I came, I saw, I swim/bike/ran and conquered! Okay, conquered may be a bit of an exaggeration but I did finish and was SO proud of myself I actually cried tears of joy when I ran through the finish chute. This recap might be a little long, but it was my first tri so I want to remember it all.
Friday after work I came home, grabbed my many, many bags of gear and headed down to lake Anna, which is only 75 miles from my house. I knew there might be some traffic on I-95, but I did not expect to get stuck behind this for more than 2 hours.
Seriously, I don't think smart cars should be allowed on the highway! After it took me 2 hours to go 45 miles, I got off the the road and stopped at my favorite pit stop!
What should have been a 45 drive to where I was staying took another 2 hours. My google map directions that I printed off before I left had a major error on them. I drove down this super windy, super dark country road. And when I say country, I mean backwoods boonies road. And then it started to rain. HARD! And then came the wind. I could barely see anything. I was convinced a twister was about to pick up the 4runner and carry me to Oz. About the time I realized I was on a wild goose chase, the road dead ended at the creepiest gas station I've ever seen. I don't have an actual picture of it, but it looked something like this.
Like right out of a horror film. All I could think about was the movie The Hills Have Eyes and crazy creatures crawling out and dragging me into the desert. Okay that's dramatic, but I was spooked. Thankfully Siri and my iphone app rerouted me and 45 minutes I finally made it to my rental house on the lake that I was sharing with two teammates and promised myself I would stop watching scary movies.
5 hours later I was waking up at 4:30 to get ready to go out and cheer on my team mates who were racing a half ironman that day - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13 mile run. That's just insane! I have so much respect for people who can race that distance. One of the best parts of my team is that they seriously camp out. Here was our fortress for the weekend.
I enjoyed a nice hot breakfast of hash browns, bacon and pancakes - sorry no picture, I ate it too quick :) 7am the gun went off and the swimmers were off to the races. I was SUPER nervous for my own swim, so it helped to watch it once.
Then I got to watch transition. Do you realize how hard it is to find your bike in this area?
I really enjoyed watching the bike start because as one of the bike coaches told me, watching people mount their bikes was hilarious. Some people go ahead and clip in their shoes to the bike and then mount barefoot and slip their feet into their shoes. I watched person after person knock a shoe off, have to stop and fetch it and try again. Foreshadowing - I shouldn't have laughed at them so hard because I had troubles of my own at the mount line the next morning.
One of the other great parts about Team Z is that we spread out and cheer for everybody. I sat at the start/finish of the bike for awhile and rang a cowbell. I also got to see some crazy people do flying dismounts from their bikes.
I have finally mastered the regular stop where I slow down, unclip one foot, stand on the other and dismount and unclip the other shoe. These people were pulling their feet out of their shoes and then actually throwing one of their legs to the other side of the bike and standing two feet on one pedal . It was insane. Maybe I'll try to learn this one day. For now, I'll keep working on learning how to not crash :)
After awhile I went back to the Team Z tent to watch the runners finish their half marathons.
The winners started coming in after 4 hours - that is unbelievable! How they raced that fast is a mystery to me. I did feel guilty because as I watched I ate a TON of french fries and a burger and then took a (unintentional) nap in my fold out chair until Leo kicked me out so he could lounge in my chair awhile.
The weather was pretty weird this weekend. Saturday was super cloudy and overcast and in the 70s and we all got sunburnt. Today was super sunny but chilly in the low 60s. Although most of the other groups packed up and left about lunch time, Team Z stayed and cheered until the last lady came in - 9.5 hours after the start. I was absolutely convinced this was going to be me on Sunday so I was glad to see the team stay around and really make the last finishers still feel special. She may not have been on our team, but that didn't matter. Finishing is a BIG deal and everyone should be proud and we want to make sure everyone gets cheered in to the finish. I love that.
After the race finished we hung out around the tent until packet pick up started at 5. We picked up our packets, including our number and got instructions for the next day.
One of our coaches even did run through for us. Then came dinner! The team cooked out filet mignon, asparagus, corn on the cobb and french bread. Yum! Dinner of champions!!!
By then I was completely wiped out and my nerves were getting the better of me so I headed back to our rental home to wind down for the night. After repacking my bag 3 times, I turned on one of my favorite TV shows, Friends, for a few laughs and to just relax.
Clearly I was exhausted because the next thing I knew my alarm was going off at 5:30. Honestly, I woke up in a dead panic. I was nervous, my stomach was uneasy, I had an AWFUL headache (I blame the sun and allergies from the day before) and I was just generally jittery. I managed to pull myself together, thought I had all my stuff with me and drove the 12 hours back to the park. I got a much better parking spot than the day before so I was pleased. First things first I headed to the transition area to set up my bike and gear. I immediately realized that I had forgotten my gatorade and water bottles for my bike. Rats! I knew I didn't have time to go back to the house and instead of panicking, I improvised. In my race bag I got a bottle, so I filled that with extra gatorade in my car. I then through an ozarka bottle on the other rack for water. Usually this would be a big bummer having to unscrew a cap while you are riding. BUT, I'm still a novice rider and can't grab my water bottle while riding without crashing. So, since I have to pull over and stop to take a drink anyways, I figured an ozarka would suffice.
Luckily I was the first to my rack so I got to set up my stuff where I wanted. There were several ant hills around so I chose the end furthest away from a pile. I got it all set up and then stared at it for at least 3 minutes making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I left Blue Steel (yes, my bike is named Blue Steel - yes, like Zoolander) and headed for my timing chip for my ankle and to get body marked. Body marking was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Imagine a large group of people wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants all gathering in a designated area and then dropping their pants and raising up their sweatshirts - underneath everyone had on their tri shorts/shirts/bras but is just looked super scandalous. Gave me a nice laugh. After having #326 written in sharpie on both my arms and above both knee caps and my age written on the back of my left calf - and yes, it is Thursday and as hard as I scrub, the numbers are still there, which is attractive in a business suit let me tell you" - I picked up my chip and headed back to the tent.
At this point I was definitely getting nervous. People were starting to put on their wetsuits and we were less than 30 minutes away from the start of the race. I quickly greased up with body glide and squished and pulled and tucked and jumped and contorted every which way possible to get into my wetsuit. With my swim cap in one hand and goggles in the other, the only thing left to do was get in the water.
I slowly dragged myself towards the lake. They said the temperature was 68 and after the initial shock of it taking your breath away, it honestly was not that bad. Unfortunately, I was panicky because I had a last minute goggle decision to make. I cannot tell you how many times people on the team have said "don't do ANYTHING different on race day." The problem was that the goggles I've been training in the last 2 months have started leaking. Its one thing to leak in the pool, but another thing in open water. When I practiced at the quarry last weekend and they started leaking, I freaked out. I have another pair, my backups, but I really don't like them because they are smaller and hurt my eyes. Race morning I knew I had a decision to make - favorite goggles that leak, or disliked goggles that sealed. After floating around a few minutes, back up goggles prevailed.
After standing in the water durnig the national anthem, I trotted my leaky goggles over to the fence to give to my mentor Patti. Sidenote - PATTI JACKSON IS AWESOME! Seriously, without her, I would not have finished my first race. The week before she sent me lots of encouraging emails with advice and checklists and youtube videos. She gave me a lesson in how to set up my transition area on Saturday and was checking in on me every step of the way on Sunday. She took my goggles, told me I could do it and that was that!
I was in the women under 34 category so we were the 4th wave of swimmers. We watched the first 3 groups line up, the gun go off and then they were off. This was when self doubt really got me. I hate to admit this, but I was literally starting to cry. You know those kids at theme parks who parents are literally dragging them towards the roller coaster while they throw tantrums? That's what I felt like - but I was doing it to myself! Luckily a sweet Team Z girl - whose name I do not even know - literally took my hands told me to breathe and told me I would do great. I don't know who you are but if somehow you find this blog, thank you. You are probably the reason I got in the water when the gun went off 1 minute later. I tried to hang to the back because I knew I didn't want to get caught in the chaos of the start. The announcer said 10 seconds, I tried to take a deep breath, said a desperate prayer for God to please give me strength, calm my nerves and help me get to the other end of the lake, and quickly! And then the gun went off and we were swimming.
I walked about 50 feet until it got deep and then started swimming. I tried to think of everything our coaches had said - face down, swim like I'm in slow motion, do the catch up drill, take deep/slow breaths, sight the buoys. It wasn't working. I was freaking. The wind was pretty strong and between the wind and the waverunners watching over us, the waves got big and choppy. Anytime I tried to breathe I was swallowing lake water. I told myself not to panic, just switch to weak side breathing. That was even worse! As I really started to panic, I flipped on my back to just float. I decided I would then sing a song in my head, something calm and mellow to distract myself and so I could get back to my stroke. Not sure why, but the Eagles' Hotel California was my song. Unfortunately a song about being trapped and not able to escape was not helpful when trying to get through choppy water. I turned around to see how far I was and decide whether or not to quit. I saw three green capped girls from my heat about 25 meters back hanging on to a surfboard for dear life. I knew I wasn't the last one, I had to keep going.
I could go on forever about the mental fight in my head, but the long and short of it was that I really did not have a good 27 minutes in the water. I gave up swimming about 200 meter in and doggie paddled. That's right, I swam with my head out of the water all the way around that lake. At the least that way I felt like I was making progress but could keep my head out of water and breathe without threat of the waves. Unfortunately, doggie paddling had negative consequences. It was EXHAUSTING! By the time I made it to the second buoy and was heading back towards the shore, I was exhausted and had 300 meter to go. About that time I suddenly heard my name yelled out. My first response was, oh no, God has sent an angel to take me to Heaven after I drown. Then I snapped out of it. Haha it was a Team Z friend, Janice, who started in a wave a few behind mine. I still don't know how she knew it was me... With 700 people in black wetsuits we pretty much looked like a swarm of tadpoles with different colored caps on. She was clearly in better control of her swimming so I followed her silver cap all the way to shore. By the time I could stand up and walk, I was so over it. OVER IT! In my head I was focusing on how awful that was, how much I hated it, why had I ever signed up for this, I was never doing it again. On and On. I completely forgot that they take your picture when you get out of the water. I think this picture is hilarious. My face tells you everything you need to know about how my swim went.
But my attitude turned around really fast when I got my arms out of the wetsuit, exposing my Team Z tri shirt and people started cheering for me. And not that fake pitiful clap that I had not drowned myself, like they really meant it and were excited for me and cheering me on to the transition! I did not have the energy to run, so I walked to transition, which was just as well because I pretty much had to pry my goggles off my face. I completely forgot that the reason I disliked my backup pair so much was that they suction SUPER tight to your face. Mine suctioned so tight, that I have bruises on that bone above the corners of your eyes. When I woke up on Monday morning, my eyes were almost swollen shut. I think a shopping trip for new goggles will be in my future...
Luckily I saw Patti once I got out of the water and she congratulated me on finishing the swim! She ran up to transition and told me to have a good ride and she'd be waiting for me when I got back! [Again, HUGE shout out to Patti - knowing that you were "waiting" for me was super motivating when I thought about quitting out on the ride.] Once I hit transition, I escaped from my wetsuit, put on my helmet, glasses, sock and bike shoes, threw a GU in my mouth and started running for the mount line. I was dreading this because it was on an incline. I had actually practiced clipping in and mounting on an incline on the Thursday before the race and ended up crashing in my neighborhood. I told myself it wouldn't matter, but sure enough, the race started on a hill. I walked up to the line, clipped in one foot, and realized my chain had dropped. Ugh! I had to unclip, walk back down the hill and get someone to help me put my chain back on. I was mad because I'd lost 5 minutes and hadn't even started biking. Luckily though, this distracted me and I clipped in and got right up that hill, no problem! The bike course was 16 miles. The first few miles were through the state park and then about 10 more on a loop outside of the park. I knew I wasn't the last person out of the water and I wasn't the last one in transition and I immediately passed a few people so I was getting pumped.
I like to bike even though I struggle considerably on the hills. Which, unfortunately, once we got out of the park, there were hills. At the 6 mile mark there was a SUPER steep hill and I was completely gassed. I went about halfway up and then walked the rest of the way. I used this stop as my water break and ate a waffle. If you haven't tried these things, they are amazing! I have to remind myself that they are for training and not everyday treats :) Once I refueled, I really got into a good rhythm on my bike and was passing people. And then I hit a bump.
I still don't know how or what happened but suddenly my bike seat was at a 45 degree angle. I tried everything to fix it and it just wasn't budging. At first I thought about quitting, but then I remembered that Patti was waiting for me and I didn't want to let her down, or Team Z down, or myself down. I didn't want to lose anymore time so I just went with it - alternating between riding low on the back and holding on for dear life or trying to balance on the top - ouch! This was also my first time riding in tri shorts as opposed to bike shorts and my backside was not a fan. Tri shorts have WAY less padding in them. It was not fun. Luckily, my friend Addie and I had driven the course the night before, so I knew that once I passed the Christmas Tree Farm (which smelled delightful!) I only had a few miles left before I turned back into the park.
I flew to the end of the bike course, dismounted and my legs felt like lead. I tried to run into the transition area but my legs seriously felt detached from my body. I can't explain the feeling but it was rough. I ran back to my spot in transition and apparently other racers, in their haste, had used my spot to re-rack their bikes. I was irritated and said some not nice things. Luckily the fastest athletes had already finished the course and were back in transition and basically said, don't worry, just GO! I pulled on my tennis shoes and attempted to tie my shoes - which was remarkably hard when you are that tired- clipped on my number, took a swig of water and dashed off. Unfortunately, the run course started right back up the same hill the bike course started on. My legs were DEAD. But I was not alone. And again, having Z's there cheering me on and telling me I could do it was super encouraging. I also got to watch a lot of bikers come in after me so I knew I wasn't dead last.
This was encouraging. I also ended up in with a fellow Z and ran about a half mile with her. It was nice to have company. I also have to give a huge shout out to the hilarious volunteers out on the course. Their encouragement and jokes were super appreciated when I felt like I was dying.
The last 1/2 mile of the course or so wound through the woods. All of a sudden you could hear the music and cheers at the finish and then all of a sudden you come out of the woods. You can see the beach, Team Z tent erupts in cheers and you are running through the finisher chute. Although I was afraid I would look like this when I finished
In that moment, I truly thought that I looked like this.
In reality, I looked like this
I actually got choked up running in - I was overwhelmed with pride. I can't even put into words how amazing it felt to just finish. I gladly accepted my medal and carnation and coupon for a free pizza at the top of the hill and returned to the Team Z tent to celebrate.
There were moments of that race that I hated and did not think were fun at all. I wanted to quit and forget triathlons, but pushing through to the end and proving to myself that hard work does pay off and I CAN do it was totally worth it.
That being said, I'm really glad I don't have to race again for 6 weeks. I have alot to work on between now and then. After cooling down, I packed back up and drove back home. Luckily I-95 was kind and I got home to my two biggest fans!
AND as an extra special surprise, Caleb drove me to Chevy Chase for a celebratory dinner. This week they opened a new branch of one of my all-time favorite Mexican restaurants in Dallas, Mi Cocina. Let me tell you, after my race, MiCo queso has never tasted so good!!!!
After reminiscing and unwinding for a few days, here are my takeaways from my first race:
1) Team Z is amazing. I am not a social person and honestly not that great of a team player. I am very individually focused, especially when it comes to competitions. But having people yell at "Good Job Z! You can do it Z! Come on Z!" was amazing. I actually enjoyed being called Z more than when people actually knew my name. I enjoyed feeling like part of a team. I even found myself encouraging my Z mates - and non Z mates - out on the course. They truly changed my attitude. And when I finished, all I wanted to do was find Patti and give her a huge hug. She was my biggest cheerleader and without her I would have been a total mess. Now... how to convince her to attend every race I do.... hmmm
2) Be 10000000% comfortable with your goggles before the race. Your eyes will thank you later.
3) Do NOT sing Hotel California in your head while trying to swim in open water. It will make you feel like you are drowning even more than you are in reality.
4) Trust your training. I really thought about giving up about halfway through the bike, but then I realized I've been riding 30 miles on weekends. Was I really going to quit after 5? No way! Sure enough, it just took some time to get my muscles warmed up
5) Swim Practice! Swim Practice! Swim Practice!
6) Nutrition - Just winging it is not going to work for much longer. I knew when to eat something but no idea how much. I could definitely feel my energy go through highs and lows on the course.
7) Listen to Oli and get your bike checked out/tuned up BEFORE the race.
8) Yankz! My fingers were incapable of tying shoelaces after the bike ride. I definitely need to look into these...
9) When the volunteers on the road say they have ice cold water. They mean it. If you attempt to swallow too hard, you will choke and start hacking and scare the volunteers that you are having some sort of meltdown. Stop, take a deep breath and take a SIP, not a gulp
10) The work is hard, and at times you will hate it and want to quit, but the feeling of accomplishment when you run across that finish line is worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears.
Shout Outs:
While EVERYONE was fantastic this weekend, I have a few very special folks to thank. I know I sound like a broken record but THANKS to Patti Jackson for all the advice and keeping my calm, to Addie for keeping my laughing, to Bel for all the advice on Saturday, to Erin for being nervous with me and entertaining me with the crazy flip flop sunburn, to Ricardo and Gabby for being awesome housemates, to Coach Ed for all the advice/kicks in the pants leading up to the race and keeping us organized this weekend, to Janice for talking me through/guiding me to the finish of the swim, to Oli and Cat and Baby Max for being there to cheer for me at Transition,and everyone who stayed to watch me finish. I will always remember Kinetic as an amazing first race.
Official Results for this Race
750M Swim: 27:32:00
T1: 5:08
15.5 Mi Bike: 1:13:13
T2: 3:08
5K Run: 37:28:00
Total Finish Time: 2:26:26
Phew! We are exhausted!!! And not much time to recover. We are moving in 10 days and I have not packed one box. NOT ONE!!! I should get on that... But before I go, I will leave you with a few hilarious pictures I gathered while at home:
