Saturday was a flurry of renovations. We are starting to do the final touches on our condo, so it was just boring stuff like door knobs, baseboards, constant trips to home depot and hearing my bank account crying.
Sunday ... Sunday was a day of action. I woke up bright and early for my irongirl after pressing snooze 15 times. I was so nervous but focused on getting my gear together and getting on the road. It was about an hour drive, which always makes things a little more stressful. Luckily our drive was quick and we made it there in ample time. I left my husband with my piles of bags so that I could set up my transition area, signed in, grabbed my wetsuit and we headed down to the water. The swim was a straight line down the beach, so we actually had to walk to the start line since the transition area was at the finish line. I squeezed myself into my wetsuit which was still a little bit wet from Saturday's OWS (damp wetsuit = most uncomfortable thing ever) and proceeded to warily glare at the water as the announcer reminded us all that the swim would be starting in 11 minutes. At this point I was reunited with some of my swim friends/supporters and with their encouragement along with my husbands I went down to the water and did a few minutes of back and forth swimming to warm up. Best idea ever by the way!
About a minute before my start time I realized my age group was wayyyy up front, so I managed to get there in time and we were off! The nice thing about this swim course is that it is along the beach so if you really wanted to, you could stand. Heck you could walk the entire course if you wanted to (which some people did and it looked exhausting). Now 500 m may not seem like much of a swim to all those seasoned triathletes out there, but for me to actually swim the entire course and not freak out, well it was huge! The last time I did a triathlon I mainly doggy paddled/panicked and was the very last out of the water. This time I was about half through my age group. Unfortunately no one expected me to finish so quickly, so they all missed me at the swim exit. My husband kept saying "but you told me it would take you half an hour". Yes dear husband, but that was actually just dramatic over-estimating (I was thinking more like 20).
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| I clearly like my space. |
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| I'm the one swimming |
So I was off to the transition area where I struggled out of my wetsuit and upended my entire transition area because I needed my towel to dry my feet. My nice organized area was basically just a pile of tri stuff now, so I grabbed what I needed and was off. The bike portion was by far my favourite, and not just because for the first time I was the one passing people and shouting out "on your left", which by the way, very few people actually do. I coasted along at a steady 27/28kmph on the way out, and on the way back the headwind kept me around 25-27 depending on the gusts. I saw my husband as the bike exit (finally!) and headed off to change shoes. The running leg was by far the most painful and dreaded piece for me. As someone who used to love running with every fibre of my being, I've struggled with being injured making running a (sometimes) painful experience. I don't look forward to it anymore because who looks forward to pain? Thankfully my run was pain-free but omg was it ever challenging! My only real goal in the running piece was to keep moving. I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn't start again. I did a brisk walk through each aid station, sipped some water and poured a cupful over my head each time. It was incredibly hot and sunny, without a single cloud in the sky. Soaking myself helped immensely!
I'll tell you - the finish line has never looked so inviting as it did yesterday! I had my friends cheering and my husband taking thousands of pictures, while the announcer said my name wrong and I saw a glistening cold water bottle being handed to me. And the medal ... so lovely! I (naturally) immediately began to contemplate which race to do next. I swear triathlons have the same amnesia effect as birth. You forgot the pain, the ugliness, the trauma and just remember the happy parts; the medal, the finish line, the awesome splits.
I'll be the first to admit that I didn't train as hard for this tri as I did for others, but I focused instead on overcoming the barriers that were slowing me down. I cycled fairly regularly with my group and I think I missed two open water swims over the entire season. I also swam often at the gym. I had to work really hard to get past my issues with swimming. Forcing myself into the water every week was part of that, but I also can't forget the incredibly amazing and patient people I had on my side. My swim coach had no problem telling me I was being irrational and he learned very quickly the best way to push me. I went into his class not even being able to breathe properly and so tense in the water that I could barely move. He basically just constantly yelled breathe and relax at me (after teaching me the correct way to breathe that is) and it somehow worked its way into my brain. I'll never forget the day when I was bobbing around with the rest of the class in the middle of the quarry and realized that here I was, in the middle of a huge expanse of deep water with no rapid escape possible and I didn't care. At all. I wasn't even vaguely concerned. This is from the girl who used to swim 10 strokes and then flail her way back to solid ground. To say I've made progress is an understatement. This is my 3rd triathlon (would have been 4th, but one was changed to a du at the last minute), and it is the first one I have actually swam for. I class this as my first real triathlon, because I finally have the experience of what it is to swim, get out of the water, bike and then run. It's hard, it's ugly and it is so much fun!
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And friends, look at this medal!!
Worth it! It sparkles!
I should add, that if you haven't heard of/done an Irongirl race, I would highly recommend it. It's a great sprint for people new to the sport. They are very determined to keep people safe and make sure they have a good time. There were tons of boats and rafts in the water for people who needed help, the swim was along the shore for those afraid of deep water, they had aid stations at every km during the run and the course was relatively flat for both the ride and run. The run had two semi-steep hills, but not terrible and the ride had a few rolling hills but was a nice road overall. This was the perfect race for me to get back into triathlon and be excited about it!
My only complaint was the lack of port-a-potties. We couldn't find them anywhere, and when my husband finally did find them, there were only 2. Regardless, this is a race that will likely become annual for me!
So you may think that after such a tiring morning, I would be heading home to a nice long nap. Well, not this time. I drove an hour home, showered and ate while I drove an hour in the other direction to my brother's girlfriend's baby shower. My nephew is due in December and I couldn't be more excited! Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, but I can assure you that it was a lovely afternoon filled with sweet little baby clothes, and lots of "oohs and awwwwws" over tiny baby boy outfits. Because seriously, baby clothes are just the cutest. This reason alone is why I can't stop buying things for him.
Well, this has been a super long post, but such an excellent race deserves it!
If you made it to the end, I commend you!
Today will be a well-deserved rest-day with pasta with homemade Bolognese sauce on the menu for tonight!
Happy Monday!
I should add, that if you haven't heard of/done an Irongirl race, I would highly recommend it. It's a great sprint for people new to the sport. They are very determined to keep people safe and make sure they have a good time. There were tons of boats and rafts in the water for people who needed help, the swim was along the shore for those afraid of deep water, they had aid stations at every km during the run and the course was relatively flat for both the ride and run. The run had two semi-steep hills, but not terrible and the ride had a few rolling hills but was a nice road overall. This was the perfect race for me to get back into triathlon and be excited about it!
My only complaint was the lack of port-a-potties. We couldn't find them anywhere, and when my husband finally did find them, there were only 2. Regardless, this is a race that will likely become annual for me!
So you may think that after such a tiring morning, I would be heading home to a nice long nap. Well, not this time. I drove an hour home, showered and ate while I drove an hour in the other direction to my brother's girlfriend's baby shower. My nephew is due in December and I couldn't be more excited! Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, but I can assure you that it was a lovely afternoon filled with sweet little baby clothes, and lots of "oohs and awwwwws" over tiny baby boy outfits. Because seriously, baby clothes are just the cutest. This reason alone is why I can't stop buying things for him.
Well, this has been a super long post, but such an excellent race deserves it!
If you made it to the end, I commend you!
Today will be a well-deserved rest-day with pasta with homemade Bolognese sauce on the menu for tonight!
Happy Monday!
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