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| Heading into transition from the swim |
The Swim
As I was on the swim team in high school (making it to state each year I competed), I consider myself to have a decent water background. I have done open water swimming on several occasions, starting out as a teenager. I have never found swimming to be particularly difficult and historically, this portion of the tri is where I am least concerned. However, three years ago, while competing in a triathlon using a wetsuit for the first time, I experienced my first full blown panic attack in the water. I think the wetsuit must have been too tight and when I started out, I couldn't fill my lungs with air. My entire body freaked out and thought it was drowning. I knew in my own mind that I wasn't, but couldn't convince my body otherwise. Since then, my lungs seize up every time I get into a lake. In the pool, I am 100% fine. Open water, no dice.
The swim start was divided into several heats, divided by the different competitions and gender (collegiate, aqua-bike, male, female, sprint). Philip was starting with the male olympic competitors in heat 3 and I was slated for women's olympic in heat 4. I thought that maybe, as it had been two years, I might be okay in the water. I had easily done a 40 minute swim at the pool a couple weeks before with no issues. However, once my heat started, I once again felt the familiar warning signs that has become open water swimming. Ugh. I am pretty sure that almost every one of the women I was competing against passed me up in those first few minutes. I held back, got to the side of the water course, and kept my head above water. I moved very slowly forward using an inefficient breast stroke. About 5 minutes into the race, I noticed the rescue kayaks off to the side. I seriously considered flagging them down and having them drag me back to shore. But in the back of my mind, I knew that things would be okay if I could just get through the swim. Finally, I got to the point where I was able to join the race again, this time using a quicker freestyle stroke. I finished my swim in 34:38 and headed into the transition area.
The Bike
When I returned to my transition spot, I tossed down my swim cap and goggles. I dried off my feet with my towel and threw on my socks and shoes. I then grabbed my sunglasses and helmet, slugged some gatorade, ate a Gu, and was on my way. The Omaha Triathlon boasts a very hilly course and while I have become much more efficient training in aero, I was unable to do much of this as I was either working really hard to go up a hill or speed down one. The bike seemed to go by pretty quickly as my brain was working almost as hard as my legs. I was constantly checking out the road to make sure I wasn't going to hit anything, watching for other bikers, and switching gears depending on whether I was going up or down. I didn't count, but I was able to pick off lots of people with my modest biking abilities. As I finished up my bike ride, I was a little nervous to start the run. I had worked my quads harder than I had expected and wasn't sure how they were going to feel when I started my 10k. I finished the bike portion in 1:33:42. This isn't that fast of a time, so I decided to take my watches off for my run. At this point, I realized that I was most likely not going to earn a new personal record for the olympic distance. (A PR for me would be a 2:52.)
The Run
Finishing up the bike ride, I practiced in my mind what I was needing to do in transition. I needed to take my sunglasses and helmet off, eat another Gu and drink some water, and grab my race belt with my number attached. I quickly did these things and headed out. Starting out, I surprisingly felt really good...typically, it takes me about 3 minutes to shake my legs out and switch gears from biking to running. Almost a mile into the run, I realized that I forgot my race belt. There was absolutely NO WAY that I was running back to get it. If they disqualified me, they disqualified me. I kept going. Since I realized I was not going to PR, I decided to relax a little bit on the run. As it was an out and back course, I cheered for everyone I met along the path. Since my pace was slower than what I usually run a 10k in, I actually enjoyed chatting with other participants and taking in the course, part of which was an off-road trail. As I came into the finish area, I spotted my friend Matt....his wife typically participates in this race, so he was here cheering for her. I waved at him and ran through the finish line. Though the clock said 3:07, I wasn't sure what my finishing time was...I started in the 4th wave so my time would be several minutes faster than this. However, it would be a push to finish under three hours. I found out that I ran my 10k in 47:32 and the full race in 2:59:30. I was the 10th overall female finisher and won my age group. Even though I didn't earn a new PR, I'll take it. I can try again next month at the Hy-Vee Tri in Des Moines.
Final Thoughts
Although Philip and I did not race together, it was very uplifting seeing him on the course. After training solely with him these past several months, it was very cool completing such a tough race together. I literally almost cried when I saw him on the run course. That afternoon, after picking up our boys from my sister and bro-in-law's house, Philip and I were able to dissect the race and talk about what we needed to work on. Our big goal of the summer, Ironman Steelhead, is only a few weeks out...the distance of this race is roughly double what we did today. The swim was the worst part of the day for both of us, so we discussed techniques so that we would be able to get through the swim without drowning. (I might be slightly exaggerating, but not by much!) We both felt very humbled by how many amazing athletes we competed against that morning....the race leaders and such studs in all three endeavors.
Happy Running! (and swimming and biking!!)
Complete Results can be found here: http://www.truetimeracing.com/results.php?id=3218&t=division
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