Race day was yesterday. I felt pretty good going into it and really thought I could rock it and take some names. Then things kind of went downhill. I should have left a few minutes earlier than I did because I felt a bit rushed to get everything set up and ready once I was there, even though I had 30 minutes until transition closed. I almost forgot to put my water bottle on my bike and on my run belt, but thankfully I remembered when I was doing a final review of everything I'd set out.
The husband and boys got there before the start, so I was able to see them and get hugs and kisses before starting the race. For the first time ever doing a race at this starting point (this was my third race to start there), I didn't whack my foot on a ledge getting in to the water, so that was a bonus. Once again I felt rushed because the swim start seemed pretty far from where we jumped in the water, and the group I started with was HUGE. It was definitely the most chaotic start I've ever been a part of. It seemed as soon as I got to the swim start they started the countdown for the wave to go. I barely had time to pee in my wet suit! Sorry if you didn't know that's a thing triathletes do. ;) The wave I started with was huge, so it was really hard to get going at first. I've done several open water swims, but I still don't like the feeling of being hit and kicked or having people swim over me. I had an awful time sighting on the first leg of the swim because we were swimming east into the sun, so that made it hard to see, plus my goggles were fogging up a little. I was really struggling to breathe and control my heart rate, too. Usually my heart rate stays pretty low during a swim (not like when I run), and this time I felt like my heart was pounding and racing in my chest. Not in a panic attack way, just a really exerting myself way. Which is weird. I still don't know why. Once I made the turn to head back west I was slightly more confident since I could at least sight easier. I didn't check my Garmin at all to see what my time was like until I was out of the water. 18:30. Not bad, not good. Better than my last sprint, but still a little slower than I had hoped for. But I guess since I did stop once to try and catch my breath a little that it wasn't an entirely bad time. I made it out of the water okay and had race volunteers help me get my wet suit off. I tell ya, that is the most helpful thing. John and the boys were standing there as I headed towards T1 and I got to high five my kids. I wish I would have seen them before John took my picture so I would have been smiling, but instead I look...focused. yeah, focused.
Swim time: 19:32 (time includes wetsuit removal and running a ways to the transition area, plus I didn't start my Garmin right away)
I was really pleased with my T1 time when I saw it. John said I did a great job in T1. It probably helped that it was a smaller race so the transition area wasn't that big. Got to my bike, tossed my wetsuit and swim gear to the side, and got ready for the bike. Gu in pocket, sunglasses on, helmet on, bike shoes on, grab bike, go. I hate running/jogging in my bike shoes, but I did it a bit so maybe that was part of why my time was good.
T1 time: 1:41
I had high hopes for the bike. I really thought I could hold a pace of 17 MPH for most of it. Then I discovered a good chunk of the course was uphill. Well, of course there were downhills to counteract the uphills, but going 23 MPH downhill didn't make up for the 13 MPH I was doing going uphill. It was pretty discouraging. The one good thing was that I managed to stay on my aero bars except for one section of uphill riding and one or two turns on the course. I got passed A LOT, but I also passed a few people, so I guess it works out. I knew on the bike that I wasn't going to PR the race. I knew I had to be off the bike by 1:10 total time for me to have any chance of hitting a PR. I glanced at my Garmin at 1:12 and knew it was done since I still had a mile or two to go on the bike. Awful feeling. I tried not to let it get me down, but it was really discouraging.
Bike time: 53:51 (ouch)
I figured at this point I could still rock the run and at least get a decent run time. When I made one of the final turns on the bike I only saw John there and not the boys, so I knew my mom must have gotten there which helped knowing there was one more person there cheering for me. They ended up over by the transition area and were cheering for me while I got my running gear on.
T2 time: 2:16
I started off on the run and felt okay. I told myself I was only walking on the two uphill portions I knew of and through the one water station. And I stuck to that. I was pleased when my Garmin buzzed after the first mile, and I saw my time for that mile was 11:08. that's a lot faster than I've been running lately. The run course for this race was similar to the Olympic tri I did last month. Obviously this was shorter, but I at least had an idea of how it went and what to expect this time. The first uphill was pretty tiny, and I stuck to my promise to myself and ran again once I was up the hill. The aid station was maybe half a mile past that, walked as I drank my water and had a volunteer shoot me with a squirt gun (I should really have us volunteer at a race as a family...my kids would have a blast squirting people!), then it was back to running. One more uphill a bit after the second mile marker, then I ran the rest of the way. I was actually a little surprised with how easy the run felt to me. Or maybe I just wanted to have one decent leg of the race. The run course took us across a bridge and then basically a u-turn down into a park to the finish chute. I could see John and my mom and the kids from the bridge, and as I reached them they were cheering and my boys ran up to me and each took a hand. I absolutely LOVED having them run the finish chute with me and cross the finish line with me. I told them they needed to be fast and they were! This is the first time I've been excited to see my race pictures because I can't wait to see the pictures of me and them together. Although really I think they were more excited about the Gatorade I shared with them than anything else. Even with walking portions of miles two and three, my average pace still ended up under 12:00 which I'm really pleased with.
Run time: 36:28
Total time: 1:53:50
I was looking at race data last night after results were posted, and the average time for the sprint was 1:46. I'm assuming a lot of people sucked on the bike leg because of the hills. It never even occurred to me the bike course was hilly. Normally Tempe triathlon bike routes are along flat roads. In hindsight I should have driven the bike course I guess to see what it was like ahead of time. The race is what it is. I know I really did my best, so I'm pleased with how I did, I just wish my time reflected that I tried my hardest. That's what's so discouraging I think.
Now I have over five months until my next race, the--gulp--70.3. I'm going to take a break from tri training and get back in the weight room and work on building some strength, hopefully gaining muscle and losing some fat. I need to start looking for a 70.3 training plan that's around 16 weeks long. I think 12 is too short and 20 would be too long, and I'd burn out way before the race. But for now I'm going to enjoy not swimming, biking, and running twice a week each and focus on making my 70.3 a good race.
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