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Last weekend I did my first 'official' sprint distance triathlon - the Super Seal! I'd previously raced in an 'official' triathlon that was a super-sprint distance called the Fearless Triathlon back in October of last year, (More on my blog: Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!) and I've also done two sprint distance club races with the Tri Club of San Diego. The Super Seal was going to be the biggest triathlon I had done to date (by number of participants) and although I'd covered the race distance before I was nervous!
The Day Before
The day before the race I picked up my race number at the Loews Resort in Coronado before rushing off to volunteer at the San Diego Science Festival. (More on my blog: I'm an Engineer, I'm a Runner.) When I got to the Lowes resort for packet pickup I suddenly started feeling anxious, and then after looking at a map of the course and listening to a description of it, I felt sick. Was I really doing this?
Course Preview
Race Morning
Before I knew it Saturday had come and gone, and I was up at 5am yet again on a Sunday to get out there and give a race all I had. I meticulously packed my transition back the night before, set my alarm, and went to sleep. But .. I didn't get a great night of sleep because the girl who lived upstairs from me was having a party and between the noise of talking and laughing people, music, and shoes on hardwood floors I was tossing and turning for hours. I finally put earplugs in so I could block out the noise, but became paranoid that I'd sleep through my alarm. Luckily I didn't, and I got up and out the door right on schedule.
Sunrise Over Coronado Bay
My friend Tara from GOTR was going to be watching her husband compete in the Olympic distance race so I had my eye out for them. Surprisingly I bumped into them in the transition area and we stopped for a photo opp. Soon after it was time for me to head down to the water to get ready to start with my age group - the pink swim caps!
With Ben & Mr. Bacon
The Swim - 500m
When I got down to the water I was even more nervous, but was glad that I had done a club race the weekend before and knew that I'd be okay in the water. I jumped in to get wet and acclimate to the water and swam a few strokes out and back. When I got out of the water I saw a woman on the beach who looked really familiar. How does someone in a wetsuit and swim cap and only their face showing look familiar? :oP After staring at her for a bit (and her giving me a side look and probably wondering why this weird stalker was staring at her) I told her she looked familiar and she said I did too. It turns out it was SugarMagnolia who is one of my DailyMile and Twitter friends! (Internet geeks unite!) It was great to finally meet her in person and I think having the chance to chat with her for a few minutes before the start helped calm me down a bit.
Pink Cap Wave Starts
A few minutes later it was time to start the race and I ran into the water with the rest of the pink swim caps. I started off in the middle of the pack and decided to count my strokes from the beginning to stay calm ... and wouldn't you know - the swim wasn't that bad! Sooner than I expected I was out of the water and on to the first transition.
Happy to Exit the Water
Running Out of the Water
The Bike - 20K
We had to run up the beach, through a tunnel, and down a path to get to the transition area. Running barefoot on a rock path is FUN! Not really.
Running & Wetsuit Unzipping - SKILLS
I felt that I got out of my wetsuit and into my biking gear pretty quickly, grabbed my bike and clop-clopped over like a horse in my bike shoes, CLIPPED IN (yeah!), and I was off! The course was a big oval with an out and back one way, and then an out and back the other way. I am pitifully slow on the bike (since I never practice) and was expecting everyone to pass me as usual, but was surprised to see that while many passed me, I also passed some people myself!I find the bike leg of the race to be a bit boring, and since I haven't been practicing on the bike my legs burned almost the whole time. To keep the muscle fatigue to a minimum I'd ride a few minutes on a higher gear, then lower gear, then higher gear. I'm sure this is totally bad form. Oh well!
Staying Focused on the Bike
The Run - 6K
My favorite part of a triathlon is the run of course. I am always elated to get to this part of the race. This signals that the race is almost over! I ditched my bike, changed into my running shoes, and I was off! I didn't feel as funny as usual running after biking, but as always noticed that I was running faster than normal. I was surprised at first to see that the run started out on a sandy path ... and was irritated to see that the sandy path continued on for the first half of the race. I felt strong running and was slowly passing everyone in front of me. Some people looked like they were really hurting on the run and I passed a few people who were miserably walking. :o(
Nearing the End of the Run
Pushing Hard to the Finish
The run was over before I knew it and soon I had the finish line in site and I was about to finish! Tara was right by the finish line taking pictures and I crossed my fingers that in my last final push to the end I wasn't creating any more hideous finish line pictures. (More on my blog: Race Photos - The Good, the Bad, the UGLY).
Official Finish Photo
Upon finishing I was handed a finisher's pin (WHAT?? No medal! BOO!) and I walked back to the transition area to retrieve my stuff, once again ... a triathlete! Whoo hoo!
Finisher's Pin - Boo, No Medal??
Proud to be Done!
Official Times
Several days later the official splits were posted and I was thrilled with my results! I did pretty good on the swim, not as bad as usual on the bike, and I kicked a** on the run! Yay!
- Swim 500m: 10:55 (7/25 Age Group, 28/128 Women)
- T1: 3:34 (9/25 Age Group, 25/128 Women)
- Bike 20K: 50:45 (17/25 Age Group, 74/128 Women) <---Here's where I need work
- T2: 1:16 (8/25 Age Group, 28/128 Women)
- Run 6K: 26:22 (1/25 Age Group, 13/128 Women) <-- HECK YEAH
- Overall: 1:32:51 (8/25 Age Group, 33/128 Women)
Next Up
For the next month I'll be easing off the triathlon and focusing more on my running. I'm running the OC Marathon May 1st as my first full marathon in almost a year! (After quitting marathons - more on my blog: I'm Over the Marathon). My next triathlon will be June 26th when I do the San Diego International Triathlon. This race will be another jump up in distance with a 1000m swim, 30K bike, and 10K run. Between now and then I better start biking!
7 comments:
Nice recap! You totally rocked it. It was so great to meet you! I felt like I could barely talk because my teeth were chattering a bit, both from nerves and mostly from being FREEZING so I hope we connect another time so I can really talk to you. I, too, didn't like the run course. It was lame. Too much sand and weird paths to go down. Great photos and great job!!
Love reading your race reports! I L-O-V-E that last picture of your running leg - so badass!
Yaaay so proud of you! You did good! Way to conquer your fears!
Thanks ladies! I'm hoping to have a positive race report for the next tri in June as well. Fingers crossed!
Your T1 is AWESOME (I think?).. that's the problem with these distances, like Sprints and super-sprints, the transitions are about the same, right? So they become really important in overall time. As expected, you rocked it! Have you heard anything about the Fearless Tri this year? I like the pin, something you can actually wear, or put on your transition bag, or even on the bib.. if you save those. Congrats!
ps.. my wife is running OC Marathon too. Good luck!
I went to a tri last year just to get a feel of what it was like to compete in one. I also talked to a few triathletes as well. Maybe it's just with guys, but I heard the swim portion is crazy under the surface. Guys will be kicking each other and you'll be scrambling just to maintain your position!
The transition looks like an art, I'm sure it takes practice, but some people are just amazingly fast at getting out of their wetsuits and into whatever is next.
I've done a few brick workouts and the first part of the run always takes some time to adjust.
Sucks that you only got a pin, I think all tri finishers should get like a trophy, that's like 3 races combined into one! Great job either way!
Jay - I haven't heard anything about fearless but I did see the organizer competing in the super seal! I passed him in the transition area before the start. One of the girls I coach GOTR with is a friend of his. I'll see if she has any intel. And GREAT idea on putting my pin on my transition bag! I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it. Its san diego so I dont wear jackets. :oP Not that I'd want it on a regular jacket anyways and I dont really wear workout jackets.
Phong - I've been pawed and kicked in swims before, but luckily was left alone in this race. I also try to stay towards the edge. I like your trophy idea for all tris. haha
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