Jay Benson Race Report

Saturday afternoon, I picked up ShyTriGirl at her folks' house and we headed out for packet pickup. Afterwards, we stopped at the new Performance Bike shop in town. Then we were off for some 'carbo loading.' I really enjoyed spending time talking with her. When I got back home, I got my things organized for the morning and called it an early evening.

I did not sleep well. I think I woke up 4 times during the night needing to use the bathroom - nervous stomache. I had been very calm up until that point. Oddly, I was mostly fretting about next weekend rather than this race. I'm goofy that way.

Sunday morning came, and ShyTriGirl picked me up, we loaded the bikes on the back of her vehicle, and we were off. When we arrived at the base, there was a long, slow line of cars trying to get past security. As it turns out, the race ended up being delayed a half hour or so because of the difficulty getting folks in.

Found a spot in the transition area that was fairly close to the bike in/out. Got it set up. Practiced sighting my transition area coming from both directions. Eventually, I was satisfied that I would be able to find it. Also checked out the pool entrance/exit to be sure I understood how that would work out. Found my friend who is going to the training camp and oly tri with me next weekend. She showed me how to better attach my number to my bike.

Then it was mostly waiting. It was getting warm and I ended up taking off the long sleeve shirt that I had intended to wear. Found some nice people to lend us some sun screen. Note to self - put sunscreen in the transition bag next time!

We watched the men take off as well as the leaders coming in from the run. Our wave (women and relay teams) were slated to start 30min after the men. Eventually it was time for us to get start.

And off we went...

I was hoping to use my other friend as my 'pace man' and try to keep up with her as far as I could. However, after about four footsteps, I realized that wasn't going to happen and I was going to have to pace myself.

Throughout the on the run, all I could think about was how hot it was. I didn't have my Garmin and they didn't have mile markers, so I had no idea what pace I was doing, but I was getting tired. I was happy when the transition area was in sight.

Took off my race belt and hat while running through transition, set it down, put on my helmet, switched shoes, drank some water, ate a few bloks, and headed out.

The course started off flat. At that point, I felt like I was doing okay, not great, but okay. Then somewhere out of nowhere, there were hills. Crud! Now I was doing not so okay, but I thought "Just keep pedalling, just keep pedalling" and so I did.

ShyTriGirl came whirring past me, said something encouraging, and left me in the dust. I wanted to say something nice back, but all I could manage was a grunt.

Eventually the bike leg was over. Racked the bike, took off my helmet, shoes, socks, and grabbed my swim cap and goggles. Then ran through transition and around and finally arrived at the pool.

The swim was a miserable experience. It was really crowded in there, there were people doing breaststroke, I was getting kicked and hit, plus I was winded. At one point, I got flustered and rolled over to my back to catch my breath and regain my composure. After that, I did better and just thought "swim, Lisa, you know how to do this!"

Finish time according to my watch was 01:32:04. I had expected to finish somewhere between 01:30:00 and 01:35:00, so no complaining from me.

And then it was over. Bikes back on the car and heading home...

Without digging too deeply into my splits, it is clear to me that I either have to get better on the bike or learn to accept it for what it is. I would like to post a bike split someday that doesn't make me feel cruddy.

But overall, I can truly say that I had fun. Plus I don't feel nearly as beat as I did after my first triathlon, so I'm encouraged that my fitness level is improving. And no injury this time. WoooHoo!!