heritage park triathlon
5.20.2007
587 yard swim/ 11.5 mile bike/ 3 mile run
pre-race
4:30am wake up call…not so bad, considering I do that a few times during the week for spin classes. I got my stuff together, made some coffee and some waffles and jumped in the car. I met up with Jen (former DFT gal) and drove to the race together. We set up our transition area, got body markings, and had time to stand around worrying about the race. I saw several DFT gals out there, some co-workers, and folks I’ve met at other races. One of my spin class members, David, was out there doing his first triathlon, that’s exciting!
I sucked down a packet of GU, donned my wetsuit, grabbed my goggles and bright pink swim cap, wished Jen and David good luck, and headed down to the lake.
swim – 16:13 (my slowest swim EVER!)
So, this swim will go down as the worst thus far in my triathlon experiences! Ugh. I got in the water with what seemed like a smaller heat than normal – this is a good thing. I quickly adjusted to the water temp and tested my goggles, etc. everything seemed fine. Poor Julie, fellow DFT teammate – her goggle strap broke about 20 seconds prior to the start of our heat! I felt terrible for her. The horn sounded and I was off. I steadily started swimming and was happy to see that I wasn’t being kicked, swam over, etc., all seemed to be going just fine. Well, that lasted all of about 100 yards – if that – and I suddenly was unable to catch my breath. My chest hurt, my breathing was soooo shallow and I simply couldn’t settle down. I ended up doing the doggy paddle, breast stroke, pretty much anything – and nothing helped. I started grabbing for the Velcro fastener to my wetsuit and finally got that undone…then onto the zipper. I unzipped the suit about ½ way down my back. Still, I was breathless. I managed to round the buoy, and yelled to a rescue swimmer, "Am I.. allowed… to… hang on…to you?" Of course, the answer was yes, so I made my way to him and held on to the big orange floaty he had with him. I was dying…he offered to bring a boat over and I resisted. This couldn’t possibly be happening to me. I was determined to fight it. As I swam away from him, I heard him yell, "there are three more of us out here." Of course, my stubborn side was thinking to myself, "I don’t need to hold on again." Well, that thought lasted only a few yards, and I found myself holding on to yet another rescue swimmer. Oh boy, this was awful. I could see the shore, and at least I was on my way back in…but could I make it? I’d never had this experience in the water to this point – and I’m quite sure (looking back) that I never want to experience that again! I started swimming again, and now the men’s heat that was 5 minutes back, was gaining on me. Of course, that didn’t help in calming myself down. I was about to stop at another rescue swimmer when someone else beat me to it. I thought, screw it, I’ll just get to the shore, and somehow, I did! I walked out of the lake, up the bank and didn’t even try to hurry. I was wasted! I grabbed some water as I started to somewhat peel off my wetsuit.
t1 – 3:01
Maybe the slowest transition time ever…I walked all the way to my bike rack and slowly donned my garb, all the while trying to catch my breath. I really didn’t even care at this point. I felt awful and was tempted to sit down and call it a day. Again, the stubborn streak wouldn’t allow that! I put my bike stuff all on and walked my bike to the mount area.
bike – 34:36:00
Once on the bike, I felt a bit renewed (I just LOVE cycling!). Unfortunately, you hit the one big hill pretty quickly. I didn’t care, I knew I needed to be somewhat strong here, ‘cause I certainly wouldn’t gain any ground on the run. So, I just hammered on. After the big hill, you get some flats/downhills and can catch your breath before doing it again. The second time I came up to the hill, I saw David – a spin class participant doing his first triathlon. I was happy to see him out there. We exchanged a few words, and then I took off up the hill. I kinda thought he would be right behind me, which kept me moving, but I did not see him again. I continued to work fairly hard on the bike, saving a bit for all three laps and knowing I needed some legs for the run. I was winded, but felt pretty strong – the bike is definitely my forte.
t2 – 1:18
I came with pretty wobbly legs from the bike, but was able to get off my bike fairly quickly and run over to my bike rack. I quickly changed shoes and grabbed all my other stuff and headed out on the run.
run – 29:50
Just after I started running, I saw teammate, Linda, out there cheering us on. That was nice! I also saw former teammate, Jen, coming back from the loop out – she was on her 2nd run of the duathlon, and clearly doing well – good job, Jen! Those first ten minutes of the run are typically fairly painful for me…I refused to walk. I slowed way down and just really took my time, so I can almost say that I enjoyed the run. I even had a little juice at the end, and was able to pick up the pace as I neared the finish line. I saw Troy & family (from spin class), Jen, and some of the DFT gals…all cheering me on through the finish. Thanks to all!
overall – 1:24:57
Well, overall, not my best tri ever, but I finished the race. An hour and 20 minutes earlier, I wasn’t sure I would finish the race, so I guess that’s good! J
I’m chalking this one up to a rough start and hope to only improve as I move into the season.
As a side note, since we all have to have a good excuse for a poor race, I broke down and went to the doctor Tuesday, and found that I had a sinus infection and bronchitis! My doc (who always asks about my racing) says, "well, that explains your near-drowning on the swim!...I can’t believe you finished the race."
So, there you have it. One down…all summer to go!
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