Monday, August 31, 2009

My Personal Triumph at the Chicago Triathlon

Pre-Race
I was SO nervous. I don't think I was this nervous ever before. I woke up before my alarm and headed out the door at 4:06 AM. In the car ride to the race, I managed to knock over my coffee onto my TMobile G1. My LIFELINE! Argh. It kept functioning for a while and then finally it gave up. I managed to get a text out to my husband and to my friend Nando before it died completely. Not a good start. So now I'm kind of a mess about my phone (I feel naked without it). Anyway, once Nando found me, I felt better and relaxed a little. We had to wait about 2 hours before we started, so we people watched. As time went on, I was less nervous but still never completely not nervous. It was SO cold outside - was easily in the low fifties (Fahrenheit).

The Swim
There was no swim warm-up for this race. I am a BIG believer in swim warm-ups. I can't race the first few hundred meters properly without one. My first few hundred meters during the actual race then become the warm-up.

I hopped off of the platform into the water at about 7:57:38. The water at 63 degrees was warmer than the air and felt like a blessing. My swim wave started at 8 AM sharp. A nice round time for me to estimate my finish time easily en route - yahoo!

I started the swim and got a rhythm, I looked up at about 200 meters and thought "I am never going to make it". I kept going. The first 400 meters were SO slow for me. Just before the 400 meter mark, my arms started to get tired. They always get this feeling just before they are ready to lay down a proper distance of swim, so this made me feel better. (Odd, I know.) I kept going and sure enough, BAM.

When I got out of the water, there was about a .25 mile trek to transition. I walked at first reflecting on how proud of myself for getting through the swim I was, and then started jogging.

The Bike
The whole bike course is on Lake Shore Drive which is beautiful but bumpy in some places. I did the first six miles not realizing I was in the middle ring of my crank, like a dork. Once I hit the big ring, I was pedaling much faster. It was a great ride and at the end I felt like I could do 24 more. Very pleased!

The Run
I must have still had adrenaline pumping because I was able to actually start the first half-mile out at about 10 min/mile. I slowed way down after that and had to run/walk until about mile 4. Overall, I pushed myself as much as I could, slowing down when I felt my heart rate speeding up.

Lessons Learned
I am awesome. :-) That's it!

Thoughts
Since this was my end of triathlon season, here are the things I am planning to work on in the off-season:
  • Weight-loss (usual goal)
  • Get bike fitted properly for aero bars
  • Learn to ride with aero bars :-)
  • Improve Run speed and endurance
  • Improve Bike speed
Epilogue
I fixed my phone with letting it dry out and doing a soft system restart. It's not perfet, but it works!! YAY!

Final Results

DistanceInternational (Olympic)
Clock Time03:34:38
Overall Place3641 / 4243
Gender Place970 / 1292
Division Place 223 / 286
Swim00:38:37
Trans100:05:08
Bike01:30:47
Trans200:04:53
Run01:15:11
Swimrank3049
Bikerank3317
Mph16.7
Runrank3927
Pace00:12:07

7 comments:

Slow Rider said...

Congrats great job
Dont worry about areo bars at 40k they will only give you at best 6-7mins. Use the money to secure a running coach/trainer for the winter. Spin/interval classes for strenth. Hope this helps,
I lived in Chi town for 5yrs still have family in Downers area
Robert
www.loveandtwowheels.blogspot.com

Racespeed said...

You always have the absolute best attitude. Oh did I say I enjoy your slyly funny comments? I have no doubt that next season you will be doing better. That is with your times, being a great personality has already been accomplished.

SDyckes said...

Way to go! You have to be proud of yourself when you finish these types of events.
The aero bars will only give you a small increase in the shorter distances, but noticeable on the flat courses. On the hillier courses, they are less affective. Focus on improving the run, you will see the biggest time gains there.
Most importantly, keep enjoying yourself! Have fun and keep up the great posts!

Steve

Isela said...

Awesome work!

Marci said...

You are awesome... and don't u forget that! Congrats on a successul race in Chicago!

Philip LaVoie said...

nice job lady! congrats on your season. ;P

Bobby said...

great race report!!

-IronmanBobby