Wellness Center Triathlon Race Recap

Before I get to race day I have to recap the night before. Friday night was my 10 year reunion tailgate. I did not eat super bad or drink alcohol but I did have a hot dog and a Sierra Mist. Apparently this was a bad idea because on top of my nervous stomach I woke up at 1:30 a.m. with a huge knot in my stomach and gas and heartburn. I did not go back to sleep until 4:30 a.m. On top of that Scott got a phone call at 3:30 a.m. that his Mamaw passed away. Not the best way to get good rest for race day. I did get 2 good hours of sleep from 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. More in a minute about heading to my first tri with a 2 year old in tow.

I also owe a huge "Thanks" to Big Daddy Diesel for his encouraging e-mail the night before. I was going to be with nervous thoughts in my head and it was a nice last minute "You got this!" plus some advice. It did not prevent me from dreaming that they had turned the pool into a wave pool and there were 4 foot waves to swim in. : )

My swim coach and friend Crystal. Crystal has been a huge support and help this summer as we have both worked to be better runners, bought road bike and signed up for our first tri together. We might not be fast but we made our goals!

Setting up my transition area! I feel like that part was easy enough not as stressful as I thought it would. Minus the 2 year old : ) Somebody called me Super Mom for having him with me. I owe a huge thank you to my Superintendent's husband for not only helping his wife set up but getting my bike together and helping until my parents go there.

Since Daddy was taking care of his family my parents came and were on Parker duty. They were great about keeping him entertained! Grampy racked him like Mommy's bike. They made sure he was at all my finishes and stars and giving me a big "Go Mommy" or "Good job Mommy" AND they took all of these awesome pictures.

My mom said when I was 50 I would like this picture! I was just pumped they wrote my number on my arm and leg! I was not doing a tri without a body marking. I had my own Sharpie in my truck just in case.

So thankful to be out of the water. I hate swimming and struggle with it greatly. This summer I "learned" to swim but still have a long way to go. Most days I can put my face in the water for 1/2 of each lap. But I was super nervous, getting passed, swimming into sunlight and sucking in water like a small child so I just said forget it and swam with my head out the whole time. Finished in 9 minutes 20 seconds which is freaking great for me! I was hoping for under ten minutes and I made it!

SWIM in your TRI SHORTS! Seriously should have know better. I had a big 4 minute transition. I also Gued and wonder if that was even necessary! OH WELL! It was so cute when I was transitioning to the bike Parker asked if I was going to go eat Pancakes with him : ) Oh how I wish that is what I was going to do!

Off to bike! It was a beautiful fall day and I truly enjoyed the ride. I was being so leisurely about it I was afraid I was going to be dead last (there was only 2 guys behind me) but I was just having fun. Well the 1 guy passed me; oh well! I did finished in 1 hour 2 minutes which is 8 minutes faster than I had ever done on that course. I wanted under an hour but I still call the bike a success.

Off for the run. I was racing not to be last! I think there was one guy behind me and there were 2 people ahead of me. I was hoping to pass at least one person. I was passed by 10-12 people in the swim and passed by 2 people on the bike so I just wanted to pass 1 person for the day. I can't help it I am competitive. Notice the gentleman in the blue long sleeve in the back. That is Scott #2. He is my Superintendent's wife that was a great help all day! Super supportive and ver encouraging.

I got rid of my dead legs at .5 miles and was bouncing from 8:30 pace to 9:30 pace. BUT I had the worst catch ever in my ribs basically the whole time. Not one of the "push on it and it goes away" pains but one of those "take your breath and try to cry" kind. UGH! BUT I pushed thru and finished my run in a little over 28 minutes. My goal was to keep it under 30 minutes so I am more than pleased with the run. AND I passed three people on the run : ) Too bad it was my friend Crystal, my superintendent and some guy that was at least 70 : ( I am usually running to be first but this time I was running to not be last. Definitely a race of a different color for me.

Finished in 1 hour 44 minutes (wanting 1:40 to 1:45) so that was success! I did get an award for being 3rd in my age group. I am betting there were only 3 people there in my age group.

Will I do it again? Not so sure. I will not be swimming until next summer. It is too time consuming to go the gym and I don't have a gym membership so it costs a lot. I might take the time next summer to work on my swim or I might just find some local Duals. Right now I am putting my focus on my October 16th marathon and continuing to improve my running. Running is definitely my favorite of the three! I have a lot of half-marathons I would like to do and will be doing another marathon close to my 30th birthday in January 2012. Overall I am just thankful I am healthy enough to do what I did today! Thanks for reading and following.