The morning of the Tri, by brother-in-law went with me to help me set up because I was way too nervous to go alone. He helped me load up the car and did not flip out when we had to turn around and go back to the house when I forgot my goggles. He was really great and I was so thankful that he went with me.
Once we got to the race I actually ran in to some friends from work and they gave me some pointers and tried to calm my nerves. I really just wanted to get started so I could stop thinking about it. When the time came we headed off to the beach and I was glad to see that they had 3 huge buoys marking the swim. Since I had to leave my glasses back in transition it was nice that these buoys were big enough that there was no way I could miss them. We watched as each wave took off and I decided that I would defiantly start in the back of my wave to avoid the madness at the front.
When it was time for my wave to line up I found a good place in the back and quickly learned that all the girls in the back with me were first timers too. When the gun went off I walked in the water and let the madness go before me. When I finally started swimming I realized that the pool is very different than Open Ocean and I started to freak out a little every time I put my face in the water. You see with everyone churning up the water you could not see a thing, and then the salt water would splash in your face and the taste and feel of it is totally different than the pool. Even tough I started to freak out there was no way I was quitting so I decided to just swim it with my head out of the water. I knew this would slow me down but at least I could still do it. All in all I was very happy with my swim time; I ended up finishing the swim in 10:21 which was still a PR for me. The transition between the swim and bike was long. We had to run all the way up the beach into the parking lot and over to the transition area. Once I got out of the water I started running up the beach and then realized that I must have pushed harder than I thought on the swim since my heart was racing so much I was having a hard time catching my breath (this could also have been a side effect of the whole freak out thing), so I ended up walking a bit up the beach so I could catch my breath and calm down. The total transition time ended up taking me over 6:47 and really just took way to long. This I am sure if from being a newbie and just not really knowing what I was doing.
Once on the bike I felt good. I borrowed my sister’s mountain bike for the race and although she is much taller than I am it ended up working fine, I just had to really lean it down to get on and off of it but that was no big deal. The morning of the Tri there was a pretty good wind blowing and the bike section of the race was and out and back that took us over a HUGE bridge and then you turn right around and go back over the bridge. On the way out the wind was to our back, so I was making pretty good time with out working too hard. Once I got down the bridge and turned around I got hit by that wind and thought OH CRAP! I tried to pick up the speed so I could get as far up that hill as possible but it really did not help much. The wind was blowing so bad that all you could hear was the wind, I just kept thinking of my friend Tara who was out running in a 24 hour race and knew what ever she was feeling was much worse than my stupid little hill and wind situation so I just kept peddling along. I really can not express the total utter relief I felt when I finally made it to the top of that bridge and knew that the hardest part of the bike was now over, my smile must have been huge. When I turned the final corner to get back to the Transition area I saw my family. They all came out to cheer me on and it really meant so much to me. Even my little 3yr old daughter was there holding up a sign, and the smile she shot me really made my whole day. My bike time was not the best but it was better than my worst I finished the bike in 50 min. The transition between the bike and the run went much faster than the first one and I was in and out in 1:57 which I am very pleased with.
Going into this I knew the run was going to be my weakest point. Not only because it was the last thing but since my leg started to bother me again, I never even got up to running 3 miles before this race. My longest run in several months was 2.5 miles on the treadmill. So although I was disappointed when I had to stop and walk I was not really that surprised. My goal was to finish and I did so should not be upset about my run time but I am a runner and to say that I am disappointed would be an understatement. My time for the run was 40:30 my worst time ever since I started running a couple years ago. I know I was not ready for the run section and could rattle off a ton of excuses for my time but really it just comes down to I was not ready for it and I knew that going in. So my final time for the race was 1:50:23 which was 10min faster than I was hoping for. I am pleased with my final time and think I did pretty well for a first timer and being 2 months pregnant. I am however very disappointed that I can not do another one till after this pregnancy. I know I can do better and want to get out there and do it again. But I guess this will be a great goal for after I have this baby. I have already told my husband that we need to look into getting me a Tri bike because I am going to do this again.
My big comeback plan for after this baby is to do a couple where the swim is in a pool, then switch to a lake. Once I am feeling more comfortable with a lake swim I want to give the ocean a try again. I don’t like that I was so freaked out and will not give up until I can do an ocean swim and feel completely comfortable and relaxed.
