The Best of the Best Triathlon has finally arrived, I qualified for this race 6 weeks ago and I’m so excited. This is the first race I have ever qualified so it really means a lot to me in so many ways. I have taken the last few weeks to really step up my training and push myself even harder to get to this point, my last race I wanted to just finish but this race I wanted to kill it and be on that podium as #1 for Athena 39 and Under to end my 2018 triathlon racing season.
It was a rather calm and strange taper week leading up to Sunday’s race, now don’t get me wrong that’s what it’s suppose to feel like but I always seem to stress myself out and worry...did I do enough, did I work hard enough or long enough on my training workouts, did I follow my nutrition plan like I was suppose to, did I drink enough water...the list goes on and on. However after getting my race bib with all the goodies and laying all my stuff out the night before I was still feeling really good with no anxiety or stress, it helped staying busy that weekend so I didn’t have too much time to think about it. I kept telling myself I was ready and at this point there was nothing else I could do, I put in all the hard work and did everything I wanted to do to get myself here. I went to bed at a reasonable time to make sure I got some enough sleep as I usually don’t get much the night before any race.
Once I arrived I went into transition set up my bike and all my gear for the race. It was rather chilly in the morning as it was the beginning of November, I questioned myself a few times wondering what I was doing racing in this cold weather but I don’t back down from a challenge especially when it involves racing. I went inside to pick up my tracker for my ankle and check out the pool as this was my first time racing at an indoor pool, I think that is partly why I felt a little calmer as the swim is always the toughest thing for me and since I had been training in a pool I felt pretty good. It’s the open water swims that make me crazy and nervous as you just don’t know the water conditions but in a pool it’s easy as it’s always the same. After getting everything set up my family arrived to greet me and cheer me on, it was so awesome to see them and have them come out on this cold morning. My husband Rich talked me through my set up in transition to make sure I was set and ready, then we all walked into the pool area where I was able to go and warm up before just jumping in and starting. I felt good getting in and doing a few laps and making sure my cap and goggles were good. Since it was an indoor pool swim everyone had to stand in one long line based on your bib number as not everyone starts at the same time. They had one person go at a time with 10 seconds in between, the swim start was based on previous swim times from the race that you qualified for to get here. After asking the lady in front of me and behind me on their swim times I was in the perfect place to start.
Once it came to my turn, I sat on the edge of the pool until I was told to go, once he said go I started my watch and away I went in the pool. It was a 250 yard swim which was 10 laps of the pool, now the fun part was turning at the wall under the buoys as I don’t flip turn so I had to figure out how to go under the water and not hit my head when turning to go to the next lane. The first few times I think I swam too deep which messed me up and I was losing my breath which is not good when your racing and trying to get through it. So I calmed myself down and pushed through each lap, the final two laps were the toughest as I knew I was almost over and had to go out into the cold next. I jumped out the water in 5:16.6 which was a good time I wanted to be under 5 mins but I was very happy with that time. Once I hit the door to run outside I felt the cold kick in but I was thankful for the sun and ready to go and dry off a bit to get my long shirt on. I saw my girls and my husband cheering me on while I ran into transition to get myself ready for my 16.5 mile bike ride. I was in and out of transition in 2:31.1 and off I was on my bike ready to kick some butt.
The first few miles were cold as I was still wet but once again I calmed myself down, got comfortable in aero with my arms in front and stayed focused. I kept an eye on my time as I wanted to make sure I was following my nutrition plan and hydration every 15 mins I knew this would make a difference as I struggled with that in my last race so it was very important this time around. When I approached my first hill I backed off my hard gear sat up and pushed hard up the hill, I couldn’t believe how calm I was and how great I felt. I was passing people while go up hills, I have never done that ever so that was a huge victory to me and I didn’t stop there I stayed focused and continued to push through the hills while enjoying the downhills. I got to the half way turnaround point in 28 minutes which is where I needed to be in order to have any shot for the podium, with that being said I knew I would have to work hard and really pump on my way back to get under 1 hour for my bike but I knew it was definitely achievable. Heading back we had some strong head winds which is never fun so now I had to dig deep and really use my legs, which made me nervous as I was afraid if I used my legs too much I would not have anything on my run but at that moment I knew I just had to give it all I had and not leave anything out there. I would figure out my run when I got to that point, so I pushed and pushed and turned the corner to head to transition in which I looked at my watch and saw how close I was to getting under the one hour mark, then I saw Rich and the girls waiting for me and once I looked at my watch I saw 59.46.2 minutes I was so happy I couldn’t believe it. Rich kept telling me nice ride and said okay this is when it really counts is on the run. I switched from my bike gear to my running gear and off I went on my run.
Rich began my run with me and helped me stay focus on where I was and what I needed to do to keep myself on this momentum. I looked down at my watch at one point as saw a 8:30 pace which was insane and had to back off a bit as I didn’t want to go too fast and burn myself out. I felt really good the first mile but then I started to get hot as I forgot to take off my long sleeve shirt so I rolled it up and kept running. I did keep checking my watch to make sure I was on pace to what my A goal was which was to be under 30 minutes for my 5K, once I rounded that second loop I knew I would have to kick into high gear to keep up my pace to once again have a shot for that podium...oh yes that podium was on my mind the whole day that is what I trained for and that is why I was hear today so there was no way I was going to forgot about that. I saw Rich and the girls a few times on the course but this was my last time seeing them as I was on my way to the finish line and I was killing it at this point, the look on Rich’s face and all the excitement made me so happy as I knew I was going to have a great time for my run and overall time. I pushed around that last corner and headed for the inside of the football stadium, one final corner and there it was the finish line I gave it all I had by passing a lady and finishing strong. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day as I saw my girls and husband waiting for me at the finish line with hugs and tears of joy as I just killed that course!
After stopping my watch and crying I couldn’t believe how well I did and how amazing this day was for me. I worked really, really hard for this race and everything clicked for me from the very beginning to when I hit that finish line. Now it was time for the results to see how I stacked up with the other athletes. I couldn’t go and look at the sheet so Rich went over for me to take a picture...as he was walking back I literally felt like I was going to fall over as I was so nervous on how I placed then he showed me his phone and I placed 1st in Athena 39 and Under, not only did I place first in my age group but first overall with the best time of all Athena’s. I was so happy and excited I could have yelled from the roof tops at this point. Then Rich looked at me and said "Are you really that surprised???, I’m not as you killed it out there today!”. This moment was huge for me in so many ways, from beginning my weight loss journey back in March to training and qualifying for a local race and getting myself back to being healthy and happy again. This validated everything I had worked so hard for. I finished with a final time of 1:40:04.0 which is my new Personal Record for a Sprint distance triathlon. This has really put a fire under me for next year and reminded me how much I missed competing and racing. Training hard and following a Paleo lifestyle really changed how I race and how fast my body recovered, I’m very excited for next year as I think I’m finally onto something great.Thank you to all those who have supported me this year with my weight loss and training journey, there were ups and downs but overall it has been a great eye opening experience for me. I’m so close to a big mile marker of losing 50 lbs its within arms reach so I will be updating you all once I hit that goal which will be soon. Now it’s bring on the holiday’s and some much needed rest and downtime!
