A Successful Weekend!

I raced on Saturday and it felt good to be back in competition. The last race I did was a road race last year, and the last triathlon that I did was in 2001. I wasn't sure how the race would go, but I was excited to find out.

A triathlon takes TONS of preparation. More time went into packing and driving then it took me to race the whole thing! Friday night I made a pasta dinner with grilled chicken and broccoli, it was very tasty. According to Jordan, I am the best cook ever!! John got my bike prepared with super fast Zip wheels and removed some excess weight from the bike to help go faster. Here is the list of everything you need for a Triathlon, regardless of the distance.

1. swim goggles
2. race outfit (depends on each athlete, I wore just a bathing suit)
3. running shoes
4. yanks for running shoes (elastic cords so you don't have to tie)
5. number belt
6. cycling shoes
7. helmet
8. glasses (optional)
9. hat (optional)
10. bike
11. bucket of water (to rinse of feet in transition area)
12. towel (to dry feet off after rinsing in bucket)
13. water bottles
14. race food (gels or bars)
15. body glide (to prevent chafing)

As you can see there is a lot of stuff!! I realized while I was packing that I no longer  had my number belt. This is an elsatic waist band that you pin your number to and wear around your waist for the bike and run. You don't wear it in the water because it would get ruined. I turned my MacGyver switch on and found an old polar heart rate monitor strap that I could use as my number belt. I also loaned my yanks to a friend and had to take apart a pair of water shoes that had the elastic cord and put them on my shoes. Everything worked out great.

Sat AM

John, Jordan and I loaded the car at 5:30am. Headed to the race. I went straight to pick up my packet. I noticed that there wasn't much order to the race. Ususally you have a certain place were you rack your bike in the transition area, and only the competitors are allowed in the transition area, well not here. It was a free for all. Since we got there late, I had to rack my bike in the last row, which worked fine for the swim, but not for the run.

The Swim

This was a mass start with all the woman 35 and under. I have been putting the distance in on my swims, just not the speed work and it showed. It took we awhile before I could get into a rhythm. I did great with spotting, just not used to a straight up sprint.

The Bike

I knew on the bike this is where I would make up my time. My transition from the swim to the bike was a little slower than I would have liked so I knew I would have to crank it out. The confusing thing with a tri is that you don't know where people are in terms of placement. Your age is written with a permanent marker on your calf, so you can look for that, but some peoples rub off. Also with the different wave starts it's hard to tell who's winning the overall. You just have to go as hard and fast as you can. I passed people left and right and felt great on the bike. When I came into the transition to the run, John said I was sitting in 3rd place.

The Run

The run went great. I felt awesome, got into a great groove. Took water when I needed it and was cruising. Since it was an out-and-back course you could see how many people were ahead of you. There were more woman ahead of me, but most started in the swim wave 6-9 min ahead, so not sure where I stood overall.

The Results

I took 1st in my age group of 25-29 (I was the oldest too)
I was 6th overall female
37th overall combined men and woman.
3rd fastest bike split out of all woman
20th fastest bike split combined
I ran a 20:40 5k which is a 6:40/pace
I rode a 32:09 12mile which is a avg speed of 22.4/mph

I am REALLY happy with my results. My training has been slow, steady miles, not short speed work. I ENJOYED the race more than anything which is so good. I really want to race again, and I can't wait for the Ironman. I know the distances are on two different spectrums, but I'm looking forward to getting out there and pushing myself.

I want to give a big THANK YOU to my awesome husband John and super cute step-son Jordan for coming out and cheering for me at such an early time of the day. After the race we went to Jordan's baseball game where he hit his 1st HOMERUN. A successful weekend for all of the Howes!

Will right in later with this weeks plans.