Usually I post my race reports in terms of challenges and blessings, but in this case there were so many more blessings than challenges that I'll just start from the beginning!
START LINE / SWIM (links to Garmin Connect)
I get really nervous before most races, thinking I'm forgetting something, wondering if I'm fit enough, having to go to the bathroom, etc. (The last one is not a problem in triathlon though - sorry if you didn't know this, but it's very common for triathletes to pee in their wetsuits!)
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| No worries, Superman-style triathlete is ready! |
The only thing that went wrong before the start was that I forgot to bring a gel with me down to the beach. Oh well, my awesome husband ran to the car and got me one! Funny story though: he didn't bring water, so I asked a random woman if I could have a sip of hers. She looked at me funny and started pouring some in the cap of the bottle, looking like she was terrified of whatever germs I might have, so I just held out my hand and asked her to pour some in. She did, and I drank it. No big deal. Haha she probably thought I was crazy.
My fear of waves was instantly soothed when I realized that the waves were pretty much non-existant.
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| Other than the gel, I'm ready to go! |
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| I think I'll be ok! |
Once I warmed up, I headed to the start line, making sure I communicated with other racers: "If you're faster than me, which you probably are, go ahead!"
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| I think that girl behind me (in the bright blue) got 2nd in our age group... |
The water temp was a cool 62 degrees, which was comfortable enough for me. Perfect actually, and about 2-3 degrees warmer than the online report for the few days before the race. This meant that I had no pins and needles on my feet during the 1/2mi run to transition! I remember that being painful last time I did this race.
During the last swim I did in my wetsuit (the week before the race), I noticed that it was difficult to breathe, and figured it was the wetsuit. But then on my next ride, I felt that the same thing, and figured out a rib in my back was probably out of place. Went to the chiropractor: problem solved! I could breathe fine during the swim.
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| Swim in Long Beach the week before |
So when the race began, I started off at a moderate pace, making a point to keep forward progress even when sighting. It was a little foggy, but I could actually see the buoys just fine. Only a couple people got in my way, but that hardly slowed me down at all. Once I got to the end of the pier, I pushed - more than any other triathlon I've done. And I felt great! Bonus: no chafing from my wetsuit.
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| ...and we're off! |
I did not look at my watch once during the swim, and was pleasantly surprised when I came out of the water in 38 minutes - an 8 minute PR from last time!! Grinning from ear to ear! And I guess I surprised my husband, because he missed getting a picture of me...
It was still foggy, which meant that I had to use my fingers as windshield wipers for my glasses. However, this also meant that it was nice and cool, a stark contrast to the sunny humid weather we've been having in Southern CA! I missed being able to see the ocean, but this meant that I was able to focus more on the race. (Although I did look over a few times when we were close enough to see the water. It was pretty.)
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| Driving the course the day before |
I went out on the bike at a moderate pace, worried about how the ride would affect my run. I've never had a good run in a Half Ironman distance triathlon. But my legs were strong from the bike, since I've done a 100mi ride in training! I pushed up the hills and relaxed down the hills, and my legs felt great! There were two guys that I kept going back and forth with: they passed me on the downhill; I passed them back on the uphill. Eventually there was more up than down, and I ended up in front of both guys. :-D
My nutrition plan was to get more water at the aid station at mile 27, but this plan was changed slightly by a crash that happened right in front of the aid station. The danger of triathlons is evident, although fortunately I've never been involved in any incidents. In this case, apparently a cyclist got cut off by a motorist. The volunteers were handing out water right in front of a big fire engine right in the middle of the single northbound lane of PCH. Um, not a good idea dude. The rider right in front of me slowed down and grabbed a bottle, and I slowed way down and waited. No need to go off into oncoming traffic!! Once I got around safely, I set my bike down and ran back to the table they had set up, grabbed a bottle, and filled my front bottle with it. When I got back on the bike, I took a sip. Oops, I grabbed Heed (an electrolyte drink), not plain water! This worried me a bit, because I had a pretty concentrated mix of Infinit in my other bottle, and now had no plain water to supplement with. However, I've trained with Heed before and it was mixed weak, so although it caused minimal stomach distress for a few minutes, I felt fine overall and was able to grab some plain water 12 miles from the finish. Luckily my water intake was much less due to the awesomely cool (55 degrees) weather!
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| Focused... Maybe I should buy this official race photo... |
On the way back, there was a nice tail wind and I rode faster than on the way out. Now, let me tell you that triathletes are not known for their excellent bike handling skills... Luckily I have pretty good balance on the bike and I have yet to crash my tri bike, although it's more difficult to handle than a road bike. (Side note: race day was actually just a few days after the 1-year anniversary of buying my bike!) So when I grabbed a sip from my bottle and held on with one hand, then noticed that there was a bump in the road, I didn't panic. I simply held on but relaxed, and steadied the bike over the bump. The guy behind me said "nice save!"
When I was about 10 miles from the finish, I realized that my shoulders weren't bothering me, and neither were my eyes! Normally on a long ride in the aero position, the strain of looking up while keeping my head down makes me a bit dizzy and I have to sit up for a little while. But this was not a problem today!
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| Sitting up to stretch before the run |
Overall, I couldn't believe how strong I felt on the bike. My legs felt fine pushing up the hills, and I was passing so many people, especially up those hills! That's one benefit of being a slower swimmer lol. Also, it's a huge confidence booster to pass strong-looking guys on nice tri bikes with better wheels than I have!
I knew that I would be able to tell how strong my run would be from the very beginning. And sure enough, not 200 meters out from the transition, I knew I felt great. Here I am running up a hill straight out of transition, feeling no pain in my legs:
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| This is gonna be good! |
And sure enough, I started off at a 7:50 pace. I looked at my watch and thought, excuse me?? This is only 8 seconds slower than my fastest half marathon pace! No way I can hold this. Mile 2 was 7:44. What?? On and on: 7:47, 7:45, 7:54, 7:54, 7:54, 7:56... Mile 9 was the only one above 8 minutes, and that was only because there was a significant uphill. Part of my motivation to continue pushing was that everyone kept telling me that I was the 9th woman overall. What?? No way. I don't believe you. But once I hit the turnaround, I started counting...and they were right! This whole time I was just thinking "holy crap, how am I doing this?" But then I remembered I knew the answer. Not holy crap, Holy God. He was with me. And I just smiled and kept running: 7:53, 7:54, 7:57, 7:53... Sure, it was painful. No doubt about that. But there was no way I could've prepared for feeling the strength that I had during this run! My knees felt totally fine throughout the whole thing, which is amazing in and of itself as I'm very injury prone in that area, specific to over-use. And boy, did I use those knees today! My quads almost cramped on some uphills, my calves were tight, and I had hot spots on my feet - and while this may sound like a lot of problems, I felt so good that none of them were a big deal at all!
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| Only with God's help! |
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| Strong but tired... |
FINISH/RESULTS
Finishing in the sand was tough, but I was prepared for that. I would've loved to see people race to the finish in the sand - slow motion!
After the race, I discovered this shower. Best thing ever!
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| Official results! |
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| Representing Team SLS3! |
Much to my surprise, I managed to get 3rd in my age group. That wasn't even one of my goals!
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| What?? Podium? |
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| Me & Coach Greg |
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| Not for worship! lol |
Proud to be your fellow servant of Jesus Christ; living vicariously through your triathalon endeavors! Congratulations, and may God be with you in Arizona (and Kona!)--Marlene Eckert
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