Some history: This is a sprint indoor triathlon. It has a 1/2 mile swim, 7/10 mile bike (it used to be 7 when they used the Schwinn Airdyne bikes. I hated those bikes with a passion. If you don't know what they are, those are the ones with the big fan in the front "wheel" and those ginormous handle bars that move. Anyway, 2 years ago they switched to a Keiser M3 bike, like what you find in a spin class, and changed the distance to 10 miles.) I have done this race 12 times. Not consecutively. Not always as a individual. Here is the run down with a few details & race results:
1997: 1st year. I was 20 years old, married & had my 1st child by them. Was just getting into swimming. Finish time: 1:06:35
1998: Competed this year as a team with Jim, my husband. I was 14 weeks pregnant with baby #2, hence our team effort. People were astonished that a pregnant woman was competing. Finish time: 1:01:46
1999: Competed as a team again. This time I swam, Jim biked and I ran. Finish time: 57:44
2000 & 2001: did not compete due to giving birth to January & February babies.
2002: I have no record of this race. I don't know why I wouldn't have done it. But I guess I didn't. Hmmmm????
2003: Finish time: 1:00:06 Best swim time to date. Was psyched to be "so close" to the 1 hour mark.
2004: Finish time: 1:00:25. D'oh...so close again!!!!
2005: Finish time: 1:01:47. Frustrating that I could not seem to break the 1 hour mark.
2006: I was signed up to race this year, but had to pull out at the last minute. Andrew (baby I had just given birth to the previous November) was very sick & in the hospital. It just did not work out for us to make it to the race.
2007: Finish time: 1:00:44. I'm into my 30's now....that must be it....RIGHT?!?!?!?
2008: Finish time: 1:08:57 I had just given birth 6 weeks earlier. Not my best performance, but I got it done!
2009: Finish time: 59:00, FINALLY broke the 1 hour mark.
2010: Finish time: 57:48 and another PR. Now I'm rolling, must be like wine & get better with age : )
2011: 2 of my daughters also want to compete, but they can't swim (note: they know how to swim, just more for recreational purposes). We competed as a team, I swam, Mandy biked, Nina ran. Finish time: 1:04:28
2012: I completely revamped my swim form. I fixed some lazy tendencies I had and I forced myself to learn & implement alternate breathing. First time with the new bikes. LOVE them! I think it helps that a few years ago I was a cycling instructor so I'm used to riding on these types of bikes. Finish time: *drum roll please*..........56:47 A NEW PERSONAL RECORD!!!!!!!!
The good: I felt like I trained a little more this year than I have in previous ones. I didn't go all out and train my hardest. Ideally I'd love to, but despite what some think, I really can't do it all. My swim (1/2 mile, 17:18) went better than I expected. Not a stellar performance time, but not bad either. My previous mentioned changes I just implemented at the beginning of January. That is a lot to change & work on in 3 weeks time. Considering that, I'm very please with my swim. My bike time (10 miles,18:04) drastically improved, which could be attributed to the type of bike I had to use, but I also had to add 3 more miles than before. Biking is my least favorite of the 3 sports, but I rocked it. I was second to last out of the pool for my heat, but third off the bike. My run (2 1/2 miles, 18:52), of course, was awesome. I always say they save my best for last. I started out slower, but continually built my speed up. I averaged about an 8 minute pace on my run. I placed 1st in my age group. (Technically 2nd, but the overall winner was also in my age group & that bumped her out & me up). I was 3rd woman overall (the 2nd overall woman missed by just 3-4 seconds). It was a tight, good race!
The bad: Well, I shouldn't say any, since I so rocked it with a pr. BUUUUUT, I missed winning the race completely by 26 seconds. That particular participant was also in my heat. She was first out of the pool, but I passed her on the bike. I had a 2 lap lead on her once she hit the track. She slowly, but surely caught up with me (she is an awesome kick butt runner). I was a little afraid to push, at least too hard too soon and then be hurting. I kept telling myself not to race her anyway. I had to focus on ME and MY race. That is all that really matters. I was rocking it in my own Carmen way. It came down to her finishing 1 lap ahead of me. I couldn't "lose" to a nicer person anyway. She's awesome!!!! : ) I'll be honest, it eats at me a little that if I had just pushed harder I coulda won. I've never won this race or even come close. It just gives me a goal for next year : )
The ugly: I battled car sickness riding to and from the race. When we rolled into town I was moaning & kept saying "I'm going to throw up". Not a good feeling before a race. I raced in the 1:30 heat. I ate a late & big breakfast, but didn't really have time for any lunch. It's one of those tricky times. Hubs & kids stopped & got McD's (bleck) along the way. I did get a yogurt, but was too sick to eat that. Once I got going I was fine, but could have used a tad more fuel that what I was going on. In the pool my new swim form had me gasping for air a few times. I know this will get better with time & practice, but I about felt like I was a drowned rat on a few of my turns. I battled a side stitch a little. You know, where your side hurts when you run. Mine was right underneath my right upper rib cage. It came it & went on my bike. Making sure I had good formed helped it. It teased me a little on my run too, which is partly why I was afraid to blast away on my run. It helped keep me in check. Sometimes it sucks to listen to your body. Often it really does know best. That little pain is nothing to mess with. If not heeded to it will knock you out flat.
Monday....continuing with the running streak: I got up today like it was any other day. I felt pretty good, almost as if I hadn't raced at all. (I remember in my earlier years being so sore & unable to move after such a race). Once I hopped on the treadmill to run my 1 mile, I felt it a little more in my muscles. Teaching my cardio dance class was a little different. I was feeling the soreness set in and was just plum out of energy. Being the teacher I had to keep going though. I made it through, but wished I hadn't done that. I was just fine without it. I'm undecided if I'll "only" run 1 mile tomorrow or get back to my usual 4 miles. I do miss being able to get a good run in. This 1 mile thing is getting old. Anyway, here is the music that I heard on my run. To include an extra song I'll also include my cool down. I listened to a playlist I made for my triathlon.
Reign In Us - Starfield This is a slower moving song, but it really moves me. It gets my hand up in praise : )
Lemonade - Chris Rice One of my all time favorites : )
Lean On Me - Bill Withers Everyone start swaying & sing now....Lean on me...when you're not strong.......
Take Me Away - Christina Vidal Right from the Freaky Friday soundtrack
I will post addition race pictures this week. Here is one taken before my race. I wore my TOUGH MOTHER bondiband :)
Awesome! Great job! I can't even imagine getting that close to the front that a win was even in sight. Amazing!
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