Lise's Tower Triathlon report--loooong!
This was my first tri of the season, and I was so excited! Times aren't posted yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and write a report.
I was better prepared for the race than I was this time last year. Never as well trained as I want to be, but work with what you've got. I slept as I usually do before a race, or on Christmas Eve, for that matter, lousy! Woke up every hour or so to check the clock. Finally got up at 5:30.
The tri is at the Leaning Tower YMCA in Niles, Illinois. Its distinguishing characteristic is the to-scale model of the leaning tower of Pisa out front. There's also a phone booth built like a leaning tower. On the front lawn of the Y. In case you need to make a call. :p
The day was bright and sunny, temp about 52 F. I got to the Y at 6:50 and set up my transition area--I love that part! I have a new red towel with sharks on it to lay my stuff on. Then I headed into the pool and talked with women waiting for our heat. This tri is fun--small and friendly. Lots of older people, heavier people, people doing triathlon for the first time. An advantage of being a slow swimmer is that they put me in one of the last waves. I ate a couple of Cliff Shot Bloks, drank a few mouthfuls of water, counted laps for the heat before me, and then I was off.
The YMCA has two pools, a shorter, warmer one for classes and fun stuff, and a longer, cooler one for laps. The women were in the cooler pool, and we did 8 laps--1/4 mile. Last year I swam as hard as I could, used any stroke I could, and felt like I was going to puke. This year I freestyled all the way and took breaths at the end of each lane, and I felt strong. I was still the last out of the pool in my heat, but, hey, I finished and felt pretty good. I fumbled with my flip flops--I don't know if that was worth it. Certainly felt better on my feet as I ran to T-1.
The run to transition was funny--out the side of the pool building, around the fence, around the back of the building, onto the grass and into transition. One little girl volunteer was yelling, "Go around the corner! Your bike is waiting for you!" I pictured a horse, chomping at the bit to get going, just waiting for me. :)
This year I stuck with my plan and pulled on my warm clothes for the ride. I was so glad! There was a wind out of the north and east, and I would've been miserable with less clothing. The Y is in front of an industrial park, so the bike ride was 11 miles--5 loops on closed off streets. Riding into the wind, I struggled to stay at 13-14 mph. Once I made the turn to go south and west, I could easily do 19-20 mph, and got up to 24 mph when I burned it. I finally figured out not to worry too much about the slow part, just make it up when I had the wind with me. The ride was good--once again, I love my new bike! So sleek and powerful. When I was riding into the wind, I talked out loud. I talked to my dad, who died in 1965, and asked for his help (I figure there's no USAT injunction against help from the deceased. ;) ) I talked out loud to my ex, saying that no one would ever lay a hand on me in anger again, and if you want to test me, come on, bring it...I talked to myself, "push through this, good, good, now you fly. Now you fly. Go! Go! Go!"
As I pulled into T-2, I heard my mom yelling my name. She hadn't been sure if she could come, so it was a really nice treat. I changed into running gear, and headed out to do the 5K. Mom had organized everybody around her by this time, so they were all yelling my name as I went out to run. As soon as I was out of their sight, I walked a bit--still hadn't caught my breath from pushing it on the bike. The first half of the run was into the wind. I had planned to run the whole thing, but couldn't do it. I ran when I could, walked when I had to. When I got to the turnaround, the wind was behind me, so I ran all the way back. Sprinted down the finish chute and had to sit on the grass, gasping for air, as a 7 year old volunteer tried to give me my finisher's medal! Mom was still cheering, then got a bit worried, asked if I was OK. I gasped out, "trying-to-control-heart-rate"! Got it under control, stood up, hugged mom, ate a banana. Lots of smiles. :D :) :D :) :D
When I was sprinting, I heard Mom and all the folks around her yelling, "Go Lise! Go #101!", but I also heard "Go H****r!" (my last name). I figured one of my volleyball pals had come to cheer, too. I looked around after getting a grip on my breathing, but saw no one else I knew. I asked Mom, "Who was yelling, 'Go H*****r'?" "Nobody", she replied. "Ohhh..." I said, "I know who it was." "Who?" "My dad." "ummm....maybe..." said my mom, who does not have much of an imagination for that sort of thing. But I know who it was. :D
I changed into dry clothes after mom went home. I hung out and cheered for the last people to cross the finish line, then hung out and stretched on the grass and clapped for the medal winners. Imagine my shock when they got to "Women, age 45-49, in 3rd place we have...Lise H****r." Me: "NO WAY!" :eek: I hopped up and ran over and got my medal!!! It's a really cool, heavy medal, with a swimmer, biker, and runner on the front, and the award category engraved on the back. Wow! I never won an award for any race, ever! Boy, am I glad I stuck around for the medal ceremony! :o :p
Came home, ate french toast, slept for 90 minutes, got up, showered, went to meet my family for a belated Mother's Day at the zoo and to dinner. My 6 year old nephew and 3 year old niece were really impressed with my medals. In fact, I just washed them, because Maya wore them all through dinnner, and, well, she's three....:p There was ice cream involved.
All in all, happy, sore, and more freckly than ever, cuz I forgot to put on sunscreen in T-1! Mom took pix on an old-fashioned camera, so I'll scan and post them when I get copies. I'll post my times when I know them, too. Thanks for hanging in for the long version of the story. All through the race, I'd think, "Oh, I have to include this detail in my TE report!" You guys are the best. Coming to this board since last fall has made this season so much more fun already. :D :D :D L.
