Issaquah Triathlon- The Best and Worst Triathlon

Saturday May 31st
Finish time - 1:21:42
AG: 16/86
Overall: 262/703

Nutrition- breakfast 2 hours prior and water on the bike

Pre-race:
I went to see the “Sex and City” movie. It was awesome. I am training for an Ironman this year but made a decision that I still needed to make time for friends and family. So the timing of this movie and the triathlon were somewhat conflicting. I decided to pick up my race packet prior to dinner. It made me later than I originally planned but I needed to get this done. I came home close to 10 and after talking to my mom and Nicole I didn’t see my pillow until close to 11:30.

Race Day:
I awoke at 5 pretty exhausted. Husband is away and so I will be taking my mom and kids to the triathlon this morning. This is pretty exciting as this will be the first race my mom has seen. I go to get my favorite breakfast food and guess what…no pop-tarts. How could this have happened, oh no? Ok don’t panic –an oatmeal breakfast will have to do. I finish getting all my stuff together, kids and mom are in the car and I head to Sammamish State Park. Its 6:15 and I am not yet to the park, panic some what sets in. I honestly think to myself that at this point if I don’t get there by the mandatory race briefing at 6:45, it will be ok. I can race another day. I pull up about 6:25 get my bike to the transition area by 6:30 and then head off to the Triumph Multisport Tent. I decide to put my gear over there today and so my bike has the tiniest transition area. As I am out there with my team mates I mention that I don’t remember where exactly my bike is. That is a first, oh well nothing I can do now.

Swim:
I firmly plan myself right in the middle of the pack. I know that I should never be in the front since I struggle in this area. I however don’t want to be in the back seeing that this race is some folks first Tri. Our age group is a pretty big one and so they decide to put in two waves. Since everyone jumped in the water they decided to let us all go…one wave. Ok, people in front are breast-stroking. Here is the thing. I know how to swim; I do it in the pool 2x per week. Open water, well this is another thing. I feel each time my toes hit the water that it is a first swim of the season. It’s never a good feeling. Now keep in mind that I just completed an Olympic distance Tri a few weeks ago (no wet suit, salt water swim) and this went somewhat well. Now I am in the water with my wetsuit feeling very claustrophobic and it’s just not going down as well as I planned. The water is COLD. I actually think to myself that if I can’t do a ¼ mile swim how on earth is 2.4 going to happen. I make it through and see the shore and this is great. I see my mom and my girls and this adds to my excitement.

Flashback- This was my worst race last year. I have done all my tri’s late in the season and wetsuit free. I rent a suit get in the water a few days prior and believe I am ready for race day. Now when I get in the water I have major panic attacks. I am super claustrophobic and this ¼ mile swim has somehow turned into the swim that never ends. I actually get on my back and start to do a back-stroke. I believe I am going to drown. I look to see where the kayakers are and they are towards either the beginning or end of the swim. I try to raise my hand but what for, they are a mile away. I decide it’s easier to swim to shore and I suck it up. Swim 16:57. Can you understand now why this was my worst race in 2007. Now 2008 is drums rolling please……9:40.

T1: 1:28 - I see my bike and I quickly grab it and head out, woohoo- I remembered where it was.

Bike: 43:28 - I tear it up and just decide to give it my all. I am somewhat breathing like I am out of shape but oh well. I have to remind myself to save some for the run, but hey this is an all or nothing sprint. Bike feels great and I am excited when I get into the park. Nothing out of the ordinaryJ

T2: 2:56 - Ok so this part I didn’t plan. When I was in the transition area I noticed that the bike rack has two sets of numbers-they are different on each side. I remembered that I walked around confused for a bit but then I saw my number and parked my bike. Being a slow swimmer has advantages, like my bike is always alone and I can always find it. I come into T2 and realize I have no idea where my run stuff is let alone where I am supposed to put my bike since the only numbers I see on the racks don’t match mine. I run frantic up and down the aisle, not working and no luck. My tiny transition is now a horror story and moving my bright-red transition bag to another area, well not smart. I finally decided to lean my bike on the end of a rack. I run to the other end of the racks find my number and head down to the end of the rack. Cool, I see my stuff and I am out doing my run. Run: My feet are so numb from the cold swim that it takes a good mile to actually start feeling them. Run feels great and I even chat with Heather from the Seattle Luna Chix for a minute. I than see Lavonne decide to yell her name. This by the way is never a good idea because as she turned around she almost fell. Yikes I would have felt so bad. We chat a bit and then off to the finish line. A nice strong finish and my teammates cheer me in. My family is nowhere to be seen which leads me to believe they are at the park playing, that’s awesomeJ. Day was a success. Did I mention that where I parked my bike and where it was actually supposed to go is 6 racks away? Good thing I can laugh about it now…..hahaha.