Yes it is about time that I post about the triathlon! I don't have any excuse besides just being busy.
In case you didn't know, I recently competed in the
Spudman Triathlon on July 31st. It was amazing and such a blast! I am so grateful to be healthy enough and had the support of my family and friends to accomplish this feat. {And don't worry you are going to hear every little detail.}
The beginning..
Last year I decided to race in the Twin Falls Triathlon, I casually prepared for it and did it with a few friends and had a great time but just about died. I loved having something to motivate me to work out and it really helped me kick of that last 5lbs of Baby Bryce. Not to mention just the race of a triathlon is so dynamic, I fell in love.
Click HERE to read about that race.
Tiffany Taylor a friend of mine talked me in to doing the SPUDMAN Triathlon. In January I hesitantly signed up and decided that I would have to buy a road bike to compete. I was worried about this race because of how crazy long it is.
Background: A triathlon means {tri=three} sports combined in one race. Most common is the Swim/Bike/Run format. Sometimes they are reversed or cannoeing is in place of the swim or what ever. Then for the common format of the swim/bike/run there are the 4 typical lengths: " Sprint" 1/2mile Swim/~15mile Bike?/5k Run, "Olympic" 1mile Swim/40k Bike (24mi)/10k Run (6mi) "Half Ironman" 1.2 mile swim/56mile bike/ 13.1 mile swim (a 'half'marathon) and The Ultimate killer Race The "Ironman" 2.4 mile Swim/112 mile bike/ 26.2 mile run (a full marathon).
The Spudman is an Olympic Distance race. I had been training for 4 months about 2 hours a day/5 days a week. I have to say that it was incredibly time consuming to train for this race. The work outs alone sometimes lasted 1-2 hours especially the biking. And the does not included the prep. Training greatly challenged myself discipline! But I felt great in the preparation and had no injuries or straining because I was fairly consistent and did my research.
I also focused on nutrition. I was burning so many calories and using so much muscle, protein, iron and electrolyte supplement was sooo important for me not to feel fatigued on a daily basis. All that I wanted to do was sugar to give me a boost but sugar doesn't sustain.
Any how, the week before the race I was so nervous and caught a dumb virus that spread through my family giving me the flu. I kinda broke down, whining to my parents that maybe I shouldn't do it.. I was going to be so slow, feel sick, get cramps, feel dehydrated yata yata. But, my awesome parents told me to suck it up and go have fun.
So I did! The night before the race we scoped out the course and set up the bike transition station. With all our gear and of course I forgot my water bottle!! How ridiculous. Another thing to stress me out. (Brandon was able to get a worker to place it on my bike the next morning) We ate at the group spaghetti dinner with the 2000 other contestants and families!
The next morning the race started at 7 am. Ever 10 mins probably 150-200 people were started in waves according to age groups. My age group plus 2 other groups left at 8:10 (I just realized that I have butterflies right now. Just writing about it makes me nervous!!). We were towards the end of the racers.
MY GOALS
Okay before I tell you about the race, I want to tell you what my goals were:
- Finish Strong.
- Pace myself on the swim.
- Bike an average of 18mph.
- Do NOT walk EVER on the run (so tempting with legs of lead).
- Run at least a 9min/mi.
The RACE
The Swim:
The swim went well.. I took my time a waited for the main pack to start. It is all chip time so I wasn't ancy. last years triathlon I swam really hard and think it took alot out of my so I just swam this kinda chill. And maybe to chill, my arms had a lot left after. But I only was kicked a few times, and there were a few waves that lapped over me from some dumb boat, but it was all pretty smooth.
T1 (transition 1):
Because I wasn't worried about winning the race but just had the goal to finish strong for me, I wasn't worried about the time at the transition. (which I should have been..) I took 5 mins! hah! That is ridiculous. I should have taken 3 mins max. But whatever. It might have had something to do with a guy running up right behind my and gotten his front tire tangled in my pedal. That might have added a minute.
The Bike:
The bike started out well. There was hardly any noticeable wind. And I realized this triathlon I was the one passing people! yay! I noticed that I was carrying a fast pace but there was not an ounce of burn in the legs so I kept it up. A few times a big group of men (15-20 riders) would start to pass me taking up the entire road, which was intimidating but they would suck me in with them! It was awesome! I wasn't following them, in fact a few times I was right in the middle and just managed to keep up with them for a few miles. .. now now, drafting is not legal in a triathlon, because it does just that- suck you in with the rider in front of you. I didn't consider this drafting as they were overtaking me and taking up the entire road. I just held pace as long as I could, albeit it was faster that normal, but they eventually over took me. So no, no cheating on my part. If anything they were all drafting off each other by staying in such a big pack. .. anyhow the bike went well.
T2
Hop of the bike and run it in to change into your running shoes!! This transition was better. Only 3 mins maybe?
The Run:
Oh My! Oh My! This is with out a doubt the HARDesT part of the race. Have you ever gone for a fun bike ride and gotten of and your legs feel kind tight and wobbly? Times that by 10 then go try to run. Talk about pain. Part of train for a triathlon is practicing this transition, but it never goes away or gets easier, you just learn to ignore the pain. For the first two miles it is all you can do to just keep your legs moving. By the end of the 6 miles you actually feel better then at the start! Crazy. The run was fun though, we ran on gravel for about 1 mile and on country roads. The residents had their sprinklers on for us and some even just plain had their hoses out to spray us down! The last stretch was just awesome! I see tonz of people and signs cheering you on and it felt soo good just to sprint! and then urch to an exhausted stop after crossing the finish line. Your head starts to spin from exhaustion and overwhelming emotion that you did it! and You are DONE!!! Some one starts grabbing your legs to take of your chip then someone else hands you a water and throws a ribbon around your neck. And its over.
The Finish:
I was so tired I didn't know if I was about to throw up or was just dizzy. Probably both, then I saw my family! Brandon was there with goofy little Bryce, with no pants? And my Mom and Dad! They said they probably weren't going to come which secretly kinda broke my heart. But they showed up and I had to fight hard the lump in my throat and the watery eyes! I was so happy to see them there support me.
After an hour or so I felt fine, meaning that I finished strong, I had a very good easy recovery so I had prepared well!!
STATS
Okay now for the stats:
It turns out the I took 22nd out of 90 something girls in my age group! I was stoked about that. (And technically 21st as fifth place never swam.)
Here are my times:
Overall: 02:42:23.300
1 mile Swim: 00:20:54.515
40k Bike: 01:15:03.915 (19.9 mph)
10k Run: 00:57:35.223 (9.17 min/mi)
I am so happy with how it all turned out. I feel good about what I did and I accomplished all but 1 goal, but am okay with it because I surpassed my bike goal by plenty. And I learned a lot through the entire experience of training and racing. I don't just race to be in shape, all though that is a major benefit after having kids that beat up your body. Racing takes a lot of self discipline, internal motivation, and plain hard work.
Lessons learned from this Triathlon:
- You are stronger than you think.
- Talk positively. (Positive Self talk will help you prove number 1)
- Pain is Pain, it only last for a while.
- Mountains and trials suck but make you stronger.
- Dedication and persistence pays off.
- Good nutrition is just as important as your workout.
I know I am not the all-star racer, but I am happy with my results, feel good from the workouts, and learned a lot about myself inside and out and can apply it to my life. I am a better person for doing this triathlon, therefore it was worth it!
and Finally Pictures::
T1 I am in the blue. Getting my socks on. Tiffany in the front.
Bryce watching mom at T1 through the fence. Another reason I took 5 mins. Saying Hi to my baby!
Brandon and my baby greeting me at the finish line! (Everyone missed me crossing the finish line, they were trying to find each other in the masses, and missed the moment I came in out of the hour they were waiting! No pictures. And Brandon couldn't figure how to work my camera so there were no pictures before When I was racing. Only a little video)
Bryce and Mom cheering me on!
My dad and Bryce. Me trying not to puke or cry :)
Me and Tiffany. The crazy woman who talked me into this whole race! She raced as well.. she did the swim and bike and stopped. The run was to much for a pregnant belly! I think she is like 5 or 6 months along?! She was awesome just to do the bike and swim! Kudos to her!
Bryce would not take off my helmet and kept trying to climb on my bike! A racer in the makings!
After my triathlon we drove straight over to my little brother Connors Championship Swim meed. He tied for 1st in the Butterfly as a Sophomore! Maybe because he is so long, 6'4 at least.
A memorable day.
