When the alarm went off at 4am, I woke up feeling *terrible*, just awful. I had a head-splitting headache, one of the worst I could remember in years! My stomach was also rebeling: I had diahrrea 4 times before leaving the house, and twice more at the race. On the way up to the Woodlands, I almost had to get Preston to pull over so I could vomit! I've had pre-race jitters before, but this was the worst!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I woke up feeling all crappy, but immediately downed some of my Bolthouse Farms Moccha Cappuccino to get things moving, if you will. I ate an English muffin with the intention of chasing it with a Snickers marathon bar, but it was all I could do to choke the muffin down, so I threw the bar in my transition bag.
I had checked my bike in the night before and packed my transition bag, so as soon as I thought my stomach was reasonably empty, we headed up to the Woodlands.
We parked in the spectator lot and walked along the peaceful waters to transition. The ducks/geese were sleeping, and the lights were mobbed by bugs, which at that hour seemed eerily beautiful.
I settled Preston in where he could see me tooling around in transition, got body marked, and went in. My bicicleta was fine, the rain hadn't come the night before, so I removed her plastic bags and she was ready to go. I unrolled the towel that I brought with me, really appropriately, it has a rainbow and a smiley face and says "Have a happy day!". I think it will be my official tri towel from now on. I set up my bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, everything on it.
Then I discovered the joys of a one-piece tri-suit in a dark porta-potty. (Body markings marked it up real good, too.)
Then I hung out with Preston again, used the porta-john again, grabbed my goggles and swimcap and headed over for the festivities to begin. I was practically dancing around with nervous energy as the first wave of men took to the water, waited for the gun, and were off! The sun was just peeking over the horizon as the race started. The water temp, by the way, was 76 degrees, wetsuit legal, but there weren't many wetsuits, probably because most didn't expect the temperature to go down a few degrees from last week, and also because an e-mail went out a few days before from race directors that there would be no wetsuit stripper volunteers even if wetsuits were legal. I watched the next two waves start, then moved over to watch the transitions begin before I got in line with my wave - the first wave of women.
It seemed then that things began to happen more quickly. I got in line, then soon we were being herded over the timing mat and into the (cold) water. I made my first mistake here: I chose to line up in the very back of my wave, but along the bouy line to hopefully avoid the beatdown at the start. This logic would have been fine if I were a slower swimmer, but it seems I've managed to claw my way up to middle-of-the-pack since February, and therefore I was having to pass breast-strokers. Not.Fun. And slowed me down. Anyways, lesson learned. Next time I'm thinking middle of the pack in depth, but perhaps off the bouy line a bit. We'll see how that goes.
Anyways, before I knew it I was up and out of the water and running to transition where I discovered my second mistake: I forgot to take the plastic protector thingies off my bike shoes and I fumbled around with that for too long. Otherwise it was pretty smooth, though way too slow. I managed to mount my bike without falling down, and so the ride began.
The ride was uneventful, but waaaaaaay too slow. I got passed by everyone and her mother out on the bike course. I kept fighting to up my pace, but I just didn't have anything more in my legs. I felt like almost the entire ride was a false flat with a fierce headwind - just struggling to even go slow! I also struggled with knowing how far 3 bike lengths is to avoid drafting. I am sure I erred on the side of being way too far off the wheel in front of me, and I do think that worrying if I was far enough back and trying to be "overtaken" properly hurt my speed. All of this is stuff that I can improve on, though, and I made my goal of finishing the bike in under one
hour, so I was really pleased even though I'm already looking at how to get better. I really think a trainer will help: the other thing I noticed is that there was no place in the race where I wanted to stop pedaling and just coast for a second like I do when I'm biking in the neighborhood. I think time on a trainer will increase my "don't stop" stamina. I need to look into some gloves, or something, because my hands kept falling asleep, and I need to look into my fit and practice proper positioning, because every time I thought about it I realized that my shoulders were trying to climb on top of my head... Oh, and the other thing is that I need more time on a bike in my tri suit because my rear end got seriously sore! Lots to work on here as the bike was by far my weakest leg and the one where I could gain the most time with improvements.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I finished the bike leg, gratefully and not-so-gracefully dismounted, and ran into transition. No real mistakes here, just too much slowness, and off to the run.
hour, so I was really pleased even though I'm already looking at how to get better. I really think a trainer will help: the other thing I noticed is that there was no place in the race where I wanted to stop pedaling and just coast for a second like I do when I'm biking in the neighborhood. I think time on a trainer will increase my "don't stop" stamina. I need to look into some gloves, or something, because my hands kept falling asleep, and I need to look into my fit and practice proper positioning, because every time I thought about it I realized that my shoulders were trying to climb on top of my head... Oh, and the other thing is that I need more time on a bike in my tri suit because my rear end got seriously sore! Lots to work on here as the bike was by far my weakest leg and the one where I could gain the most time with improvements.Finally, after what seemed like forever, I finished the bike leg, gratefully and not-so-gracefully dismounted, and ran into transition. No real mistakes here, just too much slowness, and off to the run.
The run was by far my strongest leg! I started running right out of 
transition, not trying to be fast, but just to run the mike legs off. I *immediately* started passing lots of people, which was really cool after the mental beatdown that being passed so much on the bike was. I decided to walk through all 3 aid stations to get some water, but otherwise I was committed to running the whole thing. I'd just pick out a target and pass them. The one frustrating thing was that the multisport setting on my Garmin doesn't show pace, so it wasn't until the first mile that I realized that I was actually booking it: 8:11 on the first mile! I can't even describe how cool a feeling that was. I actually had to look at the Garmin about 3 times to confirm that I wasn't delirious! After that, it was all just about holding the pace to the end. Second mile was just a tad slower, but still in the 8's. In the third mile the wheels were starting to come off, and rightfully so. 9:05. I could totally care less at that point, though, because I could see the finish line, and I knew at that point that I was going to easily break 1:45 - which was really secretly my goal #3. I could not wipe the smile off my face.
transition, not trying to be fast, but just to run the mike legs off. I *immediately* started passing lots of people, which was really cool after the mental beatdown that being passed so much on the bike was. I decided to walk through all 3 aid stations to get some water, but otherwise I was committed to running the whole thing. I'd just pick out a target and pass them. The one frustrating thing was that the multisport setting on my Garmin doesn't show pace, so it wasn't until the first mile that I realized that I was actually booking it: 8:11 on the first mile! I can't even describe how cool a feeling that was. I actually had to look at the Garmin about 3 times to confirm that I wasn't delirious! After that, it was all just about holding the pace to the end. Second mile was just a tad slower, but still in the 8's. In the third mile the wheels were starting to come off, and rightfully so. 9:05. I could totally care less at that point, though, because I could see the finish line, and I knew at that point that I was going to easily break 1:45 - which was really secretly my goal #3. I could not wipe the smile off my face.So, for the numbers:
Swim: 11:59.9 (27/51 age)
Pace: 2:24
T1: 2:19.4
Bike: 54:08.5 (32/51 age)
Pace: 16.6 mph
T2: 1:55.0
Run: 26:54.4 (21/51 age)
Pace: 8:37 min/mi
Total: 1:37:17.3 (25/51 age)
Pace: 2:24
T1: 2:19.4
Bike: 54:08.5 (32/51 age)
Pace: 16.6 mph
T2: 1:55.0
Run: 26:54.4 (21/51 age)
Pace: 8:37 min/mi
Total: 1:37:17.3 (25/51 age)
The race itself was well run, the volunteers were awesome, the food was yummy, the night before bike check-in was really convenient... can't say enough positive things about the race.
For my first tri, this was awesome. I was thrilled with the race and I am thrilled with the results. I've already updated my side bar with a whole bunch of other races I'd like to do this year - I'm totally hooked!
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