing the swim for me was the biggest relief - once I was able to accept that, I knew I had made the right decision because I never once second guessed it.   I've had Lake Logan in my sights since last year when I was there cheering on my triathlete friends, thinking one day I am going to do this!  The area is absolutely beautiful...rolling hills & mountains - perfect for me!

Jen and I signed up for a 2 person relay - Team HUB!  Jen would do the 1.2 mile swim and I would do the bike/run portion - 56 mile bike & 13.1 mile run.  I have been committed to all of my training workouts and have worked very hard, so once I was able to remove the swim portion from my wacko head I was full steam ahead and focused to race!  I was so happy when "taper week" got here, I was starting to get tired and ready for some easier shorter workouts.  I pretty much spent the week trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was going to be able to ride my bike 56 miles and then run a half marathon!!  Seriously, so my body is really going to be able to do that???  I have done both of these things many times separately, but the thought was still overwhelming me!!  I knew I was more than ready for this race.  Once again, I was about to do something that I had never done before.

Team HUB - 1/2 Ironman Relay!

Waynesville, NC has such a cute downtown and the area is gorgeous.  This was our first camping/race trip.  We set up camp and headed to packet pickup.  Surprisingly I caught myself just staring at the lake trying to imagine myself actually doing to whole thing, it seemed so less intimidating the way it was set up swimming buoy to buoy.  Probably since I knew I wasn't doing the swim portion, I thought wow - maybe I really could have done this.  BUT I let that thought leave my head and stayed focused on the bike/run - my gosh, that was going to be hard enough!!

We had dinner downtown with the Kellys, enjoyed watching a little clogging and headed back to the campsite for a VERY EARLY morning wakeup.

I didn't sleep great, but I felt good.  The race started at 7:00 so we left very early to get transition set up and then just hang out and wait!  It is very eerie headed down mountain roads in the dark knowing you will be racing soon...where is the daylight??  Met up with the rest of the team and chatted and waited for GO time!  The relays started in the last swim wave so I had a lot of time on my hands.  Once I saw Jen start the swim I started making my way over to transition.  It was fun being in the transition watching teammates come in and head out.  All of a sudden I heard Jen calling my name..."Amanda, Amanda, I had a good swim" - immediately I thought, shoot - now I am going to have get out there kick some butt!  There's something about being on a relay, it's not just your race - if your teammate did well, you feel pressure and don't want to let them down!!

So, off I go...

56 miles, I do this just about every Saturday...I got this!  This course is hilly but I was more than trained for it.  The first climb is pretty much right when you head out...but after that it is a fast course for about twenty miles or so.  I looked down at the Garmin and I was averaging around 20mph knowing this was going to change quickly.  Everyone told me, and also after riding some of the course before, I knew there was a big climb at mile 40ish and another pretty big climb at the end coming back in to transition. I personally felt some other climbs that were not mentioned, my small ring got a pretty good workout on this course.  I only had endurance drinks in my water bottles so I was a bit nervous about going through the water stations for the "water handoff" - another thing I have never done before:)  The volunteers were awesome at the water stations and I was able to do the water handoff with success.  I pretty much just took some sips of water, poured the rest all over me & continued on. I was around the same people the whole course.  I would pass them on the ups and they would pass me on the downhills.  I was so ready to get the mile 40 climb over with...my legs still felt good approaching the climb, I saw a few people actually walking their bikes up the climb, I just kept pedaling and trying to spin up and keep the burn at a minimum...all I could keep thinking was DON'T let your legs burn up-you still have 13.1 miles to run!! Whew...I made it, enjoyed the downhill and tried to settle back in, mentally knowing I only had one more climb to go!  The course then pretty much became a "false flat" which is not my favorite grade and I started feeling my legs and hips tightening up...oh great - this is not good.  I would say this is about the time that I was ready to get off the bike, I didn't necessarily want to run, but this bike course had been long enough for me.  I dropped down to an easier gear and decided to just sit back, not push and make to the last climb.  I pretty much spun right up that last climb and knew I was home free...but wait, I still have to run.  I usually grab lunch and a few adult beverages after a ride like this!  Dang, what did I sign myself up for???

I MADE IT!!! - 3:18:06

Now off to run - 13.1...just 3 miles uphill & down, around a field and back out for 3 more up & down.  I got this!!  I know how to run...I have put a lot of effort into my running lately.  Tempo work, speed work, slow endurance runs, etc.  I'm not usually one to brag but I pretty much kicked this courses butt!!  I headed out without a clue of how I was going to feel on this run...I knew I had followed my nutrition plan on the bike so off I go.  My legs were heavy of course starting out but I was surprised at how good they really did feel considering I had just ridden that many miles.  I constantly kept looking at my Garmin not wanting to go out too hard & not even sure if going hard was even a possibility...I went through mile 1 @ 9:06 pace - I felt good, did not feel like I was overdoing it so I just kept going.  I stopped at every water station, got a cold rag for the back of my neck, squeezed water all over me, took a sip and kept going...seriously at every water station - hit them going up and coming back down.  I reached the turnaround and told myself to pick it up a bit since this part is basically downhill - I kept the pace going down around 8:45ish.  I went through the field with Team HUB cheering me on...I felt like a superstar - got some high fives, let them know that I was feeling really good and heading back out for round two.  I was a little scared of this round, people had started walking and getting overheated.  I decided I may need to back off just a bit, almost anticipating falling apart and bonking.  I slowed these miles down to 9:30...please just don't start feeling bad, you can do this!!  I reached the turn around for the second time and I thought to myself - Girl, you did it!!!  You killed this course.  I don't know why or how but I felt almost as good as when I started...I picked up the pace to around 8:35 and decided it was time to end this party...I could hear the announcer and could see a glimpse of the lake and knew I had done it!!  I finished my last mile at an 8:08 pace with a huge grin on my face and knew that I had ROCKED IT!!!

WooHoo!! I DID IT!!  I accomplished more than what I expected I could do.  I am more than proud of myself!  Yay me!

Run Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:06
Mile 2 - 9:10
Mile 3 - 9:12
Mile 4 - 8:46
Mile 5 - 8:46
Mile 6 - 8:52
Mile 7 - 9:06
Mile 8 - 9:29
Mile 9 - 9:27
Mile 10 - 9:27
Mile 11 - 8:37
Mile 12 - 8:40
Mile 13 - 8:08

1:56:49...chip says 1:57:29 - I will take it!  That's a good 1/2 marathon time for me without a bike ride before:)

I started this race not wanting to set a goal for myself, but I did have a time in mind (I thought 3:30 on the bike and 2:00ish half marathon was reachable)..my coach reminded me that whatever my time was would be a PR.  This thought helped to relieve some pressure.

HUGE thanks to all of you for cheering me on!!  I have the best Team, Coach, and Friends!

Next up:  Greenville Sprint Tri

Tri the Swamp Rabbit

Tri the Swamp Rabbit...my main goal for this race was to enjoy it and NOT have a panic attack during the swim.  The past couple of weeks have not been good for me mentally with my swimming, again this is the hardest sport for me to wrap my mind around.  It's amazing what the mind can do.  I was so disappointed in myself because my goal for this year was to do Lake Logan Half Ironman in August, but after struggling with my mind and open water swimming I decided that that was just too much for me right now.  So once I got over that and got myself back on track, Tri the Swamp Rabbit was next on my race list.

Race morning came early as always.  We had a lot of Team HUB members racing which is always fun.  There was cloud coverage early that morning which made it feel pretty good out.  Got my transition set up and then had well over an hour to chat and get nervous.  I was able to jump in the pool for a few laps, whew...yay!  I think I may be able to swim today:)  Let's get this race started!!

Right before the national anthem - this is when the butterflies really start fluttering!

Coach Rose on deck.
This pic cracks me up with the photobomber.

This pool swim was utter chaos...if you are a good swimmer I can only imagine how aggravating this had to be BUT for me it helped to calm my nerves!!  After standing on the side for a while watching I knew no matter what happened I would fit right in...LOL!  It was finally time for me to jump in & off I go...I made it to the ladder without a panic attack - my race was complete before it even really started:)

WooHoo!  Swim #5 complete!!

Now off on the bike...I guess I used way too much energy celebrating my no panic attack because this was not a great bike for me.  I felt so tired when I got on the bike, my legs did not want to move at first.  It was a great course, few rollers, couple of hills and some flat sections where I should have been able to really push it, but that just was not happening today.  Afterwards, I realized maybe it is time to get Trey to finish up my tri bike ( I can't believe I just said that).

That girl in the white sunglasses was right on my tail the whole ride...Joanna is rocking the bike!!

I survived the bike...and now on to the last part of the tri - the RUN!!  I have felt great on all my training runs so I was excited about seeing how I would hold up.  I could not get my heart rate down when I started out, I felt like I was running about a 9:30 pace but when I looked at my Garmin I was running an 8:20!  With my heart still pounding I hit 1 mile - 8:16 pace.  I told myself all you got is 2.1 miles, push through it - who cares if your heart is pounding, its suppose to be!  On all of the other races the course has been short so I was hoping that was going to be the case today, but the turn around was at 1.5 miles...ugh!  I'm not the smartest girl on the trail but I am smart enough to realize when they said it was out and back, that pretty much means this is gonna be a true 3.1 miles!  There were 2 not so fun hills on the way back in to Furman that I have purposely avoided on some training runs.  I was kicking myself for not doing them now...I passed a man going up one hill and he said go girl, I'm going to just follow you!  I knew the Finish Line was near so I put my head down and gave it all I had - 25:14!!!

Ended up 2nd in my age group!!  The girl that got first beat me by 11 minutes!  I'm good with that because I know there is no way I could have caught her:)

Post race festivities make it worth all the pain!  I'm a lucky girl to have found such a supportive Team and have so many supportive friends & of course my biggest fan of all, Trey Whitley:)

Next up:  Lake Logan Half Ironman 2 person relay (56 mile bike/13.1 mile run)  Thanks Jen Arends for doing the swim for me!  I will get there someday, but until then...I'm just going to keep tri(ing).

NEVER GIVE UP...Middle Tyger Triathlon

LOVE my tank Trey had screen printed after the race!

I RACED Middle Tyger Sprint Triathlon this past weekend...I have capitalized the word "raced" because I actually gave it my all.  I have been guilty of not always doing this, sure I have finished & ran hard but I don't always dig deep and race.  My friend wrote a blog recently talking about how some people say "It's just a sprint", I must admit I have even been guilty of saying that.  Well, let me just say "A sprint is not just a sprint if you race it".

I picked up the race packet on Friday afternoon and drove the bike and run course (I am the girl that likes to see the course before).  And then took one last peek at the LONG 50m pool!  This was my first race in the long pool...and as always was a bit nervous about this!  The bike course looked perfect for me, nothing very steep & some rollers (which I love), I was happy that I had actually ridden some of the course before.  The run course was a different story...HOLY HILLS is about the best way to describe it and to make it even better the first part of it was on a trail.

7:00 a.m. race start came early but you know I was fine with that.  We got to the race around 6:00 a.m., giving me plenty of time to set up transition, get body marked, chat with friends & team members & get more nervous!

Erin, Carrie, Susan, Me & Joanna

Was able to jump in the pool for a 100m warm-up and wait for GO time!  My start time was 7:17:20, right behind Joanna.  That always eases my nerves!  My goal was to keep her in my sight and not have a panic attack like I have the last two tris.

Coach Rose, Joanna, Me, Sue, Erin, Carrie

Is it 7:17:20 yet??

Well, as the swim unfolds-I pretty much didn't achieve either of these goals BUT I recovered pretty quickly (although it didn't feel like it as I was hanging on to lane rope) and ended up making it out of the water not too much slower than I would have otherwise.  I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON THIS & SOMEDAY I AM GOING TO SHOW THAT WATER WHO IS BOSS!

No turning back now!

I'm still alive and I'm out of the water!!

Now off to the bike!  My plan was to push the bike, I always feel like I need to gain some ground to make up for my swim.  The bike course seemed a little hillier than the day before in my car but all in all I loved the course.  With about 5 miles left to go I remembered the hilly run that was before me & decided to play it smart and save my legs for the hills.  I was more than happy with 17.6 avg.

Be back soon

The first .4 miles of the run was through the woods...the roots were spray painted which was helpful but that did not make it any easier.  Although I enjoyed the shade and the downhill section right off the bike...I also know that what goes down will eventually go back up and that it did! I was happy to see these cars and head out to the road!

BUT...that meant the hills.  This run course was downhill/uphill, there was no flat section anywhere! I wanted to walk so bad but this is just a sprint - I can't possibly need to walk!!!  I topped the last hill and could see the top of the Y building and I knew I was close to the finish line.

This pic is awful..but I'm pretty sure this is me telling Joanna she is the smartest person here because she opted for the Aqua Bike today:)  Smart move!  I'm telling her how bad she would have hated that run!

WooHoo - I ended up 1st place in my age group!!

1:30:56

Swim - 11:27
T1 - 1:24
Bike - 52:24
T2 - 1:06
Run - 24:37

I am loving triathlon more than I ever thought I would...I love everything about it except the thing that you have to do first - ha!  I have made so many new friends and am honored to be a member of Team HUB!  They make race day worth all the pain.

Next up:  Some of you know that I am turning 45 this month - so what better way to celebrate than your very own Birthday Triathlon!!  450 swim/45 mile bike/4.5 mile run

It's COLD outside...TRI anyway! Anderson Sprint Triathlon

After the week I had leading up to this race I would be lying to you if I told you that I was super excited about it.  AND when I started watching the weather and saw that the Sunday morning temp was close to freezing then I was even less excited and started wondering how in the world can I get out of this without looking like a complete wimp.  It was going to be Joanna's first sprint, Susan's first triathlon of the year and my first time to ever race with her and a lot of Team HUB teammates were racing as well!  After the thoughts of "not racing" left my head then I spent my time trying to wrap my brain around riding my bike in wet clothes in 37 degrees!!!  I kept thinking that there is no way I would be riding on any given Sunday in those temps in dry clothes!!!!  I then realized that every other athlete will be racing in the same conditions as me so LET'S DO THIS!!!!

Race morning came early... Joanna met us at the house and we are both still like so we are really doing this.  We opened the door and the sprinklers had turned on and we thought it was raining and we both said "No way...we are OUT"!   Obviously it was not raining so off we go.

Got to Anderson in plenty of time to set up transition and body marking.  I had so many clothes set out for my swim to bike transition that I figured I would just decide what to wear when the time came.

BRRR...

All set up!

We met Susan there and all camped out in the pool area-the warmest place around.  With plenty of time to spare we were able to get in a short practice swim, I am happy to report that I had no panic/anxiety issues...

Susan was trying to figure out how to swim in her toboggan

So now the waiting begins.  My swim start time was 7:39, standing in line watching everyone start was making me quite nervous and I started noticing how backed up the lanes were getting and this was with the fast swimmers.  Oh boy, here we go again!  Joanna went off a couple of people in front of me and then its my turn.  I had another little mishap about 100m in where I couldn't breathe...I actually stood up in the pool and was on the verge of "freak-out" mode AGAIN!!  Trey was right there again and talked me through it.  I guess it is a good thing that it happened this time during the race because if it had been before, with these race conditions, I may have had my excuse not to do the race after all.  As always, I was once again excited about being back on land!!!

Who needs the ladder, get me out of here...LOL!

YAY!  I did it!

UNTIL I stepped into the freezer.  This is the part of the race that I had been dreading the whole time, even more than the swim!!  Joanna was in transition when I got there and we both started putting on our winter wardrobe.  I opted for arm warmers (which were extremely difficult to pull up), a fleece lined pullover and gloves.  I had knee warmers just in case but decided my legs would be fine-I WAS WRONG!  Off I go...for 12 miles of misery!!

I was freezing...wondering if the stinging in my legs would have felt better if I had taken the time to put on the knee warmers.  I kept changing my gears trying to thaw out my legs by spinning them.  Nothing was helping.  My gloves served as my Kleenex and I mentally just tried to count down the miles.  The downhills felt like I was cycling through razor blades!  I forgot to start the Garmin on my bike, apparently I had a brain freeze (literally).  I really didn't have any idea how I was doing.  The downhills were so painful that I was not taking full advantage of the extra speed.  I was so happy to make the turn back in to the Y.

Made it back in transition and just stood there numb and dumb...I just stared at all my stuff!  I could not feel my feet, it felt like they had fallen asleep.  I knew that I would warm up a little on the run so I ditched the fleece top & kept on the arm warmers.  And headed out...

There was a really, really big hill about 1/2 mile in on the run...my feet felt so strange!  I didn't have "brick legs" at all, probably because they were numb.  I seriously kept looking down to make sure I was not still in my cycling shoes.  The run actually felt great for me.  I got to catch a glimpse of Susan before she made it to the turn off for the Finish.  I saw Joanna out on the run so I knew she had
survived the brutal bike ride. Saw many teammates on the run.  I was really starting to enjoy my day now!!!  After Susan's awesome finish she came back to meet me at the top of the hill and cheer me on in-Thanks Girl.  That extra push at the end feels so good!

WooHoo! 1:22:57

My splits:

Swim - 8:05
Bike - 49:18
Run - 23:52

This put me 14th out of 44 women overall and 2nd in my age group!  I like it!

Instead of a medal with got a growler!  

I'm starting to really enjoy triathlon...I have lived and breathed it for years but now to be right there in the middle of it all, I must admit it is pretty cool.  I use to think that triathlon was going to be too "individualized" for me...how will enjoy my bike and run without someone right by my side to chat with the whole time?  I have surprised myself - dare I say, I have even found a little competitive streak within, when someone goes by me I immediately zone in on their calf to see what age group they are in and find myself checking times to see how much people beat me by and what I can do to improve.  Oh My, who is this??

I love being part of Team HUB!  There's just something about being part of a team...the support and encouragement on race day, seeing teammates out on the course and receiving that extra cheer is AWESOME!

Team HUB

And once again a big shout-out to Joanna for her first Sprint and first time being clipped in on her bike for a race...happy to report she did NOT fall!!!  WooHoo!

Still not really sure how we talked each other into triathlon but so glad one of us did:)

And I have been cheering for this triathlon chick for years and it was so much fun to FINALLY get to race with her this weekend.   She keeps saying she is glad I am not in her age group...well that definitely goes both ways!

And now I will leave you with a pic for your entertainment...watch out world, I have got me some new swimming equipment and I'm determined to get these swimming issues under wraps...

I am trying so hard not to laugh.  I am not sure how Lauren held the phone still to even take the pic!

Thanks again for all of your cheers and support!