I wanted to post a race report as a thank you to the support and advice I got from this group and because it’s fun to recap! Background.. I completed my first tri (sprint) in april and have been training for an Olympic that is in one month. My guy decided to do the oly with me when he attended the sprint in april and thought triathlons seemed pretty cool. The oly is a HUGE race and an OWS, which neither of us has much experience with, so we decided to find a smaller Sprint tri to get his feet wet with transitions and get us both some practice with OWS. The race was Saturday and it was AMAZING. I’m still on a high from it.

Last week was a recovery week in my oly training plan which was perfect to get a little rest before the race. Our best friend from college and her boyfriend were in town and stayed with us mid-week and we out drinking on Wednesday like we used to in college. Big mistake.. I felt like crap Thursday and ate everything in sight leaving me feeling bloated all day Friday. I rehydrated and got my nutrition back on track, but my tummy still wasn’t feeling as good as I’d hoped when I woke up Saturday morning. But, I got good sleep the night before the race and popped out of bed at 4:50am (10 minutes before my alarm – this never happens!) ready to take on the day.

Race morning went smoothly – the drive was shorter than we planned for, packet pick-up was simple, and I had time to stretch out and get in the water to warm up. The lake was 76 degrees and some folks had wet suits on as it was legal. I don’t own or want a wet suit, and the water felt very warm to me – like bath water compared to Lake Michigan where I normally swim. I swam a little and just floated in the water some to convince myself that I wouldn’t drown or be attacked by the Loch Ness monster. The water was incredibly murky and I could only see 18 inches or so beneath the surface – also very different from Lake Michigan. It was also very choppy waves, unlike the long smooth waves I practiced in. My mom attended and watched from the dock – she was a lifeguard when she was young and said that the choppy waves would have been very challenging. I managed them, but definitely took in a couple mouthfuls of water. Blech!

I positioned myself in the back of the swim pack and most of the girls were doing breast stroke and/or something like swimming that wasn’t freestyle. This turned out to be a poor decision because there were so many limbs flying in so many directions I never got my groove in the swim. Still, the 500 meters was up sooner than I expected. I’m not a strong swimmer, and I was one of the last ones out of the lake, finishing in 11m35s. Certainly not fast, but my pace was faster than my last race, my sighting was good, and I didn’t feel tired when I left the lake. I ran up the boat ramp and T1 was smooth in 1m42s.

Hardly anything in this world makes me happier than clipping into my bicycle pedals. I took the first mile easy to catch my breath from the tough swim and run up the boat ramp and T1. Still, I started passing people as I settled in and picked up my pace. Biking is by far my strongest sport, and I counted each person I passed as a fun activity: 44. I got passed by one other Sprint tri racer (a guy) who I later leap-frogged with on the second half of the course. I also got passed by a handful of the top finishing men on the Half Iron that started an hour before our race. Those guys were flying! Pretty cool. I finished the bike portion in 41:17 at a 17.4 mph clip.

I geared down and picked up my cadence for the last mile because I read that helps with the bike-run transition, and I think it did. T2 was smooth and after the first ¼ mile or so, I settled into the run. The run was fun and I felt strong. In the tri I did in April, the entire run was torture and I was barely able to finish without walking. In that first race, I had to really push myself very hard to continue running. On Saturday, when I passed the 1.5 mile mark (it was an out-and-back), there was no doubt that I would finish and I picked up the pace when I hit the 2 mile mark. My 5K time was 33m16s, which is a 10:44 min/mile. I’m not a fast runner and my normal pace is 11-11:30 minute miles, so this is actually a good running time for me.

In April, I finished the race feeling proud but incredibly tired and mentally destroyed, having had to force myself to finish the run without walking. On Saturday, I finished the race feeling happy and confident. My mom made a similar comment about my finishing demeanor. I know I can take on the Oly race in a month. My goal was 90-95 minutes and I finished in just under that (1h28m54s), picking up the first place prize for the Athena class (of 7 competitors). Can’t wait for the Oly!!

I must brag on my guy as well - he finished 5th in his very competitive division (30-35 Males) in his first triathlon, finishing in 1h12m. We've both been cycling for a couple years, and he has always been a pretty decent runner, but never very consistent about training. He got into the pool with me in May and I taught him the basic freestyle technique. On our third swim together, he was able to swim a mile freestyle faster than me. I think he also benefited a lot from the training structure that I largely imposed on him, and he rocked his first tri! I can’t wait to see what he does in the Olympic.

Thanks for your support and advice everyone! Sorry this is so long, but you could always stop reading it, so I’m really not that sorry.