First of all, if you are reading this...thank you for being a part of my life, and for celebrating this fun event with me!
Kudos first:
First I give credit to my big brother Kevin for inspiring me to do the Olympic distance triathlon. I have done two sprint distances (which is about half the distance of an Olympic) but he inspired me to step it up a notch ;) Also credit to my little brother BJ for setting up a training page on facebook that all three of us post our workouts and share tips. It's been super helpful and motivating. Kevin and BJ do the NYC tri in August!!!! And of course, Kudos to my amazing husband who supports me in my adventures. He endured months and months of me talking about my training, complaining about injuries, keeping the lights on late at night to read books and blogs about tri training, forking out money for all the tri expenses --it's not a cheap sport, fyi, and of course watching the kids Friday and Saturday while I went with my two gal friends to Sacramento to do the race. He's my #1 fan and he's the best!!!
The race was hard, fun, challenging, awesome, tough, and amazing. Here are the details: (disclaimer...I'm putting in all the details because some readers are training for or hoping to do a tri..so I hope this is helpful to them..feel free to politely browse and not read the whole thing. lol
First of all number one thing I learned overall is how important the training is (physically, mentally, and nutritionally). Because of all the reading and training I did, I felt confident and strong during the whole race. It was hard, super hard at times, but my body took it as a challenge and succeeded.
Pre-race Nutrition: About a month ago I switched to a high protein breakfast...peanut butter and banana on whole wheat toast. Since my body was used to this...I used the same formula on race day. Then about 30 minutes before race I drank an Energy Drink that is caffeine free and again...I've used it before, so my body was used to it. (never try anything new on race day!). I felt perfect at race time. (day before race was heavy carbs and water intake). Overall nutrition tip...figure out what drinks/bars/electrolytes you like, then use them at times during training to ensure your body agrees with them
Swim: I rented a wet suit for $25 for the event, water was expected to be 62-68 degrees. I was grateful I did. The wetsuit totally raises your hips and legs and creates this awesome feeling of buoyancy. At the beginning of the swim though, I'm not sure why, but I was waaaay out of whack! My breathing was short and quick, my kick and stroke pattern was all messed up, I looked up at the buoy ahead of me and thought, "there's no way I'm going to be able to finish this! What did I get myself into? this is crazy, what was I thinking? I can't do this. I can't even breathe!" I'm still not sure what happened or why, but I rolled onto my back (as everyone recommended to in case of fatigue or anxiety or whatever) and waited until my breathing came down to normal. Finally, 13 minutes into the race...my groove came back. Breathing was back to normal and my kick/stroke pattern was back. I'm not sure what caused this, if it was the cold water, or wearing a super tight wetsuit that I never trained in (bad idea) or if it was a mental panic? no idea. I have never been scared in water and am an obnoxiously confident swimmer, so this was new for me. But once my groove came back, I felt much better and had my rhythm back and finished the swim strong in 35 minutes.
Transition 1: I'm not hyper about my transition times. I don't try and do them super fast or anything. I was given some biking shoes that clip on to the pedal of the bike, so I slipped those on, lathered on the chapstick, put on my helmet and I was off. I paid $25 for a road bike, which was a HUGE help. Instead of a low end mountain bike that I had raced in before...the clips and type of bike made the course much more doable.
Nutrition: on the bike I took with me a 20 ounce water bottle, a clif bar, and a trial size clif bar that came in the race bag..just in case. I was glad i did! Most tri blogs and articles I read talked about doing all liquid electrolytes like gatorade and gu packets during the bike. I never drink gatorade and I don't use the gu packs either...so I went out on my own and decided to do what my body was comfortable with: Clif bars and water. Fortunately it worked out perfectly. I took small bites through the whole torturous 2 hour, hill infested bike ride. If I could go back, I would put two bottle holders on my bike so I could've had more water if needed. Mine worked out okay, but I'm sure I would've easily drank another bottle if I had it. Or maybe I would've filled one with an electrolyte and one with water.
Bike: It was a 25 mile course. One thing that might have been helpful is to know how to read the bike maps that tell you the elevation and inclines. When I looked at it, it just had one big hill, so I wasn't too concerned. So when I got to the first big hill I though--oh hey this must be "THE" big hill, I"m almost done! I was way off. That was the first of about 10 big hills, with one of them being especially gruesome. THAT was "THE" big hill. haha! Fortunately the whole 25 miles was just beautiful. Country roads, horse corals, beautiful homes, and I even got to ride past fresh road kill...poor raccoon. gross. I switched gears a lot, not sure if that's good or bad, but one tip I would have is to get comfortable with all the gear options on your bike and when to use them. I did a basic theme of "up hill...easy pedal gear (I don't even know what it's called), down hill...harder to pedal gear, flat...some gear right in the middle that felt right. That's as educated I am on bike gears...but for me, it worked. As I mentioned earlier, I chose to use shoes with clips for this race. I am SOOO grateful that I did. The hills were much more tolerable using the clips because it helps you pull the pedal up as well as push down. (I don't know the fancy wording for this or the scientific explanation...all I know is I could feel a difference in my thighs and hamstrings using the clips). I was able to train with the clips at the spinner bikes at the gym, so that was helpful. I was already comfortable with the shoes themselves and the feeling of being super glued to your bike pedals...a little weird at first. ;)
Transition 2: I changed socks and shoes at T2 because my socks were still a little damp from swimming. It was refreshing to have a pair of dry socks tucked into my sneakers to change into for the run. (Thank you random guy at Sports Basement that gave me that tip!) I also put on a hat (last minute decision that I was glad I did because it kept the sun out of my face for the last 6 miles of the race), lathered on the chapstick, and grabbed a fresh water bottle to take with me on the run.
Nutrition: I did all my nutrition on the bike with the 1 and 1/4 clif bar, so I felt ready for the run. But I knew I would need water than just the few water stations they offer..so I brought my own bottle. I wanted to keep my body hydrated so it would be strong for the run.I personally don't mind running with a water bottle in my hand, but if you do, you could use a race belt and put the little bottles in there.
Run: Another part of tri training that is important is transitioning from the bike to the run. I practiced this many times at the gym, doing 10-20 miles on the bike and then only 1-2 miles running, just so I could get used to that awkward feeling of running right after biking. The first mile of the run was great--it was a relief to my body after all those hills on the bike! Then I got to miles 2, 3, 4, and 5. It was one hill after another. I didn't even bother "running" the whole thing. I decided it was better to stay strong and walk them instead of killing myself to run up them just to prove myself strong. It worked out just fine. Walk hills, run downhill and the flats. I didn't take the gu packets that they handed out because I felt strong still from the Clif bars. Right at Mile 4 my ring toe started hurting--I've had pain in it before and was concerned about it during the race. It hurt SOO badly. I started running on the outside of my foot, still hurt. Then I ran on the inside of my foot, still hurt. Then I tried curling up my toes and running, still hurt. I still had two miles to go and was nervous. I'm not sure what happened...but after about 5 minutes it just went away. It had to be a small little miracle! I was very grateful. Mile 6 was a pleasant, flat course. I was able to finish strong running the whole thing and finishing like a champ as I crossed the finish line. It was over. I felt great!
Post Race Nutrition: After I stretched quickly, I ran right over to the pasta bar and loaded up on free spaghetti, chicken breast and salad. I went back to the hotel and stocked up on protein by eating the peanut butter and banana on whole wheat toast.
Overall this was an incredible experience. My body and mind were pushed. I was tired, but strong and I'm sure it's because of the nutrition and training. I am grateful to God for the body that He gave me and for the strength and ability I have through Him. We prayed together before the race, and minutes after crossing the finish line my thoughts were of extreme gratitude to God for allowing me to finish and to finish healthy and strong. He is my strength physically and spiritually. We prayed that we would not only be able to finish it, but that we would be aware of opportunities to serve others along the way. I didn't necessarily have to help someone with a flat or carry someone on my back to the finish line...but as the runners ahead of me started looping back, we were all cheering each other on and encouraging each other. Matter of fact, one of the phrases used is "looking good" and I have to say...I felt like a rock star after so many people yelling 'looking good" as I ran. haha These were people who were about 2-3 miles ahead of me on the course...and we inspired and motivated each other. It was so fun.
We are all in this crazy life together.. We're all being tried and challenged every day...some of our hills are small, some are gruesomely huge. I believe that after this life we will return to live with Heavenly Father. But in order to live with Him we have to endure our challenges and obstacles and keep His commandments. This life is the time to prepare to meet God"(Alma 12:24) and I know that "if we are prepared, we shall not fear" (D&C38:30) That's what I've learned from this awesome experience. :)
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