2017 Kinetic International Triathlon

New Team: IRaceLikeAGirl
New Race Kit: Pearl Izumi
New Sneakers: Hoka One One Clifton 3

Where to begin…..

I did this race back in 2014. It was my third triathlon. I did the Sprint distance and came in 51^st place. At the time I wrote “super hard race, too many hills, DON’T do this race again”. Three years later I signed up for the same race, but double the distance (1500m swim, 24.6 mile bike, 10K run). Ummm..what is wrong with me? I used to think I was addicted to the pain and agony you can only experience in endurance racing. But now I’m starting to think it’s the feeling of pushing through my perceived “limit” and crossing the finish line. It’s kind of like when someone tells you that you can’t do something. It makes you want to prove them wrong. And it feels amazing when you do. I think I go through the same thing when I race. I always get to a point where I tell myself “this hurts, it’s too hard, you need to stop, you can’t keep going”. When I push through and cross the finish line it feels like a bit of redemption.

Before I get into how this race unfolded I’ll start with a few fun and exciting things going on in my athletic life. ...First, I joined an all women’s triathlon team - IRaceLikeAGirl - created and supported by professional triathlete Angela Naeth. Besides winning the 2015 North American Ironman Championship and being a ridiculously fast cyclist, I loved her idea of creating a platform to encourage women of all ages and abilities to participate in triathlons (women only make up about 37% of the sport). I have the honor of being their first sponsored IRaceLikeAGirl Pearl Izumi athlete (my profile: http://www.iracelikeagirl.com/member-profiles/profile/578-athleteId.8389841.html), and I'm super appreciative of the support I'll receive this year as I chase after my athletic goals and continue to be an advocate for minorities in the sport and the importance of learning how to swim.

One of the awesome perks.....a custom Pearl Izumi Kit <3

My cycling kit. With my main sponsors Virginia / Maryland Triathlon Series, Point 2 Running Company, and Flat-Out Events.

You can order a cycling kit at http://www.iracelikeagirl.com/cycling-and-race-kits/ until May 31st.

Now for the race….

My coach told me to remove this word from my vocabulary, but there's no other way to describe it. It was a disaster....well, maybe not the whole thing, but the bike portion sure was.

When things don't go my way, I find a dog. They make me happy :-)

I drove up to the race site (Lake Anna State Park) Friday evening, picked up my race packet and ran into Don (White), VP of Operations for VTSMTS (my sponsor). Gave him a big hug and told him how nervous I was. And I was ...NERVOUS! The first race of the year is always nerve wracking because you're not quite sure what kind of shape you're in. Not to mention the fact that I always have a billion ridiculous expectations of myself. It took me awhile to transition from marathon training to triathlon training. And believe me they are two entirely different sports. I didn't have a clue what my swim/bike fitness was like.

Lucky for me I got to stay in a camper right at the race site. Thank you AnnMarie for the hospitality! I had a lovely evening hanging out with the Yorktown Triathlon Club. I heard some crazy Ironman stories (i.e. passing out, not being able to use the bathroom for a week, near kidney failure, and so on) which actually helped settle my nerves! It's just the Olympic Distance, you are not doing a Full Ironman, you'll be fine. 

Race Morning

It was cold, raining and around 52 degrees. Perfect race conditions....NOT. Of course I went through my woe is me, why do I do this to myself ritual as I racked my bike and set up my gear in the transition area. I texted my Mom that I didn't want to race and then put on my wetsuit and headed down to the water for a warm up swim hahaha. I have issues. To my delight the water wasn't as cold as I was expecting. In fact it felt warmer in the water versus out. 

The first 200 meters were a blur. I always go out hard, start to feel like I'm suffering, get passed, find a rhythm, and then start passing people over the last 300 meters.

I came out of the water in 16th. Not bad, not great.

Onto the dreaded bike....

Ok this is where I messed up. My coach told me to wear gloves and a windbreaker. What did my dumb behind do? I'm not that cold. It will take too long for me to put on layers. I'll be fine on the bike. And off I foolishly went with no gloves or jacket. 

The transition area was a muddy mess from the rain. I tried to clip into my bike = FAIL. My cleats were packed with dirt and grass. Literally for about a mile I couldn't clip in. It was only the beginning of things to come. Not even 5 miles into the bike I began shivering. My hands went numb, my back began to seize up. I was miserable. By mile 10 I thought about pulling out of the race. I was freakin freezing. Lets not even discuss how slow I was. But that was the least of my problems. I was more worried about hypothermia at that point. Seriously. But then I got to mile 15, then 20....you're almost finished. Just get to the run. Once you start running you'll warm up. 

Looking like the amateur I am. Trying to clip in.

After I racked my bike I tried to unclip my helmet. After fidgeting with the straps for what felt like 5 minutes I gave up. I had no feeling in my hands so I had to stretch the straps and pull the helmet off over my head. What.a.mess. As soon as I began to run I knew something was wrong. I had no feeling in my feet and my back was so tight I couldn't open my stride. All I could do was shuffle through the first mile. My watch beeped. Mile 1: 7:57. OMG seven minutes and fifty seven seconds. Oh this is bad. And on I went for another mile. I finally began to warm up, my back loosened, my stride extended and I went through the 3rd mile in 6:43. I tried to pass as many people as possible over the last two miles (6:23, 6:15) and ran myself into 10th place. 

Somehow I managed to have the fastest female run split despite the first two miles being super slow. I even managed to run faster than the pro woman that won the race. #silverlining

Around mile 3, where I started to feel like my old self again. I must have defrosted at this point.

Thank you Eric Gilsenan for introducing me to the Hoka One One Clifton 3. I used to only run in Nike Air Pegs or Zoot TTs. I'm officially a convert. Now when I run in other sneakers I feel like I'm hitting pavement. The cushion in the Clifton 3's is unbelievable.

Chasing the boys...as IRaceLikeAGirl. (I passed them ;-) )

Even when you think you are doing awful, keep pushing. It's not over until you cross the finish line.
1st in my Age Group.

The sucky thing about being a minority in the sport..there are so few of us. The great thing about being a minority in the sport...we can spot each other a mile away. (with Derrek Sanks and Lenora Mariner)

 

In no way, shape or form did this race go how I expected. But I'm still glad I did it. Besides the fact that Virginia / Maryland Triathlon Series puts on the BEST triathlons, it was good for me to get in a race before Ironman 70.3 Eagleman ...in three weeks. Biking is clearly my weakness. To put things in perspective, if I just biked like a "normal person" I would have gone about 10 minutes faster = 3rd place overall. I have some physical limitations, and basic bike handling skills I need to work on, but I would say my main issue is the bike itself. I'm just not on the right bike for my frame (my long legs are the culprit). I have 3 weeks to figure this out.....

Well deserved post-race wine and dessert. I like to indulge after races.

Saturday night. My favorite things: wine and laughter.

Going to miss this girl! My partner in crime, co-worker, One City marathon buddy, Catherine. She's off to Canada....