Another early morning. I didn't sleep too well. Pete, my dog, got me up a few times during the night, so when it was time to get up I was a little worried. Having ridden the bike course Tuesday, I felt pretty confident. I knew it was an easy course, and I could push pretty hard.
Of course, I left the house without my water bottles and race belt, so luckily Chels and Tim were coming out and could bring them! I was getting nervous when the pre-race meeting started and they still weren't there. I thought I might need to ride without water. Yikes! They showed up just in time!
I was 80th in the water for the time trial start. I thought it would be a while before I got in, but it went so quickly! My sighting was terrible, and I ended up off course several times. But I felt like I was really pushing, and I'm not sure how I could have gone faster or harder. I did struggle a bit with a couple other athletes, and I think one got pretty frustrated with me. I felt strong coming out of the water, and hearing my brother cheer me on was really helpful.
T1: Yikes. I got disoriented and couldn't find my stuff. I'm not sure why, because I was sure I knew where it was. Then I found my pink bag, and thought I was set. But the bike wasn't there! Did somebody take my bike?! No, I was just looking at the wrong pink bag. Finally found it and pulled out to the mount line. I was about to hop on when I realized my chain had dropped. I fixed it and hopped on just to find that it had fallen again. I could hear Tim yelling at me to take a deep breath and calm down, take my time to fix it. I got it back on and took off.
As I pedaled up the little hill, I went aero and realized my thumb was gushing blood. Seriously, dripping on my front wheel. Otherwise, I felt great. I'm not sure how many times I had to call out, "On your left!" but I know I got sick of saying it. Well, not really, because how can you get sick of passing people!? I did play cat and mouse with two other women for quite some time, but with about 2 miles left, I passed them for the last time. I averaged about 18.2 mph over the 10 mile ride, and felt really strong coming in. I was actually RACING for a change! I was trying to compete instead of just FINISH. It felt great!
T2: Again. Where was my stuff?! How did I struggle with this so much!?! Finally found it, changed shoes quickly and took off. I've gotten better at adding my hat and race belt as I leave transition. Hey, I've gotta take pride in the small victories.
Thank goodness this was just a 5k. The course was a rolling, paved trail. A bunch of kids sidewalk chalked the course, and it was wonderful! I pushed myself really hard, walked up a couple hills, but they were short breaks. Ended up with a 5k PR!! I ran 9:22s! I couldn't believe it. Coming in, I was talking to a high school cross country runner doing her second triathlon. I could tell she was struggling so we pushed each other to the finish. Coming down the chute, I could hear Tim and Chelsea yelling at me to pass her! Man, I tried. I kicked it up as much as possible, but luckily I had left it all out on the course.
This was my best race by far. Not only am I happy with finishing in the top 25% of the field, 21st in my AG - but I am ecstatic that I was able to push myself enough that I didn't have juice left at the end. This was the first time I've been able to do this, so I am very very pleased.
Overall, great race experience. Many props to all the first timers out there! I can totally relate! The RD and WIN staff did a great job, and the volunteers were wonderful. Cheering sections and friendly faces on the course were great. I especially liked two of my favorite men out there with Blvd Wheat in their water bottles making an event out of the event. Thanks to all.
Now the stats...
bib number: 80
age: 26
overall place: 98 out of 391
division place: 21 out of 72
time: 1:16:31
pace: 9:22
swim:11:48
tran1:2:29
bike: 32:03
tran2:1:10
run: 29:00
