The day started with a 4 a.m. wakeup call and thunderstorms in the area. I picked up Galen (my wonderful cheerleader) at 4:45 a.m. and we embarked on the journey to Smithville, Missouri. Showers were still in the area as I pulled up to park at Sailboat Cove around 5:30 a.m. Thankfully, by 6:15 a.m. the showers had left and by race start at 7:30 a.m. the roads were drying off. (For the record, I was more concerned with my bike and shoes getting soaked in the transition area...I myself would be getting soaked during the swim...)
Swim (13:42): The swim started in a time trial fashion. Since I had never swim/swam/swum before registering for the triathlon, I didn't submit a swim time. This stuck me at the back of the
pack of swimmers. The 1/2 hour wait for the water went by all too quickly. Before I knew it, it was my turn to run into the water. I started off doing about 5 freestyle strokes before I collided with another lady. I looked around and most people around me had started the breaststroke because it was congested. When I got to a free space, I tried freestyle again. I quickly got out of breath, and I imagine it was just nerves and anxiety passing through me. The swim quickly became a "quickly survive 500 meters moving forward" event for me. [Sidebar: This is where doing all-women's triathlon came in handy...no collisions with big men in the water. I noticed each time women ran into each other, apologies were flying. The women were incredibly polite. I thought it was funny that a few even talked throughout their swim as if they were out for a jog.) Since I had a hard time finding a space in the water to freestyle, I flipped over on my back and did an elementary "out for a casual swim in the pool" unofficial backstroke. Talk about flying through the water! I discovered a combination of my unofficial backstroke and freestyle, with a little breaststroke, prevented me from getting tired, and before I knew it, the swim was over. Pfew!!! When I reached the shore I knew I would be an official triathlete...I had the bike and run in the bag!Transition 1 (2:38): No...I didn't stop to have a small meal or check my email during transistion. I was used to transitioning for duathlons, but this was my first transition from a swim to a ride. Next time, I will skip the bike g
loves. I also lost time because I somehow knocked my bike computer off when I dismounted it from the bike rack. I didn't want to ride without the computer, so I spent precious time fumbling to get the computer reattached. I could hear Galen cheering me on since my transition location was near the fence. Little did I know he was taking all sorts of flattering photos of me as I bent over to get my shoes and socks on. (Those beautiful photos will not be shared here...)Bike (33:29): I rode one of my fastest bike times ever on this course. I think I could have ridden faster; however, since I had a late start on the swim, I was riding around many women who were not familiar with riding and the proper riding protocol. (Applause for these women for being out doing the triathlon, though.) The majority of the 10 miles, I was hammering as hard as I could while repeatedly saying "on your leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeft." This was often a hint for a solo rider riding down the center of the lane to move over. Unfortunately, there were quite a few women who didn't take the hint. After about 10 minutes I lost count of how many women I passed. I continued to ride as hard as I could to make up for my really slow swim. Upon arriving to transition, I was thrilled because I rode about 1 mph faster than I had expected.
Transition 2 (1:54): This transition went smoothly, until a gal going out for her run decided to sit in the middle of the aisle blocking access to my bike rack. I nearly dropped my bike on her (grr!!).
Run (29:58): From my duathlon experience, I know that running after riding, well, it just hurts. I was able to get up and going and keep
a sub-10 minute mile pace throughout the race. My legs were haunted by the abuse from the Prairie Punisher duathlon the prior weekend and a really brutal speed session workout on the hills of Shawnee Mission Park four days before the triathlon. To keep my mind occupied, I cheered on women as I passed or that were heading in the opposite direction. The cool thing about the run course is that it was relatively flat, with a few small inclines, and it was located close enough to the finish line that you could hear the beat of the music at the finish line during the run. I also enjoyed the scenic views of Smithville Lake, in which I no longer had to swim. =)Total Time: 1:121:40 [33 out of 103 in my age group, 193 ou
t of 537 overall]I was pretty satisfied with my time considering I hadn't really trained for the event. In June, I started lap swimming one or two times a week, and in July I did two very brief open water swims at Shawnee Mission Park. I consider the Prairie Punisher duathlon the week before this event my brick training sessions. It will be interesting to see if I can improve my times at the Olathe Women's Triathlon in September with a bit more training.
Many thanks to WIN for KC for the awesome race swag. We got great quick dry New Balance shirts, an Epic water bottle, and a cute little green bag...not to mention race bling!! (You know I LOVE ME my race bling.) The medals were great quality and wonderful icing on the cake to well-organized event! Also, many thanks to Galen for catching some great photos throughout the race!
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