Tri Girl
08-17-2009, 04:08 AM
Sooooo... I haven't raced in a year and didn't really want to because I'm having a racing body crisis (too much body for this former racer). :rolleyes: I was more nervous about being in spandex again in my current shape than about racing.
I bit the bullet and signed up for a mini-sprint triathlon (400m swim, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run). I figured the distance wouldn't kill me since I haven't been run or swim training much.
It's called Hillapalooza for a reason. ;) It was super hilly. I was not prepared for the hills, but my goal was to just finish and have a great time. I didn't worry about HR, pace, or time. My goal was to just have fun, high five as many people as possible, and encourage everyone around me. Goal accomplished. :)
Swim: OWS- standing start in water. For some reason, everyone was taking a long angle start to the first buoy, so I started on the inside and was one of the first to make it to the buoy. Swim was AWESOME. I caught a bunch of men in the wave in front of us and came out in about 8 min. Then we had to run across the beach and up a HUGE hill to make it to T1. That ate up about 2 more minutes. Run across beach and uphill included= Swim place: 29/89
Bike: WOW- hilly with a killer headwind (15-20 mph). It was an out and back. The out nearly killed me, the back was AWESOME! Thank goodness for tailwinds. I've got enough weight on me to be fast at descending, but I'm a terrible climber. Bike place: 40/89
Run: Well, not so much a run as a jog/walk. I walked and jogged equal amounts of time probably. I talked to almost every competitor, giving words of encouragement. I petted some dogs, played with a baby, and just had a blast. I had no expectations on the run. It was uphill on the way out, and downhill on the way back. I had fun! My time- terrible. I'm ok with that. Run place: 80/89 (oops- I should have actually run a little more). :rolleyes: Even when I'm in good running shape, I'm always at the bottom third of the runners, so I've just accepted that running isn't my gig and just make it through how I can. :)
Overall, I'm so glad I got out there and raced! I forgot how much I love it. And even tho I'm not in great racing shape anymore- I can get that way again. I'm on the right track.
No pictures since hubby was doing the Olympic race at the same time. When the professional pics are up, I'll post them (if they don't creep me out too much).
Thanks for reading. :)
I bit the bullet and signed up for a mini-sprint triathlon (400m swim, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run). I figured the distance wouldn't kill me since I haven't been run or swim training much.
It's called Hillapalooza for a reason. ;) It was super hilly. I was not prepared for the hills, but my goal was to just finish and have a great time. I didn't worry about HR, pace, or time. My goal was to just have fun, high five as many people as possible, and encourage everyone around me. Goal accomplished. :)
Swim: OWS- standing start in water. For some reason, everyone was taking a long angle start to the first buoy, so I started on the inside and was one of the first to make it to the buoy. Swim was AWESOME. I caught a bunch of men in the wave in front of us and came out in about 8 min. Then we had to run across the beach and up a HUGE hill to make it to T1. That ate up about 2 more minutes. Run across beach and uphill included= Swim place: 29/89
Bike: WOW- hilly with a killer headwind (15-20 mph). It was an out and back. The out nearly killed me, the back was AWESOME! Thank goodness for tailwinds. I've got enough weight on me to be fast at descending, but I'm a terrible climber. Bike place: 40/89
Run: Well, not so much a run as a jog/walk. I walked and jogged equal amounts of time probably. I talked to almost every competitor, giving words of encouragement. I petted some dogs, played with a baby, and just had a blast. I had no expectations on the run. It was uphill on the way out, and downhill on the way back. I had fun! My time- terrible. I'm ok with that. Run place: 80/89 (oops- I should have actually run a little more). :rolleyes: Even when I'm in good running shape, I'm always at the bottom third of the runners, so I've just accepted that running isn't my gig and just make it through how I can. :)
Overall, I'm so glad I got out there and raced! I forgot how much I love it. And even tho I'm not in great racing shape anymore- I can get that way again. I'm on the right track.
No pictures since hubby was doing the Olympic race at the same time. When the professional pics are up, I'll post them (if they don't creep me out too much).
Thanks for reading. :)