It’s been another chill week..and now I finally have a few weeks to get
back into the groove! September was
busy, and while we still have things booked almost every week, the Nike Women’s
Half Marathon in mid-October is the only real “event” to worry about right now. It’s also super rainy now, so maybe it’s good
that all I need to do is really think about running right now. J
That being said… last weekend was gorgeous! And fitting, too, as it was the Kirkland
triathlon and the weather was perfect.
Last tri of the season, and it was also my very first triathlon last
year! It was a lot of fun being able to
now do one where I already knew the course and how things worked, and see the comparison
to last year.
I had way too much energy in the morning. Megan spent the night so that we could
carpool over, but maybe having someone else around just made me more awake and
energetic. I was super hot with my big
jacket, I was terrified and intimidated by everyone (why? No idea), I wouldn’t
stop talking..man. After selecting our
racks (on the end, but way at the wrong side..oh well) and setting up, it was
time for the wetsuits. I put it off as
much as I could, since my stomach was really upset that morning, but finally
figured to suck it up and put it on.
Once that was out of the way, it was time for the pre-race meeting. Let’s just say that was pointless, since we
couldn’t see any of the buoys and couldn’t hear the guy talking. After a really pointless long time of
standing there wondering what was being said, we were pushed back and Megan and
I got a chance to walk out on the dock and actually SEE the course (shocking),
and get in the water a bit—surprisingly the water was super warm, it was actualy
warmer to be in the water than out of it! Crazy.
Anyway. We started shuffling
forward, and it seemed a whole lot sooner than expected, but we were suddenly
in the water and waiting for the gun. I
positioned myself on the outside edge, and wasn’t really paying attention, when
suddenly the horn blew annnnd I guess I had to get going!
The water was rough. Really
rough. Rougher than I remember last year
and rougher than anything I swam in this year.
I swallowed a lot of water. I had
to stop a couple times because I had water in my lungs. So annoying!
Truthfully, the swim was awful.
Aside from all the water going down my throat, there were people that
kept kicking me, and I couldn’t get around them..and my wetsuit felt super
tight around my neck. I kept telling
myself it was a short swim, if I could do it last year I could do it this
year..but it was tough. I’m not sure why
it was so much harder (the 1500m last weekend seemed a whole lot easier) but..whatever. I checked my watch as I (FINALLY) got out of
the water and it turns out I was right about where I had been expecting/hoping,
so I tried to shake it off and focus on what was next.
The bike was good. I decided to
use my road bike, since the course has lots of hills and 1) the gearing is
better for climbing on the road bike, and 2) I am still terrified of going
downhill on my tri bike. I was
immediately happy with my decision! I
passed a lot of people going uphill, including a LOT of people on tri
bikes. I also knew that I would not have
been able to go down this hills on the tri bike (without slowing down a LOT),
because there were a few steep ones, and the really long one at the end
reminded me SO much of the road I crashed on.
I started getting nervous on the road bike even, but managed to keep it
under control :) The second lap was good
too, I tried to just go fast and not worry too much about saving my legs—I figured
I could suffer anything for a 5k. It
paid off, I ended up having the fastest bike time of all the females! :) Not
important, but good re-affirmation about me and my bike. <3
yay bike!
And then it was on to the run. I
took a lot of time in transition, at least it felt like that. Again, waited until the last minute to take
my helmet off. Why do I do that?! Anyway, after what felt like forever, I was
off. I immediately felt the normal
what-the-heck feeling in my legs, and
tried to remind myself to just go hard.
5k and I was done! There was a
girl in front of my for the first mile or so who was FAST, and it was a
struggle just to keep up with her. I
considered easing up and letting her go…but no, I decided to just try to stay
with her, and worry about nothing else.
It was good, since she kept pulling me along! Near the halfway, there is a STEEP HILL. It’s not just a steep hill, it’s like a
vertical wall. Thankfully, I was at
least expecting it this year—and I was STILL surprised at just how steep it
was! This is where I finally passed that
girl. She was speedy quick everywhere
else but barely moving up hill. I
expected her to catch up and pass me after that, but I never saw her again.
Anyway, the way back was nice. A
lot more downhill than up, and I was truly coming to the home stretch. I was also finally feeling more normal while
running. The last mile was getting tough
because I wanted to push it, and I distinctly remember telling myself I could breathe
once I got to the finish line..so go faster!
I saw Megan on her way out on the run, which was also good to see a
friendly face.
As I rounded a corner, coming to the last 50m with the finish line up
ahead, I heard a guy running up behind me.
Which is no big deal, until some spectator saw us, and yelled “DON’T LET
HIM PASS YOU!” at me. Thanks, dude. Both of us kicked it up, and it was an
all-out, neck-to-neck sprint at the end.
Suddenly the finish seemed a whole lot further away, and I felt myself
ease up a little—but then I realized the guy was also still not past me yet,
and hey! This was the last race! It was like 20 feet away! Why the heck was I giving up??! So I snapped out of it, and pushed it hard to
finish.
At the finish, the guy I was running against and I high-fived. What a great way to end! No slacking here. Overall, it was a great race. Lots of fun, and it was so wonderful to be
able to compare and realize how much I’ve learned in the past year! I am thankful to so many people for all their
help and support and encouragement this year, and I was definitely feeling it
then.
It was also really fun to be able to wait at the finish line and cheer
Megan in! Always more fun with
friends. She had a great race too, and
it’ll be fun to see where this whole journey takes her J
In the end, I ended up winning my age group (well, I guess second but the
girl who was before me finished 2nd overall, so…). And 5th female overall! Which to me was super awesome and still kind
of shocking. I know placement isn’t
really important and can depend on so much, but I guess it just makes me
realize that I can push myself. And that
I should continue to push myself J Most importantly, I improved my time over
last year, by about 11 minutes! Each leg
was faster, and it added up. So,
definitely happy about that! Looking forward
to an even better year next year—although now I have something much bigger to
work towards… Ironman!! To say I am excited is an understatement.
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