Kemah Sprint Triathlon Race Report (RR)

So the plan was to leave the night before...but sometimes life just happens while you are making plans.  So we ended up set to leave in the morning.

I had set my alarm for 4:20 am...but it did not go off.  I have a new phone, and apparently, I forgot to set the day for Saturday.  Thankfully, I woke up to Charlie's alarm, but right off the bat, we were 15 minutes behind my target departure time.

5:02 am we are on our way, but we had to turn around for Charlie's wallet.  And then again for sunglasses.

Now, it was a race against the clock.  Transition was set to close at 6:30am.  The transition area is where you go in to a roped off area and set up all the items you need for all three sports.  Underneath your racked bike, you get a small patch of real estate.  Here is where the triathlete will lay out the helmet, running shoes, racing number, visor, sunglasses, and any other items needed to get you through the race on a perfectly folded towel. All the items are all organized in meticulous order to maximize your time in between sports.

By the time we parked at 6:15am and walked to the entrance, I had 2 minutes to rack my bike and organize my bag of goodies.  After I was body marked, I rushed in, threw my bike on the rack and dumped my bag out on a towel.  So much for the meticulous organizing part. 

Next up was the wetsuit ordeal.  I sprayed my self down with Body Glide, put Target bags shopping on my feet and started to climb in.  So far so good...thank goodness I had Charlie with me to lift the suit pass my bootie.  After the final tug, it was then that I realized the zipper was in the FRONT.

It was backwards.  Ugh.

I was not about to go through that torture again.  So, I decided to swallow my pride and sport the backwards look...and hopefully, maybe, no one will notice.

Oh but they did notice.  And then they talked to me all slow like, and patted me on the back and told me I was going to be just great. All I could do is just nod and smile.

Nod and smile.


So the 500 meter swim went...well, not so great.

It was more of an adjustment than I thought to use the wet suit during a swim. I am sure it didnt help that it was backwards.

Yes, it keeps you warm and yes, you are more buoyant.  That part is nice.

But it still takes some getting used to. I should of had time to practice with it, but I have been so busy.  Time has not been my luxury.  So I floundered around a bit trying to find a rhythm.   Okay, so maybe it was more than a bit. When I finally found my groove, I only had about 100 yards to go.

The bike was my time to shine. 12.5 miles.

As you may already know, I have been riding almost every weekend since January.  The only bad thing is, I forgot my clip-in cycling shoes. Ugh.  So although I was averaging 20-22mph, I can not help but wonder what I would have averaged if I was able to use both sets of leg muscles instead of one.  Oh well, this was my dress rehearsal for the rest of the season, right?

The 3.1 mile run was just okay.  It took me a good mile and a half to find my legs.  Therefore, this will be the training season to focus on more brick workouts.  That is when you do a workout back to back.  Note to self: I definitely need to add running after my bike workouts.

Overall it was a nice race.  This particular race production company puts on very well organized triathlon races, and this one was no different.  Great music, nice volunteers, and plenty of water and food afterwards.  Oh yes, and they gave out medals, a great tech shirt and a very nice race packet.

What I would change?  Wow, where do I begin?  Well, to start with I will set a back up alarm.  Leave earlier.  Have my bike already attached to my car. Bring my spin shoes. Put my wet suit on correctly.  Have my Hammer Gel on my body during the bike ride.  Bring back the Camel bak instead of water bottles (way easier to drink out of when hauling butt).  Wear sunglasses that I brought even when it is cloudy to prevent bug in eye (yes, I know, major duh).  I will be sure to remember my Garmin watch sitting on charger.  Eat a better breakfast.  Eat a better dinner.  Get more sleep.  Prepare my recovery drink in advance.

Hmmm....I think that about covers it.

Sigh. Yeah.  As I said...it was a dress rehearsal for my upcoming season.

Oh yes, I would like to send a huge thank you to my hubby Charlie...who I tried, multiple times, to convince he did not have get up at 4:30am to drive me over an hour away to cheer me from the sidelines.

He did it anyway, and was my saving grace, especially for keeping my spirits up when things did not go as I planned.

Thank you, Charlie, I am forever grateful.

My times have been posted.  Significant improvement from last year...and I ran faster on the run than I thought but averaged slower on the bike than I thought.  Go figure!  And I did not come dead last in the swim (wiping brow).  And I am proud to say that I have officially moved out of the bottom of the pecking order (I am no longer in the overall bottom 5 in my age group...woo-hoo!)

Swim: 18:08
   T1: 6:17 dead last...but only because I wasn't meticulously organized. :)
Bike: 40:20 (18.9 average pace)
   T2: 1:24
Run: 31:19 (10:06 Pace)

And now...the Kodak moments.

Here are the backward wetsuit photos (and yes, that is extra crotch space and not an extra long torso).

 

My beautiful support group at the finish line