Triathlon Weekend Pt 2

During one of my group’s last training sessions, we remarked that each of us clearly had a weak area out of the swim, bike, run:  mine was the run, one was slower on the bike, and the third was slowest on the swim.  We mentioned that we would make the perfect relay team.

Fast forward to a yoga class a few days later with one of my tri training partners.  We mentioned the tri to our instructor, who is also a friend, and a runner.  She said she had always wanted to do a tri, but worried about the swim.  “Do they do a relay where one person only does one part?” she wondered.

And Tri Weekend suddenly became a thing.

There was a Tri, I told them both, the day after our Women’s Tri.  It was also a sprint, but much shorter distances on the bike and the run.  I’d done it before, when it was two weeks out of the Women’s Tri.  But a friend of mine had done a relay the day after participating in the Women’s Tri last year, and it seemed doable.  My friend agreed to swim, I offered to bike and our instructor said she would do the run.

I offered to drive (my bike still being racked on my car).  So at 5:30am, while it was still good and dark, we met up and off we went.  Fortunately the morning dawned beautifully over Long Island Sound so none of the ladies I’d talked into this level of crazy was upset.  They were both game and excited.

We were at Compo Beach in Westport by 6am, but not even close to the first people to arrive.  We picked up our swag bags and ankle bracelet and got body marked before the sun rose.  None of us had ever done a relay before, although I did have the advantage of having done this particular tri before (four years ago, pre injury).  But my memories were hazy, so we were asked a lot of curious questions.  It was a very different feel to know I only had to worry about the bike.  I wasn’t nervous at all, just excited.  We set up our area in transition (so much easier when you don’t have to worry about changing clothes) and were ready.

We met on the beach for the safety briefing and bid our swimmer good luck.  The swim was by far the most challenging part of this tri:  a solid half mile in the salty Long Island Sound.  Fortunately, since my friend and I had practiced our open water swims at a beach just a few miles away, she felt well prepared.

The water was calm and warm and she set off while I trotted back to transition to wait for her.  It was an interesting difference from the day before, when I’d done all three legs.  I watched as other swimmers came in and handed off their ankle bracelets for their relay team, and as others came in and peeled off wet suits.  At one point I helped a woman put a sports bra over her suit.

After a great time of 23:22 in the water, my friend ran up to me in transition and I peeled off the ankle bracelet and set out.  What a great feeling to be dry and on the bike!

I wanted to make up as much time as possible on the bike to keep us competitive so I went out as hard and as fast as I could.  I had forgotten that there were a few hills early on the 5.5 mile course.  A few people passed me, which surprised me.  I was determined to pass a few myself.  It took a few miles but eventually I did.

The bike course was harder than I remembered.  It might have been I had worked so much the day before but I was surprised that it didn’t feel easier.  I pushed hard the entire time and finished the 5.5 miles in 21:22.  I would have liked to been under 21 minutes, but I was pleased with it.

I made it back to transition, traded off my ankle bracelet and our runner set off.  That was it for me!  I racked my bike.  I was sweating, but quickly recovered since it wasn’t that long a ride.

We had agreed to meet our third on the beach for the last bit to cross the finish together.  And after just 17 minutes (she’s a sub 9 minute runner) she showed up at the end of the 2.2 mile course on the beach and we did exactly that.

We got smaller medals than the day before, but it was still a great feeling to have been a part of two triathlons in two days.  Both of my friends were new to the sport and both are very ready to try it again.

We went for a lovely walk in the neighborhood around the beach afterwards, since none of us had what we considered enough exercise for the day.  It was a great way to shake off the soreness and talk out the two days of triathlon fun.

I still can’t believe it is over.  I went from having done three triathlons to five in two days.  And while being in a relay is not nearly the same level of exertion, it still felt great to do another one.  I might not be the thinnest triathlete out there, or the fastest, but I’m still out there, logging the miles and getting the job done.  And that feels really, really good.

Triathlon Weeked Pt 1

I know.  I had pretty much given up on this blog too.  But since I referred to it so much while I was training for this weekend, I can’t just yet.  It is a great record of my journey, which is still mostly forward, although maybe not quite in the way I thought when I first started this blog seven years ago.

Last year when I trained for my Women’s Tri (.5 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run), I put together a meticulous training program which I followed religiously.  I had started the summer having just lost 15 pounds, but wasn’t in great physical shape.  I worked hard, completed that tri faster than the previous time I’d done it (pre broken hip) and was pleased with my performance.

I spent the fall and winter trying to maintain fitness.  I swam once a week.  I kept up my running and slowly whittled down my 5K time from a 43-44 min (again, I broke my hip a few year ago, and am also a self proclaimed “chubby girl”) down to 40:02 (yes, I’m specific:  the last two 5Ks I have done, despite wildly different courses and elevations, were EXACTLY that time).  I lost a little weight.  I began my summer training cycle with high hopes.

But then life happened.  Because I’m a teacher, I had the luxury of traveling for various reasons this summer.  I spent eight days visiting family out of state.  While out there I injured my right foot, resulting in a stress fracture that kept me away from running for five weeks.  I kept swimming and biking hoping it wouldn’t impact my training that much.  Then I traveled to my son’s family for two weeks to help them with their third child’s birth.  And finally, back on both feet, I came home only to leave a week later to visit my father in Florida for his 80th birthday.

I did what I could while traveling, taking advantage of local gyms and hotel fitness rooms but I worried.  I worried if I’d done what it would take to maintain last year’s time on the triathlon; I’d wanted to improve it, but threw that goal out the window after I came home and finished my last two weeks of training.  I worked hard, but didn’t feel confident.

Finally, race day came.  I woke at 4:00am and began my journey.  I picked up my two girlfriends (we’d loaded up their bikes on my car the day before) and traveled in the dark (and rain from the outer bands of the just missed us Hurricane Dorian) the hour to the triathlon site.

Set up and marked up before the sun rose.

We unloaded, got our bikes inspected, got body marked and set up each of our transition areas.  Neither of my girlfriends had ever done a triathlon before, so it was fun to guide them and help calm their nerves.  The hour inbetween setting up and the start passed very quickly with them to chat with.  Before we knew it, it was time for the safety meeting on the beach.

My husband caught this shot of me and my friends just before the swim start. We all look a little nervous.

I was in the first wave of swimmers.  I was honestly surprised; the swim didn’t feel as hard as it had the year before.  I remembered gulping for air and feeling really rough when I started last year, and I didn’t feel that way this time.  I was pushing but never felt that nervous “I’m really out of breath here” feeling.  I am a slow swimmer, so of course I was in the back of the pack, and before the half way mark, the next wave of caps started to come around me, but I felt strong and sure.  I was surprised to find out later I shaved 9 seconds off of my swim.

1/2 MILE SWIM:  27:22

Onto transition.  I started out walking up the beach to the bike but everyone started passing me so I couldn’t help but barefoot jog into the pen.  Made a wrong turn and down the wrong aisle but eventually found my bike.  I had smartly laid out a gel this time (forgot to fuel last year between swim and bike) and swallowed that while I ditched my wet tank top and got my feet dry on the towel.  I tried to be fast but also catch my breath.

T1:  3:20 (17 seconds slower than last year…mostly the gel consumption, I’m sure)

I left on the bike and wanted to alternately not use up all of my energy but gain as much time as I could.  Bike is the strongest of my three in the tri:  I have a good bike and I usually can push myself.  So I went as hard as I could without killing myself.  The hills felt harder than I remembered them from the year before, but other than that, I felt pretty good during the bike.  I certainly pushed harder than on any of my training rides, and it went by quickly.  I was surprised to learn that I was about 1:45 slower than the previous year on the bike.  But considering my lack of long ride training this summer, it made sense.

No photos from the bike.  Apparently I was moving too fast and took my husband by surprise.

12 MILE BIKE:  51:16

Back into transition and I wanted to go fast.  Drank a bunch of water, ditched the bike and took off.

T2:  1:35 (2 seconds off last year)

At this point I had no idea where I was at time wise, but I remembered that I had no energy left for the run last year.  I smartly decided to take Gatorade and not water on every chance I was given, the first being just outside of transition.  I jogged where I could, walked where I had to and eventually found a rhythm.  After about a mile I realized I felt MUCH better than I had at this point last year. I was definitely running more.  It was still hard and I was doing a lot of walking, but I knew I was doing better.

At some point I started to expect my friends, the first timer triathletes to pass me on the trail.  They started the swim 8 minutes after me, but they are both thinner and in much better shape.  Both run faster than me and I assumed somewhere I would see them.  I just hoped it would be somewhere in the last mile so I wouldn’t be too embarrassed at my time.

But the time and mileage ticked away.  I kept doing my intervals, and finally, I could hear the roar of the crowd:  I was almost at the end.  I still hadn’t seen either of my friends so maybe, just maybe, I was doing better than I realized.

When I rounded the corner and saw the finish line, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  The time clock read 2:06 and change.  Last year I finished at 2:10:24, so I knew I had made my original goal of beating last year’s time.  I pushed myself forward and smiled the whole way.

5K RUN:  43:18

I crossed at 2:06:51 and my husband caught the exact moment. You can see I’m smiling here. Not because I’m happy to be done…but because I’m happy to have done it well.

I think I did a few things right this time.  I paid better attention to hydration and diet the day before.  I fueled with a gel during the event.  And finally I took the Gatorade as opposed to plain water.  I think the net result was more energy at the end.  I was over 5 minutes faster on the run than last year, AND I was over a minute faster than my first time at this triathlon, before I’d broken my hip and when I was in much better shape.  I still can’t believe it.  Even though I didn’t follow a rigid training plan, I did do a workout pretty much every day this summer, focusing more on the swim and the bike as my foot healed.  I had assumed my run would be weaker but it was the bike:  likely due to too many stationary bike workouts and not enough long outdoor rides. I clearly was able to maintain the run fitness I’d built up earlier this year through all of the workouts even though I wasn’t running.

We all eventually crossed the finish line, and in the end I turned out to have the fastest time overall.  How about that?  The chubby girl came out on top this time.  🙂

We all congratulated each other and slowly made our way through the post race festivities before we went back to my car.  I had Prosecco and orange juice waiting in a cooler for just this moment:  to toast all of us:  to them on their first tri, and to me on being able to continue doing them.  I’m incredibly proud and grateful.

Part Two of Triathlon Weekend…up next!