First Urban Triathlon & Pool Swim - Indianapolis Jaguar Spring Triathlon
Today I did my first urban triathlon and my first pool swim. I almost backed out because I was terrified of the CARS on city streets, but I'm glad I didn't! My husband (who is wonderful) and I came to Indianapolis and checked into a hotel yesterday. I like that routine. However . . . you know how they say not to eat anything new prior to your event? I had spaghetti at local restaurant that I had never been to before and ended up making trips to the rest room all night and morning. Luckily, things settled down right before the race.
With this being my fourth sprint triathlon, I think I'm getting the hang of things. I now have a "Tri Packing List" that I use for each race. I now know how I want to train before the race. I kept reading and reading about both those things, but I think you really need to just figure out what works best for you. I found that I like to train hard two weeks before to build my confidence, then do light training the week of the event with no training for two days before the event, and finally a one day recovery followed by a workout that starts out easy and then gets harder.
I've also discovered that I don't like to eat a lot before an event. Instead of tons of spaghetti the night before, I have small carb meals all day long: Oatmeal for breakfast, quinoa or ramen noodles for lunch, and then a little spaghetti for dinner. That's about 1,000 calories which goes well with my diet. For breakfast the day of the event, I have a half bagel with a teaspoon of peanut butter, a banana, and 8 ounces of apple juice three hours before the event.
Racing in the pool was interesting! They lined us up one-by-one according to the swim times that we submitted as part of our registration. Then, one by one, we jumped into the pool every five seconds (diving was not allowed). Some of the faster swimmers did cannonballs! I just started my watch as I jumped and then held onto my goggle with one hand. Once in the water, we swam 50 meters down the pool, ducked under the lane marker, swam back, ducked under the next lane marker and swam down until we had covered all eight lanes of the pool (400 meters). Some people held on to the end for a rest before starting the next length of the pool. I decided to do flip turns. I practiced doing flip turns under the ropes in the YMCA at home prior to today. People watching me must have wondered what I was doing as I repeatedly swam to the wall, flipped and came up in a different lane! Ha! My swim went well. I passed two people and two passed me. I did a personal best which was my goal for the race so I was pleased. I'm not trying to compete with anyone but me, but . . . it was nice to find that I beat 50 out of 200 in the swim.
At the end of the swim, we climbed out of the pool and then ran through a tunnel to a grassy field where the bike racks were set up. It was 58 degrees out so I put a towel in the tunnel (with the official's permission) and grabbed it as I ran. I thought I was going to freeze, but with all of my focus on the race, I never noticed it being cold.
I was terrified of the bike course. I almost chickened out yesterday when we drove the course. On some sections, there were six lanes of city traffic with curbs. On other sections, there were bike lanes filled with gravel. And there were two railroad tracks to cross! What I didn't realize was how the event organizers would take care of our safety. They had cones blocking off a lane for us to ride in for the entire 10 miles! They put carpets over the railroad tracks - although it still felt like riding into a curb! There were police at every intersection stopping traffic as we approached. I made sure I rode in the middle of the lane coming to each intersection so the cop would see me. One frustrating situation occurred as I approached an intersection and heard a siren. Sure enough, an ambulance was approaching the intersection from my right. I looked at the officer for direction. He looked at the ambulance, looked at me, looked back at the ambulance, looked back at me again -- but gave me no direction! I knew he was trying to calculate if I could get through before the ambulance got there. I considered trying to speed up and cross in front of the ambulance and I think I would have been ok. But . . . what if I miscalculated and the ambulance hit me? So at the last minute, I threw on my breaks. Luckily, I remembered "right is rear" and didn't flip over the handlebars! As I started up again, two people who didn't have to slow for the intersection sped past me. How frustrating! But overall, I was pleased with my ride. The course was virtually flat and I pushed it hard. I did a personal best by far. Again, I'm not completing with others, but again, I was pleased to find that my time was faster than 70 of the 200 people who rode. Pretty satisfying for a sixty-year-old overweight woman who couldn't put on her socks two years ago!
And then the run! I did a personal best in that event too so I am pleased, but oh my gosh, I am SO slow! I've been training with a cadence "beep" on my iPhone, but found at my last race that iPhones are illegal. So . . . for this race, I purchased a metronome at a music store that is the size of an iPhone and carried that with me. I kept my cadence at 83 or more. But with my short stride, almost everyone passed me during the run. Some would say, "You're doing great!" as they ran past. One woman put her arm around me today as she passed me! Her arm was HEAVY! In run, I only did better than a handful of people and was so slow that it negated how well I did in the swim and bike. The good news is that since this the last tri of the season, I have time to retool myself before the first tri next spring.
The finish of this race was fun. We ran into IUPUI's track stadium and then did a lap around the track. I felt like a "real" athlete! I'm always touched by how much encouragement I get from everyone as I finish. This time, after I crossed the finish line, a man came out of the stands with his arms wide open, gave me a hug, and said, "You are so impressive. You keep doing this. You are amazing!" Another act of kindness that will always stay with me.And . . . I was first again in the 60-64 age group. I should add that I was, once again, the only woman in the 60-64 age group! I've been thinking about this. There are lots of women in the 50-54 and the 55-59 age groups. Why not 60-64? One reason might be because the sport is so young (1974). When people my age were in high school and college, triathlons did not exist. Heck, when women my age were young, no sports for girls existed except swimming and tennis. I suspect that in five years, as the younger women get older, the 60-64 age group will be full. In the meantime, I don't mind taking home some first place medals!
For this race, the first, second and third place winners stood on podiums - just like the Olympics! When they announced the winners for my event, they explained that there was just one entry and that I had won first place. Someone yelled from the stands, "Give her all three medals!" I laughed. When I went to the podium, they shook my hand and then placed the medal over my head - just like the Olympics! I stood on the first place podium and posed with the BIGGEST smile! What a great day!
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