Lake Anna Kinetic Sprint Tri.

STATS:
Finish: 1:48:24
Swim: 15:31 (750 meter)
Bike: 59:55 (18 miles)
Run: 27:08 (5K)
Age Group: 13th out of 42
Overall Female: 61 out of 197
Race Day Motto: Hypothermia is a state of mind!

This was by far the worse race conditions I've ever been in (which isn't saying much since most of my races have been in Hawaii). It was somewhere around 58 degrees and pouring down rain the whole time! However, I somehow managed to have a great race. I attribute it to the great atmosphere created by my friends - joking around, laughing at our stupidity, cheering each other on while secretly hoping to beat the other. :-)

I placed 13th in my age group, making it to the top quarter. I am over the moon about this. I needed that sign of progress to keep me going. This of course means that should finishers 1 through 12 not be able to fulfill their commitments, I would be the next one to assume the role…. :-)

SWIM: This was my worst swim ever. It was flippin' cold. I think they said water temp. was 60 degrees. It's just that 60 degrees outside doesn't feel nearly as bad as in the water. I rented a wetsuit and a few days later I was wondering if I had a kid's size wetsuit. While waiting for my wave, I noticed the 12 year old boy we had been talking to had the same wetsuit. So, I have the body of a 12 year old boy. Great….

New rule: no more races in April. It's too darn cold. I was hyperventilating the first 300 meters of the race. I couldn't even put my head in the water. It wasn't until the final turn, with about 200 meters left, that my stroke finally fell into place.

BIKE: I actually had a good ride. Maybe the rain worked to my benefit because I couldn't see much of anything so I wasn't doing my usual site-seeing. However, while reviewing the pictures I realized that my bike bag was dragging against my back wheel. Doh! I managed a decent 17.8 mph average on a hilly terrain. I did realize one thing on the bike - I'm totally screwed for the half-iron. The bike is the part I'm actually nervous about, not the run. Can you believe that?! Now that's true progress.

RUN: I had an awesome run. My GPS has me averaging 8:44 minute/mile. That's the fastest I've ever run in a race. I realize this is still not fast compared to the winners, but it's a big deal to me. This was also in the pouring rain, my shoes soaked, my feet frozen and then my shoe laces were untied the last quarter mile. I got a kick out of the guy who pointed this out to me as we were coming down a narrow path, rain still pouring, on a steep downhill slope and within shouting distance of the finish line. Do you really think I’m going to stop now to tie them?! I'd rather take my chances of tripping over them and rolling through the finish line. Who knows, if I picked up enough speed, I could better my minute/mile average.

HEROES OF THE DAY:
Brooke: for coming down on her own and totally killing the bike competition. You're going to kill us on the half-iron!

My Parents: They just don't have any luck with these triathlons. They drove all the way down to the race site, hung out all day in the cold and rain, and still missed my finish (again!).

Jeff: for finishing his first triathlon. You survived the swim, had a great bike and an awesome run. Nice, strong finish. Congrats on your first race! Told you this sport was addicting…

Big Guy, Little Speedo: If you were there, you know who I'm talking about. Since this is my "mommy" blog I'll keep it PG, but there is a "Seinfeld" joke reference here.


So, it was a pretty decent race despite the awful weather conditions. More than anything it has me psyched for the rest of the race season. I'm still not sure about this half-iron. I know I'm going to have to dig down deep inside, but I know it'll be worth it. At least the rest of the season should be downhill and fun from there. That is, until the fall when I try a marathon….


"It's good training!" - Just Tri Me