River Cities Triathlon 2015

I am still loving my Betty Designs kit. Other than looking totally cool, my favorite thing about it is the leg grips. No rubber grippy biting into the soft parts (yes, soft) of my thighs, creating uncomfortable (and unsightly) bulges. The leg band is wide and stays in place. Another thing, this was a limited edition kit. And it's sooooo pretty, don't you think? I have seen other Betty's at races, but never in this kit. I like to be different. 

River Cities Triathlon by SportSpectrum in Bossier City has become one of my favorite races for a number of reasons. The course if fun, flat, fast. Volunteers and race crew are absolutely awesome. Swag ... let's talk swag!!! Later. This was the 35th anniversary of the race. Legend Dave Scott was racing. Holy Cow, I'm in a race with the legend?!?!?! But, of course, I never saw him because, well ... he's legend ... wait for it ... dary, and I'm well ... not. The race sells out really fast, so my alarm was set to make sure I was on the computer at 0600 on April 1 to register. Totally worth it.

So ... the weekend began with the Musician renting a teeny trailer  and we loaded up and headed out on Friday after work. It's about a 9 hour drive without towing ... longer towing because of slower speed and more frequent gas stops. But, totally worth it to take the girls with us. See how happy AlleyKat looks ... ROAD TRIP!!!!

After all the excitement of going on a trip, it was hurray!!! and then nap. Thank goodness the Musician does the driving, because I'm just like the girls. 

We drove about 4 hours and found a nice campground in Canton, TX. Mill Creek Ranch Resort is pretty awesome. Pools, Live Music on weekends, little ponds with paddle boats, beautiful grounds, horseshoes, golf, etc. etc. etc. We were definitely the teeny trailer and I could easily have stayed here a week.

See how teeny the trailer is. This is the whole inside. 

After a nice, peaceful night of sleep, and a chance to sleep in just a bit, we explored the grounds one more time for Part 2 of the drive. AlleyKat is a pretty good co-pilot. And, yes, I was wearing INKnBURN to travel (no surprise there, since I'm obsessed and it's soooo comfortable). Musician now wears a lot of INK, too. 

We made it to Bossier City and straight to packet pick-up. So ... now, we can talk about SWAG!!!  For my entry fee, in addition to an awesome race ... A heavy rolling duffel (dang, I just bought one), a heavy satchel, tech t-shirt, hat, socks, sunglasses (since I wear prescription, I have to give these as a gift), long sleeve half-zip tech pullover, and some samples. Yeah, I would say the swag alone is worth the drive. Some people actually register for the race, just for the swag and don't even run the race. Me ... I want to earn my swag. 

Then, off to Cypress Black Bayou. Nice little zoo with lots of deer, beautiful grounds again, hiking paths, and of course the view. There were a ton of folks with race bikes, hmmmm ... I wonder why? I admit, it's nice to stay at the course site. Shorter travel in the morning ... and we will get to why this is important later. But, best of all, the girls got to come with us. I think they really enjoyed their extra long walks this weekend. I also got to wear my newest INKnBURN kit and that makes me happy.

And, we met these little guys ... lots of them ... on the trails and near the showers. The girls didn't know what to think of tiny hoppy things

Before bed, I laid out my gear as best as I could. I'm used to more room to spread it all out and make sure everything is in place. This time, it was different ... I had to think about each part and what I would need and then pack it into my backpack. Made sure my numbers were on, air was in the tires, etc. etc. Ooops ... no sportbra ... so had to head out to buy one. Oooops ... anyone see the problem with my body marking? It looks right to me looking down from my head. 

Next morning, up and at 'em. I knew the Musician and the girls wouldn't be coming to cheer me on. Too hot for them to sit out all day waiting. And, too far for them to walk back and forth. And no driving in the park outside of the campsites until roads were clear from the race. That's OK, they got plenty of walks. I loaded up and road my bike up to transition. Stood in line for bike safety check and entry into transition area. Rode back to the trailer to get my timing chip ... ooops. Thank goodness, we were close. If we had been at a hotel a half hour away, this would have been the end of my race. Then back to transition. See? I got a little warm-up. Lathered on the sunscreen. Had a few nervous conversations with the other women at my rack. Set up, and headed to the water. Tested it ... warm as a bathtub.

It was so warm, that I just stood in the water until it was time for my wave. Tested Trusty Garmin and made sure I was set to start Auto-Multisport. I've been having struggles lately. Talked to a girl wearing another Betty kit. It's so pretty, too. Saw the elite wave leave ... and finish, and eventually it was white caps.

Swim: It was warm. I was (as usual) unprepared. I've been having motivation problems this year that have been worse than in the past. I had 3 swims leading up to this 800 meters. I had only done one open water practice (325 meters) and only one swim in the pool over 500 meters. So ... I planned to take it easy. Really easy. I just swam from one bouy to the next. That was the plan. I was surprised how much I was not in the washing machine this year. I didn't get kicked or run over too much. I didn't convert to breast stroke very often. Just relax. Breathe. Oh... there is someone from the wave ahead of me hanging on to a boat. And I just passed another. Then the wave behind me caught up. And, then out of the water. That wasn't so bad, afterall. As you can see ... I didn't quite adjust Trusty Garmin correctly and don't have a swim split. But, timing chip says 21:48. That is less than one minute slower than last year. HMMM ... .maybe if I train, I can actually get faster. And yes, my face is covered in grime in the proof photos and I look like I have a beard. It is a bayou afterall. No pics, though. I don't infringe on copyrights. Even though I kinda want to. 

T1: Just a run to my bike and I was surprised, there were still a few bikes on the rack. I'm not last out of the water. Woot! I am known for my picnics in transition. I'm really in no rush. But, when I saw my time, I though ... huh, not too bad. 3:33. But, my friend Seriously is totally badass. This is what she texted when she saw my time. 

Bike: Shortly after starting the ride, I realized I wasn't getting notifications. Hmmm ... yep, Trusty Garmin thinks I'm on the third lap of an indoor swim. I hit the wrong button again. So, I rode and reset and tried to get to the right place on multisport. I was a little off and Trusty Garmin thinks I had a 44 minute transition that spanned 14 miles. Oh well, it'll have to do. About 3-4 miles into the bike, lots of bikes were clustered and slowing down around a curb. One guy was kind of going the wrong direction ... slowly. In his hand was a teeny tiny kitten that had been trying to cross the road. That could have been a disaster for kitten and bikes and my heart melted a bit. He was getting kitten across the road and to safety. I heard some people grumbling about it later. I want to tell him he's a hero. I admit, I contemplated how successful I would be transporting the kitten in my jersey for another 15ish miles. Maybe tiny thing could come home with me? The bike course is amazing. In my worldview, it is flat. Others complained about hills, but they don't ride where I do. It was a fun ride. I had no computer because the Cat-Eye has disappeared and I'm too lazy to go to the bike shop to get another. And cheap. So, I just rode how I felt. Had some chats with other rides. Some were too serious to talk to me. Passed a few folks. Folks passed me. Played some leap-frog. And then, finished. 1:05:59. What the what? That's my fastest time yet. 16.6 mph. 

T2: Off the bike, clumsily find my rack. One girl lives nearby. She was considering just biking home and skipping the run. Injured hip. Her bike was back on the rack. Yay, she decided to run. In fact, all bikes were on the rack. They must have all passed me. Even though I felt great, obviously, it's a fast course. And, my transition time of 2:39 does reflect that I took a picnic lunch. 

Run: So ... I have not run in months. Hip is wonky. Plan was walk and I was sticking to the plan. And, it was starting to get warm. Funny, when I try to run off the bike, the chopsticks at the end of my body can't function. No problem with the walk. Somewhere around a mile in, I felt GOOD!!! So, I decided to do what I'm allowed which is 5-minute walk and 1-minute run. That felt good. So, let's switch it up and see what happens. 5-minute run, 1-minute walk. Still feels OK. So, sure. The ice cold towels from volunteers were AMAZING. Thank you. And yes, you can have it back to recycle and I'll take the used one that someone has probably already sweat on, but it's cold. Misters to run through, check. Around mile 2, I saw a girls wobble as she was heading out on her first mile. I had a little loop and as I came back, I saw her on the ground. A guy was helping her, but she was cramped bad. I gave her the salt packet I had in my handheld from McDonald's. I gave her some Skratch to drink. Slowly we got her up. Massaged out some calves and thighs that felt like bricks. Tried to hobble to a nearby volunteer chair and she started to loosen up. The guy who stopped to help her, put her arm over his shoulder and said he would get her through the next 2 miles. So, yeah, this is why I love this sport. Anyhow ... approaching finish and I had enough boost to keep running it in the last quarter mile. Race people were amazing with the cheering and supporting and encouraging. Thanks guys. Love you. 45:36. Not bad for walking a huge chunk of it ... and not power-walking. And, yes, the hip is still dragging so I'm knock-knee'd and pigeon toe'd. Need to keep working on the adductors. 

Yay, finish line. And, I'm happy. My previous race I felt miserable the whole time. I really enjoyed today. So, that previous one was just a funky day. Got some cold water. And some watermelon. I do wish they had a vegetarian option for food besides fruit. But, beggars can't be choosers. As I was looking forlornly at the pork tacos, someone else asked about vegetarian, so I didn't feel too alone. Then, back to transition, pick up my bike and gear, ride to the camp, shower, take one last look around at the view, and we are back on the road.  As I was leaving transition, one of the race crew asked how it was. I said it was awesome. Not too hot, much to my surprise. Didn't reach 100-degrees. He commented that every time he saw me on the course, I was always smiling. Yeah, it was a great race and I was thinking, if you aren't having fun, why are you out here?  

Look at this view. Too bad we couldn't stay longer.

Yes, I wanted to show off cool dragons on my INKnBURN capris because I was feeling strong today. And, I was hungry. Bugles hit the spot and I still play with my food, so ... there is that. Homeward bound. Can't wait until next year. Setting my alarm for registration.