Springs Back Sprint Tri Race Recap

First and foremost:  I DIDN'T DROWN!!!

That right there is cause for celebration!  And the fact that I can write about it...yay!

I mentioned my trepidation about open water swimming so I won't beat that dead horse any further. Bottom line, I was way out of my comfort zone.  But I was sucking it up and faking strength for my friend...who was scared shitless.  She almost didn't come to the race having battled a sinus infection for what seems years.  Poor thing...she hadn't even been in the pool in over a month and yet she was going to come out.  Her plan was to check it out and make a game time call...worst case, she would be my spectator.  Of course, she's much like me...once your foot is in the water, what the hell, race the whole dang thing.  Right?

So...when she told me she was terrified, I wasn't about to tell her that "oh, shit, me too!"  Rather, I tried to pass along the tidbid of good advice that I had received in the prior week or so.  The whole flip on your back and breathe bit, that the breast stroke and even the doggie paddle were options and that there were people everywhere on kayaks and boats to save us if necessary, I told her.  And also, good news is that there was only ONE alligator in the lake, so odds are it was a pet, fed and caged for such an event.  (wink, wink)

Oh goody, just one!

Honestly, we are swimming in a lake with an ALLIGATOR?!  I have lived near and travelled often to the Everglades...seeing those suckers in a body of water is best from an airboat.  Just sayin'.

Having been thrilled that I had company to this event really helped my jitters and all kidding aside, my friend has a very calming effect on me.  She's positive and reassuring (even when she's terrified). We talked about imagining the beach, swimming in the ocean with the sun beating on us.  And after a collective "yeah, right", we decided to just watch all the waves heading out before us and try to determine how in the heck the buoys were set up and how far we needed to go.

All the olympic distance waves went out first.  This was great for two reasons...1- the alligator had plenty to choose for breakfast before we got in the water. 2- it got warmer AND lighter out and we can see where exactly the "turn" for the sprint wave was (since us old fogies were one of the last waves).

SWIM

We agreed that we would remain calm.  Backstroke if necessary the whole way but calm nonetheless.  And then the fog horn goes off.  What it in the hell?  Everyone of us (22 female over 40) jumped out our skins and took off!  So much for that zen moment!

The temperature of the water was at 77 (perfect) and the sun was out to make it warm but nonetheless, those conditions did not make the visibility any better.  Also, I was wearing a brand new pair of goggles so that I would ensure that the anti-fog coating was spot on.  I wished I had tested them first...fear of leaks was also in the back of my mind.  :\

Hard as I tried to just "swim", regular freestyle, not being able to see has a way of making things very claustrophobic.   I really didn't think of all things, that that would be the issue.  But it was.  I probably swam a decent 25M before I start thinking that I needed to flip.  The more I thought of it, the more irregular my breath would get.  And uuuugggghhh...here we go.  A quick flip to regain composure, right?  Uh, no.  I backstroked until I ran over a body (indicating that I was at least moving in the forward direction to exit the lake!)  I am sure "I" was the one to piss plenty of people off by bumping them...sorry ladies! :/  I tried the side arm swim, a little doggie paddle and then a few "regular" strokes.  It wasn't awful but it was shortlived and when I came back up, I was way off course.  Ahh!  More strokes to get back to where I was.  I had plenty of time later to think about just how fast I was "regular" swimming to get off course in just a few strokes.  If only I could kick my own ass to get it together and GO I'd be out of the damn lake so much faster!

Clearly, there is LOTS of room for improvement and we can all agree that swimming my forte, is not. Out of 10 in my age group, my swim came in 8th.  Meh.  Not surprised but ok with it just the same.
Final time was right about the same as it was in the pool with my "mock" race.  11 minutes...at least I can say I know how to simulate like a mofo.  Lol.  ...and the goggles were PERFECT! No leaking, no discomfort or fog!

On to transition but first, uh...rocks at the exit of the lake.  Not little rocks...like BOULDERS. OUCH! More on this later. :/

T1

A quick goofy "I made it" grin to the photographer (OMG, most hilarious picture ever)  and running to T1.  Why again did we rack in the LAST possible rack?  Good grief, it felt like a half hour in there but luckily that wasn't the case.  Still...I was tied 6/7 place in transition but better than 3+ minutes at the last tri!

BIKE

Oh, the bike.  Yay, the bike!  I heart the bike!

I quickly settled in and started scrolling through all my dad's advice in my head.  First, fuel.  I PRE-opened my Hammer Gel and had already mixed some Hammer Heed into one of my water bottles. (I have never tried either but my dad has done some extensive research...he is an all around guru and when he researches and endorses, you listen!)  I ate my gel and quickly discovered that like bike grease on my calf, getting sticky fingers (and handlebars) is inevitable for a clutzo like me.  However, this is better than the alternative of trying to open the package while riding.  I have attempted this and have given up (see clutzo comment above) in fear that I'd topple and eat it (the pavement, not the gel).

It was a fairly flat course with slight hills back in the more rural areas.  It was quite scenic and enjoyable.  However, it was windy!  It cried Mary as my dad would say.  I didn't realize how windy it was until afterwards when I heard others speaking of it AND seeing some of the bike speed results.  I was expecting low 20s, high teens for the uber fast in the age group but I was surprised to see it top off at 17.8...my average mph was 16.7 so I'm glad to have held my own.

Again, I charged up my old Garmin (secured to the charger with packing tape to get a true charge) and hoped it would work for my bike and run segments of the race.  They sorta did.  The bike didn't show me what I needed (speed, cadence) only total "lap" time.  I really had no idea what my mph was at the time other than each mile was 3:40, 3:22, 3:07 etc.  It took me a few miles to see a pattern and after that I just tried to "beat" the last mile.  That, coupled with trying to pass people kept me trucking along.

No road kill this time or bugs in my mouth (thank goodness)...just country smells that seem extra potent first thing in the morning...manure, bacon, fresh cut grass, jasmine.   No complaints but am glad I took an allergy pill before heading out first thing!

T2

It was clearly faster than the last transition but it's a blur.  I just remember seeing the girl who we racked our bikes by heading out for her run (I caught up!).

RUN

This is so tough.  It's so not like "just" going for a run.  Everything feels so different and some things, numb even.  My legs were on autopilot and I took that time to sort out my technology issues.  I didn't exactly nail the Garmin button pushing from to T2 to Run but I noticed from the get go that it was not on "MultiSport" (which I had double checked the night before...ugh!) so my running pace was again, not helping.  In the mean time, my much bigger phone was sitting in my race belt and began thumping against me at every step.  I had to take it out and while there, decided to run Nike+ for the sake of pacing.

After the initial distraction, I was back to realizing my legs felt awful but still better than the last time.  I also felt tired!  A 5k seemed like a long way at that moment.  But then I turned on the mind game.  I looked around and the scenery was so quiet and peaceful out in the 'burbs!  The route went out of the subdivision into a trail that backs up around it and was all paved.  There were quite a few bridges and elevations so it did not seem as flat a course as I thought.

I wanted to stop so bad.  So many times.  But I gave myself some random point to achieve before allowing myself to think of it again (the bench, bridge, end of the pond) and when I got there, I moved the target further.  Seems silly, but it worked.  The further I went, the hotter I got. When I arrived at the fork in the road where the Olympic and Sprint courses divided,  I realized I was happy to be racing Sprint and wondered how I could possibly EVER do the other.  I was pooped!

I saw a young boy on the course walking and I tried hard to motivate him to go, he smiled at me but was not budging...and the words just stuck to ME and kept me moving forward.  I started visualizing different muscles in my legs doing their job and I think my quads must have been sleeping.  I felt like once I engaged them, I was able to move faster and with more determination to finish.  I caught up to someone in my age group (that had passed me on the bike) and felt a little victory and then later, caught up to and passed the girl we racked by (that I saw in transition).  These two things were my final motivators to not stop and push to finish strong.

I couldn't help but fist pump through the finish (with giant phone in hand)! Garmin had very little use to me and Nike, which I started late in the game, came in with a 3.3 distance.  It's no wonder when I asked the volunteer jokingly on the course "are we there yet?!", I was surprised he said "just over a mile" when I would be done in about a 1/4 mile by my calculation.  Yikes!

FINISH!

After sending a text home about my survival and scoping out the after race scene, I headed back to the finish line and right then, my friend was coming through!  SOOOOOO excited to watch her cross!!  We did it!! Yay!!!  She was sick and undertrained and she kicked some serious booty.  I am so proud!  We grabbed our breakfast tacos (the true reward at the end of the race!), bananas and KIND bars and took a second to sit and chat.  I remembered I had left my flip flops by the dock and ran over there to get them.  It felt so far!  Haha! But when I got back, my shoes suddenly felt tight.  I kicked them off and noticed a huge gash on the inside of my right foot!!  OMG.  That rock on the lake exit got me good.  I'm so glad I didn't know of it until after the race!  It is right under on the flip flop strap so I hobbled all the way to the car.  Ouch! I've got my first official triathlon war wound! Haha.

I'm not signed up for another race until the Oktoberfest Sprint that I learned is the exact same course as this.  I am tempted to switch that to an Olympic but I still have a few bigger decisions to make by the end of the month regarding HIM.  I have a race in July, August and September to sign up for too but again, the distances will hinge on 70.3.

Stay tuned!!

Valerie


My Last Race Report: No Label Sprint Tri
My Swimming Trepidation: Here and Here

Roaches, flying bugs & roadkill - a race report.

Top that for a race report title! Ha!

I just participated in the 4th annual No Label Triathlon in Katy, TX. The race director and organizers did an awesome job.  It was a very well run event. The title has less to do with the actual race and more with my personal experience. 

When I told my husband the sequence of events for the morning, he shook his head so many times, I thought maybe he thought I was messing with him. Or maybe he thinks this story solidifies that I (and participating in this type activity) is just nuts. Three sports in one shot is not enough but having to endure the extra "fun" stuff? He's all smh. Ha!

This is officially my second ever triathlon.  My first was the Spa Tri in Bastrop, TX last fall (2014). The blog was in the abandonment stage at that point so it didn't even cross my mind  to write about it (or even look at my results) until now.  I'll have to back track and do a recap on that one but I've slept some (not much) since then.

Back to the No Label Tri this weekend...yes, this one was a little more nerve racking for a few reasons.  For starters, I was going at it completely SOLO.  No one there with me before, during or after.  Secondly, two separate transition areas.  The second of which, you would arrive to from the bike, sight unseen.  Third, a pool swim snaking lanes (no clue what that was going to be like) plus the added anxiety of swim altogether.

Pre-race, I felt a little nervous but mostly ok.  There are many things to think about and remember and having picked up my race packet on a Wednesday, I had extra days of questions swimming in my head to deal with.  What do I wear?  Two transitions?  Shuttle?  Where do I leave my flip flops and keys? And finally when looking closely at the weather...what do I wear on the bike?  I'm going to be freezing cold and wet!  (Wussy)

To my first tri, I wore a one piece swim suit with my tri shorts over it.  I had no issues and was glad to not have to change or pull any pieces on or off.  I thought about doing the same but wanted to try two pieces this time to see if I like that better.  I found a great tri kit top (on sale!!) and decided to give that a shot with existing tri shorts.  I brought a run jacket to throw on for the bike to cut down on the cool wind and an extra towel to try to get excess water off.

My T1 set up

I got there very early (VERY) because I was still unsure about the shuttle, double transition situation. It turns out, you drive to the high school (where the natatorium is), set up your TI and hop into your car and go to the brewery (the finish) to park and drop off your T2 bag.  No T2 set up in sight...just a guy and a pick up truck collecting bags.  I decided to keep my phone and keys with me (because visions of my keys falling out amongst a sea of white bags in the dark were haunting.)  The shuttle bus takes you back to the pool and access to  T1 was still available until 6:45 (I think I arrived at 5:15?) so I had plenty of time to check things out.

It was a cool 50 degrees so I kept my jacket on as long as possible.  I went to check out the pool and learned that we'd be lining up by time.  This meant that the super fast people knew exactly where to be and everyone else just winged it.  Every 5 seconds, a swimmer would jump in and go.  You'd swim 25 meters up the first lane then under the rope and 50 meter laps each in the next 5 lanes and 25 meters in the last lane and out of the pool.  It seemed logical and very civilized.

Calm before the madness began.

Right before 6:45, I dropped my jacket and flipflops off at TI, stopped at the potty (I have little kids okay?  This is what we call it right now) and walked to the back of the pack where I logically thought I belonged.  One of the advantages of being back there was the ability to observe exactly how this all plays out and visualize your personal performance.  I had visions of an easy warm up of 25 and then focusing on breathing and calmly zipping (not racing, although it's a race) through the other lanes and having a mad sprint for the last 25.  Ya.  Right.  I'll get back to the reality of that in a sec.

But first, the disadvantages of being a slower swimmer.  More time to stand around.  More time to realize you're hungry again.  More time to watch how the fast swimmers do exactly how you visualized and then how the middle packers got all mixed up and were crashing, swimming over each other and bumping one another.  More time to worry about that.  Also, another fun thing...with all the splashing in the pool, the water started to fill the drains surrounding the pool which apparently is where the roaches live?  Ugh.   Those suckers were not too thrilled about getting pushed out.  If you know anything about me, you know I can deal with just about anything except THEM.  Ick, ick, ick. I've had a horrid CreepShow type event occur to me and in I've become less jumpy and more calm about how to deal but I am also extra vigilant to keeping my distance.  Ick again.  Those f&%#$ers were everywhere!  All shapes and sizes too. Ick, ick, ick!!  I was at the edge of the pool.  I'll spare you too much detail just know that a ninja like roach managed to make it half way up MY THIGH.  I didn't jump in the pool or scream. I just swatted it away with cat like reflexes and kept my cool.  I think I should get a special medal just for that.  Gah.  So gross.  See what you missed out on fast swimmers?

The Swim: An hour of waiting, observing, getting hungry and then losing appetite altogether and it was finally my turn.  The first 25 went as I imagined.  Nice and smooth and no panicky breathing like I worried about.  Then under the ropes for the first 50 and I get to a dude who I need to pass. However, he is taking more than half the lane and oncoming traffic is taking the rest.  I try to swim as close as possible to him but am afraid of getting kicked in the face.  I tread water and stick my head out waiting for the opportunity.  Before I know it, I'm at the wall.  Time to go under the rope and do this silly dance again.  Maybe 5 strokes and doggie paddle, tread, stall.  Swim a little and do it again and again and again.  I could never get into a rhythm which meant every time I did swim correctly, I was gasping.  My legs were burning from all the treading so I had to go on my back.   What a hot mess of a swim.  I got from one end to the other by NO athletic merit.  It wasn't until the end of the last 50 (at the wall) where I was finally able to pass.  The last 25, free and clear and I booked it out of there.

T1 before the race

T1: I had no watch with me so I had NO CLUE what time I actually went in and came out of the pool. Ditto with transition.  I wasn't racing for time so I didn't bother with worrying about how to track my performance.  On a last minute whim, I brought my old Garmin 305 and had it set up on my bike so at least I could see if I'd get close to beating my "time trial" from the previous weekend. I know I didn't hustle as fast as I could but I didn't think I took THAT long.  Drying off took a little longer because I wanted to put that jacket on.  I think that's what hurt me the most.

The Bike: The bike was pretty good.  Uneventful for the most part.  It was very flat but windy at times.   During a headwind, I was pushing pretty hard and a bug flew in my mouth. Lovely!  Another hit my sunglasses a few minutes later and I couldn't help but think of my dad's advice to never ride without eye protection for that very reason.  I passed about a dozen or so people and got passed twice. On one of my pass attempts, I had picked up quite a bit of speed.  I was approaching a rider who was in the middle of the lane and I called out that I was going to be "on his left".  He moved over and right went he did, I noticed a poor possum that didn't make it on his trek across the road.  My immediate decision dilemma after cursing:  Avoid roadkill and potentially lose control on gravel and wipe out or brace myself and go for it and hope to not lose control and wipe out.  Ugh.  I chose the latter.  I may or may not have closed my eyes for a few seconds as I ran over the roadkill.  I got out my saddle because I felt maybe I'd feel less?  Ugh. Anyway, I made it and it didn't hurt it one bit, I assure you. Ha.  But ick.

T2

T2: I made it to T2 in one solid piece and was ready to get my run on.  But first, finding my bag.  Since I had a late start at the swim, there were many bikes already in T2.  They were set up by numbers so I had to squeeze my bike in to a spot and find my bag tangled up with those from the people who had already been through there.  This made it a slower process plus I made the mistake of undoing my lose wet bun for a ponytail under my visor.  I should have just left it and thrown the visor on.  Oh well, live and learn.

The Run: The run was an easy, flat out and back.  I was trying to run as fast as I could right out of the transition but I learned quickly that my legs decided to go back to bed.  From the knees down, I was worthless.  Foot pain and sore ankles made it feel like my feet were flopping onto the pavement. Then, my shins started getting really tight.  I mean VERY tight.  So tight they were burning and felt like the muscle would pop through the skin.  Shin splints or maybe my previous injury returning?  Not too sure.

I should have stopped to stretch everything out but I was SO mad that a simple 5K was keeping me from finishing strong that I pushed through. To add insult to injury, I never started or stopped my Garmin at the right times or forgot altogether. Eesh.  I guess because I am not using consistently, I didn't think of it.  Again, at the time, I wasn't all that concerned about it.  I just wanted to finish.  I was hoping that after the first mile, this ridiculous pain and discomfort would subside. But nope.  It hung out with me until the end.  I began rooting for those on the other side of the route "you look great!" "almost done! stick with it" "you got this!" and thanking all the volunteers and police along the route.  It helped distract me from my pain and I know it helped them.

I refocused and thought about some emotional events of the week and about the families that had to lay their loved ones to rest.  Their stories so different but yet completely tragic and heartbreaking.   It hurt so much to think of that and the loss their families have to endure that I forgot about my legs. My legs seemed so trivial.  I internally expressed my gratitude for all my blessings. My family, my health, my life.  Every day is a gift and here I was about to cross the finish line when I snapped out it just in time to raise my arms for that photo finish.  As I write this, I'm sad again thinking of Louis' and Rafi's families.  Heros in their own rite who are gone but will never be forgotten.   Strong, brave and kind both them and their families.

I had loosely thrown an approximate finish time of 1:40 as an estimate when talking to my husband the night before.  In case, he was able to come out with the babies to the finish, it would help him gauge time.  They closed the brewery parking area at 7:30 so I texted him before the race and told him to not bother coming.  It'd be a mad rush for him to get there by then and then have to wait too.  I wasn't even in the pool by 7:30!

Here are my results, finishing at 1:35:59, it was better than my rough estimate.  Coming in 13 out 14 in my age group made me look at the results of this (and the last race) a little closer however.   I was surprised to see how well I did on that first race without preparation or trepidation! On this race, LOTS of room for improvement.  Getting my transition act in order alone could have bumped me a good 5-6 spots!  The swim I expected much worse considering how I felt.  The bike I expected a little better but not having an accurate start time to track didn't help.  And the run...shocked it wasn't more like 13/14 minute miles!

All in all, a good race to take notes and give me a game plan on what to work on going forward.   Next up, an indoor tri at the Lifetime gym in Katy in April and in May, the Springs Back Tri and possibly the RockinR Tri in Gruene, Texas.

I'm looking forward to more adventuresome races and experiences just hope they involve less creepy crawlies!

Happy Monday all!!

Valerie