Race Report~Finally

This was the first TRI of the season and it went slightly better than expected. The short version:


TBF RACING TRI for FUN 1/2 mile swim~16 mile bike~3 mile run
8 out of 38 Athena's
1:57:29
If I would have aged grouped I would have been 27/48 in the 30-34 group


Morning:
woke up at 5:30, rolled out of bed at 5:45
5:45 pump
6:30ish left for the race which was about 45 minutes away
Breakfast:
Darn it, out of bread which meant no toast with peanut butter. What do I do?
Stopped at the Raley's 10 minutes away from the race grabbed a Nutz Over Chocolate Luna bar. WOW! I forgot how yummy those things are. I only ate half and drank less than 6 oz. of water
Arrival:
7:30 arrived at the race, checked in then headed to the bike support tent to have a nice young man pump up my tires. Good thing, I am still not accustomed to my bike and the new skinny pump up thingy. Yes I know, shame on me for not being on top of my new bike's maintenance.
Just shy of 8:00 I had my wet suit on and was chatting with 3 other DTC members at our team rack. I am still new to the club so while I recognize faces, I am still learning names.

RACE

SWIM:
New Race technique I tried today was to swim before the swim start. Triathlon Magazine (email) promotes warming up to get your body accustomed to the movement while also getting your heart rate up. They recommend a few hundred yards, I only swam to the rope line and back. I felt panicky and my heart rate went up right way. I was pretty nervous and I think this little (very little) swim helped calm my nerves.
8:30 my wave went out and I lined up mid to back of the pack. I let the folks get going a few strokes before I went out and felt really calm. My training for this portion of the race consisted of a 1 mile swim at the gym 4 days before the race.
Distance: 1/2 mile
Time: about 18:45
Effort: I went out easy hoping not to freak out like last year when I needed rescue surf board assistance to catch my breath and ease a mini-panic attack. Any how I think the mini swim helped because I felt panic free the whole swim. I didn't push to hard for fear I would run out of breath, hyperventilate or bonk before finishing. Getting out of the water I felt like I had too much left. Next time I'll need to get over the fear and go all out.
Transition 1: Probably took 3:30. Long I know, but had to strip the wet suit, reapply sun screen, and I am pretty sure the socks are what took the longest because I thought my toes were going to cramp. Shoes, helmet, gloves, sunglasses and shot blocks and I was running out of transition.
BIKE: 

Distance: 16 miles

Time: about 1:01:00

Effort: I felt fresh on the bike and pretty awesome zipping by so many people. Like I said, too fresh out of the water. About 1/4 of the way through the bike I started to get passed. Slower swim folks were killing me. I played leap frog with a few people and that kept me motivated to peddle hard, but the fact is I hadn't ridden my bike since April 25th. I know, I am awful. Just awful. I am trying to remember a subsequent ride, but my mind is drawing a blank. The rolling hills were way harder than they should have been, I need to learn how to shift. I did get a whopping 1 mile per hour faster than my previous rides. I'll take it.
Transition 2: Probably took about a minute, maybe a couple of seconds longer, but not much. Advantage to not having clip ins is that T2 is mostly done when I rack my bike. Disadvantage? Well? I know when I get my clip ins later this summer. Any how, took the advice of a club team mate and put all my goodies into my hat so that I could grab it and go. While running out of transition I moved my fuel from hat to pocket, threw on the hat and strapped on the belt. I love new race tips!
RUN:
Distance: 3 miles
Time: about 33:00
Effort: Oh lord, really? It seemed to take forever to get my legs going. I was so excited to see the the aid station thinking it was the half way point, NOPE, it was the 1-mile marker. The fire road was dusty, but easy on the joints. There were rolling hills and my legs were too tired to even turn over on the down hills. I walked alot. Like a real lot. My time surprised me because seriously 11 minute miles take a lot of effort, but hey that is the one thing I have done more than once in the last month to prepare for this race.


I know all my times are rough estimates, but that is close enough for me. One of these days I learn how to read the lap function on my watch. I can mark them, but have not idea how to go back and look at each "lap". I think I see a fancy watch in my future.


Lots of people on the team placed. The race offered placement for 1-5 in each age group and division. I am pretty confident, especially after seeing my competitors, that I am capable of much more. The first place person in my division would have taken 2/28 in her age group. The 2nd place person would have taken 6/48 in her age group and the 3rd place person would have taken 11/49. So I spent some time wondering during the award ceremonies, why someone who is competitive enough to age group, chooses to sign up for the Athena division? It made it tough on the course to see who my competition was because some people obviously did not "look" like an Athena. Granted the podium finishers did look the part, but they sure as heck could have just as easily age grouped.

Thoughts on the Athena concept?

CATCH UP

Day 15 Recap 06.10.10

1. Compliment: My blend for wine club night took 3rd place, yay for Purple Cowboy
2. 3 sets of…toe raises
3. Spent 31 minutes: hanging out with some great girls
4. Calories: 2343, not the best day, but it was wine club night!
5. Looked in the mirror and am continually motivated to look a bit more fit. Getting there, but I am impatient.

Day 16 Recap 06.11.10

1. Compliment: I broke the not eating after 8:00 thing without even thinking about rules. This is a compliment because usually I am crazy rules based. Tonight was my son's first camping trip and I couldn't pass on sharing S'mores with him.
2. 3 sets of…it was camping day I am sure I did something 3x
3. Spent 31 minutes: At the brewery with my friend after dinner. I needed a break.
4. Calories: 2442, not bad considering it was camping day.
5. Looked in the mirror and decided I love campy outfits on my frame. It suits me.

Day 17 Recap 06.12.10

1. Compliment: I survived camping with a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old
2. 3 sets of…stairs from the beach to the car to change diapers and leg lifts when I got home
3. Spent 31 minutes: sleeping on the car ride home
4. Calories: 3238, WOW! I ate a friends BBQ. BBQ chicken, Ribs, baked potato, not good for you salad and a slice of my delicious Dobos Torte. I am going to go ahead and say a splurge day is not going to kill me. Especially since I survived camping day. Remember my goal here is just to be aware of my calories so the fact that I even counted earns me a High Five.
5. Looked in the mirror and I am so tired. My posture shows it. Sleep is super important I have decided.

Day 18 Recap 06.13.10

1. Compliment: I knocked #11 off my list in a big way. Professional photo shoot for my family and my husbands family as an early father's day gift for my father-in-law. Yeah I know, I am awesome.
2. 3 sets of…sit ups. I zipped up a pair of pants a size down, but the muffin top needs some work.
3. Spent 31 minutes: watching a month old episode of CSI: NY
4. Calories: 1521. YES, back on track
5. Looked in the mirror and decided I NEED to get into those size smaller pants more comfortably...hmm how fast can I do it???

Thankful Three

1. For egg rolls and hot mustard
2. For my babies who are back on a normal schedule (darn camping thing, it was too sunny for them at bed time that my bug didn't quite understand it.)
3. For feeling like myself on a day I was sure to be frazzled by official pictures, in the heat, with my babies and my in-laws. I was just hoping to survive, but it went so much better than that.