First Olympic Tri on the Books!

My first Oly was on Saturday in Lake Chelan! It was a blast! My husband and I left on Friday night and actually camped. I racked my bike that night as well. One of the officials said that they may not allow wetsuits because the water temp. may get too high. I found it funny that so many people were freaking out. I have realized that many triathletes rely upon their wetsuits to get them through the swim. I have never worn a wetsuit, in fact I was ecstatic to know that it would be a warm swim! That definitely eased my nerves!

We woke up at 5am, ate breakfast and drove down to the race. I set up my transition area and was ready for the course talk down at the swim start. On my way down I ran into a friend that I used to swim with in high school. We chatted a bit and listened to the race director and then went back to get ready.

The Swim: The swim was one of the best open water swims I have ever had. The lake is clear and you can actually see the bottom if it's not too deep. It's so clear in fact that you can follow the buoy lines and swim in a straight line. I don't know how anybody could have worn a wetsuit, I was even hot by the end of the swim! I finished the swim 7th in my age group and 65th out of 350 men and women.



The Bike: The bike course was amazing; beautiful scenery all around. It was an open course so there was traffic but most people were going very slow and were being courteous. There were some gradual inclines but that always means you get to go downhill! I was able to pick up some pretty fast speeds (at least for me!) and finished with the time I wanted to. Not sure how I finished but my time was 1:30:21





The Run: Oh the run!! The worst part of a tri for me. Many triathletes are much better runners and can win a race with a great, fast run. However, that is not the case with me... at least at the moment! I am a much better swimmer than most triathletes and a much worse runner! By the time I got to the run it was very hot and I was hungry. I did walk several times during the 10k, but I didn't want to make myself sick. Thankfully, there were several water stops which included gels and of course water. There were also people along the course that sprayed the racers with a hose. My run time was really bad 1:13!! Eeeek, must work on the run!





My goal time for the entire race was 3 hours, but I finished in 3:20. Not bad for a first tri but not what I wanted. I LOVED this distance and I look forward to doing another one soon!

Marathon Training: Oh yeah! That!! Tomorrow going on a run with mom, probably 45-60 minutes!

Nothing Like New Race Clothes!!!

New Clothes:
I bought some new shorts and a new top today for my triathlon on Saturday. I have a one piece tri suit, but it drives me up the wall and it's too big. Some of the employees at the tri store I went to were trying to convince me that I needed a once piece suit because I won't be wearing a wetsuit. Well, they couldn't convince me until this superstar pregnant woman who works at the store told me that of course you can wear a two piece without a wetsuit. I finally found what I wanted and walked away happy and of course cute! I have never tried Zoot brand but it is incredibly comfy and I hope I like it for race day because there's not much more time to try them out.

Swimming with an Ironman


The other day I went swimming with my cousin who is a multiple Ironman Hawaii triathlete. She is AMAZING! I suggested that we go for a masters workout at my favorite pool (pic below). She said she was super slow and would not belong in any of the lanes. This did not happen! We were able to do the whole workout together. She said she made it a point to wear a triathlon swim cap so people would know she's not a good swimmer! Whatever!!! She told me she LOVED the pool and of course the workout!

A fun day at the races!!

On Saturday my mom, me and our cousin (a SUPER Ironman Triathlete) did a 5k race together. My cousin ran it in 21 minutes (she's 49!) and my mom ran it in 24 minutes (she's 58!) and I won't tell you my time, but it's much slower than these two old ladies!!! We all felt like crap afterwards, it was a little hot by the time the race started. It was a late start, 9:30 so it was very warm. I really wanted to just sprint the whole thing, but it just wasn't in the cards. Once we were all done we went to Starbucks and waited for the results. My mom was third in her age group, cousin was fourth. And again I don't need to tell you what I placed.

5k on Saturday!

Maybe I will PR and actually go fast for once. I am just not a fast runner, more of a distance girl. I'm like that with swimming too. I could never do a 5o free super fast, but come those distance events I can hold my pace easily and still finish strong. It should be a fun race with family in town and my cousin racing with us. I will tell you right now the order in which we will finish:

Cousin

mom

me

Feeling lazy

Haven't done very well this week. Did a yoga class and a body works class and have only managed to run 4 miles per day. /saturday is a 5k my daughter, cousin, and i are running. Taking Thursday and Friday off to show my cousin the sights of Seattle. I will get back in the swing of things by next week. Maybe I need a new running outfit.

ChelanMan Olympic Distance tri looming in the near future!

My first Olympic distance triathlon is scheduled for July 18th and I am slowly getting more and more nervous for this event. The training I have been doing is far from spectacular, but I know I will be able to finish for sure. This being my first Oly my only goal is to finish. I think there is a mass swim start too which makes me incredibly nervous and I will not be wearing a wetsuit in the very cold glacier fed lake. My very first open water swim was a mass start and I almost swam back to shore is was so intense. Once the chaos is over at the start it should be fine. I am excited for the bike portion as it will be nice and flat. By the time I get to the run I am expecting it to be very hot (much hotter than I am used to). I can't wait to cross the finish line!

My mom and I also decided to sign up for a half marathon in September. I have a full race calendar the next few months:

• 5k next weekend
• Oly tri July 18
• Possible open water mile swim in August
• Possible sprint distance tri in August
  
• Half marathon in September
• Half marathon in October
• Marathon end of November

Training: 45 minute run on July 4th!
1 hour swim today!

Day of Rest

Happy Fourth of July!

No running for me today!

Training: swam 3200 meters (masters workout)

I am sure my mom ran a ton today! 

Crash, Bang, Boom!!

Yesterday was a day devoted to biking and falling. My husband and I went on a 2o mile bike ride on one of our fabulous local bike trails. It was a great ride because I was ahead of my husband the entire time ;)  I was averaging between 18-20 mph for most of the ride. We decided to break the ride up so we could grab a quick dinner. I had just gotten off work and needed to refuel. As we were getting back on the trail my tire lodged into a crack on the pavement and I was on the ground!

I scraped up my elbow pretty good and I have some bruises. Thankfully I didn't hit my head or twist an ankle! I can keep on marathon training! Yay! (insert sarcasm here!)

Training for today: 45 minute run