Do you remember my goal to finish St. Anthony’s Triathlon before the course closed? Well, I did it!!!
Let’s start with my alarm going off at 4:30am on Sunday morning, as I wanted to leave the house by 5am. I actually slept pretty well the night before, which is rare for me the night before a big race.
I started off the morning with a bagel and peanut butter, and packed another bagel, peanut butter, and a banana for later in the morning. So many people do this race that I had to be on site around 5:45am to have time to set up all my gear at the transition area, but I didn’t start my swim until 9am. I knew I would need a second breakfast to have enough energy for the whole race.
I had so much stuff to take with me to the race! Luckily my bike was already there from the day before, but I still had a backpack with all my stuff, my bike helmet, and a cooler to keep in the car with gatorade for the drive home.
Yesterday it was pretty windy, but at least it was cloudy and it didn’t rain. I never did look at the temperature, but I am guessing it was in the low 80’s. The wind made the swim really, really hard! After 2/3 of the people started into the water, they actually put a hold on the remaining swimmers (including my group) while they shortened the swim course. There are kayaks lining the swim course in case people get hurt or need help while swimming, and the water was so rough that the kayaks were having a hard time staying afloat and staying where they needed to be.
So, after about a 30 minute delay, the new swim course was ready and it was shortened from 1500 meters to 1000 meters. A lot of people were disappointed that they didn’t get to swim the whole course, but I was really excited about the shortened swim since I was nervous about my lack of training.
When it was finally time for my group to get into the water, I was getting nervous, but I knew I was only racing against myself, and I wasn’t going to worry if I feel behind my group in the water. The swim was harder than I ever imagined, and it took all I had mentally to keep going. I really just wanted to give up and quit and flag down one of the kayaks to take me back to shore, but I just kept telling myself to go to the next buoy and then I would decide if I wanted to quit. I was able to keep going and finish the swim, but it took everything I had to get through it. The current was so strong that when I was doing breaststroke, I felt like I was just floating in place and I wasn’t even moving forward. I finally had to switch over to backstroke in order to finish because I am not strong enough in freestyle to do it for such a long time. The closer I got to the finish line of the swim, I knew I could push myself, but it was still really hard.
[Insert mental picture of Megan exiting the water wearing her biking and running clothes since I don't have any pictures! Yes, that means that I did not wear the wetsuit after all, and it was a good decision. The water didn't feel cold at all once I had other problems, like the strong current and big waves crashing in my face. I am sure in reality they were tiny waves, but they felt big. ]
I quickly threw on my running shoes and socks, swapped my swim cap for a bike helmet, and ate a pack of Luna Moons. Next up was 25 miles on the bike. I considered just giving up at this point since I was so tired from the swim, but I knew I should just get on my bike and get started. The bike portion of the race took me right around 2 hours, which is about what I expected, but due to the wind it was also much harder than I expected.
I made a quick stop after 13 miles to have another packet of Luna Moons, but then it was time to get right back on the bike. The whole time on the bike I just kept thinking to myself that I really should have trained more, and I made a promise with myself to never put myself in this situation again. Although I was able to complete the swim, and I knew I would finish the bike, these portions of the race were not fun, they were stressful, and I know it’s because I didn’t train well 
My husband was waiting for me as I came around the corner to finish my bike ride, and I was excited to hear him cheering loudly for me. I was also happy to just get off the bike!
Next up was a 10K run. Although I am not a fast runner, it was a relief to be running since that’s my comfort zone. I traded in my bike helmet for a visor, and exited from the transition area to the start of the run.
I felt surprisingly good on the run, and I was able to do run/walk intervals the entire 10k. I wore a SPIbelt with two packs of Luna Moons, that I ate around mile 1 and mile 4. It was hot by this time, and luckily the race had 5 water stops on the 6.2 mile run. Plus there was a woman in her driveway spraying everyone with her garden hose. It felt so good!!!
The run was through a really nice neighborhood, and part of the run was along the water, so the scenery was nice and able to distract me some of the time.
My husband was on the side of the run course with a 1/4 mile to go, and it was the extra boost I needed to run the rest of the way to the finish line. Although I had some negative thoughts during the race, I am happy that it ended well with a run that I am proud of. My average pace for the run was 12:38 minutes per mile which I was really happy with considering that a normal run for me is around 11:30 minutes per mile.
I can now say that I have completed St. Anthony’s Olympic Triathlon, and I am proud of that!!!
Here are my stats for the day:
- Swim 1000 meters: 23:54
- Transition 1: 4:48
- Bike 25 miles: 1:47:32
- Transition 2: 6:25
- Run 10K: 1:18:06
- Total Chip Time: 3:40:41
My random post-race thoughts
- I am going to stick with my thoughts during the race that I really need to commit to training properly for the events that I sign up for. I want races to be enjoyable, and unfortunately a lot of yesterday’s race didn’t feel that way.
- I am taking at least one month off from triathlons, as I think yesterday made me a little burnt out on triathlons. Starting in June or July, I may be ready for a few sprint triathlons, but I have no desire to swim in the ocean or ride my bike for at least a month.
- Although this wasn’t the “perfect” race, I am still very proud of myself and I am having a great time telling everyone at work today that I completed the race yesterday
