Silver Lake Sprint Triathlon Recap

So I finally figured out how to create a blog!  Yay me!  Now on to the recap....The night before this race we had an out of town wedding to attend.  It was only a couple of hours drive so no biggie.  It was a beautiful ceremony for a special cousin.  I wore my heels since I could not find my flats.  I was a bit worried about that and how it would affect my feet, but it was fine.  We got home from the wedding around 9:30 or 10:00 pm.  I had already gotten all of my stuff ready for the next day so it was all good.  I made it to be around 11:00 pm which is pretty normal for me.  I had been fretting this one since it would be my first open water swim since October 2012.  I have a chronic perforation in one ear drum so I have been grounded to pool swims for a while now.  More on that later.  The alarm went off at 4:03 am.  Don't ask, I set them for strange times a lot.  I actually got a good night's sleep that night which is very unusual for me.  Much less with an OWS looming.  I got up with the alarm this time....shocker! ...and went to get things in order.  The venue was only about 25-30 minutes away so I knew I had plenty of time.  Well went through the usual things.....
1. bathroom
2. did the dishes (knew I would not want to do them when I got back home later)
3. made hubby's and my breakfast - put his in the fridge
4. bathroom
5. ate breakfast
6. packed the truck with my bike and things I would not be wearing right away
7. Oh crap...made my water for the bike and got that in the car
8. bathroom
9. folded some laundry (I had plenty of time)
10. bathroom one more time just in case

Got out of the door around 5:25 or 5:30 am.  I made it to the location for us to park with no problems.  Got my bike out of the truck and got the tires aired up.  There is something soothing about hearing that hiss sound when you get the air pump off of your tire valve...hmmmm....anyhow.  Began the walk to the venue.  They said in the materials it was a 10 minute walk....well I have heard this before and it was not that far.  Yeah they meant business!  It was not really marked for the walk over so I was following the people in front of me.  I always walk my bike in since I have a shoulder bag to carry and do not want to wipe out before the race.  I would still race unless there was exposed bone, so it is better to be safe. ;)  Before I got to the venue I realized I had to use the bathroom again...Seriously!  Did you see my list?  Oh well....I made it to the porta potties that were thankfully a long way from transition.  Went through the motions of getting body marked (after missing the place and getting to transition first), found my spot on the rack and started getting my stuff laid out.  I realized I needed a picture of the lake....oh my goodness!  I just thought about the fact I would be swimming in a lake!  It was up in the air if wetsuits would be legal at this one.  Not that I own one but that would mean the water temps were hovering around 78.  The official said it was not legal and felt like tepid bath water...yay!  I would not freeze this go around!  Went back to my rack and checked on my stuff.  I go with such a minimal set up I always feel like I am forgetting something.

Well hello there beautiful!  I have missed you so much!!!!  Made some idle chit chat with the other athletes getting set up and then realized transition was about to close.  Head on over to the water since they were allowing a warm-up swim shortly.  The water looked a strange color of green (remember I have been swimming where there is crystal clear water with a nice tiled line on the bottom for years) but it was not smelly.  I joked that I would be the one swimming over there (pointing off to the left) to those big pretty houses.  ha ha.  We got in and all I wanted to do was check to make sure my new goggles (race day sin) were adjusted so no water would be getting in them.  The bottom was slimy with a side of grass and there was a ledge you could walk out on.  I put my face in after getting my ear plug in my ear and they were fine.  That was enough for me.  The water temp was fine so I knew I would be good to go.  The swimming pool is colder....  

We have the announcements about the course and rules and a local choir sang and then it was go time.  I visited the potty one more time.  Nothing worse than having to go during a sprint tri.  There are no bathrooms on the course so you have to go out of your way after changing out in transition if you really have to go.  I got back to the water and then I put on my other earplug, my ear band, my first swim cap that is extra long to accommodate ear plugs, but waited on the race day cap until it was almost time to get in.  There were a few waves ahead of me and that was nice.  It was almost time to get in so I got on my race day cap and my goggles.  Needless to say, my head would be warm.  ;)  We got in the water and that is when I realized I was not going to be at the back of the pack. I like to at least start there so I am not caught up in all of the churning and jockeying for position that goes on.  Well I am not even sure if all of the women in the wave were able to fit in the water before the gun went off.  I waited about 10-20 seconds to get started (best guess) and realized I should just take off.  Went in and was surprised by my willingness to put my face in the water.  So glad I went with the clear goggles for the swim instead of my tinted ones.  I was concentrating on long and lean...that is my swimming thing I do to keep from stroking too often and fast.  It is supposed to help with conserving energy.  Well I did not drown so I guess it worked.  Strange thing was that I got a cramp in one of my toes about 25 m in.  What?!  I just kept swimming while wiggling the toes on that foot and cursed myself for not eating the rest of my banana that morning.  ;)  Well we get to about the first 100 m in and I am getting pretty tired.  There is a bit of bumping into each other and a couple of foot grabs (from and to me), but nothing too bad.  I am thinking to myself...."You really need to stop stopping at the ends of the pool." =)  Just before the turn around buoy there is a person floating with the lifeguard noodle.  Someone is with them and I think to myself, "If I am still this tired, I am going to have to take the next one up on their offer to rest."  Then I say, "Don't be a wimp!  Get your ass swimming!  Keep moving forward!"  So I push on.  Turn around point...and I don't think I could have been more under that buoy.  Ha ha!  I had planned on hugging the buoy line to keep my distance pretty true.  May not do that next time.  I had began to breast stroke off and on a while back and it was not really helping me rest.  So I decided to flip on my back.  Now with my partial shoulder replacement I do not do traditional backstroke.  I do elementary backstroke.  It is good for recovery as long as you do not inhale the lake....I flipped back over feeling much better and went back to freestyle.  Well after the lady with the long breathing technique bumped me again, I decided I had to flip back over or do breast stroke or something.  I did a little of both.  Well just before I stroked hard with the backstroke I realized I was almost on a buoy.  I tapped it a little.  Well I got tired of being swam into at that point and dug deep and swam past the lady.  She has moved me almost completely into oncoming traffic.  Not good!  Then almost as fast as it all started we were close to the shore again!  Yay!  I survived the swim.  The guys helped pull us from the water and then it was time for the long run to transition. 

Grabbed a quick cup of water and carried it to my bike.  Drank whatever was left when I got to my spot.  This is how I do this first transition.  While running to the transition area, I put the goggles on my head, peel off the swim caps so the goggles are inside.  Then I undo my headband and shove it inside the caps.....then the fun part of manipulating the ear plug out of my ear.  These silicone babies are super sticky and totally in there.  That gets put somewhere in or near the caps.  Chunk this all on the ground near my bike once I get there.  Clips-check, gum-check, glasses-check, helmet on-check, helmet fastened-check.  Pull the bike off and get running for the exit.  There was a curb we had to go down and up coming off the grass in transition, but it was not too bad.  Run the little red one over to the mount line and pop my leg over and fight with the pedals....I have not ridden the old girl in a month so it was not second nature like it should be.  A lady next to me was going to do a flying mount I think, but one of her shoes came unclipped.  I rode around her and was off.  The bike course was nice.  It was in a nice neighborhood here in Pearland.  Big houses, nice lawns, and well kept roads.  It was very uneventful.  Not too much in the way of hills (nothing compared to the hills in Austin).  At one point we did come to an overpass and I said to myself (hopefully in my head), "Oh $h1t, please tell me we are not about to ride up that hill!".  Nope we were turning to go up a smaller incline.  Thank goodness!  The funny part on the ride was when I realized we must be getting close to the finish and I realized I was confused about which foot to unclip with to step down.  Now I have a 50/50 shot here at getting it right, but not what you want to have going through your head really when you know the dismount line will be coming soon.  So I went over it in my head and tried to not flip out.  I was tired and I think this factored into it all.  It is second nature to use the correct foot now so I was just overthinking it.  Needless to say I went over the motion in my head and "remembered" it is the left foot that comes out first.  In last and out first.  ;)  So we get to the dismount line and I get off right before it.  I was surprised with how fast I was able to run in my clips after this ride.  It is that point that I am beginning to regret drinking so much water on the ride.  Oh well, you have three more miles to run and then you can tend to business.  ;)

Run the bike over to the rack and get it put on.  Mind you my bike is so small ( I am only almost 5'3") that the front tire does not usually touch the ground.  She just hovers so I have to make sure I do not knock any other bikes off.  Then we reverse the order.  Sit down, helmet off, clips off, number belt on, visor on while running out of transition.  The gentleman who was steering us out at the correct point from transition says, "Out to your left."  "No shoes?"  I said, "Nope, no shoes."  He says, "Okay, then run out to your left.".  He did not even miss a beat. The run course is beautiful and through the same neighborhood.  I grabbed quick sip of water and run on.  It is all on the sidewalk (some places even had a sign telling us to keep to the sidewalk).  I am going along and getting caught up in the sound of my feet hitting the ground. I think I use that to pace myself.  I am passing some people and then settle into my race pace (ended up being right at 8:00 per mile).  At the first water station on the course I took a second glass of water.  It is warming up some now, so I know I will sweat it out so no worries.  There are a few small inclines that we are running on, but all in all a flat course.  I begin to pass more people as the run continues.  I tend to settle into a pace and hold it until the end.  At one point a younger kid passes a group of us like we are standing still..I look over at the guy I am passing and say, "I am going to go catch him!".  Yeah that did not happen but it was a good goal. I got the usual what no shoes!  Comments along the way and one guy who called me hard core.  =)   We are told just before a turn we are almost there.  It is just up the road now.  Well, he forgot to mention that there was another turn after that, but let's not split hairs, right?  We round the last turn and after a short distance I can see the ambulance that they had on site...I know we are almost done.  I picked up the pace a bit and then I could see the finisher's chute!  The grass was still a little wet but I rounded the turn as fast as I had been on the roadway.  Then I started the uncoordinated "sprinting" that I love to do at the end...needless to say my pic is not the greatest.  ha ha.  Mine never are.  I come across the finish line and in a flurry of activity, I get my finisher's medal, a bottle of water, and a lady takes off my timing chip.  Then it is done.  Wow!  A lady comes up to me as she is finishing and says, "And then she (pointing at me) flies by me and barefoot even."  Sometimes it is fun being the eccentric one.  ;)

I wander around for a bit and look to see what they have to eat.  Nothing I can have except the fruit so I wait to eat.  My family does not come to my races anymore.  The kids get bored and it is a lot of work getting me out the door, much less three kids and the hubby at the butt crack of dawn.  (This all started when a race I was doing had a 55 degree air temperature start.  I told them to please stay home as it would be a miserable day.  The hubby comes to the finish line sometimes so it is a nice surprise).  Anyhow, I go to the porta potty and then walk over to transition.  We have about 10 minutes before we can get in so I chat with some of the other athletes waiting.  Fastest ten minutes on the planet.  Get back over to the disaster zone that is my transition area and start collecting my haphazardly thrown about things.  Turns out the gentleman across from me will be representing the USA in London this year.  How cool it that?!  I walk the bike back to the finish and text hubby that the preliminary results are up and I am 1st in my age group!  Wha?!?!  Holy crap!  I am now so glad I did not stop during the swim and super glad I did not walk when I wanted on the run.  I was holding on to first by about 2 minutes at that point.  In the world of sprint tris placements can be marked by 10 to 20 seconds and sometimes less than that.  I got the you rock text back and then I wait.  Awards were not scheduled until 11.  I considered taking the bike back to the car, but it was such a long walk and I did not want to do it more times than I had to.  Something about walking the bike that I do not enjoy.  So I pick a tree and wait.  At about 10 I could not believe how hungry I was getting....so I caved and realized I would not go blind from a couple of slices of pizza with cheese and pepperoni so I indulged (paid later but that is another story).  I am feeling full so I try to nap for a bit.  About 30 minutes before awards, I get a call from the hubby asking if I wanted them to come out for the awards.  They did not have time to get ready and make the drive...so I had someone there take my pic.  These are the splits, a pic of me under the tree waiting and then the awards.  Then it was the long walk back to the car.

I walk in the door and I get plenty of congrats from the family and then the trophy goes on the mantle.  I get my much needed shower and then it is on with the rest of the day.  Making food and getting laundry done.  And that is how I balance.  =)