SheROX 2012...the Before, During & After

So this was my 2nd women's only tri that I've competed in.  Last year I did Bang's Lake and placed 3rd in AG but it was much small (about 300 vs. 1493 today).  I was going into it healthy (meaning no injuries!), prepared & with a few goals in mind.  I prepared like any other race.  Got a good nights sleep on Friday as we all know, you don't sleep well the night before a race.  Packed up my transition bag, the bike & got my nutrition ready Sat afternoon.  What I hadn't planned on was good 'ol Erin, the foster dog, being sick Sat night & keeping me up most of the night.  Not sure if it was from spending all day playing in the sun (she LOVES the sprinkler) or what...but she didn't eat her dinner & fidgeted in the bed all night.  And her tummy was making some odd noises.  I kept letting her outside for fear she'd get sick in the bed.  Needless to say, by 2:30am I was still wide away & by 3:30am said screw it & got up.

Got to the race bright 'n early.  Which I like to do anyways so I can get an end spot on the racks if they're not numbered. Score!  Transition was set up in 5 min.  So I had plenty of time to meander around & look for my friends, and make sure I knew how to find my transition spot for T1 & T2.  Now, I did 3 things between Sat & this morning that I've NEVER done for a race (thank you Coach Jen!)...practiced my transitions on Sat (yes, my neighbor caught me running through my yard with my wetsuit, swim cap & goggles on!), did a 20 min warm up run pre-race & got into the water for a quick 5 min swim pre-race.  I have never done any of that before!  I found it so much easier to say "I'm not fast in transition" than to practice & maybe get faster :)  And warm up?  Who does that for a sprint?  Little did I know ;)

The weather was not cooperating today though.  I'm not someone who likes running in the heat.  Ugh, my body doesn't want to move (I'm talking run) & I'm just plain miserable running in hot weather.  I'm ok on the bike in the heat.  And the water temp was about 77 I was told. They dumped cold water into the reservoir Fri to cool it off but by afternoon it was back up in the high 70's again.  I'm ok with it...I'd rather have a bit warmer than too cold.  People thought I was nuts for wearing my wetsuit - it actually felt a bit cooler than 77 but was so refreshing.  I was going to enjoy this swim!

Luckily the waves went from oldest to youngest, after Elite & Survivor (women who've survived some kind of cancer...very cool!).  So I was in wave 9.  1st mistake...I should've started at the front of my wave.  But knowing I'm not super fast, I hung out about a 1/3 in, to avoid being swam over...UGH  I wanted to swim the inside line the entire way...would keep me straight & it was the shortest distance.  But I had to fight through breast strokers, back strokers & walkers.  Yes, walkers.  My biggest pet peeve in triathlon!  They even instructed us in the course talk on Sat...if you're not going for time, are not the strongest swimmer or think you might need help - swim on the outside & leave the inside for those going for time.  Obviously either these women didn't listen to the talk or just didn't care.  And yes, I swam the entire time...did not get up & walk through the shallow part.  That is me swimming in the green cap.  Swam until I was pulling up sand :)  Notice all the walkers.  Boo for having the timing mat 2/3 the way up the sand hill though...everyone's swim times are longer because of it.

Fumbled w/ the wetsuit a bit (putting Body Glide on the outside of the legs didn't help them from sticking like it did last year) & soon I was off & out of T1.  Some day I'd like to learn to bike/run without socks...that's always a bit challenging w/ wet feet, even with powder in the socks.  The bike is pretty flat.  A few small inclines but nothing to complain about.  Again - I was passing on the left, the right & in the middle.  I guess they just didn't care, but how frustrating & I was boxed in a few times.  Still found myself braking more than usual on the turns, afraid of the bike slipping on something & me ending up with another fractured elbow.  But overall, was happy with my bike (avg 21mph) & passed a ton of people. 

Into T2...quite the little run to get back to my transition spot.  I even passed a few women w/ my bike in T2...LOL  We all laughed as I said "on your left".  Ha!  I had put the easy laces in my shoes yesterday so that helped with T2.  Now this is where my training w/ Jen has helped tremendously.  I don't have a GPS watch so never know my pace, and have always been horrible at pacing.  Go out hard & with each mile slow down a significant amount.  I've been working on running steady...and did a pretty good job of it.  I hit mile 1 at 8:05 & ended up averaging 8:13/min miles.  Success!  In the past there would easily be 45+ seconds difference between each mile.  Plus, it's the fastest I've ever run in a tri.

Not much to work on w/ nutrition in a sprint, but I do think I drank too much before race start...midway through the swim I had to pee (TMIaerobottle too.  And my 2 "no no's" went off without a hitch...wore a tri top I've never worn before & had to buy new goggles yesterday.  Tested them for about 5 min pre-race & went for it.  Success with both!  You worried for nothing Kim...

So...hit all my goals, as wishy washy as they were.  Hit Jen's goal for me too!  Pretty happy with the way the day went.  Overall time 1:25:40.  Just for shits & giggles, I looked up the ages of the women who beat me overall.  I was beat by 3 women in their 50's!!  One of them by 11 minutes...damn!  Did not have my ice cream, but did pick up more Frosty Paws for Erin.  "Suffer like a dog" said Coach Jen...LOL...my Erin does anything but suffer!