1st Triathlon of the Season

Sunday was the Naperville Women's Triathlon - where else? but in Naperville, IL. I did this race back in 2007, and remembered it being fun, so I signed up to do it again. Sadly, my friends weren't here before the race, but it still worked out great for me to watch their house and dog, Ginger!

I went to packet pick up Saturday, and it was so chilly and rainy outside! I was glad the forcast was calling for nicer weather on race day. There wasn't really much excitement at the expo, so I just did a quick breeze through and called it a day. I think it helped that I was not at home, and no one was around - no distraction. It was funny - I think this was the first time I had actually eaten dinner and had all my race stuff ready to go - WAY early Saturday! I got in bed by 8pm, but as luck would have it...could NOT go to sleep! I think it ended up taking me 2+ hours to fall asleep, but I guess it was good to be relaxing, right? Once I fell asleep, I slept pretty well. The alarm comes WAY too early on race morning - 4 a.m.!

I jumped up, showered, dressed, ate my breakfast, drank coffee...yadda, yadda, yadda.
I left the house right at 5, and arrived at transition shortly after it opened. I wanted to get there with plenty of time to find parking where I wouldn't get boxed in post-race, and to find a nice spot in transition. I accomplished both. It's funny at this race, they are ultra-cautious about making sure everyone has their stuff together...you can't even get in transition if you don't already have your chip strapped to your ankle, and all your stickers in place.

They do have assigned transition areas, unfortunately, my spot was right in the center of this HUGE transition. I mean, center down the super long bike racks, and center across all the rows...we were in the 16th swim heat, and I think there were 30+ heats. At least everyone in your age group is in the same boat, eh? I set up transition, and headed for the porta potty before the lines got too long. As I walked out of transition, I saw Coach Liz setting up her area. She was on bike rack #1 - lucky! I suppose those gals have earned their spot, eh? :-) I only chatted with her for a couple minutes as I didn't want to interrupt the race mojo! I wished her a good race and headed back to collect my stuff for the swim.

So, the race starts at 7 a.m. Well, Liz started at 7, and when the winner was crossing the line, I was just starting my swim. Too funny. The swim heats go off in 4 minute intervals, which is absolutely necessary in this laned pool set up. I mentioned that the swim has 5 turns...too many for me. It was cool to see the pros come out of the water. I went over to cheer for Liz as she ran past...these gals are speedy! Finally, after lots of people watching and worrying that I wouldn't find someone to help me tug on the arms of my wetsuit, it was my turn to walk down to the start. I had spotted this guy helping these gals pull up their wetsuits - there is an art to this, and I wanted someone who knew what they were doing - so I beckoned his services. He was fantastic! I was ready to go!

I lined up right at the front of my heat, off to the left side (if you don't watch it in this set up, you'll get completely pinched into the buoys)...I had my plan. About 60 seconds before they blew the horn, this gal came up behind me and asked if she could move ahead because she was a really strong swimmer. Uh, sure, I guess. I shoulda stuck to my guns, 'cause this totally threw me off. The gun sounded and the race was off. Mind you, you are about shin deep in the water at the start, but I wanted to just dive and go, go, go...this swarm of women all just started wading/jogging down into the swim - INCLUDING this really strong swimmer who I let in front of me. Hmmm. Dawn, that was dumb. I tried darting around to the left and swimming hard for a few strokes, but I couldn't quite get away. Then, the rest of the swim was just like that - several hard, good strokes...running into people who couldn't swim straight...grabbing feet...I just couldn't get it together. About the time I felt like I would get it together, I'd hit another turn and run into someone back-stroking, doggie paddling, etc. Believe me, I'm not blaming others for this, I should have been able to get my mental game together and just didn't do it. Finally, I reached the final turn and just pulled it up to the exit.

This is quite possibly the longest run to transition - ever - in the history of triathlon (does everyone say that? ha ha). It really is long. You exit the water onto sand. Up the sand you go, hit some grass, then some cobblestone, then the pavement that takes you into transition. I saw a guy with a broom prior to the race, so I was thinking the pavement would be smooth - wrong-O! Ouch, Ouch, Ouch! It hurt my feet SO badly! One of my goals was to run all the way to transition, however, so I kept running. YEOWZAH! I was soooo happy to hit my towel. I grabbed all my bike gear and ran out to the mount line. This is pure chaos, mind you, as you have every type of bicyle trying to mow you down. I got on the bike and took off! I was just looking to take out all the "16's" that beat me on the swim...I wanted ALL of them! he he (evil laugh)

I tried to hold it back just a bit on the first loop, letting the legs get to spinning. I was feeling really good. I also knew that I had some business to take care of on the run - I was *NOT* walking anything this go around - so, should I hold back for that? My nutrition plan was working great...meaning, I actually followed it this time. :-0 I hit that 2nd lap and picked it up, still feeling great. This course was mostly flat, with just a touch of uphill and a little wind at a couple parts, but nothing at all to complain about - it totally suits my riding! Coming into transition was a bit ugly...girls were slowing down a half mile before they needed to, so it's a bit dangerous flying by. I was yelling "LEFT" a ton! Anyway, I hit the dismount and tried jogging into my bike rack. It was tough on that surface in my shoes, but I made it back to my towel and threw on my running hat, shoes, and race belt. I was off! I ran out of transition and onto the run course.

The legs weren't feeling great for about the first mile, but once I hit that water station, I grabbed a cup and kept right on running. I felt pretty good. Get this, I actually passed people on this run! Stop it! I'm serious. I hit the 1.5 mile mark and walked just long enough to down a gel and drink some water. I knew I just needed to keep it rolling right to the finish, and that's what I did. I was supposed to turn it on at this one spot that Liz pointed out Friday night, and I tried...I picked it up a little bit and then backed off again. Once I hit the grassy patch leading into the finish, I was able to pick it up a bit more. Woohoo! I was done! I didn't even see the clock, so I had no idea how I did, but I was happy to be finished.

It was a bit of a let down not having anyone else out there to cheer for or meet up with at the finish, but that's ok. I walked around the little booths to see what they had, and then made my way back to transition. It hadn't opened back up yet...so I waited just a few minutes. Once transition opened back up, I went in, grabbed all my gear, and jumped on my bike to ride back to my car. I felt good.

Later Sunday afternoon, Liz and I talked about my race. All things considered, it was pretty good. I asked how she did - YEAH FOR LIZ, she placed 3rd overall! CONGRATS!!!

Liz invited me to join her and her hubby for a bike ride Sunday evening. It was great! I met them at their house and even got to meet Boss (their dog), and we just rode around neighborhoods and such for about an hour. It felt good to spin out the legs and get to know each other a little more. Thanks Liz!

Lonnie, Eric and the kiddos come home tomorrow...I'm looking forward to having some company at their house!

(I have just a couple pics I took of transition that I'll post later)