Dam 09 2014

I hadn't heard of this race before a group of friends on Facebook ....TriMomsSA.... posted about it and lots of them were going. 8 to be exact. How cool to "race" with friends. They said the race was well-organized and fun and had decent swag. So .... all things I like, I signed up. It's a nice local race, small, with a sell-out of 300 slots. 

Friday, I went to the Soler's and picked up my light Tri-top and bib. It's a pretty cool top with a cute froggy and pockets in the back. The folks in the store were really nice. I have been confused this year for some reason, so I laid out my gear and transition set-up for the morning, packed, and went to bed too late as always. 

The Musician got up bright and early and drove
me to the race. He's a good cheerleader

Yikes, it's early. The Musician had already aired the tires and loaded Vaderette so it was at least a quick departure. Transition opened at 5:45 and we left the house around 5:15. I wanted to get set up and relax a bit. As we we took the last turn toward the Alamo Heights Natatorium, we were passed by a bike. I though "oh crap, I'll be slowest again." Got to transition, set up. Lots of room to spread out, but I still try to stay compact for practice purposes. Then, some time to rest. Shakira had a bike accident the week before and couldn't race, but she was very sweet and came out to cheer us on. She found us lounging by the pool.

SWIM: I estimated my swim time to be about 10:00 and was given a corresponding bib number. This was a snake pool swim, but only one swimmer per lane, so passing would be easy ... if it came to that. After the first few speedy folks went, the numbers were mere suggestions. I found a group in the back third who said they were anywhere from 8-12 minutes. I jumped in with them. One swimmer every 10 seconds. My turn and I tapped the Garmin and swam. I felt like it was steady and I didn't push myself because I find when I push, I get more tired, but not much faster. I guess I timed myself right. I didn't pass anyone, and no one passed me. 10:39 (by Garmin and the last time Garmin time would mean anything)

T1: Short jog over some pavement and a carpet to T1. Still a picnic. Took a few hits from the inhaler, so I started to tremor. Had to figure out how to put on socks with shaking hands. And then trot out to the bike course: 3:30 Wicked slow.

BIKE: I normally hate looped courses and this was 10 miles, 3 loops. It was beautiful though. Lovely houses. And I suppose a 3.3 mile loop just doesn't seem so bad so I didn't mind doing it 3 times. There were a few places where I had to go to low gears, but not for long. The course was not closed to traffic and I didn't expect it to be. Only issue I had was sometimes the line of cars was slower than me. I'm not aggressive, so I slowed down. And then at the only stoplight, I was cut off by a car turning right. The police officer directing traffic apologized. I chose to unclip, rather than crash, but I was going pretty slow because it was the top of the longest hill. Somewhere along the way, I realized the Garmin wasn't showing I was on a bike. Something not quite right. But, the Musician had fixed the sensors so my bike computer was working again. Bonus!!! 36:10 (16.8 mph)

T2: Repeat picnic, as usual. I figure I need to train my skills before I spend too much time practicing transistion. It's not like a few seconds ... or a few minutes ... will matter. Anyway, I forgot my headband and my hat seemed loose. I forgot my bib and had to run back for it. That's the excuse I'm using for my long time. 2:41

RUN: It's a flat and lovely run. We go back out for a short time past the bike course, turn into a field with a bit of trail and then paved path around a field. Garmin still not recording run, even though I pushed the lap button. HMMM?!?!?! Technologically challenged. Eventually, I started to feel like I could run more than walk, and I did. Happy to turn around at the water stop and then head back home. I was happy that I still had some energy to smile at the finish. It was a short 4K, 2.4 miles. 30:54 12:5 /min/m

Final result: 1:23:56

Grabbed an orange quarter and a banana. The taco options were bean and cheese, and something with meat. 

TriMomSA . . I'm not a mom, unless puppies count. Really
great women. Salina took second in her age group. I did not.

It was a fun race and I'm glad I signed up. Great training race ... if you're into training ... nice local race. Well organized.  Good way to start a weekend. As for my technology failure ... operator error. I had set auto-multisport mode, but forgot to tell the mode to start. So, it thought I was just swimming laps ...my last setting was swim. Anyway, it was interesting to do the whole thing without the advantage of technology. I just kept going forward ... until I stopped.

Ahhhh . . .Finished!!!