Jax Sprint Tri 6.22.08
My first triathlon of the season was scheduled to be the Pineapple Man in Melbourne, Florida. Conveniently, two days before the race my body revolted against me and I got dog sick so I made the tough call to bag the race.
So my first race of the 2008 triathlon season was the Jacksonville Sprint Tri! It was also my first tri after baby. I was excited and a little apprehensive at the same time. While I'm great at telling others how to train and guiding my athletes, I have been remiss in my own training. My bike had been hanging in the garage since early May. At least I have gotten back to running (slowly) and I did make it out to the lake a week earlier for a great open water swim. This race was to be a baseline for the coming season so I could tell exactly how much the pregnancy, and stubborn 20 extra pounds of baby weight affected me.
Sharon and I got on the road at 4 AM and arrived at the race site exactly 2.5 hours later. We picked up our packets and set up transition. I'm out of practice but I had my essentials... helmet, bike shoes, run shoes, goggles, hat. Couldn't find my race number belt that morning so I used my amphipod flask belt instead. This would prove to be a wise decision as the run was hot and the water stops were only at the .5 and 2.5 mile markers. We listened to the pre race briefing, hit the potty, listened to the national anthem, then headed down to the beach.
The water was pristine. Clear and calm with a slight current and light waves. We got in for a quick warm up then got to the start corral. Before long, we were off. The first buoy came quickly, I rounded it and was on the 200M straightaway toward the turn toward the beach. This took a little longer. I breathed every stroke in toward shore and that slowed me down but I was less concerned with my swim time. I felt good and relaxed, even though a girl in a halter top was breast stroking alongside me the entire time. I finally rounded the second bouy and headed in,. The tide was out so the water got shallow a little further from shore than I like. I prefer to swim in than run but I stood when my hand brushed the sand and trekked toward the beach. My watch time was about 7 minutes and I was at the back of the pack but I didn't really care. I ran up the beach and looked forward to recovering my breathing on the bike.
Semi-zoomed in and out of T1 and got on the flat, fast, out & back bike course. 10 miles... I wanted to finish within 35 minutes. I let my legs decide the effort and had an epiphany ... I couldn't race against the "me" from 3 years ago (last time on this course). I needed to relax, have fun, and enjoy the view from the back of the pack. So I rode, and I kept track of my speed without obsessing. Hit the turn around and headed back in. I saw Sharon and gave a shout out of encouragement. I found out later that she had taken a minor spill. Soon enough I was at mile 9, then the guard gate at the entrance to the park. I slipped my feet out of my bike shoes and gave my toes some air. At dismount, I hopped off the bike and got ready for the run. Official bike time was about 34 minutes... right on target. Less than a minute later I was out on my 3 mile trek.
Run goals included maintaining a 12 minute mile and actually running the whole course. Again, setting a baseline for the season and battling the urge to beat myself up over not being back at my pre pregnancy speed. It was hot, but the course was again out and back so we were never alone. I chatted a bit with a girl who was racing with TEAM IN TRAINING. I asked what she was training for and it turns out, this was her goal race. That motivated her to get moving ... then I added more motivation telling her that I was 3 months post partem. She didn't let me catch her again and I was glad for that. I poured water on my head and took a sip at the water station. For the next 2 miles I jogged along and sipped from my flask a very diluted gatorade. It was just enough to last me. Many times, I fought the urge to walk a bit and just kept telling myself that I could keep it up. Two girls in my age group passed me and I just didn't care. My competition today was with myself. WIth a mile to go I was super hot and super tired but I kept going. I passed the car and knew how close I was to the finish. Less than 5 minutes later I crossed the wooden bridge and ran in. At the last minute a girlie decided to sprint up behind me so I accepted the challenge and eeked in right before she did. She was a wave behind me but that's beside the point. Run time 35:31. Right where I wanted to be for the day.
I walked back along the run course to find Sharon. Gave her a bottle of water to sip and pour on her head and jogged in with her. She did great and finished strong. We refueled, cleaned up in the freshwater shower, packed up and got back on the road for the long drive home.
My goal for this race was to finish under 1:30:00. Official time was 1:23:25 (13 minutes slower than 2005). Baseline set. It's time to get in gear and get back to where I was. The best news of the day... I'm tri-ing again!
So my first race of the 2008 triathlon season was the Jacksonville Sprint Tri! It was also my first tri after baby. I was excited and a little apprehensive at the same time. While I'm great at telling others how to train and guiding my athletes, I have been remiss in my own training. My bike had been hanging in the garage since early May. At least I have gotten back to running (slowly) and I did make it out to the lake a week earlier for a great open water swim. This race was to be a baseline for the coming season so I could tell exactly how much the pregnancy, and stubborn 20 extra pounds of baby weight affected me.
Sharon and I got on the road at 4 AM and arrived at the race site exactly 2.5 hours later. We picked up our packets and set up transition. I'm out of practice but I had my essentials... helmet, bike shoes, run shoes, goggles, hat. Couldn't find my race number belt that morning so I used my amphipod flask belt instead. This would prove to be a wise decision as the run was hot and the water stops were only at the .5 and 2.5 mile markers. We listened to the pre race briefing, hit the potty, listened to the national anthem, then headed down to the beach.
The water was pristine. Clear and calm with a slight current and light waves. We got in for a quick warm up then got to the start corral. Before long, we were off. The first buoy came quickly, I rounded it and was on the 200M straightaway toward the turn toward the beach. This took a little longer. I breathed every stroke in toward shore and that slowed me down but I was less concerned with my swim time. I felt good and relaxed, even though a girl in a halter top was breast stroking alongside me the entire time. I finally rounded the second bouy and headed in,. The tide was out so the water got shallow a little further from shore than I like. I prefer to swim in than run but I stood when my hand brushed the sand and trekked toward the beach. My watch time was about 7 minutes and I was at the back of the pack but I didn't really care. I ran up the beach and looked forward to recovering my breathing on the bike.
Semi-zoomed in and out of T1 and got on the flat, fast, out & back bike course. 10 miles... I wanted to finish within 35 minutes. I let my legs decide the effort and had an epiphany ... I couldn't race against the "me" from 3 years ago (last time on this course). I needed to relax, have fun, and enjoy the view from the back of the pack. So I rode, and I kept track of my speed without obsessing. Hit the turn around and headed back in. I saw Sharon and gave a shout out of encouragement. I found out later that she had taken a minor spill. Soon enough I was at mile 9, then the guard gate at the entrance to the park. I slipped my feet out of my bike shoes and gave my toes some air. At dismount, I hopped off the bike and got ready for the run. Official bike time was about 34 minutes... right on target. Less than a minute later I was out on my 3 mile trek.
Run goals included maintaining a 12 minute mile and actually running the whole course. Again, setting a baseline for the season and battling the urge to beat myself up over not being back at my pre pregnancy speed. It was hot, but the course was again out and back so we were never alone. I chatted a bit with a girl who was racing with TEAM IN TRAINING. I asked what she was training for and it turns out, this was her goal race. That motivated her to get moving ... then I added more motivation telling her that I was 3 months post partem. She didn't let me catch her again and I was glad for that. I poured water on my head and took a sip at the water station. For the next 2 miles I jogged along and sipped from my flask a very diluted gatorade. It was just enough to last me. Many times, I fought the urge to walk a bit and just kept telling myself that I could keep it up. Two girls in my age group passed me and I just didn't care. My competition today was with myself. WIth a mile to go I was super hot and super tired but I kept going. I passed the car and knew how close I was to the finish. Less than 5 minutes later I crossed the wooden bridge and ran in. At the last minute a girlie decided to sprint up behind me so I accepted the challenge and eeked in right before she did. She was a wave behind me but that's beside the point. Run time 35:31. Right where I wanted to be for the day.
I walked back along the run course to find Sharon. Gave her a bottle of water to sip and pour on her head and jogged in with her. She did great and finished strong. We refueled, cleaned up in the freshwater shower, packed up and got back on the road for the long drive home.
My goal for this race was to finish under 1:30:00. Official time was 1:23:25 (13 minutes slower than 2005). Baseline set. It's time to get in gear and get back to where I was. The best news of the day... I'm tri-ing again!
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