St. Paddy's Day Triathlon
Chapter 3: Race Day
I'm going to apologize in advance for this post - it's going to be overly wordy and with very little photos.
Why? Well, one of the rules of triathlon is NO OUTSIDE ELECTRONICS. That's right - you get a GPS watch and a bike computer, and that's it. No cell phone, no headphones, no external speakers, nothing. Just you.
This wasn't the only race day deviation I made ... stay tuned for more!
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So, true to form, I was wide awake at 4:15 a.m. - a good 45 minutes before my alarm went off. So, I went downstairs, grabbed my caffeine of choice for the morning and read on my phone for a little bit until my phone alarm went off in earnest.
Usually, I'll have a little bit of coffee or just sip on a Nuun Energy-supplemented bottle of water.
But, I know me - and I KNOW I need a significant amount of caffeine and coffee was not what I wanted. So, I enjoyed a 12-ounce sugar-free Red Bull. I DO NOT drink Red Bull before a run - mostly because it can make my stomach sloshy and I don't like to have anything carbonated before I run. But triathlon is different.
We left the house at 5:40 a.m. so I could get in line when transition opened at 6:15 a.m. I was one of the first people in to transition and got a PRIME spot at the end of the rack right by the swim out/run out exit gate. So, I set to work to set up my small area:
The cross-bar DIRECTLY to the left of my bike had a HUGE sign that said bike numbers - and the rack directly to my left remained empty through the entire set-up period (there were hanging tags that said DO NOT USE) - so, hopefully it would be easy for me to find my bike coming out of the swim!
In my (compared to everyone around me) huge pile of transition crap, I had:
Bike Leg:
Helmet
Bike shoes
Gloves
Trail Ears
Running Leggings
Columbia Waterproof Windbreaker
Sunglasses
(Water Bottle with Tailwind was already holstered on my bike)
Run Leg:
Running Shoes
2015 Dopey Challenge Hat
2016 Marathon Long-Sleeve shirt
Electrolyte Water
Lip Gloss
I grabbed my swim cap, my goggles and put on some flip-flops (I had previously been wear the above leggings and windbreaker, but I took them off to add to my transition pile), and I raced into the heated Natatorium to wait for the pool to open. I was inside by 6:40.
Swim warm-up wasn't to happen until 7:00 a.m., so it meant some waiting around. I picked up my Timing Chip anklet and strapped it to my non-drive train leg, chowed down on a pack of Honey Stinger Chews and sat around to wait. Shortly before 7, they declared the pool open for warm-up. I stayed in my warm spot on the bleachers and began the big internal debate - to pre-swim or not to pre-swim.
I was strongly against a warm-up swim because 1) I was warm and knew I wouldn't be post swim, 2) I'd "sandbagged" my swim time and felt like my training swim times were better than what I'd submitted, so I'd be OK.
BUT, I also felt like I need to swim because the pool was a 50m pool - and I'd only swam in 25-yard and 25m pools.
So, I went for it and swam a 100-meter lap. And, then I got back out and sat on the bleachers ... and I sat, and I sat, and I sat.
It's Race Time!
The published start time of the race was 7:30 a.m. ... but 7:30 crept closer and closer without any of the pomp and circumstance that usually accompanies the beginning of any kind of race (directions, insightful speech, National Anthem) - instead, at 7:35 a.m., the race director announced to us they would not be able to begin the race until the sun came up (did I mention this was Spring Forward Morning? UGH. SO EARLY.)
The rumor began circulating that the temperature was below required start temperature - at this point, with wind chill it was 39 degrees. With the field incredibly varied and this race marketed as a "perfect triathlon for beginners", I'm sure exposure worries were behind this decision.
At about 7:50 a.m., the race was off! Swimmers went into the pool every 5 seconds or so - and around 8:40, it was my turn!
I approached the starting mat and put my swim cap on, adjusted my goggles and showed my "number marking" to the official timer at the mat (a friendly volunteer writes your race number on any bicep and calf they can with a Sharpie before the race), and waited for his "Go".
And then it was feet first in the pool, and push off the wall and I was off!
The Swim:
Here's the real s#!+ thing about triathlons - you're seeded to start by swim time. And because it's not something you can really verify, LOTS of people lie. I went off midway through the second-third of triathletes for this race, about a minute slower than my normal swim time in training. And I was passing people, swimming over backstrokers, having to dodge individuals not even swimming AT ALL, but pulling themselves hand-over-hand along the lane ropes. People would take breaks at the end of each leg, making turn around/push-off almost impossible. At some point, I became SO frustrated, dove underneath and pushed off the wall to do a hard underwater swim in the 11-foot portion of the pool just to get around people and get my space to get into a groove.
I'm a GREAT swimmer-swimmer - growing up with a pool and access to a lakehouse will do that to you - but I've been steadily improving as a "technical" swimmer. My kick is MUCH better than my pull, but when I can get in a groove, I can really kick and cruise. So after a slow start to the swim portion, thanks to traffic, I hit the 150m leg and felt like I was in a groove. In fact, my husband said he and my Mom thought I was "flying" and "swimming SO FAST" during the second half of the swim.
The exit to the pool was a one-person ladder, so there was a backup when I was ready to exit. But it gave me a chance to pull off my foggy goggles, catch my breath and get ready for the leg I was most afraid of.
Out of the pool, I ripped my swim cap off and past the timing mat into transition and heard the timer yell "YOU'RE GOOD!" and I was out the door of the Natatorium and into to the elements for ...
Transition 1:
Right outside the door, I could barely feel the cold hit me because there was my training partner Emily - she was yelling and screaming for me! I waved to her, listened to her yell some quick tips for transition and then I went in and easily found my bike.
I'd brought a larger towel with me than I normally planned to for transition, so I said "screw it" and decided to dry myself the best I could before the bike. This decision was validated when one of the guys coming in from the bike yelled to all of us that he passed "I can't feel my toes - do whatever you can to keep your feet warm!" I slathered my feet in Body Glide, shoved them in socks and then began to wrangle my wet self into running tights (NOT as easy as you would imagine!!). I shoved my feet in my bike shoes, zipped up my windbreaker, clipped on my number belt, pulled on gloves and clipped on my helmet.
"You have so much stuff! I didn't even know it was going to be cold!" was what the person said next to me ... so, my preparedness paid off!
You have to have your helmet on and clipped before you can leave transition, so I made certain that I had that done, and then I ran my bike out to the mount line, hopped on and I was off!
The Bike:
The bike leg I was most nervous about - I don't do well in the wind, I can't handle turns very well yet when I go fast, and I still have trouble hydrating myself on the bike.
So, I tried to make lemonade out of the lemons I was facing on the bike. It was windy as all get out - heavy gusts, and almost always a headwind, if not a cross wind. Unfortunately, the two-loop course was a lot hillier than my coach had led me to expect, so I definitely had some struggle points.
I hit a "massive" hill at Mile 5 and it was incredibly frustrating. But it also became a benchmark for me. Mentally, I told myself that I needed to hustle and get back to that hill - once I climbed it the SECOND time, I was done. The bike was over, and I could finish this bad boy off.
The hills:
Unfortunately, between the weather and the course, I ended up losing nearly 12 minutes on the bike. I'm pretty disappointed in that, because it's what kept me from my ultimate time goal.
But I climbed "Monster Hill" the second time, had a hard (and active) coast down, and wrapped my way to the finish line of the bike ... where I was greeted by FRIENDS!! MY CHEERING SECTION HAD ARRIVED! My husband and Mom had been there since the beginning, as well as Em, but my No. 1 cheerleader Angela was there, along with my friend Kami (she's doing her first triathlon with me in July) and her son - and he son brought his bike to ride on the sidewalk alongside of me! I was so freaking excited to see everybody - judging by the smile on my face, you'd have no idea I'd just had a TERRIBLE bike ride.
It was a hard stop at the dismount line and then into ...
Transition 2:
In all the practice and bricks I've done, I really still struggle with my legs going from bike-to-run. They just don't want to go from the staccato strides of the bike to longer strides in running without time - I've run sideways into a retaining wall and I've tripped over a curb and almost rolled my ankle because of this. So, after I knew I'd lost time on the bike leg, I decided to give my legs an extra minute to stretch out, and warm up in my running shoes before I set out for the run. I stretched my hamstrings (and also piled all of my crap from the swim and bike into my transition bag). I unzipped my windbreaker (yay! Warm, dry core!) and pulled on my Marathon shirt. I swapped out my helmet and trail ears for a plain ole running cap. And then I was headed out to the last leg - to finish this thing off!
The Run:
My cheering section was right by Run Out, so I crossed the mat and took off - I could hear Angela screeching to me to "Finish this thing, Keels! You're a runner!" (Nobody has ever called me that before). And I just set into it - left foot, right foot, left, right, constantly pursuing forward motion. I was planning to go with a :90/:30 interval like I had in training, but the cold was legit and I didn't want to breathe it in too deep and have a resulting coughing fit (happens to me every time), so I just settled in to a nice, easy 1:00/1:00. It was all about finishing at this point. I high-fived runners coming back from the turnaround. Got a hug from a guy who'd passed me twice on the bike leg - ALWAYS with kind words on my performance - and he told me I "looked great" and that I "better be out there at the next one". I fell in step with an older gentleman who asked if he could run with me - "I'll run as long as you run - cool?". We got to the 1.5-mile turnaround and he simply said "Well, got this far - better get ourselves back!" and we just ran together in comfortable pace and silence until I could see my friends right before the finish line. I high-fived him, and took off.
Crossed the finish line and I was done! Triathlon Complete!!!
