I started to get nervous once I got into the bike corral and saw how many contenders of every lever were there. In my mind I had begun to think of this as a first timer’s triathlon and while that was surely true of some people, it seemed there were a lot of people who had been doing this race every year since its inception 12 years ago. Ladies serious about triathlons and racing coming out for this event every year for the fun of it. So, yes, I was nervous. Nervous that I would stumble badly and get my ass kicked by every other woman there.
The Swim
We did a 250m open water swim that I thought I would be mostly prepared for until I saw the swells coming in. I had been swimming in the ocean, but in protected coves. There were some waves, but nothing to prepare me for what it was like swimming in the ocean without the protection of man-made walls. The Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon participants started first and when I was still feeling okay about the swimming portion. It wasn’t until I actually started the race that I began to understand how difficult this would all be. I was swimming crooked, and in spite of advice to always breathe towards the shore, I didn’t always remember that and ended up swallowing a lot of sea water. I finished 8th out of 25(ish) women and was totally exhausted heading into the Transition area.
T1
The first transition – okay, all of them – were rough. I passed 3-4 women running into the bike corral, but I lost a lot of time making the change from swimming to biking. I was so exhausted from the swim that I just wanted to sit down and get ready in a leisurely manner, but of course that couldn’t happen. I’d contemplated doing the bike and run in just my swim suit top, but the top isn’t super supportive and my top half needs a lot of support, so I opted to put a sports bra over my swim suit top, then put my bike jersey on over those. By the time I finally got all of my gear on I had probably spent 5 minutes getting ready and lost the lead of all those ladies I beat into the corral.
The Bike
My legs started to burn almost immediately. It had been nearly two months since I had been on my bike and I could definitely tell. Still, I managed to catch up and pass 3-4 of the women who beat me out of the corral. I had read a blog the night before the race that described the bike route a little bit and I’m glad I did. I had expected a fairly level route, but there were some definite inclines that I’m glad I at least knew about, even though I was a little unprepared. I managed to pass a couple of the other ladies in my division, including the 13-year old I was sure was going to kill all of us. I didn’t get passed by any women in my group, but I did get passed by a couple of women in the Sprint Triathlon. I managed to finish 4th in my division.
T2
Like I said, my transitions weren’t pretty. As I ran in I could feel my quads burning and even though the run was only 1.5 miles, I was dreading it. I hadn’t decided whether or not I should change into my running shorts from my bike shorts and it took me a couple of seconds to decide that running shorts would definitely be better. I didn’t have my shoes ready to just slip on and run and with my legs shaking it took a little more time than I would like to admit. I ran out of the corral and managed to pass a couple of women right away.
The Run
The run, which I was sure was going to be the easiest part, was the hardest. I was sure that 1.5 miles would be a cake walk, but I didn’t think about the swim and the ride that would precede it and how that would drain me. Wes cheered me on and ran with me for a little bit, and that helped a lot. I managed to not walk any of the course (which turned out to be a bit longer than 1.5 miles), mostly because I didn’t want to have to tell Wes that I had to walk. It wasn’t a pretty run and I got passed by quite a few people, but I still finished in 4th place.
Results
I took 5th overall in the Super Sprint Triathlon and 1st in my age division (25-29). My total time was 58:47, or something close to that – the official number escapes me and the results aren’t yet posted. Even though I know I can do better, I’m still excited with how I did. Especially considering the fact that I hadn’t run in a month, swam in over a month or ridden my bike in nearly 2 months. I didn’t train at all and I still finished 5th overall.
The advice from past triathletes suggested a tri suit, but I decided that spending money on an outfit for a sport I’d never tried was maybe not the best idea. But after completing the race I want to do more and I think that a tri suit is a must. It would help a lot on my transitions and will perhaps get me in the tri spirit a little more. The other thing that I’ll make sure to do for next time is train. It was great to finish and nab 1st place, but next time I want to be prepared so that when I put it all out there Ihave more to use.
Next Up
I’m going to sign up for the Ko Olina Sprint Triathlon in October, which gives me just over a month to prepare myself for a longer tri. This time I’ll be prepared for all of it and I’ll have the right gear to speed me on my way.
