So Sunday morning I got up really early, put on my tri suit, made my pre-race smoothie breakfast and headed out the door. The plan was for me to get there and get set up in transition and for Stephen, Ryann and my 2 nieces to come meet me there later. Transition was closing super early because of the youth triathlon that was going off before the adult triathlon.
I got myself set up but realized that I had left my pump at the house. I knew that my back tire was in need of air so I started looking around for someone with a pump. I asked a few people, all of whom had pumped their tires before leaving and didn't have their pumps with them. Grr. I hate not being prepared. Oh well, I've ridden on worse tires. I figured I would just have to deal with it. As transition was about to close, I found a nice man walking around with a pump. He even pumped my tire for me!! I told him that he was my hero and he grinned and said I had made his day. Triathletes are so friendly!! As I was about to walk out, the lady racking her bike next to me asked for help in holding her bike while she filled her fancy racing tires. I've never seen a pump like that and it seemed to be a complicated procedure, but I was happy to help. Yes, I'm one of the friendly triathletes too!
So I left transition with my wetsuit over my shoulder, my cap and goggles in hand, wondering what I was going to do with myself for the next hour and a half. I also had my cell phone so I proceeded to bug Stephen and the girls about when they were getting there. I wandered around aimlessly for awhile, visited the porta-potty (moreso out of boredom than need at that point), and finally saw someone wearing an MMTC top. YAY! I walked up and introduced myself. Regina was the kind soul wearing the MMTC gear and I was so glad to have someone to waste the time with.
One of the great things about being involved in MMTC is the comraderie that you find prior to the race. It's always nice to have someone to chat with and calm the nerves a bit. I don't do much with them other than read all their witty race reports, but the pre-race companionship is amazing.
I watched the youth triathlon, shed a tear or two as I watched these really young kids cross the finish line to the cheers of their parents, and visited the porta-pots a few more times on account of my nervous bladder. Finally it was time for us to line up. I walked with my new MMTC buddies and tried to calm the nerves.
The water was gross and the bottom was knee deep muck. So I did my best to tread water, although it really was a tad too shallow to tread. I did some breathing bobs and felt the nerves starting to melt away. Then I heard one woman sobbing and another woman trying to calm her down. I am not sure what was going on there, so I swam a bit away from them. I don't need that kind of craziness at the start! The next thing I knew, the race was starting. I wasn't quite ready, but I was in a decent position so I just started swimming with everyone else.
I took about 2 strokes and then BAM! I got kicked right in my forehead. I saw stars. I stopped swimming and tried to collect myself. I realized that the pack was getting way out there and I was being left behind so I just started swimming. I never really got into a good groove. Every time I started to relax, someone would get close to me and I would freak out a bit. My head hurt and I wasn't sure that I was going to finish this race. But I just kept going and knew that the swim would be done soon. In the picture below, I'm in the pink goggles although it looks like it could be my twin in the blue goggles with her face out of the water! Even I did a double take.
Finally I was getting close to the steps to get out. I remember thinking that I always bang my shin on underwater steps. I don't remember climbing the steps and I don't have a bruise so I'm guessing I didn't bang my shin. The next thing I remember is running over the timing mat to go into transition. That can't be a good sign that I have no memory of those few moments.
The bike was mostly flat with just a few slight up-grades or down-grades. There was a bit of a wind but it was not strong enough to impact my speed. The bike was an out, around and back course. I got to see the leader...wow he looked fast! I cheered for him although he was so fast I don't think he had time to hear me.
I was holding a great cadence - over 90 RPM the whole way. John would be so proud! I occasionally glanced at my speed and it was good. I was going no less than 18 MPH and for a lot of the course, I was over 20 MPH. And I was passing a lot of people. This was FUN! I made the left turn at the turn around area, and we went down a very bumpy road. I couldn't hold any kind of speed through this road because I was getting bumped around so much. Luckily this part of the course was very short. I made another left which I took pretty wide and almost took TOO wide. Oops. Disaster avoided.
I got back out on the road headed back and really opened it up. At this point, I was passing men. This gave me a much needed confidence boost. The men all started in one wave and they were 5 minutes ahead of the start of the women's wave. I didn't count how many men I passed, but it was more than a few. I was pushing my pace at this point. I knew I had to make up for that lousy swim, and the bike was my only chance to do that. I passed a couple women in my age group...I love that the body marking includes our age on the back of our legs!
Riding into the park was a great feeling. I saw the girls and wanted them to know that I was feeling better. But what I said was "I didn't pass out!" They thought that was very funny.
The run was a pure out and back so I saw everyone on the course except the top finishers...who were already done. I saw the nice lady who I helped fill her fancy race tires, I saw a few of my new MMTC buddies and I cheered for just about everyone. My plan was to take it easy going out and then push it coming back in based on how I was feeling. So my run out was really a jog. I thanked the volunteers and high-fived many of them. This was FUN!
After the turn-around, I had a very nice conversation with an older gentleman whose birthday it was. Add that to Father's Day and I told him that he was having a very special day. He agreed. He told me that he needed a walk break and I went on. There was a volunteer at the cone making sure the runners were going the right way. I gave him a high five and he said I had the nicest smile he'd seen all day. I really love this stuff.
I picked up the pace and decided to see how long I could hold the faster pace since there was only a mile left. I felt great running faster. I couldn't believe the time that was showing on my watch. I really didn't think I had run the first half that fast! As I rounded the corner back into the park, I had a huge smile on my
As I crossed the finish line, I knew that I was really glad that I had decided to enter this event. I learn something new with every race that I run. This time I learned that getting kicked in the swim really sucks but you push on and finish what you have started. I got hugs all around from the girls.
Me and the girls from left to right: Faith, Alexis, me and Ryann.
After the race, we walked around, chatted with my new MMTC buddies in the beer garden, and congratulated the nice lady with the fancy tires...she actually ended up as the 2nd overall female! Ryann asked me how I felt about my time and I wanted to see the results...so we walked over to the screen. As the screen flipped through the names, I finally saw mine...and next to it was "Age Group 3". Wait, what? There's no way. I stood there for a few minutes waiting for it to get back to my name. There it was again..."Age Group 3". I made the podium!!!
Going into this race I thought there might be a slim chance of getting on the medal stand. But after the kick in the head, all thoughts of making the podium completely went away...until I was standing on it! Now THIS is FUN!!! Yes, that's me grinning like a fool on the podium.
So today I looked up the official results and was quite surprised. Here are my splits and my comments:
Swim (1/4 mile) 13:12 - really thought I was even slower
T1 3:01 - could have sworn I spent more time in T1 but hey, I'll take it
Bike (12 miles) 40:59 - really thought I was faster. This is an average of 17.6 MPH and I don't remember going much slower than 18 for 90% of the ride. I have no explanation for this one.
T2 1:49 - could have sworn I spent less time in T2 but again, I'll take it
Run (2.5 miles) 23:24 - this averages 9:22 per mile. I didn't run that fast and honestly believe that the run course was short.
Total 1:22:26
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