Tri Tri Again

Crazy nervous!

     My dear friend Laura, and another speedy friend whom I admire, decided that we should do a triathlon together. She did her first one at the end of June with a pool swim and wanted to attempt open water for the first time. We ended up picking the NYTri Staten Island Triathlon. I wasn't all that excited when I signed up as it consisted of much the same course as my first, and only other tri...not to mention, I was more focused on marathon training.
     I kept up my swimming half-heartedly while diving into marathon training. I swim at NYU, which has been crazy over the summer, causing me to lose my enjoyment of the pool. But, alas, I religiously went 2 times a week and managed to get in some drills, a little speed, and some shorter repeats...I kept getting cut off when attempting longer repeats and gave up trying...it always sucks to be on lap 15 and having someone cut you off, ruining your time.
     However, due to a little hip tendonitis, I hadn't ridden my bike in almost 2 months. My chiropractor graciously said I could run, but had to lay low on the bike, including spin. Since my main focus was my marathon and I was doing the tri just for fun, I was OK with that. My hip slowly got better and I was finally able to test it out on a ride...the day before the race. Not the best time to really ride hard, so I did a relaxed 25 miles. Just as well since my legs have been a bit tired from ramping up the running miles.
     I spent the night before the race at Laura's house...always a blast!. In the morning, I slept through my alarm for 14 minutes...I never do that, but have been really tired lately. Oh, well, I still had plenty of time to get ready. Most importantly, the truck started! For those who didn't read In Pursuit of a Bobble Head, on the morning of my first tri, the truck didn't start...great way to rev the nerves even more than they were already twirling. We loaded everything in and set off for the race, getting there in time to get a good spot in the transition area before the crowds arrived. We also had plenty of time to chat with friends and relax before the start.
     I was a little more nervous about the start of this race since we were starting out of the water and had to run in. Before the start, we were allowed to swim for a few minutes. I noticed that the water was choppy on the way to shore, making it hard to swim out...I swallowed a nasty mouthful...and decided I would walk to the first buoy. As the first wave of racers went, I realized I wasn't the only one who came to that decision. Once past the buoy, the swim seemed much easier than last time. I think it was mostly because my sighting was better this time around. It probably also helped that I could see through my goggles as last time they fogged up. There were a lot more people though. I bumped into one girl who glared at me. I didn't stop and just kept swimming. She stood up (you could touch the ground) and pushed my legs away. I just kept swimming.
     Coming around the last buoy I saw people walking/running to shore through the water. I decided to do the same in order to avoid swallowing any more water, but quickly realized how silly I was being. It would have been much faster to just swim! Roly, Laura's husband, was yelling at me to swim, but I had already removed my goggles, so just kept walking as fast as I could. My swim time is nothing to write home about, but I learned a good lesson for the next race...don't walk, just swim!

Lopsided helmet - oh well, no time for such 
trivial matters

     I ran as quickly as I could through the sand, across some concrete, and then the grass all the way to the transition area. Got my wetsuit off as fast as possible...yeah, I felt silly wearing one since the water was so warm, but I'm not sure I'm ready to swim without it. I pulled on my sneakers, threw on my helmet, grabbed my bike and headed out. Immediately, I felt how hard it was to pedal. I was riding against the wind. The only time I knew my actual speed was when I passed the police speed detector. My legs got quite tired when riding against the wind and I worried that it would cause me to suffer on the run, so I down-shifted to spin them out a bit and then upped the gear to regain some speed. Once around the corner, I could go faster with the wind at my back. I had three loops of that to do, looking forward to see my cheering friends at the end of each loop. I realized on the last loop that I didn't quite know where the dismount area was, so I kept my eyes peeled when I knew it was coming to an end. I eased into it and set off running for my transition area. Now for my favorite part...the run!

Those guys tried to use me as their rabbit...but they didn't keep up

     I set out on the concrete blocks, which I hate! I immediately regretted not wearing some compression sleeves as my shins were hurting, but kept pushing. I was passing people and never stopped passing people. I saw the winning male run by...it was an out and back course. I saw the water stop ahead and thought that was the turn around. But no, it was another mile away. At least this mile was on the boardwalk, but not before running up a bit of an incline. I kept my eyes peeled for women, only counting two ahead of me before I reached the turn around point. I was in third place! I saw that the 4th place female was a couple of minutes behind me. All I had to do was keep up my pace. Then, I saw Laura, who screamed at me to keep going...she thought I was in 2nd place. I knew she was wrong, but it gave me the drive to keep pushing. I flew! I heard guys commenting behind me as I passed. One guy tried to keep up...but I dropped him once I hit the final mile. I could see the finish and knew Roly and friends would be there. it was time to sprint! I ran as hard as I could to the finish, grabbed some water, and headed out to cheer for Laura as she came in.
     We were both really excited! I had placed third and Laura had conquered her fear of open water while placing in her age group. It wasn't until the awards ceremony, that I found out I was actually the 1st female...the two girls ahead of me had competed in the duathlon. I was astonished! And ecstatic! I won!!!

1st Female Overall...Still in shock! 

     To top it off, I again had a running PR. Not hard with a 4 miler since I have only done one other, but I had never run that fast in any race (6:14 min/mi). Now if I can only harness my running speed in a triathlon and use it in a road race...