My First Tri!

Sunday finally arrived and it was time for the Wildcat Sprint Triathlon!

I woke up around 4:40 AM to make some oatmeal. I didn’t have all the fruit that I usually like to put in it so I put some pomegranate craisons and chia seeds in it. I gathered my gear and packed everything in the car.

Dave and I stopped at Dunkin. I wanted to pick up a bagel, a bottle of gatorade, water and I also got a small iced coffee. I wasn’t sure if I’d drink the iced coffee, but I wanted it just in case. I did the same thing at my first long race, the Cape Cod 14 miler. I bought an iced coffee but never drank it!

We arrived at Rynne Park in Lowell around 6:45 and I found the registration area.

Kim, Kayle and Danielle were already there. I was luckily next to Kayle in the transition area so she helped me set up.

Before we knew it, it was 8am and they started playing the national anthem. Once the anthem was done, the olympic triathlon started with the men first followed by the women.

Kayle and I were doing the sprint so we went to watch Kim and Danielle get started for their first olympic. While they were out swimming, we hung out in the shade.

We saw Kim and Danielle finish the swim and then we got to see Team Hoyt start us the sprint tri. They are SO amazing! Dave got to see them on their entire trip.

The men started and then we finally got to go. I hate waiting because sometimes my nerves act up. I started in the back for the swim because I was slightly afraid of being swum over and I didn’t know how slow I’d be.

The swim went well, but the water was pretty gross. The sand on the bottom was the slimy kind (is that even a kind of sand?) and there were so many particles floating around…it was mucky. Maybe I swam well because I wanted to get the heck out of there! I ended up passing some people but I didn’t take sharp turns at the buoys. I wanted to avoid collisions with the other more serious swimmers. I finished the swim in 8:06 minutes!

I got to the transition area, used a towel to clean my feet a bit, threw on my bike shoes and helmet and ran my bike to the course.

My legs were a little sore from Saturday’s 52 miles, but I guess that is to be expected! I was thirsty, so I grabbed my water bottle but as I did, I ripped the number off my bike. Oops! I didn’t let it distract me. I quickly grabbed it and stuffed it in my shirt in case I needed it. Next time I will remember Sarah’s tip to bring a stapler to staple my number to my bike!

The ride was going well but then a police car and ambulance went speeding by. In a few miles I rode up to see that a biker had an accident. I got a little nervous that it might be a friend of mine, but luckily it wasn’t. We had to dismount our bikes and walk by. Later when I met up with my girls, one of them said that there was a pool of blood and it didn’t look good. We saw a helicopter and think that the person was being flown to a hospital. Cycling can be so dangerous! Please be safe riders!

After getting by the accident, I continued on my way and I saw maybe 3 or 4 people changing their tire tubes. I was praying I wouldn’t get a flat!

Mid ride, my eye felt funny. I saw part of my contact fall out…it ripped! I put an extra pair in my bike bag, but I wanted to try to wear these as long as I could. As long as I didn’t rub my eye it should be ok! I didn’t get any flats and my contact stayed in (even though it was annoying because I could feel that it was ripped). I passed a few people as I ran to the transition. Leg 2 complete!

BIKE
11 miles
37:07
Avg pace 18 mph

I threw my sneakers on and ran off (I had put my race belt on before the bike so didn’t need to worry about that). I didn’t even double knot my shoes which I always do for a race. I thought about it twice, but was just too excited to waste any time transitioning!

I was pumped for the run…my comfort zone. But as I got about a quarter mile out in the run, I realized…I DIDN’T TAKE MY HELMET OFF! Some woman running by me suggested me just throw it to the ground and pick it up later. I had decided to ask some spectators to take it and return it. They were super nice and took it. I felt like a ditz!

Even though I was taking some extra precautions by wearing my helmet, I LOVED THE RUN. Yes, please still call me Little Miss Runshine because this was my heaven. It was like playing a game. You look at peoples age and then try to pass them. I like but dislike the fact that they write your age on your calf!

About a mile away from the finish, my right shoe lace came undone. Darn it I should have double knotted them! But I was so close that I decided to just be very careful and run it out. My sneakers were pretty awesome because even though they were untied, the laces weren’t all over the place.

I got near the finish and decided to go all out. I wanted to “chic” that guy running in front of me. Mission accomplished!

RUN

Kayle and I finished first since we did the sprint. So we waited around and saw Kim and Danielle finish.

Go Danielle!

Go Kim!

Congrats ladies!

Before I left, I had smiled at Dick Hoyt, and then he said I looked great out there! I had passed him on his way out for the run and cheered him on. I chatted with him for a bit. I found out he has done Ironmans too…this guy is crazy awesome! I always love seeing them race.

One of the other exciting things that happened is that I saw Courtney from ThatRunnerChick.com! When I was standing with my girls before they started the olympic tri, I saw Dave with a woman and he pointed at me. Apparently Courtney had recognized him from my blog and asked him if he was Dave. Then she had told him who she was. I love it! Dave is famous!

I saw Courtney when I was on my run. I waved the first time but she didn’t see me. So the second time I called out her name! She stopped by to say hi and ask how my race went after I had finished and we took a picture together. I am excited because she will be at Pumpkinman too!

Overall, I had a great first tri experience. I learned to take a little more time during my transitions-I mean I am not going to win this thing so why rush! And I think I will try to pace myself a little better since my next tri will be the half Ironman!

Official Race Stats
Swim 8:06
T1 1:21
Bike 36:54
T2 48 sec
Run 21:42
Overall place 49/142
Age Category place 4/9

Have you ever had a silly goof up like wearing a helmet for the run of a tri?!

Do you see a lot of people from the blog world when you go race?

I usually see at least one person!