Fool Cup Triathlon

Saturday brought my first "almost" sprint triathlon of the year. The course was shorter than a normal sprint, but what should have been an easy, fast race was hampered by high winds.
I was excited about this race because:
A) A perfect second triathlon for me to make sure that I really want to keep trying to do this.
B) A short distance because I know I have not been training as much as I should so I could do it, have fun and not kill myself.
C) I talked my roommate into doing it! Ok, I signed her up for it and then told her she was doing it, but what matters is that she did it!

The race was about an hour away so we packed up early that morning and headed out after a quick stop for oatmeal and coffee....yum! Even though it was only 45 miles to the North, when we got out of the car, it was COLD! We got marked at quickly as possible and set up transition so we could sit in the car and thaw back out. Luckily the swim was a pool swim so at least we would be warm for that.
The swim was what I was most excited about because I have really been working on the swim and I really wanted to see what I could do now as compared to a few months ago where I had to backstroke more than half the race. The odd thing about this race was they had us lined up according to number instead of by time and the lanes were not set up to allow enough space for passing so they told us if we wanted to pass someone to tap the bottom of the persons feet in front of you and then wait until the end of the lane and then pass them. I quickly started looking at everyone in front and behind me to size up the competition and figure out what I needed to do. There was a pack of very fit guys a few people behind me that I was worried about, but just decided that I would just swim as best as I could and try not to hold any one up. Much to my delight, the swim went great and I never got my feet tapped! I even passed several people which really made my day knowing that if this had been a few months ago, the outcome would have been very different. Looking back, I should have just stayed in the pool and enjoyed the warmth and calm.
I knew my run would be very slow so my plan was to do the swim and bike as fast as I could and try to get as much of a lead as I could. This plan worked perfectly for the swim as I got out quickly and only a few other people ahead of me. The first mile or so went great until I had to turn onto a hwy access road that they had blocked off for us. That is when the wind hit with gusts up to 50 miles an hour (according to the news). My pace slowed to a crawl but I could feel my heart rate still climbing. To add insult to injury, I then got attacked by tumbleweeds which were as big as my tires. Nothing like a West Texas race for you! Luckily, everyone else was having the same problem so we were all super slow.
By the time I got off the bike, I was exhausted. The idea of having the run and having to do it in the wind was unthinkable. I put on my shoes though and started out. My feet felt like they had cement blocks attached to them. I just got new shoes and could not decide if that was the problem or just that I was tired. I brought a new meaning to the term plodding. The time finally came when people started really passing me, but at that point, I was focused on just keeping going and stopped caring so much. When I finally finished my second loop, I have never been so grateful. I was not totally nice to the guy who told me I still had one loop to go as I assured him that I did in fact do both of my laps. I think my gasping for breath told him that I was in fact telling the truth. Obviously, I am still going to have to working on my plodding...er...running.

New shoes!

A few hours later, it did not seem quite so bad as it did right after. Funny how your memory of pain fades. I am glad I went of course, but it was not the easy, fast race I thought it would be. Just shows that you have to be ready for any type of weather conditions!
So to recap, the swim was great and I am on track there! The bike probably would have been fine except for the battling the winds but I do need to start spending some more time working on that. The run sucked. Have to start training more there even though I hate it. I have no good excuses because out of the three, it is the easiest to go do! Oh, and my roommate did great! She finished right behind me and did fantastic even though she was shouting "Never again Renee" on the course. Thank goodness her asthma was bothering her or she would have passed me on the run for sure! (teasing of course!)
The good news is that it was still fun and I am signing up for more. The next one will be May 3rd and I am going to do that as part of a team which I think will be fun!

After race salmon and pasta!

2008 Texas Tech Rec Sprint Tri

Ok, everyone was right and I loved it. I was completely terrified and wanted to bolt the whole time, but I managed to stay put and had a total blast!!!
I managed to get myself to bed at a fairly reasonable hour and only woke myself up in that "OMG I totally overslept!" panic once. I sprung up at 4:45am and packed up all of my neatly laid out out stuff, loaded the bike, puttered around the house for awhile, and finally took off.
Everything apparently went way too smoothly because by the time I checked in, got marked, and set everything up, I had over an hour to wait and fret. After half an hour of just aimlessly wandering, I started edging up to people who looked nice and getting in on conversations and figured out very quickly that tri people are so freaking NICE! I mean WOW! I seriously would have bolted or gotten way too nervous if I had not had these people to talk to. Which was good because After waiting another hour, I ended up waiting another 40 minutes because the swim was a seeded pool swim. But it was ok because I ended up in line with a group of newbie and one older experienced woman who kept us all calm.
The swim was tough, but better than I thought considering since I had not been in a pool in an unmentionable amount of time. I varied up my strokes when I got tired (which was often)and prayed the lifeguard would not think I was drowning! I think I came out of the pool at 13 minutes which was pretty miserable, but I was just getting through.

(NOTE: there was no split timings at this race, just an overall finish time. I had on my watch but I am still not certain how to use to it so all times are rough ones. They don't have our final times up yet so I am not even certain on that either)

I ran outside and quickly threw on my shirt and shoes and grabbed my bike. And here comes the part where Leah jinxed me. Big time. She wanted me to have something funny to tell. So I grab my bike and run to transition, hop on, start to clip in and pedal...and then fall over because my chain has fallen off. I just started to laugh as a guy ran over to help me and put my chain on and I was able to take of for real this time. But Leah, I was thinking about you that whole time!!! The bike was uneventful but I was never really able to get any speed up because it was a 5 lap course so any time I got any speed, there was another turn and I needed to slow down. It was good though because it gave me time to chill from the swim and recover a little mentally.

The transition from bike to run was kind of stiff and harder than I thought it would be. My hip was giving my some problems and I ended up walking for the first few yards. I settled into a very unsightly shuffle for awhile and then walked when needed. I ended up running a lot more than I thought I would though and at one point a woman caught up to me and with a bright smile informed me that she had been chasing me down since the bike. Huh? Someone had been chasing me down? She told me that it had been so frustrating because she would almost catch me and then as soon as we would turn into the headwind she swore I would speed up. To me that seems unlikely, but still flattering in a weird way. We ran along together for awhile, but she ended up ahead and finished about a minute or two ahead of me. I should have pushed harder and caught up, but next time, I am going for times!
I think my overall time was somewhere around 1:35 for a 400 meter swim, 11 mile bike ride and 2.4 mile run so not too bad for my first time. I know I could have pushed a lot harder, but I really think I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much. I met a lot of very nice people and just had a great time and have been looking for other ones close to me. Until then though...I will be hitting the pool and running more because that no practice thing just not smart. I got away with it once, but I am not pulling that again.

Another thanks to all of my blogger friends because just from reading all of your descriptions, I was totally prepared and knew exactly what to expect, how to set up my transitions, and made no major newbie mistakes (that I am aware of). I vaugely checked my trasition times and am pretty sure I did not spend more than 2 minutes at each which was my goal so I am pretty happy with that. Anyways, thanks you guys!!

The Night Before

I am working on getting packed for tomorrow right now and have probably put it off just a little bit later than I should have, but I have still kept up the internal debate on if I was going through with this or not. I know physically I am as ready as I need to be and this week has been a workout disaster, but you go to triathlon with the body you have, not the body you wish you had. Regardless, I will get through it and it may be slow, but I will complete it and at least one thing will go right this week.
As far as the flooding, things has cleared off so we should have the biking. My car is still dead so I had it towed to the mechanic and am not really expecting a very positive outcome except to be grateful that I have a love of bicycles and enjoy commuting to work.
Thank all of you for your words of encouragement! You guys put such a huge grin on my face and I appreciate all of you so much! All of you are such a great part of my day and I don't even know you. Isn't it a funny little world??

I will....

I will go swim.
I will not be insecure about my swimming.
I will not be intimidated by the "real" swimmers.
I will remember that no one is paying attention to what I am doing but me.
I will stop putting this off.

In other events, I loaded up my bike and went to a local park to ride. It was gorgeous with several small hills to practice on. The bike routes were not really long enough and after a couple laps, it got boring so I think I will ride there next time in order to get enough miles in. It was a nice change of pace though and next time I will remember to take my camera since it is just about the only scenic ride I have been on in awhile.

Besides the swimming goal, I am also going to learn ride without my camelback and be able to reach down and grab a water bottle without becoming one with the road. Or on the road. You know what I mean. I have been riding long enough to have the balance to do it so it is time! I keep reminding myself how much cooler I will be without the camelback and that is helping to motivate me.

I have also figured out that my 10 year high school reunion is the same weekend as the Sprint Tri I had wanted to do. It was supposed to be my first and I am loath to put it off, but it keep going back and forth. Obviously a reunion is only held every few years and they have triathlons all the time, however I do spend a lot more time working out and thinking about working out than I ever do thinking about people from HS. Hmm....still time to work it out. If I can find one in the area the weekend before or after I guess that would help make up my mind.

It's raining, it's pouring

My first day as a commuter!!! Except for the small fact that today it started to rain. Rain is a normal occurrence in many parts of the world. Not in Lubbock Texas. It rains bi-monthly and since it rained two weeks ago, I really though I was set for the next six weeks. It was even pretty when I left. Within minutes of jetting off on my cute new bike, the heavens opened and it poured down on us. Luckily, it is a short commute of about 2-3 miles. Is it sad when I can get to work faster on my bike than in my car? Anyways, through my sarcasm, it was a lot of fun and I am excited that I am able to have the opportunity to do this!
In other exciting news, I keep being a weenie about this whole triathlon thing and procrastinating, but there have been so many great blogs lately about the exciting races everyone is doing and I don't want to feel left out anymore. So I am committed to one in September. It is close to home, the swim is a pool swim so a little less scary, and it should not be too hard. Honestly, I am more concerned about transitions than I am anything else. But, I think this is something easily doable and September gives me enough to time to get ready for that run.....oh running, how I loathe thee.

Once upon a time.....

I am a 27 year old female living in Texas. I began road biking a few years ago, but not seriously at all. I decided that biking was going to be my hobby that I enjoyed when I wanted to with no pressure to really succeed. I have enjoyed it and when I don't, I put the bike away for awhile. I have been very slowly learning more about biking, but decided this year instead of just doing long distances, I wanted to try my first sprint triathlon. I have a few tentative dates for ones I would like to attend, all depending on how training goes. I am determined not to stress too much about this and just enjoy the experience. Of course, there have been times when I was biking that I repeated a mantra of "If I live, I will never do this again". Luckily, I did not follow through when it came to this.
I feel like there is more I should say, but I plan on this just being a record of my training and experiences. I tend to take a slightly sarcastic approach to most things so you have been forewarned. Please do not take me seriously! This whole thing makes me slightly nervous so joking about it seems to help, or at least convinces me that I am really not as petrified as I feel like I should be. Wish me luck because I may need it!