Although we had a babysitter Saturday morning so K could coach a soccer game, he took the kids to stay several hours away from home at a hotel on Saturday night so that CC could participate in a soccer event. I'm happy to report that K and all four kids make it back alive.
I was very nervous about this race as I have had some poor experiences wearing a wet suit in the past. I hadn't really thought about a wet suit being necessary when I signed up for this race. I rented a wet suit the week before from a local store. I'm not sure the wet suit I own is still legal with the new USAT rules and I'm at least 30 lbs too heavy for it at this point anyway. I was really hoping the water would warm up to the 70's so I didn't have to wear the wet suit. I asked repeatedly on Saturday what the water temperature was and if people thought it would warm up. The answer was a resounding "You need to wear your wet suit!"
I packed everything for the race on Saturday night so I arrived right on schedule at the FFA Center on Sunday morning. I continued to be nervous about wearing a wet suit. I met up with some people from a local tri club in transition and made sure that I started putting my wet suit on at the same time they did. I jumped in before the race started and swam a little. The wet suit felt good and I was reassured that everyone starts to panic in open water particularly when wearing a wet suit. Knowing that the panic always happens in the first 200 meters when I am worried about getting off to a good start, I decided that I would take it easy and not worry about my speed. I would focus on finishing the race. Since I was out of shape, this was a good plan. I was very relaxed during the swim. Too relaxed. I forgot to spot the buoys and ended up way on the other side. I made my way back in and did the usual breast stroke around the buoys on the corner. As I approached the ladder I remembered to undo the velcro at my neck and let water in before climbing out. As I ran back to the transition area I remember to take my arms out of the wet suit and when I got to my place in transition, I was relieved to find out first hand that the "peel it off like a banana" advice worked well. The wet suit came right off.
Transition seemed to go fast and I was on my bike. I local triathlete passed me pretty quickly on the bike. I've biked very little lately and the headwind was terrible. And then it was a tail wind. And then the headwind was bike. I could go fast on the headwinds and slowed to 13 mph in the headwinds due to being out of shape. I had been nervous about the two loop course thinking I'd want to be done after seven miles instead of fourteen but I found I was just more prepare for the second loop.
I took a little more time in the second transition and headed out on the run reminding myself to just put one foot in front of the other. Another familiar face passed me at the water station at the one mile mark. I tried to stay with her for awhile but she was going faster than I wanted to go. This course was an out and back course which is a lot of fun because I can see the people behind me and in front of me. Triathletes in general tend to encourage each other a lot and this always helps me keep a positive attitude. A lot more people passed me but my only goal was to not walk and I made that.
The next day, I was so sore I could barely walk and almost fell down a small set of stairs. I definitely need to work on getting in better shape before I plan another race.
Things I did well at:
The swim. I almost always swim well but I was proud of myself for making it through my first swim in different wet suit. The swim program I am enrolled in at the gym has undoubtedly helped in this area.
Things I need to improve:
For the bike, I'm going to try to attend two spin classes as week. Being a mom with two small children and two older children it's not always feasible to get on my bike as much as I'd like.
For the run, I'm planning to join one group run and one group track workout to try to build up my running ability. I know I have more potential in this area.
In short, I need to work out more.
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