Today was amazing! It started off at 5:45 am when the alarm started to sound. I immediately though...already?!? I had just falled asleep a few hours before. I was up well beyond one am because of excitement for the race. As soon as I got out of bed and gathered the last of my stuff I was good to go.
I originally wanted to get there with enough time to swim a little before the race. When I was arriving they announced that they would allow swimming starting then, but only for 10 minutes. I decided that it would be more beneficial to me to set up my transition area, eat, hydrate, and take some pictures with the family.
I started getting really nervous when standing around waiting for the two waves ahead of me to get into the river. It was a wave start so once the wave before us went then we got into the water and were treading for 5 minutes or so. I positioned myself at the back of the pack because I wasn't really worried about time for this triathlon. All I wanted to do was finish. I had some time goals in mind, but the swim I just wanted to be comfortable, slow, steady, and preferable not kicked in the face. When our horn went off to start I kind of held off for a few seconds and gave the others a head start so I had a more open area to myself. Worked great, and I can honestly say that the swim was my favorite part of this race. It was very peaceful and I felt really prepared with my pool training and the previous open water swim clinic that I participated. I think that open water clinic was key to me being confident in the water because there was nothing new or scary about the situation.
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| that is me exiting the water ready to take on the bike |
I was happy that one leg was over, although I did really enjoy the swim. It's kind of ironic because that was the leg I was dreading most. I went and got my transition on and then took off on the bike. I was nervous for the bike for a few reasons. First was the I hadn't had that much experience clipping in and out the the pedals, but I clipped in with no trouble, and I didn't have to suddenly clip out at all until the end where I got off the bike. I had done most of my cycling through spinning, and only two long outdoor bike rides. I will definitely be biking more outside to prepare for my next triathlon, but for this one it was fine. We did two loops of a course, each loop had two big hills but otherwise it was flat or downhill. My speed was on average 2 mph faster in the first loop compared to the second, but I guess I was getting tired. I also don't really have a bike made for racing...it did fine for a sprint, but if I considered doing longer tri's I would probably have to upgrade. I didn't see my family during the first loop, but when finishing the bike on the second loop I saw them!
I got my transition on again and took off towards the run. I instantly remembered that I didn't put my race bib belt on, so I ran back and got that which cost me a minute or two. I really didn't push it as hard as I could have on the run, at this point my legs were tired, and honestly I had been spinning and swimming so much since Broad Street Run on May 1st that I haven't been running that much at all. That was a training mistake that I don't want to make again. I had to do some walking, but I finished the run in under 40 minutes and that was my goal so good enough for me.
Then we had the obligatory post-medal photo shoot.
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| There was also a swim Shannon swim and a bike Shannon bike...my fam is awesome for making such great signs! |
I got changed into dry cloths and we all headed to brunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Farmicia! We had wanted to go after Broad Street Run too but it was all booked up so we were sure to make a reservation this time.
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| Photo Shoot by the car... |
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| Then I gave Joe a free ticket to the gun show... |
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| We split a breakfast omelet with eggs, potatoes, sausage, etc in it. It was really good a little spicy. |
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| I got a goat cheese, pesto, and tomato sandwich on sourdough bread. It was ok, but I had good it before when it was WAY better. They were a little skimpy on the goat cheese...guess the cook in the back didn't see my medal and know I was such a big deal. |
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| Also had a side of scrapple that wasn't quite as well done as I usually like |
I came home and added another medal to the collection. It felt good to add this bad boy to the crew.
Overall, I had a GREAT first experience. I wasn't fast, but I finished and had an amazing time doing it the whole time. I seriously had a smile on my face the whole way which was more important to me than anything. Luckily I left a lot of room for improvement. I could definitely train harder for the bike and run next time. (Or if anyone wants to buy me a fancy road bike be sure to let me know cause that couldn't hurt!) And if I wanted to I could swim more competitively with the pack instead of hanging back. Here are my stats from the race...I may not be fast or high in the rankings, but I'm damn proud of them. Everyone has to start somewhere and I can't wait to keep training for my next one!!!
I'm sorry that I forgot to pick the winner of the My Eco giveaway last night. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get everything ready (that and I went on a mad hunt for my garmin charger which ended up being in the car of all places). Anyways...the winner is Heather England! Please email me at sbarry410@gmail.com so I can get the bags out to you! Keep spreading the word to vote for me for the Philly hot list if you guys can voting is open until August!
Nap time :-)
