Well, my knee started to loosen up last night (thankfully!!) and I slept well for an early start this morning!
Got up early, had a protein shake and a banana... heard the rain pouring on the sky light. GREAT. Loaded up the car with all my stuff and off for a 35 minute drive to the triathlon. Finally got there and walked into the pool area where they were doing the registration and it was HOT! Registered and got my goodie bag (lots of great stuff in there.. a tech tshirt, a beanie, water bottle, a canvas bag and of course the normal swim cap and race number.) Started setting up my bike on the trainer (it was an indoor swim and indoor bike on a trainer) There were 20 trainers set up, 10 people per wave so the next people could have their bikes set up and ready to go too. They weighed yourself and your bike too so the computers would calculate how much power you needed to pedal for 8 miles. Looked outside and noticed it had cleared up and the sun was coming out!
It came time to actually get in the pool (And I was happy I was in the first wave of the day because we got the most time to set up and get ready!) Took some practice strokes then came back to the wall for the start. The countdown came and I was off! I only had to share a lane with one other person so that wasn't bad! I get three laps in and realize I'm not far behind the same person in my lane.. either she swims as slow as I am or my swimming training has been paying off! The pool went from 3 feet depth to 12 feet depth at the end and you could tell the difference of resistance! We had to swim 9 laps total (18 lengths) and by the 8th one I was beginning to slow down. My lane partner finished a lap ahead of me, but out of the 10 of us that started, I didn't finish last!!! When I was done my 9 laps, I had to get out of the pool. This sounds easier than it was! 3 feet of water and you have to have the strength to get yourself out of the pool without going into other lanes. I stepped on the lane buoy and hoisted my way out and ran to the bike section. (I think my swim was 11 minutes)
I got to my bike, put on my socks and shoes and hopped on the bike... started peddling and then stared at the computer trainer... it had turned off! I let one of the volunteers know and she came and turned it on for me. I think that reset the weight for the machine, which made me pedal further for my distance. Once again, the biking portion was right near the pool and it was HOT in there... right above us the ceiling was only 8 feet high so it felt like a SAUNA! All the heat rising would come back down on us... I sweated so much! The riders next to me were joking saying we're just riding in hawaii. Ha. We all chatted while riding, learning a lot about each other and giving some tips. I was second to last out of my ten people to finish the bike, but that was ok. (I think being on the trainer is mentally harder than on the road for a tri. I couldn't play the catch up game with other people on the course... I pick someone and try to catch up with them) I finished the bike in about 36 minutes
While I only had a tenth of a mile left, I put on my long sleeve tech shirt that had my number on it to get ready for the run. Once I was done with my 8 miles, I got off the bike and ran out of the pool and outside. My legs felt a little wobbly, but I didn't stop running. The running portion was around a lake, of which I've ran before. I caught up to the woman that left before me and we decided to run together... loved that and we supported each other all the way around the lake. With only a quarter mile left I decided to give it a last push effort and found the finish line at 1 hour and 16 minutes. Received my medal and had a smile on my face.
While packing the bike away in the car, it started to rain again... hasn't let up since. Great timing!!!
Triathlon distance: 1/4 swim, 8 mile bike, 3 mile run. 22.5 miles for the day. YAY
I'll look for your race report
! But now, I've been married almost 17 years and I could honestly use bridal shower gifts again
. And I would say that "power shopping" counts as exercise. Sounds like your race wasn't the best, but thanks for scoring all of that mileage for us this morning!
