I’ve avoided racing triathlons for 5 years.  I’m not sure what prompted me to suggest to my fellow “ex” triathlete, Kelly, that we should race one this summer.  Maybe being surrounded by so much water and so many more active people than in DC?  Anyway, I assumed that signing up would motivate me to actually do some training, but I was wrong!  I did a few swims and bike rides, plus a 5k race during my vacation at Glen Lake in Michigan, but with my new job other things took priority.

We chose to race the Finish Strong Sprint Triathlon in Monroe, WA.  Monroe is northeast of where we live, on the way to Steven’s Pass in the Cascades.  It was held at a little park, and the lake water was forgivingly warm (I no longer own a wetsuit).  The distances: a 400 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run.  Packing for the race was like settling back into a weekday morning routine after a long vacation… my body and mind seemed to remember what to do – once I consciously thought about it.  I nearly forgot my race belt, but luckily Kelly mentioned it in her facebook post that I saw the morning of the race.

The air temp was chilly and the lake was covered in fog when we arrived.  I was disappointed when they announced a change in the wave start order… now all the age 39 and younger women would be in the last wave.  We had been in the second wave, right behind the age 39 and younger men.  Oh well, it’s just for fun!

SWIM
After a beach start, I swam my butt off!  I saw one girl charge ahead quickly, and I recognized Kelly beside me.  As she started to pull ahead, my well-ingrained instincts to draft and conserve energy kicked in.  I slid back, keeping right on her toes with the bubbles in my face.  I kept sight of the buoy ahead as we began to catch the swimmers in the previous wave.  I was definitely feeling the fatigue from working muscles that had been asleep for years!  Thank goodness for Kelly!  I kicked harder to warm up my legs as we approached the shore.  We had worked our way through half of the older men’s wave (who left 6 minutes ahead of us!), which I noticed as we exited the water.  The swim was tough for me; it left me feeling nauseous as I ran up the beach to the transition area.

BIKE
I had a lightening fast transition (29 seconds) since I didn’t have to take off a wetsuit and I had attached my shoes to my bike and rubber-banded them.  I blazed out of transition, leapt on my bike and took off.  At the beginning of the bike ride, it was hard for me to focus on keeping up the pace since there weren’t many people around me. I started having fun, encouraging fellow racers with “good job!” as I passed, and thanking all the volunteers obediently directing at the corners.   After the turnaround, Kelly and another woman with an aero helmet caught me and so we rode “together” for the rest of the race.  We didn’t draft, but we stayed together, taking turns passing, which kept the pace up.  Within the last 1/4 mile, 3 or 4 other women caught us, and we were stuck in a big group.  I was the only one to take off my shoes on the bike as we rode towards the dismount line.

Riding my bike. (photo available at www.myepevents.com)

RUN
Another blazing fast transition (27 seconds), and I was the first out on the run.  I felt surprisingly strong and light, running on my toes.  Derek said I was in front, if not first, to which I replied, ok, that’s cool!  As I passed men on the run, I kept up with my encouragements.  I’m determined to make triathlon a more friendly environment – more like the cheerfulness in an ultra running race.  I was really enjoying the run, and  I was unconcerned after seeing a woman running clearly several minutes ahead – out of my reach at this point in the race.

With 5 or 6 minutes of running left, a woman caught and passed me.  Many other racers seemed to know who she was, as she was getting several cheers from racers and spectators.  I noticed the age written on her calf – she was in the wave 3 minutes ahead of mine, so I knew I had already beaten her.  Still, I fell into stride right behind her and once she noticed my shadow trailing hers, she said “So you’re going to draft on me and then fly by at the end, huh?” I ran up beside her and she told me she had just done an Ironman, and I said I was impressed she could still run at the pace we were going.  We chatted, and she asked “Are you a pro?” to which I replied that I was retired and hadn’t raced since 2006.  Nearing the finish line, I battled with myself whether to let her take it, or to give it what I had and sprint it out to the end.  Unable to tame my competitive spirit, I opened up to a full sprint (for me) and she was right on my heels as we crossed the line.

Enjoying a sprint finish! (photo available at www.myepevents.com)

I finished in 1:11.47, 2nd female, 8th overall, and 1st in my age group 25-29.  I swam in 7:33, biked in 41:26 (20.3 mph average), and ran in 21:50 (7:03 min/mile).  (See full results here). Not too shabby!  I’m pretty proud of my transitions – 29.1 and 27.8 seconds.  : )  Most importantly, I was able to make it fun, which is my goal at this point.  I don’t know if I’ll go out and sign up for another one this year though… I don’t want to make Derek get up at 4:30 again : P