Independence TRI - Race Report

I was going to break this up to keep it from being too long, but I wanted to capture everything while it was still fresh in my mind. So sit back and relax...

Saturday was not my normal pre race day filled with relaxation and a whole lot of nothing. Instead I attended a pre race meeting for TRI newbies and ran around taking care of some bike issues that arose at the last second. They left me completely flustered and cranked up the nerves but finally around 5:30pm I was all packed up and able to get off my feet and relax for a bit. Thankfully, I managed to shut my brain off and got some solid sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30 this morning.

I bounced out of bed feeling completely refreshed and calm and the nerves stayed at bay until we were about a mile from the park entrance. At that point I started taking deep breaths and sighing and might not have put up a fight if Andy turned the car around and we headed home. But once we parked and started unloading, I settled down.

We made our way over to the start and I set up my very first transition area! We had about 18" of space and man; some people really go nuts with what they cram into that tiny spot! I saw buckets of water, PAM cooking spray, wardrobes, etc. I brought just the bare essentials and set up everything up in the order I was going to need it.

After a quick pre race meeting and the national anthem, we headed down to the water. It was already a cool morning with overcast skies and the temperature around 60 degrees and when we got to the water, the breeze picked up and it was even cooler. I was shocked to see so many people in wet suits as this was only a 1/4 mile swim. I personally didn't see the point for a 1/4 mile swim and thought it was more of a waste of time than anything.

Check out the stink eye from the chick in the wet suit behind me.

The wave start for this race was backwards with the woman over 40 and Athenas starting first. This was previously a women only race and I heard the race director wanted to honor the females and keep with the tradition by letting them enter the water first. As the first wave entered the water, I stood on the edge covered in goose bumps but surprisingly calm. When it got close for the first gun to go off, I worked my way to the edge of the water and was shocked at how warm the water felt. They said the temperature was around 70 degrees and it felt great considering the air was cooler. I eased my way in (it was an in-water start) and was completely grossed out by the feel of the bottom and the long sea weed type things wrapping around my legs and arms. I took the opportunity to pee and then exactly 3 minutes after the first wave took off, it was go time for wave 2.

that's me waving to Andy; I was making sure he was keeping a close eye on me!

Wave 2 start; I'm in there somewhere!

I had positioned myself towards the front of my wave because I knew things would be crowded no matter what with the reverse wave start. We would be catching the first wave and the men starting after us would be catching us. As soon as we started I found a nice little rhythm and couldn't believe how calm I felt. It was such a surreal feeling...I was swimming in this murky lake and I was completely under control. Well, flash forward a minute or two and everything was the complete opposite. Holy panic! I don't know what happened but I was freaking out. I was searching around for the nearest rescue boat and thought for a second that I was going to flag them down. Instead I kept my head above the water and did whatever stroke I could just to stay afloat. I was breathing so hard I thought I was going to hyperventilate and felt completely helpless. It was the longest seconds/minutes/I have no idea of my life and all I wanted was to catch my breath and not sink to the bottom. I eventually talked myself down and kept myself moving. But all my good form and bi-lateral breathing went out the window and I just swam to survive. Once I rounded the buoy and was headed back to the beach, I felt so much better. I just kept thinking, "get me the hell out of here." As I exited the water and almost killed myself doing so on all the rocks, Andy asked if I was ok. I mumbled, "that was the worst experience of my life."

Thinking my TRI career is over. There was a closer shot of me coming out but it involved an exhaling gut and insanely large nips so I'll spare you.

From swim start to T1 entrance - 11:06

I hustled up to transition and was just so happy to be out of the water. I didn't rush too bad as I wanted to regroup and make sure I was composed before heading out on the bike. I threw on my helmet, sunglasses, race belt and shoes, grabbed a sip of water and took off. Andy was already at the T1 exit and as I ran by, I smiled and said, "no worries, I'm never doing an Ironman."

T1 - 1:34

The bike portion started on a hill, yes a hill, which sucked. Thankfully I was prepared for this from the pre race meeting the day before and had practiced with my gears set how I wanted them. It actually took me two tries to mount my bike and get started but it didn't set me back. We had a long gradual climb out of the park before we turned onto a closed road for the majority of the race. From the second I got on the bike, I felt strong. Going into this I knew the bike was going to be a weak spot for me because of how scared I am of crashing and because of how little time I've spent on it. I think I had 3 rides outside going into this race, so I wasn't exactly prepared. The course was all hills and definitely challenging, but I pushed through. I thought for sure I'd be holding my breaks going down the hills but instead I found myself flying down them without a fear in the world. At one point I said to myself, "who are you?" Had you seen me prior to today, you wouldn't have known it was the same person. Going into this I was convinced I'd have no brake pads left by the time it was over because I was so scared of going downhill! Anyway, I hurt myself on the bike portion by not changing between my big and small ring (I stayed in my small ring the entire race) for fear of popping a chain and getting confused between gears. I'm just not that comfortable on the bike yet and this was one way of keeping it a little less stressful. After all the hills I was so happy to see the final turn around and the downhill entrance back into the park. With this being my first one, I had no idea how hard to push on the bike and still save something for the run and I just hoped I saved enough. I dismounted the bike on the downhill, managed not to fall, and ran into transition. With no shoe change I was in and out in a flash and even remembered to take my helmet off!!

Heading into T2

Bike - 37:08
T2 - 30 seconds

Out for the run!!

My legs were heavy but they were also ready to run. I had practiced some bricks before and knew I handled them pretty well but today shocked me. I felt really good and the leg turnover was there. I had decided not to wear my Garmin since today wasn't about time and just ran by feel. I honestly thought I was running around an 8:30-9:00 min pace and was wondering why I was passing everyone. I felt like I was hardly moving yet I was breathing pretty good. I grabbed a sip of water at the turn around point and headed back to the finish. Not knowing how fast I was running bothered me because I kept thinking if I knew I could push myself harder. Well, before I had any more time to worry about it, I turned the corner and saw the finish line chute. I pushed a little further, saw Andy cheering on the side, and crossed the line with the biggest smile on my face! It wasn't until I saw the results that I realized how fast I was running...so much for that 8:30ish pace!

Run - 13:20 (6:41 pace!!)

Overall stats:

1:03:41

63/269

3rd in Age Group

Best husband in the world and my biggest fan. Loved knowing he was at each transition.

I'm a triathlete!!

First time I actually got to stand on the podium, no other races I've placed in before have done this.

So many thoughts after this race, my mind is swirling. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, I'm insanely happy that I placed in my first TRI. Can I imagine doing roughly 5x this distance for the Half Ironman? No, I can't. But I will. And when that's done, I'll take it a step further and double the distance. So much for my comment to Andy as I left T1...

Double bling! The bigger one on the right is for the AG win.

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