Robyn
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The alarm went of at the cruel hour of 4:25. I'd only gone to bed at midnight so it really hurt. But, at least the hours I got were solid. I got up and had breakfast which I switched to multigrain hot cereal and a protein shake. Got dressed and headed out the door. Did you know it's tough to load a bike on top of your car when it's still dark. I headed to my coach's house so that we could drive together and got loaded up there and headed over. We parked and unloaded and headed for transition after I pumped my tires up. We got there early enough to get spots right on the main lane so there was a straight shot from the transition "In" and the "Finish" with one 90 degree turn down another main lane to the "Out". My spot was also right on a white painted line on the pavement which also helped me in locating it during the race.
After setting up my transition area we picked up our timing chips and got our bodies marked. At the time I didn't think much of it but they marked our discipline (so for me BSB) on our calves. We walked around, scoped out the swim and walked my in's and out's since it's a confusing race with people going every which way.
At 7:30 sharp they started the race. I took off with about 30 or so people doing Bike first. Including a couple in aero helmets. I took off super fast and had to pull myself in a bit later. But I did the ride, passing some people on climbs and playing cat and mouse with a couple others. Over all the ride felt great and I did it with an average speed of 18 mph.
Never seen that before for more than a few minutes!
As I came into transition Itri was there cheering which was fantastic. I stripped down and was ready to head for the swim. I kind of jog/walked down trying to get my breathing under control. And then I hit the water. HOLY CR*P that was cold. It read at 68 degrees and after being hot getting of the bike it really shocked my system. I couldn't breathe. I treaded water for a minute and then started to side stroke forward. Goggles fogged again, grrrr. Eventually I was having so many problems seeing where I was going that I used a guy's surf board (legal as long as I don't use it to move forward) to rest and get the goggles fixed. Used spit this time and never saw fog in them again.
Started forward again at a sort of mix of strokes but couldn't put my face in the water as it set my breathing off every time I tried. :( Used a kayak just before the turn around to fix my timing chip which nearly came off in the water. I put it on my wrist for the remainder of the swim. The person on this kayak was great, talked to me a bit and calmed me down. I rounded the buoy and headed back toward shore. While I never got my face in the water I found somewhat of a rhythm and made it to shore. Itri was there cheering again although I as I passed her my words to her were "That s*cked!". I headed up the beach and into T2.
At T2 I saw 2 women that are also part of my coach's group. They were getting ready for the run and kind of socializing so I said hello and kept moving. Clothes back on, suck on the spare gatorade bottle grab the helmet, gloves and shades and bike and off I go. When I jumped on the bike the legs kind of felt like lead but I made it up over the first little hill then got a while of downhill to breathe and recover. Then really start pounding the pedals. As I ride I'm feeling pretty good and picking of riders in front of me. Even on the uphills. :D I round the turnaround (where I had to hesitate because stupid driver was coming quite close even though the police officer at the turnaround was directing them to stop. The course is really lots of rolling hills so I hit the headwind coming back and knew I still had a number of hills to go after but still feel pretty good. I pick off a girl and see that the marking on her leg says BSB. Dude, that means I'm not last in my discipline, awesome. Then I pass another BSB woman! I keep going and don't think there's anyway I'm going to pick off the 2 a ways out from me, a man and woman. But, just as we get to the entrance station I catch 'em and go by. The woman is another BSB'er We've only got about a quarter mile to go so I know I need to push it here. Finish strong and make sure I stay in front of the last girl I passed. I nearly get run over by a car coming into the finish area and pass a mom and 2 little girls. The girls yelled very loud for me and I don't know them. :D I dismount, run down the little hill into transition where I need to rack my bike and decide if I'm going to finish in cycling shoes, tennis shoes and barefoot. The volunteers here have a list of names with numbers and cheer me by name. I come in rack the bike tear off the helmet and shoes and decide to take the finish in socks. I took off running for the finish where I hear my name announced and the fact that it's my first tri. I catch the clock as I finish 2 hours 24 minutes. I can't breathe but I'm so happy. I look up and there is another friend there and then my coach appears and drags me to shade to cool off and get my breathing under control.
Just before awards I check the postings of results and see it. In my discipline of women doing BSB there are 7 competitors. And I am 3rd. 3rd.:D:D:D I'm 18 minutes behind the leaders but wow, I am totally in shock. When I checked my bike computer my average speed over the 28.5 miles was 15.5mph! Faster than I've ever averaged before.
All in all, it was a fabulous day. I'm tired and sore but you know what, I can't wait until next year!
Transition area (with my coach off to the side)
Coming into T1
Coming out of the Swim
Leaving T2
After setting up my transition area we picked up our timing chips and got our bodies marked. At the time I didn't think much of it but they marked our discipline (so for me BSB) on our calves. We walked around, scoped out the swim and walked my in's and out's since it's a confusing race with people going every which way.
At 7:30 sharp they started the race. I took off with about 30 or so people doing Bike first. Including a couple in aero helmets. I took off super fast and had to pull myself in a bit later. But I did the ride, passing some people on climbs and playing cat and mouse with a couple others. Over all the ride felt great and I did it with an average speed of 18 mph.
Never seen that before for more than a few minutes!As I came into transition Itri was there cheering which was fantastic. I stripped down and was ready to head for the swim. I kind of jog/walked down trying to get my breathing under control. And then I hit the water. HOLY CR*P that was cold. It read at 68 degrees and after being hot getting of the bike it really shocked my system. I couldn't breathe. I treaded water for a minute and then started to side stroke forward. Goggles fogged again, grrrr. Eventually I was having so many problems seeing where I was going that I used a guy's surf board (legal as long as I don't use it to move forward) to rest and get the goggles fixed. Used spit this time and never saw fog in them again.
Started forward again at a sort of mix of strokes but couldn't put my face in the water as it set my breathing off every time I tried. :( Used a kayak just before the turn around to fix my timing chip which nearly came off in the water. I put it on my wrist for the remainder of the swim. The person on this kayak was great, talked to me a bit and calmed me down. I rounded the buoy and headed back toward shore. While I never got my face in the water I found somewhat of a rhythm and made it to shore. Itri was there cheering again although I as I passed her my words to her were "That s*cked!". I headed up the beach and into T2.At T2 I saw 2 women that are also part of my coach's group. They were getting ready for the run and kind of socializing so I said hello and kept moving. Clothes back on, suck on the spare gatorade bottle grab the helmet, gloves and shades and bike and off I go. When I jumped on the bike the legs kind of felt like lead but I made it up over the first little hill then got a while of downhill to breathe and recover. Then really start pounding the pedals. As I ride I'm feeling pretty good and picking of riders in front of me. Even on the uphills. :D I round the turnaround (where I had to hesitate because stupid driver was coming quite close even though the police officer at the turnaround was directing them to stop. The course is really lots of rolling hills so I hit the headwind coming back and knew I still had a number of hills to go after but still feel pretty good. I pick off a girl and see that the marking on her leg says BSB. Dude, that means I'm not last in my discipline, awesome. Then I pass another BSB woman! I keep going and don't think there's anyway I'm going to pick off the 2 a ways out from me, a man and woman. But, just as we get to the entrance station I catch 'em and go by. The woman is another BSB'er We've only got about a quarter mile to go so I know I need to push it here. Finish strong and make sure I stay in front of the last girl I passed. I nearly get run over by a car coming into the finish area and pass a mom and 2 little girls. The girls yelled very loud for me and I don't know them. :D I dismount, run down the little hill into transition where I need to rack my bike and decide if I'm going to finish in cycling shoes, tennis shoes and barefoot. The volunteers here have a list of names with numbers and cheer me by name. I come in rack the bike tear off the helmet and shoes and decide to take the finish in socks. I took off running for the finish where I hear my name announced and the fact that it's my first tri. I catch the clock as I finish 2 hours 24 minutes. I can't breathe but I'm so happy. I look up and there is another friend there and then my coach appears and drags me to shade to cool off and get my breathing under control.
Just before awards I check the postings of results and see it. In my discipline of women doing BSB there are 7 competitors. And I am 3rd. 3rd.
:D:D:D I'm 18 minutes behind the leaders but wow, I am totally in shock. When I checked my bike computer my average speed over the 28.5 miles was 15.5mph! Faster than I've ever averaged before. All in all, it was a fabulous day. I'm tired and sore but you know what, I can't wait until next year!
Transition area (with my coach off to the side)
Coming into T1
Coming out of the Swim
Leaving T2
!!! The pictures are great too. Way to gooo!
