My first triathlon - Part 3

As I walked my bike into the transition area, I felt a little dazed. I had just finished the 21 mile ride in less than an hour and a half when I had planned on taking over two hours! I had averaged less than a 4:23 mile when my goal was 5 minutes!! (It's difficult to know my exact time and average because the race organizers tack on both of your transition times to the biking portion). I was FAR ahead of schedule, and I knew that I had enough energy left to finish five miles, even if I was forced to walk the whole way!

I met Ellen at the bike racks, and she helped me think clearly. Let's just say my brains were a little addled and I almost tried to put my hat on over my helmet! Hey, at least I had a good excuse for the shortage of brain power. After one more quick spray of sunscreen (still not a cloud to be seen), we were off!

 

I had to laugh when I spotted Mitch with the camera - he must have sprinted around the entire transition area to get from the bike-in portion to the run-out portion in time to take this picture! He deserved an award of his own after waking up at 5am & hanging out in the heat all day waiting for me to finish racing. Of course, he couldn't settle for just one picture... he snuck up on us again around the bend.

Well, hello there, Mitch! How'd you get there so fast?! For the rest of the race, I kept thinking I'd see him pop up out of a bush with the camera or something.

And the 5 miles, well - I'm not going to lie - it was tough. It was really, really tough. It was just SO HOT and even though 80% of the route was in the shade, the temperatures were starting to soar well above 90 degrees. Ellen and I had agreed to do 3 & 3 intervals of walking and jogging ahead of time. We had practiced together and it seemed to be a good fit for us. I don't have the best knees, and I was the most under-trained for running (my training had focused on my weaknesses of swimming and biking so much that they had quickly become my strengths - funny how that works). 

It quickly became apparent that I wasn't cut out for 3 & 3, so we switched it up to 2 & 2 - my legs had taken a beating from the 21 miles and were just operating on muscle memory at this point. Ellen was so understanding and was willing to do whatever I wanted to do - she said she was only there because I was & her team didn't care about timing, so we could just focus on crossing the finish line & that was that.

You'd think I'd feel bad about taking walking breaks during a triathlon, but if you had been there you'd understand. Probably 90% of the people racing with us were what I call "ST's," as in "Serious Triathletes." They had triathlon team jerseys on and lithe racing bodies and the newest, fanciest racing gear. These people had been around the tri-block if you know what I mean. And, of those 90% of racers? 50% of them were walking at least portions of the route. It was just necessary in the heat. As in, for survival. In fact, Ellen and I actually seemed to be taking the smartest strategy and were actually passing other racers!

Right about mile 4, I was pretty much hitting the wall. Ellen was chipper as can be - excited and thrilled to be nearing the end whereas I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other. At one point I said, "Okay, let's dial back the chipper-ness a notch," and got some laughter out of her. I was struggling. I was tired. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I was REALLY REALLY HOT. And yet, we continued on. Two more minutes, two more minutes. Just keep going.

Until...

Surely we weren't already at the finish line? Amazingly - we were! I told Ellen to go ahead and sprint, she deserved a celebratory finish!

 

And me? Well, I didn't really have a sprint left in my gas tank, but I managed a nice healthy jog across the finish line just the same.

 

I couldn't believe I had done it - it was OVER - I had acheived a goal that at many times had seemed out of my reach. Even a month prior to the race, I had considered dropping out and there I was at the finish line! Me, the antithesis of a "ST" or a "SR" (Serious Runner) - I had held my own and finished respectably. The finish line was still there and everything! There were still people behind me!  

 

All in all, I had averaged a 13:22 run. Yes, that's a slow mile pace - but when it's two hours into your workout in the blazing heat it's something to be darn proud of. My goal coming into the race was to finish between 3 1/2 hours and 3 3/4 hours.

My final time? 2:41:38, and I earned every single minute of it.   

Comments

[Alicia]

I am so proud to call myself a friend of yours....You DESERVE every second you cut off! Well done! I'm jealous and like someone said in a prior post...this makes me consider doing it next year????

[Ashley]

That's awesome! Congratulations! I hope you spent the whole next day lying in bed "recuperating" while Mitch massaged your feet and brought you meals on a silver tray. :o)

[Janna]

You are a rockstar!!!!!!

[klutzymama]

Wow. I actually got tears in my eyes when I saw the picture of you crossing the finish line with your hands raised in the air. I agree with Janna - You ARE a rock star, my friend!

[Becky aka StinkyLemsky]

Awww... you guys are giving me the choke!

[nancy]

I cried.......