After 82 days of training, today was race day! I felt ready.... More than ever before, I was ready! Many people say they are nervous on race day. I say that you are nervous only if you do not feel prepared. I was excited because I was prepared. My training plan was consistent and I knew I was in a place were I could set some PRs.
Transition area for RR Raleigh 2014 Tyler and I arrived at A.E. Finley YMCA in Raleigh at about 6:30am. The first thing I always do is find my spot in the transition area. If I am lucky enough to have a number where I can rack my bike on an outside rack, I am happy! Unfortunately, I was numbered in a middle rack so setting up my transition area was going to take some creativity. Once everything was set up, I picked up my timing chip and started looking for the pool so that I could get a warm up swim in before the race started. In my very first tri in 2008, I learned the importance of warming up! Although it is not a super effective warmup because of the time between getting out, and getting back in to race, it is important to get a feel for the water, check to see how slippery the walls are when pushing off, and getting a taste of the water. Most pools are salt/chlorine, and if you dont know the "flavor" of the water, you might be surprised! I swam a 100 and practiced pushing off on the side of the pool that was 10 feet deep. Maybe it's just me, but 10 feet of water pushes up on my body in a way that is very different from 3 feet of water. I was glad to know all this before racing. From there, I dried off and went back to check my transition area to make sure everything was right and that nothing had tipped over while I was away.... People tend to knock things over in transition so it helps to make sure your stuff is right. Control what you can, and figure out how to deal with what you cant.
After the playing of the National Anthem, it was time to begin. We lined up in the gym according to swim rank and they called us in one group at a time. I was lined up with the 7s, meaning that I expected to finish the swim portion in 5:30. The noise in the gym was so loud and it created a high pitch siren sound (only to me apparently) so I put in my ear plugs while inside the gym. Ahh, much better!!
After the playing of the National Anthem, it was time to begin. We lined up in the gym according to swim rank and they called us in one group at a time. I was lined up with the 7s, meaning that I expected to finish the swim portion in 5:30. The noise in the gym was so loud and it created a high pitch siren sound (only to me apparently) so I put in my ear plugs while inside the gym. Ahh, much better!!
Running into T1 from the pool. Finally it was time to race. I got up to the pool side and they told me when to begin. I stepped on the mat and got into the pool as quickly as possible so as to not lose any valuable time. I was conscious to not push off the wall too hard so that my foot would not cramp, which is a scary thing to have happen first thing in a race! I controlled my kick and just went for it. I dont really remember the first 100 yards because I was feeling so good. My only frustration was when a woman about 5 people ahead of me, suddenly created a jam in the pool. I dont know if she cramped, or just seeded herself to high, but at one point I was just treading water. She let us all pass her and apologized as we went past her. I was feeling good, but didn't want to pick up the pace too much because the thing with triathlon is that you have to reserve "heart beats" and not push too hard, too soon. I finished my swim leg and jumped out of the pool. I then sprinted to transition which was maybe 200 meters (maybe more) from the pool. I passed people as I ran down the sidewalk. There was a wall of people on both sides of the sidewalk so it was easy to run off their energy!
Leaving T1 and headed out on the bike course. I made it to transition and got ready for the bike. Most people walked their bikes to the mount line but I was running. I had done this before and I knew that seconds mattered! I jumped on the bike and I was off! Yesterday I rode the bike course in my car so I knew where the hills would be. There was one hill around mile 7 that I dont remember being so difficult in the car. Funny how hills seem like nothing in the car, but once you get on a bike it's a different story. There were people on both sides of the road cheering and helping us to reach the top of the hill. Unfortunately, I can not get my bike into the smallest ring so I was basically without a granny gear. Some people were walking the hill and I cheered for every single one of them as I passed them. "Come on! You can do this! You are tougher than this hill! Go get it!" Something about cheering for my competitors helps me in my own performance too. There was one downhill where I did get a little scared. I was able to hit 38.1 miles per hour on my bike! I had to say aloud, "Hold on, hold on!" as I rode over rough pavement. I was feeling like I was unstoppable! I knew that I had to reserve some energy for the run, so I tried to keep control of my excitement.
Crossing the finish line! (Photo by Tyler Pake) Finally I was back to the transition area and I was ready to start the run. Since I have not moved over my clips from my old bike to the new bike, I spend a few extra seconds in transition with having to change my shoes and orthotics. I racked my bike, threw on a visor, and RAN out of T2. As I crossed the mat, I began to put on my racebelt. I discovered that you can save precious seconds simply by running with the race belt in your hand rather than clipping it IN transition. I am learning new tricks here and there and everything adds up (or subtracts down, depending on how you look at it) The run was a two loop course, in which several people were disqualified because they ran only ONE loop. Did they forget simple directions, or did they really think they could get away with a two mile run time of 7:25? Unbelievable. I did my best to smile through the pain but I was disappointed that my run time was slow. In training, I have averaged 9:45 pace per mile after dismounting the bike. Why was this so different? After reflecting on this, I think that the difference is that I must be pushing more on the bike in a race, which leaves me with less energy on the run. I will find a way to fix this problem. Hello summer vacation and two-a-day workouts!!
After I crossed the finish line I felt amazing! I love triathlon and I think I have finally found my sport of choice. I went to the results board and found my time: 1:06:13 I almost cried. I knocked off nearly 5 minutes from a similar distance last October. FIVE MINUTES!!! I couldn't beleive it! I began thinking about all the time I spent at the pool, the late night run/rides, the social events I missed for training, and the hours of work I put in each week. It was all worth it. I earned 16th in my age group out of 60, and 109 of 509. I have never placed that high in such a large group. My previous best was three weeks ago when I earned 5th out of 14. (See Girls Run the World Results by clicking here.)
After I crossed the finish line I felt amazing! I love triathlon and I think I have finally found my sport of choice. I went to the results board and found my time: 1:06:13 I almost cried. I knocked off nearly 5 minutes from a similar distance last October. FIVE MINUTES!!! I couldn't beleive it! I began thinking about all the time I spent at the pool, the late night run/rides, the social events I missed for training, and the hours of work I put in each week. It was all worth it. I earned 16th in my age group out of 60, and 109 of 509. I have never placed that high in such a large group. My previous best was three weeks ago when I earned 5th out of 14. (See Girls Run the World Results by clicking here.)
Needless to say, the Garmin plan worked. Now I just have to step up the training a bit. Summer vacation is coming up soon and I will have so much more time to play with. It's so tempting to take a week off and then hit up the workouts hard next week, but I have 7.5 weeks until the next triathlon, so there isn't much time to take off. I will just have to play it by feel for the next week. I am unsure if I will compete in another Ramblin' Rose event. They are fantastic for beginner triathletes but I finally feel like I am ready to move up to another race. Ramblin' Rose takes a lot of credit for making me the athlete I am today. I love helping new athletes so I would consider volunteering for an event. I volunteered at the Chapel Hill race in 2009 and enjoyed it just as much as racing! My favorite place to help is in the transition area. It is now time to go back to the drawing board and begin a new training cycle! Rex Wellness Triathlon: I am going to kick your asphalt!
Tyler and me: Victory is mine!!!
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