4.17.2011

First triathlon finished!

Last night around dinner time my stomach started feeling better and although I did not sleep well, my stomach was ok through the night. All week I have slept awful with this stomach bug, but didn't feel it last night. I woke up and was hungry! and ready to go. Just in time!  I ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and had a cup of coffee - half coffee, half almond milk.  Today was the first day in 5 days that I am eating normally!! Crazy. My sister lent me all of her cool race gear to wear so I looked like I knew what I was doing - but I didn't have a clue. It was pretty cold this morning, high 40s? and super windy!

Decked out in pants, a jacket and fleece, I got to the race spot - a local YMCA - and set up my bike and looked around at how everyone else was setting up the transition area.  I set up my area and it was a walk over to the heated 50m outdoor pool. I went to check it out and then set up my stuff in the indoor warmup pool. I warmed up with a 500yard easy swim and then wore my nice swim parka around - totally kept me warm. I kept that and my flip flops with me and headed to the pool area.







THE SWIM
It was soo cold and windy. There was a delayed start and it took a while - I think 30 min late. I was in the first wave. There was a "special" heat that went first then my heat. I have no IDEA what time I put in when I filled out my registration form but I was cracking up thinking about what time I could have possibly put in to be in the first heat. Ha! I was in an end lane and could not see much, I think most people were so far ahead of me and then there was one guy that I was close to. I noticed when I was swimming that my left hip was really hurting me. That was weird, I don't know why. I felt pretty strong, but felt like I should have been kicking more.

By the time I ran to transition and got my act together, everyone in my heat was long gone.   I took forever in that transition. I'm nervous to see my time. I was in no rush and a girl that I swim with was doing the bike for the relay part and took some pictures for me.




THE BIKE
I did not see any of them on the bike!  Eventually about 5 people passed me. I was so cold that I put pants on and they were getting stuck to the chain and bike. I had to roll them up. Rookie mistake. Oh my gosh.  It was not bad at the beginning but it was totally windy and this was a hilly challenging course and as soon as I started up a hill, I felt so slow. I don't even know bike etiquette and I could not ride out of saddle (I think that is what it's called). My quads were so sore for some reason so I just laughed, sat down and rode. What made me laugh the most was that if I was flying down a hill, I was not even pedaling just going along for the ride. I did alot of laughing at myself during this bike ride and since really no one was around, I felt like I was out for a Sunday joy ride. It was pretty humorous to me.   I had on the Garmin and found it SO helpful to know how many miles I had left, I love that thing!!! I think I started it late.


THE RUN
After the bike, I think I was a little faster going to the run, much less to think about and I was excited for the run. My legs were definitely tired.  It was a hilly course but I really didn't think it was that challenging. A lot of people were complaining about hills I didn't notice so I felt good after that! My average pace for the run was 7:40, I was pretty happy with that considering it was supposed to be a challenging 5k and my first one after a swim-bike.   I'll be interested to see what the results have.

It felt good to finish but honestly I felt like I could have gone further. I am glad that I signed up for the Olympic tri now (except for the bike, oh my!) because it will be a bit more of a challenge for me.  I did not feel even half as tired as finishing a half marathon.  I have no idea how I did time wise overall and was especially interested in my swim time but there were no clocks! (and I didn't realize it was 450 meters anyway. I thought it was 500 yards.  It was a good day.  My great aunt died this past week and my parents had a busy week, as my mom was her main caretaker. More on this in another post but I didn't want my parents to get up early to come out but once I was there, I totally wanted them to be there taking pictures and such. Also since it was so early I felt bad asking Bill to come and bring the kids, but it would have been nice if just Bill was there cheering. I felt kind of lonely and sad that I finished my first triathlon and no one was there :(

23 comments:

  1. Well done lady! I'm so glad the tum improved just in time - a really weird bug that one!

    I didn't think you'd struggle with the distance. Trousers tucked into socks helps or perhaps tights with the bike.

    Bummer you didn't have any support - so much more fun with a team behind you!

    I'm sick again -sore throat this time - WTF! So bummed about being sick - too much stress that's my prob!

    Well done again!

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  2. Congrats on your first tri! Sounds like you did really well with everything and maybe learned a few things for next time.

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  3. Congrats on your awesome Tri results!! You killed it!!

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  4. Congrats! My group keeps trying to pull me into the tri cult...I keep resisting...

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  5. Congrats! Hopefully, for your next one, you will have an appropriate cheering section.

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  6. Great job on the tri. Bummer on no support. I've had support at some of my races but mostly I go alone.

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  7. Great job! I knew you would be a tri queen! I'm sorry you didn't have anyone there, but at least you still got pictures. They'll be there the next time!

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  8. job well done girlfriend!! :) your a rockstar!

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  9. glad you did it!!! sounds like a good, low pressure way to start!

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  10. Wow, congrats. You definitely finished strong with the run. How does it feel to be a triathlete?

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  11. I know what you mean. There have been some races where no one was at the finish, and even though I knew there were good reasons I still felt sad. Congratulations!

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  12. Well done, my friend! Glad to hear it went well - most of my favorite races involve me laughing at myself at some point :)

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  13. Great job!! I did my first tri alone too. It was a little sad, but I was so amped and chatty that I talked to EVERYONE after the race. I was that girl. :o) You'll do fantastic on that Oly tri!

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  14. yay!! sounds like you did awesome!

    sorry to hear about your aunt.

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  15. Awesome, Natalie! Sounds like it went great. And you look so happy in your pictures. So glad to hear that you are already excited about the next one. Also, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your aunt.

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  16. Congrats on a great race! You did it!

    So sorry to hear about your great aunt and it made me sad to know that you did this race alone!

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  17. congrats, you did great!!! very good run!!! i agree with the effort you put out for a sprint tri. little more than a 10k effort, but definitely less than a 1/2 marathon. sorry you didnt have a big fan club there. i was sad this weekend that i would have had noone there, but it was canceled in the end, its nice to have support at a race. sorry to hear about your great aunt.

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  18. That is awesome and inspiring! :)

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  19. Way to go triathlete!!!! You did awesome on your run after all that before!! I'm so sorry to hear about your Aunt. My prayers go out to you and your family!

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  20. Great job! I am glad you got out there and did it and next time, hopefully you can bring the family to cheer you on!

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  21. wow look at that run pace!!! so excited to read this since I am probably going to do my first this summer. I was wondering how to warm up and I like the easy swim idea.

    so excited for you and can't wait to see how your next goes now that you know so much more!!

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  22. Congrats Natalie! I can't imagine having to go for a swim in those temperatures. I'm too much of a wimp to take on tri's because of the swimming. You're one tough cookie girl.

    I'm glad to hear it was a good experience and you're already looking forward to bigger challenges.

    Sorry to hear about your great Aunt though.

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