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!