May

Hi readers.  I was reminded by one of you that it has been a long time since I've posted here.  There hasn't been any particular reason why not.  I've been busy.  Training has been somewhat of a disaster (in my mind); and while I've thought about what I wanted to post during the day, by the time I have time to sit down and do it, other things take precedence.  It's a tough gig lately.

Anyway, here's what has been happening.  The critical long workouts have been spotty.  I did do a 50-mile bike ride.  That was awesome, and hard.  I felt so far away from home at the 25-mile mark out, but the back went fast even with the nasty head wind.  Just once I'd love to be out on my bike without some kind of gale force wind.  Just once.  Maybe on race day?

I did my first open water swim.  It was a lot more panic-inducing than I expected.  Partly it was the water temperature, and partly the dark water with no reassuring black line painted on the bottom of the lake.  This first open water swim also marked the first time I swam in my wetsuit.  I have no idea what temperature the water was...below 70 degrees for sure.  It was cold.  It took my breath when I tried to put my face in, which made me feel even more panicked.  So, I got lots and lots of practice at sighting, and no practice at swimming like a normal person.  I had kayak support, which I was thankful for, because my caveman style swimming made me really fatigued really fast.

first steps into the cold water

I kept trying to get some of my face in at least

I was really happy with my wetsuit.  My body felt very warm, and the cold water did not really bother my hands or feet...just my face.  

My next open water swim occurred at my very first triathlon!  The Richmond Sprint Triathlon on May 31st.  A change of plans sent me to the race alone, and that was actually ok because I had a lot of time to plan and mentally prepare.  During the race, it would have been nice to have had a familiar face though.

I checked and re-checked my gear multiple times before the race.  I got to transition very early to set up, and was there to watch the start of a half iron distance race, which calmed me a lot after seeing the process (run in, bike out, etc).  My swim during the race went better than my previous open water.  I was able to tolerate the cold a bit better, although still had trouble keeping my breath even.  And I know I went out way faster than I wanted to.  The water temperature this race was 71 degrees.  Wetsuit legal.  I got through transition fine, had everything I wanted to where I could easily locate it and put it on in an order that made sense.  My T2 time was longer than T1, but I think this is because I ate a gel and took time to drink a lot of water.  Both times were just over 2:00, so I felt very happy with that.  I felt tired but strong on the run.  I was very thankful it was only a 5k left at that point.  Many times during those 3 miles I thought about how much work I had to do before Racine.

Having a "practice" race was huge for me.  I feel way more prepared and it showed where I need to work.  For example, from now to Racine, I will not be doing any biking without doing some sort of run after.  I also want to add back in more strength training (which I had been focusing on prior to ramping up my triathlon training plan) to help combat late race fatigue.  

The results of the triathlon were outstanding for a first showing.  As I said, I felt strong on the run, and finished in just over 24:00, at 7:46 pace.  And that helped push me to the top of my age group!  Yes...an age group championship in my first showing!  

officially a triathlete!

atop the podium

my official finish time 1:28:04

And then last weekend I joined "Four Men and Some Ladies" and participated in the overnight relay from Madison, WI to Chicago.  It was a fun time, as relays always are, a unique challenge (3 runs in 30 hours)--especially with my first leg at 9.6 miles!  

I have lots more to say, and plan to return tomorrow to talk about my observations from the outside in, and staying true to your own goals.  

See you soon!