Well - it wasn't me. It has been 11 days since I finished my first tri. I still can't put it into words - at least not the words that I feel it deserves.
I achieved my goal of finishing ...
I achieved my goal of beating my mock time ....
I blew away my goal of 1:30 ...........
Dig this -- 1:21:53
It was the most awesome experience. The encouragement and support that I got - not only from my fellow
TIFL'ers but everyone else there made it doable.
It was hot -- it was loud -- it was FUN!
We got there at 6:00 and the kidlet and I were both able to get end spots on our racks. Hers was right in the middle of the transition area between the swim exit and the bike in/out. Mine was at the end - farthest from the swim out but nice and close to the bike in/out ... and farthest away from the run out :P.
Got marked - got my chip - walked around - went to the bathroom -- chatted people up -- went to the bathroom -- found where my family had moved their chairs to -- went to the bathroom (sensing a pattern here?) Then - I decided I would go take a couple of warm-up lengths in the pool. Now - this is the pool we have been training in all along. They call it the cold pool. And it is. But it wasn't today. Hmm. Took a couple of strokes -- lost my breath -- saw all of the people on the bleachers -- ACK! Not good - not comfortable - pressure is on .......
Grouped up for the pre-race briefing - lined up and went inside where we split up into 2 groups on either side of the pool. I am slow - kidlet is fast. She was in and out of the pool before my spot in line turned the corner at the starting end on the pool. It was crazy - loud loud loud (indoor pool and the bleachers were jammed). When they first started these women were running and jumping in - a few were diving. Well - we had not practiced THIS techniques for entering the pool swim. Cheering for teammates as the line wound around and watching the various pool entry methods were not keeping my mind off of the entry dilemna --- I like a good strong push off of the side of the pool to start. If I took a flying leap like some of these crazy women were doing I would be too far - so I decided to dive in. Meh - when we got near the started we were told - No Diving (grrrr/pout). So I ended up slithering in to get the good pushoff. Boy - I was the epitome of grace. My swim time ended up about the same as the mock.
I actually wogged all the way to the bike. As I did - I downed my Honey Stinger I had tucked into my sports bra (tell me I don't know how to shave 10 sec off of T1). Sat down on my bucket and got my socks and shoes on (socks were giving me a fit - even though I had wiped my feet on my little rug and hit them with my towel and had powder in the socks). Took a drink - strapped on my helmet and ran (YES) to bike mount area. And I'm off .....
I love my bike. My bike is my strongest event. My legs are strong - I love to go fast. I had ridden this route multiple times before. Passed some people. Dodged the remnants of the blowout that had happened a couple weeks back during a training ride (sounded like a cannon - there was rubber flying but none of us got hit - amazing). Saw the purple sparkly scarf that I had joked the week before I should pick up and us as a marker flag. Road kill was still there. Does the SC DoT never pick up garbage on their roads??? The kidlet passed me going the other way - about a mile from the turnaround. I was so proud of her. She is usually a scenic rider and we all keep telling her to keep pedaling. There went my baby - pedaling as hard as she could go (proud mama). Traffic control was the bomb - so much fun to go through all of the lights. Cheering teammates and other volunteers everywhere on the route. Made the turnaround. Passed some more people. Chatted a bit with one lady who was commenting on the hills. Tipped her off on where the remaining ones were. Went on. Only got passed by 2 people - one I had passed before. I ended up leapfrogging her again. Gave a couple of people I passed some encouragement.
Wheeled back in - dismounted. Wow - the legs aren't so bad. Wogged back to the rack - racked my bike. Took off my helmet - put on my cap - took a drink. Then I ran. I say run - because it was faster than my usual wog. Out the transition area (I was at the back of it - remember?) - up the hill - YES - up the hill. Saw the family unit .. saw the teammates and other volunteers .. and I was still running. Wow. This is cool. Ran down the sidewalk past the main area -- and my brain went WTF???? So I walked - about a minute and then I WANTED to run more. This is crazy. Running is my LEAST favorite event. It is torturous for me on most days. I am still too heavy. But my brain kept saying RUN IT. And after the first walking minute my body was saying OK - you can do it. So I started on a 1/1. Sometimes I stretched the run a little more. It was hot. There was only sporadic shade. There were lots of people I was passing on their way back. It was a little weird - on the bike I was by myself except for my chat interval. Kept getting reports on the kidlet - she was tired - she was wiped - she had a blister -- then I saw her coming. She looked tired - she was walking. I had never felt as proud in my life as I did at the moment. She was pushing through and DOING IT. (You remember - she is 11 - right?). I was about a half mile behind her. Just keep moving - just keep moving. Made the turnaround and headed back. I am doing this - this isn't so bad -- I miss my tunes (my run pace is closely linked to the music I am listening to - and listening to the same bridge of Hey Ya in my head is not quite getting it). The finish line is getting close and I see all of the spectators up ahead. This means I really have to run now. And so I do ... along the sidewalk - I grab water and pour it down my back - past the family unit - around the corner - DOWN the hill - (Yay downhills) CRAP - I have to cross a curb - will I fall on my face? ..... Nope. There is the finish line. One last burst ............. DONE!!!
Kidlet is waiting there for me. We are proud of each other. Lots of hugs. Lots of pictures. To the lady that came in behind me - I'm sorry that your finish line photos show me and my daughter hugging it out. I couldn't move at that moment.
A few minutes later - I look at the posted results - I know they are not final because there are still people coming in from the bike..........
I see kidlet's time. I am sad puppy - and a little confused. I LOVE my
Garmin. It is telling me I finished in 1:31:58. Alas - under my goal of 1:30 but hey I still beat my mock time - woot!!! However - there is a little box that pops up when you are in recovery that blocks part of the screen. Kidlet is on the list - as well as some others that I know finished before me. But I am not on the posted list. Kidlet's time is 1:34:25. Oh well - I know that my Garmin time is not going to be the same as the official time - although I was pretty sure I pushed the lap button every time the beeper went off as I crossed in and of of transition - at least as pretty darn close as I could.
Finally - the recovery box went away and I could see my Garmin time. 1:21:58. NO FREAKING WAY!!!! I wasn't behind kidlet on the list - DUH!! I was above her!!!
My poor baby had given herself little blisters walking around in flip-flops pre-race - they got worse on the bike and completely ruined her run. If she would have been able to do the run at her usual pace she would have placed in her age group. Now I was REALLY proud of her gutting it out like that. She's my hero.
And so - there it is. I beat my best bike training time by almost 8 minutes and did the 2 mile (ahem) run in 27:05 - shaving about 3:20 off of my previous best time. (Guess that adrenalin stuff really works.) My transitions were not terrible. I watched my daughter struggle through and finish what she had started. I must say this ranks right up there as one of the best things I have done (after marrying my husband and having my kids). It was exhausting - overwhelming - exhilarating - FUN.
Advice - don't wear flip flops for pre-race hanging out. Relax and run YOUR race. Have fun.
