Another triathlon saga, and yes, it has only been two weeks since you've been tortured by the "Fitness Perils of Patricia". You don't have to read this..... I will never know. I do have to write it though because that is part of how I capture the joy and lessons of the moment.
The fun started on Saturday the 8th of May. I got up at about 5 so I could go to the gym for an easy work out. I used the recumbent bike and just stretched out for an hour. Then home to clean the kitchen and put all of my laundry away. My friend Lisa Gurule called and asked if I'd like to join her and her family, Marcy, Grady and Jeffery Oxford, for a triathlon sleepover. That sounded like much more fun than staying by myself at the La Quinta, so I quickly called and canceled my reservation. I got on the road about 10 and was able to stop for lunch with other friends Ovidiu, Rebecca and Daniel in Cedar Crest. Off to packet pick-up at Sports Systems, and then to my ritual movie prior to the triathlon. This week I went to see "How to Train Your Dragon." It was wonderful and I recommend it.
Following the movie, off to Trader Joes to get appropriate healthy food for the evening, morning and day of race consumption. I only got lost a little bit on the way to Lisa's house; fortunately Marcy was watching and saw me trolling the street in front of the house. We had veggie pizza for supper and engaged in much strategizing about the next day's triathlon adventure. Since we are such total geek girls, we discussed what we'd had for breakfast in the past before each triathlon so we could come to decisions about what would be the best choices for us each, with the common denominator being LOTS of strong, black coffee. Grady, ever the purist, scorned our coffee plan. I am a fan of Greek yogurt and strawberries. Lisa, Marcy, Jeffery, and Grady all went with toast spread with peanut butter (I didn't check to see if it was organic peanut butter <grin>).
Of course no pre-triathlon evening is complete without the packing/unpacking ritual with the triathlon bag. Lisa and I were at a significant advantage since we actually HAD our bags. Marcy and Grady had been to Chicago and packed their bags and left them in the car Jeffery was driving up with all of the bikes. YIKES, no opportunity for a last minute bike check either. Lisa discovered that her bike tire was at only 20 pounds psi. Marcy and I gasped in horror, "What if this was a slow leak? What if she had to change her tire on the route? Did she know how?" We sure didn't. Grady mocked us severely for our whirling fears for Lisa and her possibly troubled tire (not to worry, all went well the next day. I don't want you to stress over the suspense.)
Early to bed for all of us. I think the lights were out by 9:30 since we were getting up at 5:10 in order to allow thirty minutes to get to Kirkland AFB and an hour to get through the gate. Of course we dawdled a bit, but we did make it in plenty of time. I did get tapped for the random can-we-search-your-car request by two nice young airmen. They wanted me to open the back hatch of the van, but I had my bike rack mounted and that was not working for me. Of course everyone else went on to the parking lot and assumed I'd been taken to whatever the Air Force call their jail for wayward triathletes. I just parked in another parking lot. I did quickly scope out the best spot for transition: right near the entrance used out and to the pool. Since this was a reverse tri, the swim is last and I am always looking for the easiest way to stagger into the water.
We drank coffee, got body marked with the permanent markers that you can only remove with acetone or lots of vigorous scrubbing, or by the application of sun screen (then it just smears into a nasty black/gray blur on your arm or leg). I noticed I was scheduled to go out with wave 10, the last wave of women older than 50. I also noticed that the Athens and Clydsedales were heading out at 8:12. Given my penchant for being the last one on the course, I asked Angie the race director if I could go out at 8:12 instead of 8:47. She said yes, and that was GREAT for me. For the first time I was actually on the course when other people were on the course. That was so much more fun.
At 7:50 I decided one more trip to the potty, and the line was forever. I got back out in time to go with the 8:12 wave. They did quickly leave me behind because even though I was running, I am a slooooowwwwww runner. Now the good news. I ran the entire 5 K (3.1 miles) without stopping. My average heart rate was in the high 140s or low 150s. I didn't know if I could keep that up, but I did for the 46 minutes it took me to run the 3.1 miles. You must pause and celebrate with me. You see, eight years ago, when I was 42, it took me 55 minutes to WALK one mile. This Sunday I was able to run 3.1 miles at an average pace of 15 minutes per mile. I felt so blessed by the changes the Lord has made in my body.
Okay, back to transition, and on the bike. I really like this course. It is hilly and go fast. Last year I did the bike route of 12.5 miles in 1 hour and 10 minutes. This year (insert drum roll please) it took me (pregnant pause) 54 minutes!!!! I actually passed people on the bike route. I love my aerobars. It is so much fun to say, "On your left" and then pass people. I've never had the opportunity to do that before. Yeah!!!
Rolled into transition and the nicest lady helped me rack my bike and was coaching me through what to remove: Helmet, gloves, extra shirt, race belt, shoes, socks, etc. I forgot to take off my shorts, but that was okay. I staggered into the pool and quickly gave up on the crawl for the back stroke. That worked great and I finished really well. I was able to do the entire triathlon in 2 hours and 2 minutes. My average heart rate was 144 and my peak was 182. I felt so incredible because that was 20 minutes better than my best time in the past. I was totally jazzed, and in fact am still on the top of the world.
I would not have believed it could be true, and now it is. I am an athlete. I can't explain it away any more. When you've done 8 triathlons, you are an athlete. When you work out six days a week and wish you could work out on the rest day, I think you are an athlete. Today I got up at 4:45 and headed to the gym for a slow, easy hour workout to get stretched and keep the soreness down. I can tell you I am SORE everywhere. There were no muscle groups spared in the adventure on Mother's Day. I've got four weeks until the Milkman triathlon in Dexter. Marcy and Jeffery are planning on going to that one. Lisa said she is "never, never, never, never, never" doing an open water swim. Jefferey has a wet suit and Marcy is ordering one. My goal going into to the Milkman is to do that triathlon in less than two hours. It is a longer swim (500 meters) and the bike route is pretty tough. The run is last and is all on dirt trails. I am still shooting for the under two hour mark for that one. Last year Milkman took me 2 hours and 52 minutes, so you can see I am setting an ambitious goal.
Thank you for sharing in my joy and my triathlon fun. I appreciate being able to share this journey with you. I can tell you that I learned lots from the Coyote Carrera experience. This time I made sure I drank 20 ounces of G2 on the run, 20 ounces of G2 on the bike, and ate a protein/fruit bar on the bike. That hydration seemed to work really well for this level of endurance activity.
Patricia
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