Saturday, July 20, 2013

I DID IT! ------ First OUTDOOR Sprint Triathlon - July 20, 2013

July 20, 2013
Eagle Creek Sprint Triathlon, Indianapolis

I DID IT!

Several weeks ago, I registered for the OUTDOOR sprint triathlon at Eagle Creek in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, things were crazy at work and I basically suspended all training in June and July.  I wasn't sure all week if I was going to go through with the triathlon or not - but at the last minute, I decided to go ahead.

The Thursday before the race, I packed everything:

SUITCASE
  • PJs
  • Toiletries
  • Swim suit
  • Sandals
  • Cover up
  • Shorts (post race)
  • T-shirt (post race)
  • Undergarments (post race)
TRANSITION SPORTS BAG

Swim
  • Triathlon watch
  • Swim cap
  • Goggles
Run
  • Shoes
  • Socks
  • Shorts
  • T-shirt (with number already pinned on)
  • Hair tie
Bike
  • Bike (with bike number put on before the race)
  • Helmet (on bike seat)
  • Glasses (poked in slot in helmet)
Other
  • Tolet paper
  • Towel to stand on
  • Water bottle
  • Power bar

I took my bike to a local bike shop to have it checked out.  When I picked my bike up at 3:00, I took it for a test ride and the front derailleur was a mess.  About every fifth time that I tried to switch gears on the front derailleur, the chain fell off!  I took it back to the shop and they worked on it for a couple of hours, but never could seem to get it right.  I finally had to leave to pick up my race packet and just decided that I would only use half of my gears in the race (the easier ones!).

My husband and I had decided to spend the night before the race in Indianapolis so we wouldn't have to leave so early.  With all of the hassle with my front derailleur, I wasn't able to get my race packet picked up until 8:00 pm.  I had wanted to pick it up at 5:00 pm, have dinner and go to bed, so I was way off schedule. Oh well.  I think part of racing is doing your bet job to prepare and then going with the flow.  I was flowing!

It was fun to go through the race packet contents.  I found my bib number, a number to put on my bike and my timing chip.  I also got my official race t-shirt!  What fun!  There were also a bunch of advertisements for things triathletes would enjoy and a couple of energy gels.

I then drove the course and was totally freaked out!  There were hills throughout the bike and the first half of the run was entirely uphill.  I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into at age 60 and still considerably overweight.  I considered backing out.  I really didn't think I could do it.

I met my husband at the hotel at 9:30 and we took my bike into the hotel room so it wouldn't be stolen.  I felt like a "real" athlete as I wheeled the bike through the hotel!  We ate a pasta dinner via room service and I laid out all of my transition things one more time and checked to make sure I had everything.  Then to bed at around midnight.  Not the best way to prep before a race, but oh well . . .

The next morning, I awoke at 5:00 am and had breakfast of 1/2 bagel, 2 t peanut butter, a banana and apple juice and put on my swim suit, sandals and cover up.  The race was scheduled to start at 8:00 am.  I wanted to be there at 6:00.

Setting Up Transition

There were about 600 people registered for this event.  Each rack held seven bikes.  I found the rack for my number and hung my bike in the front.  Then I found a landmark (a big tree) so I could find my rack quickly when coming into transition.





I put all of my stuff on the towel, but really didn't think about the order I would be needing stuff.  I really wasn't thinking about the transitions as race events.










The other thing I did was put an extra pair of sandals at the swim exit.  There was a lengthy run between the swim and my bike through a rocky, wooded area.  I wanted to be able to slip on these sandals before doing that run.








After setting up, I went to the restroom only to find that there was no toilet paper.  I was so glad that I had read in several triathlon books to bring toilet paper to events.  I passed out handfuls of toilet paper to all the women in line!

 I found the person putting numbers on people and my number was added to my arm.
 I fastened my timing chip on my left ankle (on my left ankle so it wouldn't hit my front derailleur) and was ready to go.







At 7:30, they had a racers' meeting where an official from USAT went over all the rules.  I had read ALL of the USAT rules ahead of time so there were no surprises.  At the beginning they asked those who were doing a triathlon for the first time to raise their hand and about a third of the hands went up.  That was comforting.


We were doing a timed start which means that each participant enters the water one at a time with about two seconds between participants.  When we registered, we stated our swimming ability and they used that when assigning numbers so the faster swimmers would be first.   A few minutes before 8:00 am, they instructed us to get into line by number.   We didn't have to be strictly in numerical order, just in the general area of our number.



 It took about 20 minutes to get from the first swimmer to me.  As I entered the water, I ran across a timing mat so the 20 minutes that I started after the first participant entered the water was subtracted from my time at the end.




The Swim
Nothing prepared me for the chaos of the swim.  I never felt that I or anyone else was in danger.  There were boats every 20 feet or so.  Since this was such a big sprint triathlon there were may weak swimmers.  Many people were doing breaststroke and sidestroke.

The weird thing was that I just couldn't see in the water because it was so muddy.  I was swimming blind.  I did freestyle and knew I was going to have to lift my head every few strokes to see the buoys marking the turns, but I also needed to lift my head to see where the other swimmers were so I could plan my course.  I did get kicked a couple of times, but nothing bad.  People would hit me and then lift their head and say, "Sorry!"  I learned to sense where other swimmers were by the churning in the water as they kicked.  It took a while to get used to.  By the time we got to the first yellow buoy, people spread out and I could swim freestyle without having to worry about people.  I tried to work on form, but mostly, I was trying to conserve energy for the bike.  I even swam a little without kicking to save my legs.  I swam until my hands hit sand, and then I stood and walked out of the lake.

Transition 1

Because I wasn't sure I would have enough energy for the bike, I walked, rather than ran, from the beach to my bike.  I took my time at my bike - fixed my hair, ate an energy bar, drank some water, and sat down to put on my socks and shoes.  Then I leisurely walked my bike out of transition.  I now understand that the transition is another race event, but I didn't understand that then!  Because I don't yet feel comfortable in a triathlon suit (silly pride), I also wasted valuable time putting on shorts and a t-shirt.  Maybe someday, I'll have enough courage to wear a tri suit!

Bike

I loved, loved, loved the bike!  In the beginning, I was afraid of going fast on the downhills and rode the breaks all the way down each hill - and then had to work like crazy to get up the next hill.  After a while, I learned that if I went as fast as possible down the hills, I could coast about 2/3 of the way up the next hill!  By the time I finished, I was flying!  The bike was exhilarating.  I kept wanting to yell, "Weeeeeee!" as I flew through the air.  Loved the bike!


While riding in Eagle Creek Park, we were with cars but since we were in a park, the cars were going really slow.  On the four-lane highway, they coned off the outside lane in each direction for the bikes.  I never felt unsafe.  I also appreciated all of the volunteers and police officers who yelled encouragement along the way.  As I passed them, I often yelled "Woohoo!" in pure joy.  That made everyone laugh.  I was just have such a good time speeding along!

I should probably also mention that I think the SPIN class that I take weekly was extremely helpful.  I passed several people on the uphills and felt like I had the stamina to last the entire 12 miles. 

Timing Mats

One mistake that I made was not knowing exactly where the timing mats were before the race.  I got off my bike early

Run

Ugh.  The run was a challenge, as I knew it would be.  Immediately out of Transition 2, we climbed a rather significant hill.  I was determined not to walk, but I was running very, very slow.  I overheard one little boy say to his father, "Daddy, look.  She's running really slow."  What a hoot.  But, at least I was running.  Many people walked up that hill.  When I drove the course the day before, I thought the route out was uphill (slightly) and the route back was downhill.  But, as I was running, it seemed to be uphill both ways.  I know that's not possible, but I swear I ran uphill for the entire 3.1 miles!  At the turn-around point, it was so nice to know that I was going to finish. 

Racers who finished in front were getting into their cars to leave.  They cheered me on as I struggled keep my head up and keep my cadence.  My favorite comment, which I still play through my head when I'm tired, was from a young man who said, "Nice pace."  Another said, "Way to go runner!"  It was cool to have someone call me a runner.  And another said, "Keep going 452 (my bib number).  You're almost there."  While I loved the kindness that they were showing, I found that their comments were distracting to my focus and cadence. In the beginning, I said "Thank you" every time someone said something encouraging.  But, that took air which I didn't have.  And I found that every time I responded, even if just with a head nod, I slowed down.  So, after a while, I just kept running without acknowledging their comments.  The worst was when people wanted to give me high fives as I ran by.  I was so exhausted that I couldn't possible lift my arm in return.  For a couple of them, I just said, "Can't lift my arm."  They smiled with understanding.

When I got to the finish line, I ran a little faster to "finish strong" as the saying goes, but not much.  I now know what it means to be physically "spent."

By the time I crossed the finish line, the awards ceremony was over and the race organizers were cleaning up.  They posted the "final" race results before I finished.  I found the race director and asked if I could see my times.  He was very helpful.  I did not come in last!  One woman finished after me and several didn't finish.  It ends up that there were three people in my age group (60-65 female) including the woman who finished behind me.  So, I came in second in my age group, or as they say, I "podiumed."   And, as second in my age group, I received a cooler as an award!  Go figure!

Here are my results:  Slow, slow, slow.  But, I met my goal.  I finished!! 

Overall:    452 / 467        2:02:31.4
Swim:      410 / 467            16:24.8      (4:01.5 / 100)
T1:           462 / 467              6.47.1
Bike:        434 / 467            46:45.1      (12.8 mph)
T2:           455 / 467              3:44.2
Run:         457 / 467            48.49.6      (16:16.5 pace)

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