After competing in Caveman a few weeks ago I had to ramp up my training for this race to get me ready and it has not been easy to say the least but it’s what I had to do. With getting only a few long runs in and two long bike rides I was not feeling as ready as I usually do, which for me is difficult. I love going into a race feeling over prepared not under prepared so I really wasn’t sure how this race would go but I was hoping for the best. Depending on what distance I’m training for I always train for the next distance for example when doing a sprint distance I like to train at an Olympic distance instead that way I’m ahead of the game and when I race I don’t feel so exhausted.
The Thursday before the race I went and picked up my packet with the girls in Keller, I was very excited as this was the first open water swimming race of the season out at Lake Ray Roberts. I had done a different distance race last year at this same course but this time it was still cool enough for my wetsuit so I was absolutely thrilled as I love wearing my wetsuit for races. After getting my bib and awesome new riding jersey I went home and started laying my stuff out for the race, I also tried on my wetsuit to make sure it still fit and looked it over for any damages or issues.
It was a long weekend for all of us as my husband was in a golf tournament that Saturday before my race and was gone most of the day, my girls both had soccer games so I was running around town with my in-laws who were here visiting all of us. Then that Saturday night we had a graduation to attend to which by the way was awesome. So by the time we got home and settled in for the night it was after 9pm, at that point I was exhausted and knowing I had to be up by 4:30am the next morning made it even worse. I was just hoping I would pass out and get some rest as I tend not to sleep well before races due to nerves.
4:15am my alarm went off, I did hit snooze one time as I knew I had a few extra minutes to spare with all my stuff being packed and ready by the front door I was good to sleep a few extra minutes. My older daughter slept in our room on the floor as she wanted to come to my race with my husband, bless her little heart for getting up that early to come and support me, may I also add that she is not a morning person so for her to get up on her sleep in day to come and support me meant the world to me. My little one stayed home with my in-laws so they could all spend time together which was totally fine by me, plus I didn’t want to drag them out that early in the morning and have everyone stand around for hours by a lake just waiting for me. We left the house around 5:20am with a 45 minute drive to the race I had lots of time to think in the truck and mentally prepare myself, the weird part is that I wasn’t freaking out like I normally do even knowing I was not 100% ready for this race I think since I had done this event before I knew what to expect and that brought me a calming feeling. We arrived to the race around 6am which was a good thing as it still gave me plenty of time to get all my stuff ready in transition and down to the water as transition was closing at 6:45am with the first swim start at 7am. Walking from the truck to transition, the air felt crisp yet not a breeze in sight with not one cloud in the sky which meant it was going to be an amazing day for racing. This was much different then my last event here which was raining and windy that is Texas weather for ya, you just never know what’s going to happen so you always need to be prepared for any conditions that may occur. Once I was body marked with my number I entered transition found my rack and set up all my gear, that’s when the nerves really started to set in and I had to go find a bathroom quickly..hahah. After that was taken care of I went and got my wetsuit, goggles, ear plugs and swim cap and headed down to the lake. Walking down with my husband and daughter and seeing how calm the lake was while watching the sunrise was something magical, that’s when I took a deep breath and thanked my lucky stars that I was healthy making it to the starting line. As athletes we train so much and so hard that if we can make it to the start line of any race healthy we are always thankful as now we can have fun during the race and leave it all out on the course.
We were given instructions for those of us doing the longer swim of 1 mile, they informed us that we were to swim to the big orange buoys and once we hit the shore we would need to get out of the water run along the beach and shore line pass through the timing chip area again and enter the water for lap 2...yes we had two laps to do that’s why my stomach dropped as I was so nervous about getting back out of the water running and then going back in to swim I was afraid it would throw me completely off but I had no choice but to just do it like everyone else. Our group which was “Olympic Women” with the yellow caps was the last swim wave group to go off so we had to wait around quite a bit, watching everyone else go off and finish the sprint and then watching those doing the longer distance coming out of the water running along the beach and entering back in made me just want to start already, its the anticipation that kills me somethings. Finally it was our turn to line up and get ready for the horn to go off, we all lined up said our finally good lucks and then the horn blew and we all ran into the water off the beach and away we went. That water was cold and once it hit my face I froze and started to panic, the water was choppy from the other swimmers and I couldn’t breath I had never experienced this before with all my other open water swims I have done this really messed me up. I just could not get in a rhythm at all, I tried to calm myself down and I used the buoys as my check points to get me through the swim, each time I passed one I would look for the next one and use that as my next goal to get my through. For some odd reason I felt like I couldn’t breath as my wetsuit seemed very tight and with people kicking me and getting slapped in the face from other swimmers I just wanted out of that water. Once I turned the last buoy and headed back to the shore all I could think about was I had to do this again..I don’t want to do this again...I can’t do this again...that was the first time I thought about even quitting in a race. I finally made it to the shore line where I saw my husband and daughter I got out of the water and was crying cause of my panic attack, Rich walked with me on my lap asking me what happen and calmed me down as much as I wanted to quit right there he took me off the ledge and said “okay you have one more lap, you can totally do this!”. At this point I calmed down, took a deep breath crossed the timing chip area and entered back into the water for my second lap which was so much better. I was able to stay calm and use my buoy’s as my check points through the second lap, by the time I did my last turn and headed back to the shore I was getting so tired I think all the panic and stress my first lap was getting to me and caused me to feel wiped out. I finally made through my second lap and once again when I got out of the water Rich and Lindsey were waiting for me up the hill to strip my wetsuit off of me which was so cool then as we headed to transition I started crying again the swim had really messed me up. Rich said once again “The worst part is over you have the bike and run, you have trained hard for this and you can do it.” I dropped my swimming stuff off switched to my bike gear grabbed my bike and headed out of T1 to the bike course. I was feeling much better and knew I had to pace myself as this was not an easy course but again since I had done it already I knew what to expect. I was about 3 miles in went to take a drink of my water while putting my bottle back in my holder I hit a bump and my water bottle flew out of my hand to the side of the road that’s when I yelled “oh shit” really loud knowing that I just lost my only water for the ride and I still had 21 miles to go...hahaha. I still have to electrolytes bottle but that was my back up so I kept riding as there was nothing I could do about that. I wasn’t gong to stop to pick up my bottle I just had to keep going. I started to feel the heat and wind about mile 13 and my legs were starting to feel tired the hills definitely beat me up today which made me so frustrated as that is one thing I have been working on but today was just not my day. I came into today’s race wanting to compete and get on that podium but at this point I was just hoping to finish the dang race and not come in last place. By the time I got back to transition with my bike I was so do at this point I didn’t even feel like running I was completely exhausted both mentally and physically I wasn’t even sure I would finish this race at this point after having such a rough morning. I swapped out my bike gear for my running gear and out of T2 I went once again crying when I saw Rich as I was tried and sore and it was getting hot now in that sun. He calmed me down once again and said he would see me on my second loop, now I have really stepped up my running training as I have a half marathon coming up in a few months so if this was the time I needed to shine I had to do it now. I felt good once I left Rich and saw so many amazing triathletes on the course that gave me extra motivation, keep my breathing under control. I had a really great run even on my second loop but I won't lie it was getting hot and I could feel the heat but I kept drinking my water, refueling at the water stations and going through the water showers they had on the course for us which was awesome. Then came the turning point for the finish line and I was over the moon excited to see it and head home, as the turned the corner my girls were waiting there for me so they could run down to the finish line with me and cheered me on. It was so wondering to have them next to me cheering me on and keeping me motivated, I love racing for that reason. Setting an example for my girls means the world to me, there is not great joy than having your kids support you in your dreams and goals. I have an amazing family and so thankful for all of them to come and watch me race at every event I do.
Next was finding out if I made it in the top 3 for Athena 39 and Under, well I did it again I placed 1st in my group for the Olympic distance after everything I had gone through wanting to quit and give up I still pushed myself and still made it on the podium. It was an interesting experience and something I will remember for a very long time but I'm glad this race is over, next up is my Half Marathon in June.
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