Call me a triathlete!

                                                  (I am the one in the green swim cap)

So, I did my very first triathlon this past Sunday in Raleigh. Woohoo! It was the Ramblin' Rose Sprint Tri- all women. Very cool! The weather was great- mid 60's at race time though the wind was a bit brisk. My faithful Team in Training teammate, Tracey, also did the race. What a great experience. The day before (Saturday), we went on a 20 mile bike ride and 3 mile run which may have been a bit much the day before the triathlon. But, hey! I didn't sleep well Saturday night thinking about the race, I guess. I scrambled some eggs and ate some vanilla Greek yogurt which has been my pre-workout fuel that has served me well. I departed without my bike gloves which are somewhere in glove heaven, I suppose. May they rest in peace. I also chose to stick with my regular goggles instead of my fancy, new Aquaspheres that I only tried once in the pool because my old ones have had some leakage issues. My theory was to not try anything new for the race. Stick with what I had been training on which also meant that I left behind my easy-peasy, new Yangz shoe ties which are supposed to make getting in and out of your (lace) shoes much easier.

So good call on the goggles as they did not give me a bit of trouble during the pool swim. I arrived at the Finley YMCA around 6:30a.m. for an 8a.m. race start. On Saturday, I picked up my race packet and wisely went to a pre-race info session where they told us all about what to expect. Since this was my first tri and transitions are involved, I thought I could use a little wisdom. Another good move was to drive the bike course. And let me tell you, I was almost dizzy by the time I finished with that. Get this- 9 very hilly miles and 23 turns! Thankfully, I was not shocked on race day about that which is a good thing. I also had to rate my swim ability the day before. I knew I wanted to race pretty hard given that I was probably over-trained for this distance so I bumped myself up to an 8 out of 10 (being the best). I just didn't want to get clogged up in the pool. Well, no worries there. I swam hard but I must say I was not shedding a tear when that leg of the race was over and done. I got passed once in the middle of the swim which was cool (they tap your foot and you let them pass when you reach the wall). And then just as I was to climb the ladder to exit the pool, a teen slid in front of me to get up the ladder. Hmmm...teen angst, I thought. No worries. According to official results, my swim time was a peppy (I jest) 5:09 which placed me 158/450 overall for the swim.

So my transition from swim to bike was admittedly slow. I was still trying to catch my breath from the swim which is my weakest link and thankfully the first of the 3 legs. Anyway, donning stretchy bike shorts on a tired, wet body is not a pretty sight in case you were wondering. Neither is putting on a pull over shirt. If you want some entertainment during a tri, consider watching people during transitions. It can be, well, entertaining. I pranced to the bike start on my fancy-dancy bike shoes that click into my fancy-dancy Speedplay pedals. Just imagine running with unlevel tap shoes on. Then I did what no Team in Training coach would want you to do during transition and I stopped to take a couple of swigs of my Nuun water. Hence the paltry transition time of 2:39. (I know Coach Tom and Joe- bad triathlete, bad triathlete!) But I felt better and I got to see Jason and the girls as I mounted the bike and headed out which was super cool. By the way, fans and cheering is great for athletes during a race. Just do it!

And off I went on my PattiLew (my beloved, well-used bike that I purchased from a lymphoma survivor and TNT participant- Patti Lewis). The bike did great. The hills and the number of turns were tough. 23 turns in all within 9 miles through a beautiful neighborhood. Did I mention 23 turns?! I pedaled hard averaging probably 18mph. Unfortunately, I set my bike odometer to stopwatch instead of mileage so I had no idea how many miles were ahead or behind me. I like knowing that stuff as it helps me pace. Nonetheless, the bike portion went well and I made up some time from the swim. I completed the bike portion in 34:28 and was 36/450 on that leg.

I was feeling pretty good after the bike though my legs were feeling those hills. My bike/run transition was not that great either at 2:11. I am not sure why I took that long there but we'll get that worked out before June. Oh now I remember, I chose to stick with double-knotting my lace ties instead of the fancy-dancyYangz. Nice move, Caroline. But I digress. Off to the last leg- the run. I expected this to be my strongest leg of the race and it was. Thankfully, it was a flat course which made it fast. I was feeling pretty good but tired. I ended up with a 16:18 for the 2 mile loop which put me 29/450 on that leg. Overall, I ranked 35th out of ~450 and 6th in my age group out of 100. It's funny to note that had I been racing in the 20-24 year old age group, I would have placed 2nd! This just goes to show that 40+ year olds rock! Anyway, I was happy with how it all went and thrilled to see Jason and the kids at the finish line! p.s. the 12 year old that was sprinting towards the finish line at the end of the video was part of a relay. Just sayin'! More importantly, I did it! While I was pleased with my time, I can assure you that time will not be my driving factor in June. Finishing and having fun will be! GO TEAM!

**Please consider making a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society/Team in Training. I am training for an Olympic Triathlon on June 23rd outside Atlanta in memory of my friend, Mary Anne McClurkin Wolfe, and in honor of LLS survivors and their families. http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/eletri12/carolinenelsonderifaj

Back in the saddle...

So it has been awhile since I last posted...not because I haven't been training but just that life has been whizzing past me faster than usual, it seems. Plus, I admit, I was feeling overwhelmed after my first lake swim a couple of weeks ago and that had kind of gotten me down a bit. It seemed that after all this training, I would be able to handle the swim better. But after talking to lots of people, I am learning that open water swim is tough for a lot of people especially when they're new to it. The fact that the weather has been rather wet and stormy did not allow me to get back out to the lake until this past weekend. With a new perspective about it all, I am happy to report that my second lake swim went much better than the first! The main thing I did was adjust my breathing which I am sure slowed me down but allowed me to feel more in control and also allowed me to swim much longer without feeling so exasperated. I actually enjoyed myself! And the scenery...well, you can't beat it. Check it out:

So this is a shot of Lake Jordan. Our plan was to swim across to the other side and back which would have been a mile but instead we opted to swim more along the shoreline which ended up being about .7 miles. If not the easiest way to swim, it easily must be the most beautiful.

With the second lake swim done, I am feeling more confident that I can handle the swim which is good. What else? I am still faithfully attending my 5:30a.m. Monday killer spin class. Getting a swim and good run in during the week and then doing bricks on Saturdays. I've also started using my Speedplays which use clip in shoes. And I am happy to report that I haven't toppled over yet. Stay tuned...

This Sunday will mark my very first practice tri- a sprint distance- the Ramblin' Rose triathlon in Raleigh. It's a 250yd. swim, 9 mile bike and 2 mile run. All women. I am excited and nervous. It should be good transition practice. Plus Jason and the kids will be able to see me in action as they won't be making the trek with me to Lake Oconee. Wish me luck!

"Come on girl!"

So Saturday came another brick workout at the American Tobacco Trail (funny name for a place where you go to get in shape). Anyway, it was a doozy again. It was a 30 mile ride plus a 4 mile run. Oh what a ride. Very scenic. Country roads and lake views abound. I was biking mainly with one and then later another teammate as well. We averaged about 18mph. I tried to ride strong but with the run in mind as well. I pushed myself. I had a steady ride. No chain dropping. Ingested a Gu- chocolate and 2 Nuun bottles on the ride. I went straight into the run and though it was a flat course found myself to be in search of that finish line towards the last 2 miles of the run. I am still learning how to pace myself. I need to leave some room for the swim as well and there was no way that would have happened after the bike/run. I was spent and ready to down several cold chocolate milks. Unfortunately, I missed my daughter's soccer game. I don't like that. I will make next week's for sure.

And then came Sunday- my first ever lake swim. Keep in mind, I just came off a hard workout yesterday. We met around up at Falls Lake about 30 minutes from where I live. I was excited for my first lake swim. I love being out in nature and all this biking and swimming outdoors is right up my alley. Oh what an experience I had...and not the one I was hoping for.

Coaches Tom and Joe were there plus 2 other of my teammates. Most of them were wearing wet suits as the air temps were only low 70's. I dressed in my swimsuit and bike shorts. Coach Tom went with one of my teammates in his kayak. Coach Joe swam with Cindy and me. I surveyed the lake and thought how pretty it was and then it came time to swim. "Come on girl," yelled Joe. "Let's get going!" And with that I dove in and started swimming from Point A to B which I must admit was a bit far away. I didn't think too much about it though and just got going. Well, about 2 minutes into it, I felt exasperated! I popped my head up and saw that I had still had quite a ways to go to reach Point B. And then it came...fear. Oh crap, what have I gotten myself into I thought. So I started treading. Coach Joe was swimming away from me and Cindy. Thankfully, his girls were in a kayak not far from us but overall I wasn't feeling too great about the situation I was in- smack in the middle of this vast body of water- no bottom to touch or edge to hold onto when I needed a little rest. I was out there!

No one told me how tough my first open water swim might be. Much like no one tells you that breastfeeding can feel like a bunch of needles piercing you all at once. Much like that getting pregnant doesn't happen just because you want it to. But I digress...to give you an idea of how my first open water lake swim went, check out this article. It just about sums up my initial ignorance and then wide-eyed fear once I had started and found myself smack out in the middle of this big body of water:

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/open-water-swim/

But, I survived to tell the tale. We swam .7 miles but it may as well have been 10+ to me. I did feel myself starting to relax a little by the time we got from point C back home but I use the term "relaxed" loosely i.e. I was no longer in a complete panic. So there you go...another day another training and somehow, someway, I am sure I am better for it!

So I've been a little slow on the draw this week with keeping up with the blog posts. Here is what happened this week: Monday- spin class- great workout but not my favorite way to exercise! Tuesday, we trained at the Triangle Aquatic Center. It was just me and Cassandra and Coaches Tom and Joe. They tried working with me more on technique. Apparently, I pop my head out of the water too much especially when I take a breath. I cannot lie. I am concerned that popping it any less will result in inhaling large amounts of water of which I don't care to do. I took Wednesday off but knew I had to get a good run in Thursday. I have not run much during my training which needs to be addressed sooner than later! The good news is that it is my strongest part of the race but that doesn't mean I can slack off during the training. To be honest, we haven't done much running as a team. No one likes it but me. So, I ran for about 40 minutes yesterday in the 90 degree heat. Thankfully, I am not as bothered by heat either so I think I managed okay. I took my Nuun tablets with water for hydration. I like it better than gatorade. Not so sugary. Anyway, I have some anxiety about being able to pull all these events off consecutively but I am keeping the faith that we'll be ready. Saturday (tomorrow) is another bike/run and then Sunday is our first lake swim. I am kind of excited about that!