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| 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!
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| 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.
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| Coach Rose, Joanna, Me, Sue, Erin, Carrie |
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| 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!
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| No turning back now! |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
