2011 SheRox Triathlon Philadelphia Race Recap

I DID IT!

Another race in the books, and this race makes 13 races since I started racing last February!  Not too shabby! 

This morning started off at 5:05 am when my alarm went off.  Since I went to the Taylor Swift concert last night (recap on that coming up later tonight), I didn’t get to bed until a little after midnight.  Even then I didn’t fall asleep right away due to pre-race jitters. 

I was out the door by 5:30.  Before racking my bike on the back of the car, I slipped on my clip-in bike shoes and went up and back down the block clipping in and out.  I haven’t biked outside since my first triathlon about 6 weeks ago, so I just wanted to build a little more muscle memory for getting in and out of the pedals. 

Joe and I arrived at about 5:45am, and the location is kind of a haul from where we park the car.  We have to go across two large grassy areas, then down a HUGE hill to get to the area with the transition area and tents.  First thing I did was get my body marked.  After that, I got in a short line to go to the mechanics to get a little air in my tires.

 

Once I got some air in my tires, I went inside the transition area to set up my transition space.  Unlike the Philly Tri, there were just rows that had a range of numbers where you could grab any spot as long as your bib number was in that range.  This year for Philly Tri, they actually had a sticker there with your number at your designated spot. 

I finished setting up my transition area and I ate a luna bar for some pre-race fuel before I had a little photo shoot with Joe before getting in line at the swim start.

My sorority sister Ro was also in the race and her transition spot was right across from mine!  We were also in the same wave so we got to talk to one another before getting into the water. 

At 7:00am the first wave was in the water, and at 7:08, it was my turn!  The water wasn’t too cold today at all, 81 degrees.  We all got into the the water and treaded for a few minutes before the horn went off…then all the red caps were off!  I hung back towards the end of the pack because, like last time, I didn’t want to get kicked in the face.  I maintained a steady pace, and I didn’t have any problems in the water.  I was in the middle of the pack for the red cap wave which was nice.  The swim was a .37 mile swim, as opposed to Philly Tri’s .5 mile swim, but it was essentially the same course.  Instead of going under the bridge for the triangle turnaround, we stopped right before the bridge.  It definitely felt good to pass people and not have to hold onto any kayaks or buoys. 

My first transition seemed slow, but I think it was a little faster than my last one.  Before I knew it I was on my bike to tackle two loops which were the exact same loops that I did at Philly Tri.  I knew what to expect since I just had biked it 6 weeks ago, there were 2 pretty moderate hills, and one smaller hill.  The first and last third of each loop weren’t bad at all, but the middle third was very hilly and seemed really long.  I shaved about 12 minutes off my time, coming in at roughly 1:17 (I was really trying for 1:15, but when I hit 1:14:30 at 15.5 miles I knew I wasn’t going to make my goal—but I’m still happy I got close). 

My bike is very upright, it’s a hybrid so it really isn’t meant for racing.  I needed a bike when I decided to do these two triathlons, and I didn’t want to pay a lot of money for a fancy road bike if I wasn’t going to like doing bike races and triathlons.  I now know that I really like tri’s, so I will be getting a new, more efficient, bike this year for Christmas.  I am excited to train on a new bike come next spring and hopefully cut a lot of time off the bike portion of my race!

I saw my mom and Joe both times at the end of the first loop and the end of the bike portion of the race.  Joe also got some good shots of me getting my transition on! (Side note – after the swim I threw on a moisture wicking yellow Nike tank top.  It had been in my drawer but never worn before since it’s so bright…yellow isn’t really my color…but it was perfect for this event because it made it really easy for my spectators to spot me!)

first loop whizzing by…

second loop..about to dismount…

A shoe switch, helmet removal, and setting change on my Garmin, and I was ready to run.  I set out of the transition area to tackle the 5K.  At this point, even though I knew the run would be pretty grueling, I was just happy to get my butt off that bike.  The bike wasn’t easy.  I started running and got to a half mile when my calves started to cramp up.  I walked .1 mile then started running again…thinking I would try to run .5 walk .1 for the rest of the race.  I ended up just running until my calves were screaming then walking for a little bit.  I tried not to walk too much.  I wanted to push myself, and I definitely wanted to finish in less than 40 minutes.  Towards the end of the run, I saw that I would finish in just under 40 minutes if I just sprinted it out, so that’s what I did and it felt great to pass a few people just before crossing over the finish line.

Overall a great race.  After collecting my medal, I got my bike…which took forever because they wouldn’t allow bikes out of the transition area until everyone had finished the bike portion of the race, and at that point there was a huge line to get them out.  Since the officials have to match up your bib number to your bike number to ensure that no one is stealing someone else’s bike, it took a while.

My Mom, Joe, and I then went out to breakfast!  My Mom didn’t want to go anywhere downtown, so we took her to our favorite new brunch spot, Rx, which is in our neighborhood.  I’d been there yesterday and gotten my favorite, eggs benedict, so I switched it up and tried something new.  I ordered the “omelet” which came with tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese.  I was super hungry so I also ordered a short stack of pancakes that my mom and I split.  Those pancakes were delicious…I usually NEVER get pancakes, but I really need to start eating them more. 

I did have a few mishaps on this triathlon even though overall it all worked out, and I had a successful race!

Near fatal mistake number one:  Not getting my Garmin out and turning it on before the swim.  I realized this while standing in line to get into the water.  Thankfully I remembered it when I got out of the water and turned it on before changing shoes.  By the time I was ready to bike, it had loaded up.  Sometimes it takes a long time to load the watch, especially if the last time I used it was in Florida, so I was pretty happy it was quick when I needed it to be. 

Near fatal mistake number two: I could not find part of my Garmin charger the night before the race.  I looked everywhere, and I’m thinking it might have left it down at our house in Florida.  This normally wouldn’t be a big deal since I am going back down on Tuesday, but I wasn’t sure if my Garmin had enough juice to get through the race.  Good thing I’ve been treadmill training lately and not using my Garmin because it had enough charge to make it through the race.

Near fatal mistake number three:  I don’t think I hydrated nearly enough the day before the race, just kind of out of laziness.  I definitely need to hydrate better before, during, and after races in the future.

My new medal is a beauty!  :-)

It looks great with the rest of the gang!

An afternoon nap and a nice unhealthy dinner, and I am good as new.  Calzones for dinner…oh so good.  It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten these!

Review, official times, and official photos coming soon!