FINALLY - My first Triathlon Race

Before I start on this RR, I want to give a little history for those who don't know me:

In May of 2008, I ran my first Marathon and got 2 stress fractures... so, after recovery, in around November, 2008, I started training for triathlons - a new challenge, but less stress on my body... My first Tri was supposed to be in April of 2009, but in March, I started having BAD shin splints and decided with the help of my Physical Therapist, to NOT do the race in April... I took time off, worked with my PT - the minute I started running again - shin splints

Then I found an Active Release Technique Doctor who told me to go out and run, bike, swim... do what I wanted to do... I'm happy to say, that I FINALLY got to my first triathlon start-line yesterday - now to finish...

Lake Las Vegas Sprint Triathlon
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sunset Racing
90* – 100* (all I know is it was HOT - and even HOTTER at the end)
Sunny

Triathlon - Sprint
Total Time = 2h 25m 37s
Overall Rank = 207/226
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 10/11

Pre-race routine:

I had laid all of my stuff out the night before the race, so on race morning, I just had to get dressed and pack the stuff into my back-pack and load my bike in the car.

I woke up early enough to eat a whole packet of instant oatmeal... usually nothing wants to go down that early... I also drank a bottle of water on the way to the race - about a 40 minute travel time.

I arrived at the race and met up with my friend and her roommate, who did not do the race. We walked our bikes over to transition, got body marked and set-up transition and took a few pictures. I thought we were early, but there were hardly any spaces left... I got a GREAT space anyway...

It was kinda funny that my bike didn't touch the ground at all... it's hard to see in the picture, but it was the only one that was just hanging in mid-air... I still love my bike! (It's the one with the pink fork)

This is me showing off my body markings:

My friend Jenn & I before the race: and NO, we didn't go shopping together - we just both like zoot :)

Event warmup:

The oly race started at 6:30 and the Sprint start was at 7:30… I was in the last wave, so I didn’t start til 7:45ish, My friend and I walked down to the beach as we were supposed to be able to start our warm-up at 7:00… but they didn’t let us near the water til about 7:15ish as many Oly swimmers were still finishing. It was fun to watch the swimmers come out of the water after their long swim.

I swam to the nearest doc and back... I felt out of breath, and wondered how I'm going to be able to do this race...

Swimming
00:23:49 | 800 meters | 02m 59s / 100meters
Age Group:	7/11
Overall:	198/226
Performance:	Good
Suit:	no wetsuit allowed
Course:	swim under the bridge to the bouey's... around 2 bouey's, back under the bridge to the beach... then run about a quarter mile to transition to where the timing matt is.

Comments:

The race only used 1 set of Bouey’s for both the oly & the sprint, after the Oly, they moved the bouey’s… It was tough to see the actual course from where we were standing, so I just swam til I got past the bridge, figured out where to swim next, then swam to the first bouey, then figured out where to go next, etc. I suppose that slowed me down a bit, but it was better than swimming WAY in the wrong direction…

I surprised myself on the swim. I thought it would take MUCH longer and that I would be the last one out of the water... but that wasn't the case... I sighted well, drafted some, and there were still people swimming when I got out :) Even one of the Volunteers commented, “you told me you’d be the last out of the water” and he gave me a High Five!

My time on the swim looks longer than it actually was since they added most of the transition onto the swim time... I hit the lap button on my Ironman watch after I got out of the water – my actual swim time was 20:32 – not bad, I’ll take it!

What would you do differently?:

I had taken my flip-flops to the beach, I ran with them a little way, but ended up taking them off. I'll just go barefoot next time.

T1
Time:	02:17

Comments:

Take off my goggles and swim cap, put on socks, bike shoes, helmet, sun glasses, race-number belt - grab the bike and go…

During this transition, I talked to my neighbor - who didn't finish the race...he looked fine, he wasn't injured, so I asked what happened... he said he swallowed a bunch of water and had a horrible swim - whatever - there's 1 person I beat to the finish!

We had to run with our bikes past the matt to the mounting line… then I stopped, made sure I got my feet on the pedals, etc… no running or fancy start for me…

Biking
01:06:38 | 14.44 miles | 13.00 mile/hr
Age Group:	6/11
Overall:	173/226
Performance:	Good
Wind:	Some
Course:	very HILLY... come out of transition up-hill, and continue to the steepest climb of the course. Then some downhill til you climb again, then an awesome downhill portion to the turn-around... after the turn-around, you must climb what you just came down... then a nice downhill back to transition

Comments:

I had Soooooo much fun on the bike... I was able to pass people and only got passed a couple of times. I like going fast on the descents! My max speed measured 36.7mph… I know people go MUCH faster than that, but that’s my fastest to date J

Lap	Time	Distance	Pace/Speed
1	06m 57s	1.00 miles	8.63 mph
2	03m 37s	1.00 miles	16.59 mph
3	07m 21s	1.00 miles	8.16 mph
4	06m 10s	1.00 miles	9.73 mph
5	02m 11s	1.00 miles	27.48 mph
6	01m 56s	1.00 miles	31.03 mph
7	02m 06s	1.00 miles	28.57 mph
8	03m 43s	1.00 miles	16.14 mph
9	06m 08s	1.00 miles	9.78 mph
10	07m 01s	1.00 miles	8.55 mph
11	07m 54s	1.00 miles	7.59 mph
12	03m 11s	1.00 miles	18.85 mph
13	02m 02s	1.00 miles	29.51 mph
14	02m 54s	1.00 miles	20.69 mph
15	02m 34s	0.54 miles	12.67 mph

What would you do differently?:

I put electrolyte mix in my aero bottle, but didn't put enough. Then I finished that and had to stop to re-fill my bottle. I didn't have any electrolyte mix in my 2nd bottle.

I need to learn how to drink from the cage or at least re-fill from the cage without having to stop for the refill...

T2
Time:	01:10

We had to stop at the mounting line – again, nothing fancy here… just stopped my bike like normal and ran up to the matt with it, racked it and took off my helmet and cycling shoes, put on running shoes and off I went…

Running
00:51:45 | 03.62 miles | 14m 18s min/mile
Age Group:	11/11
Overall:	214/226
Performance:	Bad
Course:	Hills, Hills, Hills - started with an uphill out of transition, and then a slight incline to head out to the dirt road. once on the dirt road the hills were very steep! up and down... came back out of the desert portion and ran around the transition area and went another mile down the road to the Village where the finish line was.

Comments:

I expected to have trouble running, but not THAT much trouble! I figured I'd run & walk til I got my legs under me, but once my legs were under me, I started getting shin pain - DARN... I stopped to stretch, loosened my shoe laces, stretched again... someone offered me gatorade... I took a sip, and kept walking. It took a good 2.5 miles before I could run - and then I was out of energy.

The race had advertised a 3.18 mile run… but I truly believe they set-up the turn-around in the wrong place… It even shows it wrong on their map! After about 2.5 miles, there was a sign that said “1 mile to go” the man I was running with at that point and I thought it must be wrong! But, it was right… According to my Garmin, the run was 3.62 miles, so that’s what I’m counting… I still can’t decide if this was the longest 3 miles I ever ran – it’s a close race with the last 3 of the Marathon I did last year.

Lap	Time	Distance	Pace/Speed
1	16m 09s	1.00 miles	16m 09s /mile
2	15m 40s	1.00 miles	15m 40s /mile
3	12m 51s	1.00 miles	12m 51s /mile
4	07m 11s	0.62 miles	11m 39s /mile

Almost to the finish, and I saw my friend walking back to her car… she had an event to go to after the race, she congratulated me on my race and told me it wasn’t much further to the finish – you couldn’t see the finish line til the last about .05 of a mile… I crossed a matt that brought up my name to the announcers, and as I crossed the finish line matts, they announced my name – even correctly (although he did stumble on it for a second) I threw my arms up in the air as if I won the race and smiled for the camera…I actually had to hold back tears of joy and accomplishment... I hope the pictures come out well!

What would you do differently?:

1. walk more out of transition... my body needs more time to adjust.
2. Bring a hand-held with water or electrolyte in it.
3. do more bricks

Post race

got to the finish and grabbed water & a bagel... walked around a bit then went and stretched. As I was walking around, I looked down to the lake… there was my team from work on the row boats – too cool! I yelled to them (I was supposed to practice with them, but I did the race) Then I cheered for the winners in the awards ceremony. I was glad that I finished in time for the awards

It was a LONG walk back to transition (just over a mile), I packed up my stuff and rode my bike back to my car. Came home and crashed!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

my run sucked! I need to practice running off the bike, and see if electrolyte replacement will help with shin splints?

If you read this whole thing

Notch Run - I finished... that's about all I can say..

What can I say about this race? 2 years ago, it was the first time in my life that I pinned on a race bib... I finished in 1:02:42 and took a default 3rd place in my AG... so, this year, I thought Maybe I could BEAT my time on the course, but it wasn't meant to be...

I met 3 people in town to carpool to the mountain with... It would be my friend Chris' first race ever... He's been running for years, but never got into racing... I like to think I motivated him to race... he's training for his first FULL, so he thought he'd come out to do this race... the other 2 in the car I had never met...

We drove UP, UP, UP the mountain to about 8600' elevation, then parked the car and took a shuttle van back down the hill 4 miles to the start at 7600'... yep... this was gonna be a 4 mile up-hill race with 1000' climb... the only 'good' part about the race is it's nice weather... 60* to start instead of the usual 110* weather we've been having in town.

So I did a little warm-up, they called us to the start-line, and we were off... I knew the elevation bothered me from the race 2 years ago, and from the marathon that I had ran... but knowing it, and experiencing it are 2 different things... I couldn't MOVE!!!

Mile 1: The first mile was a horrid 14:46... knowing it would just get steeper, I was a bit concerned, but I kept going... I was doing a run/walk... someone in a car pulled up and said they were driving up to the pack, I had no car support... I asked if anyone was behind me, he said yes, one woman... I kept going...

Mile 2: just before the 2nd mile marker, SHIN SPLINTS...WTF??? I thought they were gone!!! I thought about quitting... I thought about sitting on the ground and crying... I knew someone would give me a ride... but I kept on going... when I got to the 2nd mile marker, the clock read 31:xx... I knew my 1:02 was gone...

Mile 3: I walked the WHOLE 3rd mile... by the end of the 3rd mile, my shins were feeling better, and I figure I needed to salvage what I could of this race...the car kept coming to check up on me, and I kept asking if that woman was still behind me.. he assured me that she was.... he was feeding me gatorade too... what a nice man!

Mile 4: back to run/walk... could I actually catch up to the girl in front of me? I had been chasing her the whole way... I finally caught her when we could see the finish line... she was YOUNG...barely a teenager... she of course took off and beat me by a few seconds... then I reached the clock... 1:07:24??? I finished! It was AWFUL, but I finished!!!

The woman that was behind me came in at 1:11 something, I ran her in and thanked her for coming out! They took her picture for the newsletter, and she got all the applause... hey, no fair Actually, she was awesome!!!

So, we go to the awards ceremony... they announce the top runners... The man in our car whom I hadn't met came in 2nd place... of everyone! He got a trophy... did the race in 30 minutes, a 2 min PR for the course, then they announced the woman who drove, she took 2nd place in her AG... then they announce ME... with a time of 1:19:24... WTF??? If last place was 1:11, how did they get my time at 1:19? I happily took the 3rd place medal, and had them correct my time... My friend Chris was the only one in the car who didn't medal... unreal how competitive the 40-44 Mens AG competition is... he had run in 42:xx and didn't place

So, a special thanks to Joanne (Proofreader) who I thought of while I wanted to stop and cry and take a DNF... who I thought of while I was walking as fast as I could to beat that Hour marker... If SHE can do it, if she can beat those wicked Hills that had defeated her in the past, I certainly could finish this race... anyway, thanks

Start of race

I can see the clock

Running #60 (last person) in

Getting called up for award

My medal

I joined "The Club" today

Well, I joined the club! Yep, I unclicked on the right, and fell over on the left... nothing I could do but start laughing!!!

OK.. I do things in style... it was toward the end of a LONG HOT bike ride, and I was at mile 18.9...where I stopped to catch my breath... looking at a HUGE hill, and I had about 2 - 3 more miles to go, but I was SOOOOO done! So, I said, if I could make it to 19 miles... so I clipped in... just then, my friend came riding down the hill to see if I was okay... she turned around... I decided I wasn't gonna make it, unclicked, and fell over RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FRIEND AND ANOTHER RIDER... AND a Truck pulled up and gave me a ride to the top... I was SOOOOO DONE!!! got back to my car, it was 98* out...

so I guess I had a couple of firsts today - first time I fell, and first time I quit on a ride... nothing is broken but a bit of my pride... I'll live

Sometimes it hurts to be a Parent

The strange part is, the one who needs help doesn't ask for help... therefore getting deeper and deeper into trouble... when if he asked for help first, he would be in less of a Jam, and it's help I could and would be willing to give... the one who is complaining is the one who is a self-sufficient college student who also works... He thinks I should help his Brother, and is Angry that I don't... I don't help him, why does he demand that I help his brother??? I told him yesterday that if his Brother had to go to jail, then that's what he'll have to do... will I be happy? NO... but it's his own darn fault, and I'm not gonna "fix" it for him! So, what did the kid do? He drove a motorcycle without liability insurance... got a ticket, and let it go to warrant... STUPID!!! And of course I didn't find out til yesterday... now he's driving a car with no license plate, and if he gets pulled over, he'll go to jail... I tried to get it registered yesterday, but there's a problem with the title. It's just a MESS...But, I'm not gonna pay the ticket that has a warrant, when it would have cost next to nothing to insure the motorcycle or prove to the court that he only had the thing for 2 days... HIS problem!

So, which one is more adult? The one who takes care of himself and asks for help when he needs it? Or the one who doesn't ask for help and gets himself into trouble... LOL... either way, they ARE adults, and I intend to keep them that way... just sometimes it hurts to be their parent...

My first EVER swim meet for Corporate Challenge

I've been swimming a little bit since around December... Just like in running, I'm a slow swimmer, but I'm a beginner and that's life. Then I don't know what came over me, but I signed up to swim for Corporate Challenge... WHAT WAS I THINKING??? But, my team convinced me to go out there anyway - I mean, what do I have to lose? A bit of pride maybe, but nothing else...

Well, I did it! I swam in a swim meet for corporate challenge... I got to the pool and barely warmed up and went off the blocks a couple of times to practice (I had never done that before)... Only 4 people showed up for our team, but we sat around and got to know eachother a bit. then it was time for the swim.

They started with the 200 freestyle... I found out there were only 2 people in my AG, so I was guaranteed a medal! I think it took about 3 seconds for me to get off the block once the horn sounded, then I went out WAY too fast and after 100, I was done... but I kept going and finished the swim in 4:22:70...Fastest 200 I ever swam, but I didn't find out my time til later...As expected, I took 2nd, and got a silver medal...

then it was time for the 50 breast... I missed the sign-up for it (I think I was swimming the 200 when it was announced) so, the judge let me be a write-in (Thank You Judge!) 5 people were signed up in my AG, 4 of them swam in heat 4, and then I was in heat 5.... I didn't notice their times... just went when it was my turn... I came in 2nd in my heat, but it wasn't good enough to place, I came in 5th for my AG with a time of 1:00:70. Still took 3 points for my team, but didn't get a medal.

The 100 free was fun - I was a pro by now ;) I swam it in 2:01:30!!! I was soooo excited to find out that I swam that fast! I know it's still slow, but I've been averaging 3:00/100 meters... yes this was a yard pool, but still a FAST swim for me!!! I took a default silver medal - I'll take it!

My last event was the 50 free... I swam in heat 4, and the rest of my AG swam in heat 5... so I swam in 50:84, then got out of the pool and watched my AG swim... 4 of us all together... did I see that right? Did I? Yes I did! I came in 2nd place out of 4 people!!! A LEGITIMATE Silver Medal! No default!!! I DID IT!!!

So all-in-all a good meet... I took 3 silver medals... 2 people on our team took 4 golds, and the 4th guy took 2 silvers & 2 bronze... not bad for a 4 person team! Unfortunately, Because we had such a small team, our numbers were only good for 8th place overall, and they only give points up to 6th place, but we had FUN, and I'd do it again next year - I hope to beat my times.

Another DNS (Did not start)

Last night I had an appt with my LRS to buy new shoes... my salesman, James, has followed all of my injuries/frustrations with me for 2 years... so, when I walk in, he had someone there waiting for me with a consultation - what a guy! This man was a MASTER Personal trainer... REALLY knows his stuff, knows about muscles, etc. First thing he noticed is how swollen my right leg was... I had noticed that yesterday morning too, and felt some tenderness where I had my sfx last year... he started pressing on my legs and I went through the roof! (something my PT didn't do in the eval ) He suggested that perhaps my sfx isn't healed??? OR maybe I have another one??? (The MRI was negative a year ago) Then, he turned me over and started massaging my calfs... again, I went through the roof - PAINFUL!!! I even yelled "UNCLE"... Then he watched me run, and said I run very unevenly from my right side to my left side... hmmmm

The 3 of us came to the conclusion that my PT was NOT done as I am NOT recovered enough from the injury to participate in ANY running or cycling yet, nevermind a race! I'm just gonna add this DNS to my collection of DNS's... I think I have more DNS than Finishes!!!

There was GOOD news... he said I'm fixable!!! It'll be a VERY painful fix, but doable! The other good news, I got new shoes!!! Asics Gel Kayanos

Swim/Bike at the Lake

I have pictures from todays swim/bike ride (I'll be brave and show what I look like in a wetsuit)

This is just after the swim, I could barely stand up straight - My coach suggested ear plugs... Oh yeah, hard to avoid the rocks with bare feet too - OUCH... Nice day at the Lake!!

Ready to ride, but still have vertigo... it was interesting for a while...and yes, I was still SOAKED! oh, all of those people still getting their crap together were out of the water WAY before me! I was FAST in transition

So, this is what I look like down on the aero's

I was ahead of this woman at the turn around, but I stopped to refill my aero bottle and she passed me... I ended up passing her shortly after this hill

My first practice "Mini Tri"

I've been training a while with Team in Training, but this was the first time we would be putting it all together - 10 min swim, 30 min bike, and 30 min run... this is how it went...

This morning, I slept in a bit, and I had this dream about the Mini Tri... I forgot my Bathing Suit...So, I had to swim in my running bra, and tri-shorts... what a sight! Then, I couldn't find my cycling shoes, and had to dig through my car for them - and when I say dig, I mean, tearing the seats apart down to the bottom to get to them... then, well, let's just say everything went wrong, then I woke up... yeah, I guess I'm having a bit of anxiety - and this is just practice

The day started with a nice breakfast with our Team in Training Honored Heroes..

This is Laura, she lost a 5 year old daughter to Leukemia shortly after she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She’s been in remission for about a year… she’s going in for more tests next week… in the meantime, she has realized her life long dream of being an EMT.

This is Jacy, she’s the honored hero for our team. She’s a Leukemia survivor as she just celebrated 5 years of remission. She has done a kids triathlon, and she loves to play Softball… last season, she hit 5 home runs!

This is Jenny, a Leukemia Survivor… her 13 year old brother was her bone marrow donor… he doesn’t remember it much, as he was MUCH younger at the time.

The baby in this picture has Leukemia, his older brother (who NEVER poses for pictures – but we got him this time) was his bone marrow donor in November.

It was cool to meet the people that are benefiting from the money that we are raising…I am making a difference in these people’s lives, and I wish them all the best.

Then we went out to do a bike clinic, we learned how to change a tire, and we each got to practice, so that was good. Then....

We go to the group swim... first we warmed up a few laps, then the coach had us all in one lane - it was a wider than normal lane, but with 9-10 swimmers, we all got kicked, and ran into... but I survived the 10 minute swim... all the ladies got to go to the locker room to change... it was VERY challenging trying to put a bra and tri-shorts on a wet body... good thing we won't do that for the race... so, I get all dressed, and left my bathing suit in the locker room (I guess my dream was prophetic) So, one of the girls picked it up for me (Thanks Florence!) Then, we go outside and get on our biking shoes, etc... and go for the bike ride...

I decided I like riding... I got sooooooo into riding, I forgot one of the turns... DUH...(glad I heard team mates yelling to me) so I had to get off of my bike, and walk it back across the street to resume riding ... and if that was the only thing that went wrong it would have been fine... I'm almost back in, and I get a flat tire! So, I continued to SLOWLY ride it in, but I was the LAST one back in transition...

Now comes the run... I get my bike shoes off, one glove off, I have one shoe on... and the coach is yelling at me to go Then he goes, oh, you only have one shoe on... so I get my other shoe on, get my other glove off... and he's saying GO... NOOOOOO I still had my helmet on - hehehehe He thought he would catch me running off with my helmet on... haha.. I remembered!

So, I start to run... slowly! 7 minutes into the run, shin splints! GAH... I walked for the next 15 minutes or so, and ran it in... did 2 miles in 30 min... I was the last one back in....

Then I came home, and I'm TRYING to change my tire... still haven't gotten that darn thing off of the wheel grrrrrrrrrrrr...

At least I got the disaster over with... next time it'll go better??? I can only hope!!!

My first Dirt-Bike Ride

Jerry took me out to the dry lake bed where we thought it would be nice and smooth riding... well, he was partially right... there were parts that were smooth.... but I found a few deep ruts that I went over... It was a bit scary, but I did it! 

I had fun! All of the pictures are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Cardholic/MyFirstRide# The good news is that I think I'd do that again... it would have been awful if I bought that bike and hated riding ;) 

I'm glad that I had fun, and even got dirty doing it!!

My new Motorcycle

I bought it new tonight... now I have to learn how to ride it... it's sweeeeeeeeeet - It's a 2009 Kawasaki KLX 140L Monster Energy