It Wasn't Pretty...But I Did It!

I'm about 9 hours post race finish time now and starting to feel every muscle! I did it though! It wasn't pretty...but it's done.

I drove down late afternoon yesterday and checked in and looked around. I picked up some pasta for dinner and headed to my hotel. I can't remember the last time I stayed alone at a hotel. It was really kind of fun! I ate dinner, watched some TV, got organized, took some Tylenol PM, did some reading and caught some ZZZ's.

Race morning was overcast and warm. I got to the race sight and headed to the body markings. Triathlons are one of the few places were it's encouraged and fashionable to advertise your age.

I set up my transition area, drank some water and had a power bar. I was feeling a little anxious but not bad. The swim was beautiful. We entered the water off a boat dock...cannon ball, thank you! The water was 81 degrees so it was illegal to wear a wetsuit according to USAT rules. I was surprised at this news, I thought the water was going to be cooler! I made a quick switch to my game plan and put the wetsuit away.
There weren't many women in this tri...102. I was trying to stay focused but I was continually distracted by all the elite looking athletes and expensive bikes. I noticed several people with the I-Man tattoo...a status symbol saying you completed an Ironman! I was feeling out of my league! They were using this Olympic distance as a practice day for their bigger races! Nice. The swim went well. The water felt good and I eventually was able to relax my rhythm and only breathe every other stroke. The fingers on my right hand were starting to feel numb near the end but didn't last long after I got out of the water. I finished the 1.5K swim in 37:27:00. I was guesstimating somewhere near 30-35 minutes so I was fairly close.

I transitioned to the bike without any problems and headed out. The bike SUCKED! Truthfully, it was a beautiful ride, but hill after hill after hill. Somehow the course defied the laws of gravity and this course was uphill the entire way...or so it seemed. At one point I went from 37mph down a big hill to 6.5mph uphill within about 15 seconds. I tried to spin down every descent instead of resting but it didn't seem to get me much farther up the next hill. I averaged about 15.1mph on the bike which is slower then my usual of 16.5 but not too far off considering the elevation. I finished at 1:39:30 on the bike...I was hoping to be closer to 1.5 hours but the hills kicked my butt. Did I mention that they SUCKED!

I transitioned to the run and started my weakest part of the race. The run wasn't a lot better then the bike. It was a 10k course that was simply 3.1 miles out (and uphill!) and 3.2 miles back on the shoulder of the road. I'm not fond of this type of run because it gets repetitious and you have to stay to the far right on the shoulder for the runners that are heading back in...usually the shoulder is slightly sloped for water run off, its subtle but you start to feel it when you're running. I was fine for the first mile. Mile two was primarily uphill and tough! I was a little depressed at the 3 mile marker knowing I wasn't done as usual but only half way there. I walked through the water stations to stay hydrated and take quick breathers. A big marathon running philosophy is to run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 3, walk 1 etc. It's hard for me to transition to this type of thinking without feeling like I wasn't successful because I didn't run without stopping. But I cut myself some slack and tried the technique. My run time was my slowest yet, extremely slow...but I don't really think it had to do with the run/walk as much as my fatigue and toes. I started having some problems with my right foot. My toes initially felt numb, and then it felt like they were rubbing a blister on the front of my sock. I debated stopping and looking but decided it wouldn't help. Thankfully my toes weren't bad, a few hot spots but no major damage.
My 10K run was a pathetic 1:15:56...at least it leaves me a lot of room for improvement!

My final time was 3:38:26. I had hoped for 3 hrs and 3o minutes. I underestimated how hilly the course would be and how much it would slow me down.

I'm admittedly tired this evening. Much more sore then after the sprints! After reading this post you may wonder why people voluntarily subject themselves to triathlons. Because despite the pain, the cost, the work...it feels pretty frickin awesome after you cross the finish line!