Triathlon Kit Giveaway (+ race update)

Did someone say FREE??

Yes, that's right! My sponsor, Point 2 Running Company, is giving away a Pearl Izumi Select Pursuit Triathlon Top and Bottom ($130 value) - see below (women's kit is on the left, men's on the right).

In order to enter the contest all you have to do is Tell us about a time when you showed grit when competing. Who or what inspired you to keep going? Please leave your answer directly on my Facebook page under my most recent post which is public or in the comments section below. The only restriction is that you must be a Hampton Roads, VA Resident. We will select a winner one week from today (on Tuesday, May 8th). After you have been selected you will have exactly one week to pick up your new tri kit from Point 2 located at 12080 Jefferson Ave, #910, Newport News, VA. If you haven't picked up your prize during this time frame, we will select another winner.

My favorite things at Point 2:
  - Roll Recovery R8...best self massage tool I own
  - A tie between Tifosi (I'm rockin them in the pic below) and Goodr sunglasses (great quality for ONLY $25)
  - My go to sneakers - Hoka Clifton 4
  - Skratch Labs sports energy chews - I hate that I'm addicted to these. I eat them like they are a delicacy. Dawn, I blame you.
  - Point 2 logo gear, especially my Asics Motion Dry hoodie. I live in that thing. Oh and my family is easy to spot at races. Just look for Point 2 shirts ;-)

Dad and I at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman

Other things I love about Point 2: their custom shoe fitting process. Takes less than 20 minutes (they have a treadmill on premises). And last but not least, they also offer an in store loyalty program where you can earn a point per pre-tax dollar spent = free stuff!! Points never expire and can be shared among the same household. Actually, I shouldn't have said last but not least. One of the best things about Point 2 is the team that works there. Everyone is super friendly. They don't hound you or try to push products on you. If you need help they assist. If you just want to browse they let you do your thing.

Good luck with the contest! No response is too short or too long. We just want to hear who or what inspires you to keep going.

And now for my race update.... Rumpus in Bumpass Triathlon (Olympic distance)

Age Group Awards

This was my first time racing so soon after a Half Ironman; less than two weeks. Speaking of "what inspires you to keep going", I had to go through a longgggg list in my head in order to get my butt on the starting line! I was not fully recovered and it was freakin cold! My coach thought this would be a good training workout. The goal: go hard on the bike; bike like you don't have to run after.

The night before the race I checked the website. The water temp was 49 degrees and there was a chance the swim would be canceled and it would just be a bike-run race. If the water temp got above 52 degrees, we'd swim but the course would be shortened to 1000m (from 1500). Mentally, I began preparing for a bike-run race. As my coach says "Sika, there's a name for that. It's called a duathlon."

Morning of the race
I checked out of my hotel, loaded my bike, and didn't even bother to pull my wetsuit and goggles out of my luggage because it was 42 degrees outside.....No way could I swim. Even if the swim is on, I'm not freakin swimming!! I got to the race site, checked in...guess what? Swim was on. Water temp was 54 degrees. I begrudgingly pulled out my wetsuit and sulked. As someone told me last week (who will remain anonymous), "With your negative attitude it's amazing you can get through a half ironman." #truedat

The Swim (1000m): 18:32
I waited until the very last second to get in the water. For the most part, so did everyone else. It was actually pretty funny. The men went first. When they got in the water, they were silent. Us women, when we got in, there was a collective scream. It was COLD. Those few minutes of waiting and treading water was brutal. But believe it or not, once we got going it really wasn't so bad. In fact, since I just did a half ironman, the 1000 meter swim felt incredibly short. Before I knew it I was climbing out of the water (16th for the women).

Swamp thing

The Bike (24 miles): 1:12
After watching everyone suffer at the Boston Marathon I figured I'd play it safe and dress in layers. Nothing worse than shivering on a bike for 20+ miles. I put on arm warmers, gloves, a jacket, socks....I was getting dressed as if I was about to hit the slopes. But hey...better to be safe than sorry.

Look at Don (Donald White) cheering for me. How awesome is he!?!

My one and only goal for this race was to push it on the bike. It was a rolling 2-loop course. Not a technical course but I never stayed in one gear for more than a minute at a time. I struggle the most with this type of course. I thrive off of staying in a rhythm. Climbing, switching gears, etc kills the flow. Needless to say, I felt like I was giving it my all, but I was getting passed the whole time. What else is new. I averaged 20 mph (which was actually a 4 minute pr on this course...yay me), but the top women averaged 22 mph....ugh. As usual I got off the bike a long long (did I mention long) ways behind.

I love my bike but my bike does not love me. One day our relationship won't be so combative.

The Run (10K; 6.2 miles): 42:08

The only word I can use to describe how I felt during this entire run is: fatigued. I think my previous race + pushing it on the bike led to a not so comfortable run. This is actually one of my slowest runs to date. Surprisingly I'm not too bummed about it. That's all I had on the day. Good practice for pushing through the pain ;-) 

A mile from the finish line

Chit chatting with some fast women. They both outbiked me by 6 minutes (on an Olympic course). Yikes!

In triathlon years I'm 35....whatever!!

Since my bike is still a work in progress I'm not so competitive against the top women. But I'm excited to see how much faster I'm getting on the age group level. Proud of winning my age group by 10 minutes :-) Side note: Kinetic Multisports (formerly Virginia Triathlon Series) races are the best! And the competition is always legit.

7th overall. Those +6 minutes lost on the bike really did me in. I'll keep at it!!

This is what inspires me to keep going - helping add diversity to the sport, encouraging others to participate, and hoping my journey can be an inspiration to others. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, but I don't like to disappoint people. Especially those that have given their time, energy and resources so willingly. I think a lot about them when the going gets tough. I have this saying that I stole from my father before the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I had this brand new bike Dan (Empfield) built for me and I was scared to death of racing on the bike course. My Dad said "when you start having negative thoughts and want to give up just say 'make Dan proud'. It worked! I use that phrase in every race now 'make ____ proud'. I've used a lot of names since then ;-)

Next up

Ironman 70.3 Eagleman!!! My Mom, Dad and Brother will be there. They seem to be my good luck charm. I end up having these massive PRs when they are there cheering me on. Again, I think it has something to do with it "not being all about me". Until then...

Don't forget about the contest! Comment below or on my Facebook page (under the post)