ULM Warhawk Triathlon Race Report

The day was pefect for racing. It was 57 degrees, with 75% humidity. The sky was clear and the wind was calm.
We began in an indoor pool 15 seconds apart, snaking through 8 lanes to make a 400 meter swim. I felt really good, except right at first. I had not been nervous at all until I hit the water. All of a sudden I felt very sick. Just work the logistics of throwing up in a pool with 100 other people. I gave myself the “suck it up” speech -it worked. I usually have a 3 stroke breathing pattern, but had to switch to “stroke, breath, stroke, breath-oh my God I am actually doing this” pattern. It was over quickly and I still felt good. (10:36)
Onto the bike, the transition was pretty quick. I didn’t have any difficulties and had planned pretty well. (2:04)
I rode quicker than any of my practice rides. It would have been even better with a road bike. I noticed that I was pedalling faster and going slower than the road bikers. It was kind of lonely-I didn’t pass many and wasn’t passed much so I rode it mostly alone. My legs began getting tired towards the end. I did not have any pain, just feeling like I wanted to stop. (46:54)
The second transition was even smoother and faster. I wore tennis shoes on the bike, so it was just a matter of hanging the bike and grabbing my hat (and a quick drink). (1:11)
The run was …… hard, but I guess I knew that it would be. The book writers are correct, it is very hard to run after riding. At first I felt like a toddler. I thought I might just fall over. The run felt long and I had a lot of “I wanna’ stop” moments. In the end my main thought was “keep running, I can stop at the end of the run”. (34:16)
I felt very quiet after the race and most of the afternoon. I thought I would be ecstatic, but I just felt good.
I ate everything I wanted all day, so I am looking forward to getting back to real food on Monday. I am also looking forward to training hard again.
The total was 1:35:03, and I won the Athena division. It was a great start to my tri career.

Official times

Swim – 10:36.6 (96/121) – no pace info

T1 – 2:04.4

Bike – 46:54.3 (111/121) – 14.1 mph

T2 – 1:11.0

Run – 34:16.6 (107/121) – 11:25 pace

Total – 1:35:03.0 (109/121) – 1st in Athena division

#91 is ready!

I have picked up my race packet, put on my numbers, packed my junk-I am ready!