Baby Steps

Today was the Stanley Sprint Triathlon, and my official return to triathlons in general.  It was a first step, and I was looking forward to it.  I also felt a little silly about it considering a bunch of friends were doing a half Ironman the same day, but more on that later.

I've mentioned before how things have changed since I raced, but never until today did I realize how much.  I got to the transition area, Vintage and gear in tow.  A man checked the old girl over, and made some comments about her safety.  I assured him she would hold together and he reluctantly let me go.  It dawned on me at that point that my bike was probably older than more than a few competitors.  I tried not to think about that.

After I dropped my stuff off, I got marked - that I remember from years past.  Then I was fitted with my timing chip - felt like I was going under house arrest. Fortunately Missie was there helping out, and she cracked some jokes easing my nerves. Chip, bib, tri suits, the incredible bikes I saw, nothing like that was remotely part of the racing world I was used to.  That's when I started getting nervous.

I laid out my transition area, and waited for the start. Much to my surprise, more and more people I knew started coming in.  Now it was a party! Some were first timers, and some were already Ironmen.  Either way, we were there for each other.

I made a few mistakes during this race - ones that just might have altered the outcome.  But this was why I came, to make these mistakes now and learn from them.

Mistake number 1 - Don't sell yourself short when they seed you for the swim time in a pool triathlon, you will pay for it.  My 100m time in practice has always been around 1:45.  When they asked us to line up according to time, I changed my mind and seeded myself with the 2:15's.  Why did I do that?  I have absolutely no idea.  All it managed to do was cause me to be stuck with three people who refused to let me pass, despite the fact I was crawling up their legs the entire way. There's a reason why I love open water swims, you can get around anyone you need to.

Mistake number 2 - I need a tri suit. Like, yesterday.  Trying to pull on bike shorts quickly on a wet body is like trying...well, nothing I can think of is remotely flattering to me, so I'll let you think of your own analogy.  People flew out of transition, while I wasted precious seconds getting my shorts on.

Mistake number 3 - I guess in racing terms, this would be considered a mistake, but I had so much fun, I couldn't help myself and I would do it again.  Out on the bike, we first got to ride with the wind.  Uphill, but with the wind.  So every time I saw a rider out on the course, I would yell an encouragement out to them. They, in turn, looked at me like I had lost it.

 I remembered what people told me about enjoying the moment, and I wanted to send some positive mojo out to my fellow racers.  However, when I hit the turn around and started into the wind which was pretty heinous at that point, I began to tire when I called out. Especially since, magically, we were STILL going uphill. It was at that point I said to myself, "this is great and all, but do you think you could maybe save your breath for this wall we are currently hitting?"

Something else I saw but fortunately did not do, was now something I will be sure to never do.  About mile 10 on the bike, a girl with a truly awesome bike passed me.  In the last mile though, I caught up to her.  She looked over her shoulder to see how close I was, but over-rotated and crashed her bike.  Hard.  Don't worry about where anyone else is, especially that close to the end, it's not worth it.

During bike training, I had done something that helped me out a lot today.  During some of our rides, I refused to draft off other riders, especially in strong wind. Esmeralda and I would say,"There's no draft in Ironman!"  This prepared me for riding in the strong wind, and helped save my legs for the (gulp) run.

I am happy to say that I didn't make any mistakes on the run - I was dreading that part, but my feet kept moving, and I kept breathing.  As I passed Wally I told him it was a lovely day for a stroll, and it was. I went a little slower than I had hoped, but I kept either maintaining or negative splits.

After my finish, we waited for others who were still out on the course.  Cheryl, Irma, Rosie, we all chanted them to the finish line.  It was emotional, especially for Irma.  I was happy to share that moment with them.

It was time for awards, and German had said I should place.  I didn't want to let him down, so I looked at the results with mixed feeling.  My bike was 10 mins slower than he had wanted, and my run was a little off pace too.  I found my name, and let out a squeal that made everyone wonder if they had stepped on me. Third!  I had made third!  On top of that, I was just a minute and a half behind the girl who got second.  Time that would have been made up with a little more experience in not making the above mistakes.  But it was fine, I placed, I survived and I was happy.

Now I just need to grow out my hair enough so I don't look like I touched a live wire :)

Once I got home, I turned on the computer to find the results of the half Ironman in Galveston.  German was a beast, Lori did awesome, and George, well George defies all logic.  For his first triathlon, he does a half Ironman, and teaches himself how to swim from You Tube. It's either crazy, inspiring or both.

It was a good day for triathlon, both big and small. I met new friends, got to know others better, and made progress towards my ultimate goal. Lesson were learned and fun was hard, and in the end that's all that matters.

Ironman, we are coming for you!

PS. Thanks Ramon, for all the great pictures!