Race Day:
I drove my mom's car to the race at 5 am. Mom, Tiff and the kids would come about 8 am for the start of the race. I got to the transition area and was the second person there. I got the best spot in the transition area, right by the bike in and bike out gates. This meant I had less distance to run with my bike. I was alone for a couple of hours until the start of the race and was calmer than I had expected. I told myself "I have trained for this, I am ready and there is nothing more I can do but have a strong race". The call came out for the pre-race meeting and Tiff, Mom and the kids got there just before the race started. I waded out in the lake and positioned myself on the right side of the pack. The water was not cold and the lake is really shallow. People were saying if you get in trouble just stand up. Most of the lake is about 6 feet deep. The count down started and we were off.
(that's me in the center of the photo #168)
I have heard that an open water swim at a triathlon is like swimming in a human blender, or full contact swimming. I did not want to go too fast off the start only to fade after a minute or two, so I took it easy at the beginning. The race was 2 laps around the course. My goal was 28 minutes. I had to tell myself to relax and have fun. As I turned the last corner of the first lap I looked at my watch, it was 12 mins. I was half way done with the swim.
All I had to do was swim the course one more time. As I reached the first turn I could see a boat with a couple of guys on in it. They looked like my cousins but I was not for sure. When I got close, sure enough it was Ryan and Troy. They were looking around trying to find me in the sea of bodies.
They saw me and I saw them. I gave a quick fist pump and was off. I was going to beat my goal of 28 minutes by a full minute, finishing in 27 minutes. I rounded the last turn and headed for shore. I was done the with the scary part of the race. Out of the water, off with the suit and on to the bike.
The transition area is a sea of bikes, shoes, towels, helmets and bodies. I was lucky my spot was right up front.
The bike course was flat, which meant I was faster than normal, but so was everyone else. I averaged 20.33 mph for the course yet was still was getting passed all the time. I wish I was faster but not yet, I am working on it. I made it to the turn around point. Half way done with the bike. I was able to keep my pace up all the way back. Now all I had to do was run 6.2 miles.
As I hit the run portion of the race, there were tons of racers. The olympic race was 2 laps of the sprint course. I started the run course as most of the sprint racers were on last part of their only lap. The people who lived on the run course were out cheering everyone on. A couple of people had their garden hoses out and were spraying people as they passed, which was awesome. By this time in the day it was HOT!! As I hit the end of my first lap a volunteer yelled "almost there" and I replied, "one more lap to go!" On the second lap my cousin Ryan jumped in and ran with me for most of the distance. It was nice to have some one to chat with, as the race course was getting empty fast. I was slow on the run, but I did it!!!
(My cousin Ryan & me)
I placed third in my division and received a medal. It was my first. I did not care, I finished!!!! My goal was 3 hours, I missed it by 7 minutes. My overall race pace was the fastest I have done to date.
My Best Fans!!!!
First Olympic Distance Triathlon
Swim 1500 yards 27:27
Bike 23 miles 1:11:35
Run 6.2 miles 1:24:46
Total Time 3 hours 7 minutes
Finished 85 out of 95
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