This race season I'm participating in Tri the Parks Race Series and signed up for 4 triathlons within the series of 6 races that take place throughout Georgia. One of the great things about this race series is that there is a triathlon, duathlon and aquabike option for all of the races. The first race (on April 30th) I thought it was kind of confusing having 3 race events going on at once, but I had no idea I would grow to appreciate this so much! I am so thankful that I was able to transfer my triathlon registration to aquabike for the race this past Saturday. My left foot has still been tender, and I'm pretty sure it is a stress fracture, so I haven't been running on it for 3 weeks. I haven't been feeling pain with swimming or cycling, so I've kept up with that training and was excited to be able to race! :)
Here is my race review:
Pre-Race Routine
I wasn't as concerned with hydration this time since I wasn't running the 5k after the swim and bike legs of the race, BUT the weather in Georgia has been ridiculously hot for early June and I made sure to drink plenty of water all day Friday. I kept with the eating schedule I did before the previous race, making sure to have my biggest meal at lunch on Friday and eat a lighter dinner with an electrolyte drink. I did a quick spin on the bike Friday evening to get my muscles going and activate that muscle memory and was in bed around 9:00. I had a lot of trouble sleeping and staying asleep due to nerves, but I'd like to think that laying in bed (even if awake) still does some good :)
I woke up at 2:00 to eat breakfast (a delicious smoothie with Mix1, a banana, strawberries and oats), then went back to bed until 4:00 letting my breakfast digest. I didn't eat anything else before the race and think I really found the method that works best for me. Yay!
Then I packed up the car, loaded the bike and picked up my training buddy. We were on the road to Newnan by 4:45 in the A.M. Wooo! The only traffic we saw in Atlanta at that hour were the drunks walking home from a night out.
We made amazing time and got to the race venue at 5:40, which means we were 3rd in line to wait for the gate to open at 6:00. I really like getting to the race early just so I can have peace of mind and not feel too rushed. I even took a moment to look out at the sunrise and smile :)
This is the first race I've been at where the transition area is in grass. It wasn't REALLY grass...it was more like patches of weeds, chopped shrubs and clumps of dirt. This made it difficult to walk on and especially run on since the ground was uneven. There were also more bugs like ants, bees, crickets, etc. As my training buddy put it so nicely, "I'm fine with nature and all...but there's a CRICKET in my helmet!".
I ended up with a few fire ant bites (those little suckers HURT), and another girl was actually stung by a bee at some point during the race and went into anaphylactic shock during the run. She is a strong athlete (that's an understatement!) and managed to finish first in her age group anyway! Thankfully her boyfriend was there at the finish, she was able to communicate to him what was going on, and he stuck her with the epipen in time. Wow!
Mental Preparedness
If you recall, my last triathlon did not go so well, and most of that was due to me being mentally unprepared. After that race, I watched Navy SEAL training videos and was determined to train my mind as well as my body.
Before this race, I filled my mind with positive thoughts and wrote a message on my arm to remind myself that I CAN do it. I looked down at my arm on the bike portion of the race often and pushed a little harder because of it :)
The swim during the last race was a HORRIBLE experience for me, so this time I made sure to develop a different strategy. At the forefront of that strategy was to calm myself down, remind myself that I CAN do it and I AM strong.
The Swim--600 meters in 13:27
Standing waist deep in the water listening to the countdown, I was surprisingly not very nervous. My brother and his wife had just gotten to the race and waved at me. Looking at them standing with my parents--all smiling and wishing me luck--gave me a positive surge of energy and also made me want to do well!
I decided to start at the back of the pack for the swim in order to avoid the "washing machine" of kicking feet and flailing arms. When the announcer said "Go!", I held back a few seconds, took a deep breath, and entered the water at my own speed. Within a few strokes I had caught up with the legs of the swimmers in front of me who were struggling, and began carefully passing a few. There was more visibility in this lake (still not much though) than at the previous race, so at least I could see some of the legs that I was touching.
I was very happy that I kept so calm and found a good race pace in the water from the get go. My breathing was controlled, and I kept my head in the water except to spot every once in a while. Before I knew it, I was passing more pink caps and passed a few of the stragglers from the men's wave ahead of us.
For the first time in a race I was pacing myself with another swimmer, going neck to neck to the finish. I kept up with her and we got out at the same time! It felt good to be in control and not feel like I was dying for once! Does that mean I could have pushed harder? Probably ;)
I finished in 13:27, almost exactly one minute faster than the last race which was done in a wetsuit! Woohoo!
The Bike--14.7 miles in 52:53
My T1 time was ok, about a minute, and I was able to clip into my bike pedals without a problem to get going. The best part is that I heard my sister-in-law yelling my name at the mount line and cheering me on :)
Right away we had a decent-sized hill to climb, followed by another, and another, and another, and another...
I think you get the point...it was a mean, mean course with a strong headwind for a good portion of it. The road was also not entirely smooth asphalt. It was a country road that had been patched up quite a few times making it kind of difficult to keep steady when reaching for a water bottle or trying to use aero bars.
I made a point to stay positive, despite how badly I wanted to curse the people responsible for choosing this hilly route, and talked to a few people along the way. I made a bike buddy as well...we kept passing each other, so we got a conversation going and kept motivating each other.
I was a little disappointed with my time...it is a minute more than the last race. BUT I forgot that this race was a MILE LONGER! So I actually did a few minutes better in spite of the hills and wind on this course! Yay!
Could I have done better? Of course! I will always look back and think I
could have pushed harder...but my foot is telling me otherwise today, because cranking it up those hills
maybeee wasn't so good for it. :P
Lucky Number 7?
I have to admit, I was stoked to see that my race number was #7 because it is my favorite number :) And I thought to myself "This could be a really good day". It turns out that it was a great day! Who knew that changing to aquabike due to an injury would land me in 2nd place for overall females?
Granted, there weren't THAT many females participating in the aquabike race, but I still beat people and got a silver medal! Yay!
Pretty cool, huh?
I cannot thank my family enough for coming out to support me and for all their wonderfully loud voices cheering me (and my training buddy) on! It was also great getting to watch my training buddy finish her triathlon and yelling her name so loudly that people thought she was a celebrity :) Way to gooo!
Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend and keeping cool!
Elizabeth
