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
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