Race Report: The Austin Triathlon - Are We There Yet?

The day started with a gorgeous Texas sunrise over the city. My personal photographer, my special, and my cheer squad were all up early with me at this triathlon. My favorite of the year. I'd been looking forward to it since last year.

Transition closed early and the men got to start in the first heats so there was a lot of waiting to do before the start. Luckily, my favorite training partner had packed an extra banana for me to eat before the swim start. I think that helped settle my stomach before the swim.

We hopped merrily into the 80 degree water on that 80 degree morning and tread water until the starting shot. I kept incredibly calm throughout the duration and surprisingly I did not have very many "are we there yet?" moment during the swim. The swim was an out and back to the Lamar Bridge. Mostly, our pack of pink caps followed this guy on a surf board out from Auditorium Shores on the out portion. He was easy to sight! I love swimming in Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake because it is such familiar stomping ground for me and it's neat to see the land from a different angle. The high rises speckled the shore and the sun began peek its hot self out, making me glad I decided to go with my new tinted googles that were a birthday present from my dear friend. The swim was great, and the volunteer that pulled me out of the water was even greater! Oh my gosh, I flew out of the water and ran up to transition. Apparently, my cheer squad including my first marathon coach and several of my running buddies were there yelling for me but I didn't hear any of them at that point. But they would help me later! Oh my goodness, yes they would! I transitioned seemlessly to the bike. The only complaint I had was it was super dusty in transition and so that grit was EVERYWHERE.

I got on the bike only to find that my cycling computer was not working. Bummer. I try not to rely on those tools and so I brushed it off. I was riding ZEN. I felt good. I let myself warm up on the first loop and then started pushing the second loop. I really love hills on the bike and so I pushed them and played mind games with myself as I climbed. I counted the number of guys I could pass on the hills and thought about many of my cycling friends and how awesome they are as I motored along. I was having fun until the 2nd loop. It seemed the 2nd loop went on forever. People were standing on the hills and making me nervous. My legs felt numb with the work, but I kept pushing and I thankfully had my cheer squad to snap me out of my "are we there yet?" dazes. I drank a lot on the bike and had a whole packet of clif blocks. They were delish and worked well for me.

I was totally ready to get off my bike and get on to the run. I had that familiar feeling of "o yes, this is my element" coming off the bike to the run. I slid my new Ascics Nimbuses on, grabbed a goo and went off like a shot out of a gun! Instantly, I was in pain and of note though, also instantly, I was having fun. (Pain and fun in the same sentence. Win!) I never let up on the run. From the get go, I thought "Let the passing game begin!" Silly me, though, I did not realize that the 10K was only 2 loops. I think I might have gone faster on the first loop had I known that. I thought for a while that we had to do 3 loops like we did on the bike. Yes, I need to plan better for these things mentally. Note to self. So when I realized it was 2 loops I really turned it on and just picked off man after man. This macho guy and I were pushing each other for a while on the first loop, I was having quite the time. I ultimately passed him, and I have to say it felt great. I saw my super star training partner a few times on the out and backs and really enjoyed hearing her cheers. The cheers of my amazing support team were also extremely helpful. Every time I heard them call out to me, I felt myself surge on. I treated this 10K as a fun tempo run. One of my cheering friends screamed out "YOU ARE A MACHINE" and I used the word "MA-CHINE" as a mantra for the entire second lap. Last year on the only hill of the run up S. 1st I channelled my grandmother who died of cancer in 1993. This year I could feel her hands upon my back yet again pushing me up the hill. It was an incredible experience.

Equally incredible was crossing the finish line and being immediately greeted and hugged by so many friends. I felt so honored and touched that so many of my close, dear friends were out en force for me on Monday. Thank you friends, you made the world of difference. This Austin Tri went from a "Are we there yet?" theme to a "MA-freaking-CHINE" theme thanks to you!

I'm so proud of my performance. My goal was to get into the top 10, and since I got 10th, I think that qualifies! I'm very pleased. Onward to the Longhorn 1/2 Iron. I totally feel ready.

Age Group Place: 10
Overall Place: 46
Swim Rank: 20
1500 m Swim Time: 32:37.21
Pace per 100 m: 2:10
Transition 1 Time: 03:36.80
Bike Rank: 26
40K Bike time: 1:20:36.65
Average MPH on bike: 18.5
Transition 2 Time: 02:08.90
Run Rank: 3
10K Run time: 46:43.15*
Pace per mile: 7:32

*My 10K is roughly 2 minutes slower that my 10K PR. Somebody's going to break 45 in their next 10K! Or BUST!!

Current book I'm reading: The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael

GIRLS.CAN.CLIMB - Race Report of Jack's Generic Triathlon

"GIRLS.CAN.CLIMB" was the mantra I was using during the bike portion of the triathlon that I completed this past Sunday. It was called Jack's Generic Sprint Tri. The weather was amazing - a few degrees cooler than normal due to a glorious cloud cover. Since I've been training in 100+ degree temps and high humidity, even the slightest lowering of temperature makes me feel like I can fly! And fly I did, I got 6th in my age group!

Pre-race was fun and relaxed because we got there EARLY. I had the opportunity to chat with a few of my favorite volunteers and wish one of my friends a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe the fact that my friend was out there ON HER BIRTHDAY volunteering and handing out water and Pure Sport to all of us tired athletes. I really appreciated hearing her cheers and I know she had a Happy Birthday!

Before getting in the water, I ran into a girl who I had met through the Nike Running group last summer. Jack's Generic was her first tri. She was, like many of us, scared about the swim. I told her to wait 5 seconds before starting to go and get to the edge of the pack and SIGHT as much as she could. At 8:16 our wave started, my arms felt sore from lifting weights earlier in the week, but I felt stronger than ever on the swim. I actually enjoyed it, despite the strange smell of the water. There wasn't as much silt or muck this time around, and it went by super fast! I was out of the water in less than 10 minutes. I ran up to transition and my birthday girl friend cheered "out of the water in 10 seconds flat...GO MERCEDES!" it was so helpful and motivating. I got on my bike and took off up the hill, passing people like a mad-woman. The first half of the bike I kept switching places with this guy on a tri bike. Every time we passed one another we would say "good job" to one another. I finally got him on the second half of the bike because as the title of this post says GIRLS.CAN.CLIMB! I channeled the energy from my cycling mentor and I pushed it in to the finish of the bike, ready and energized for the run.

I got my running shoes, hat and water bottle on quickly and sprinted out of transition. I tried to be aware of the fact that I always run the first mile fast in triathlon. I get excited to be on the run, my "favorite" part. (I put that "favorite" in quotes now because lately I've been enjoying the bike and the swim A LOT more. I remember thinking in this last tri that I didn't want the bike to end! I wasn't ready for the swim to end, either! I just love the whole thing!) I held back a bit but I was still passing guy after guy after guy on the out portion of the out-and-back run. There were no girls in sight. I maybe saw 2-3 women on the run on the way out. On the back portion after the turn around I saw a lot of women starting out. It made me feel fast to be passing all of these men. I kept my thinking super positive throughout the run. Even though I was hurting, I kept telling myself "the turn around is just ahead, you're almost there see it in the distance, the turn around is just ahead" and I kept pushing. After the turn around I had it in my head that the back portion was shorter than the out portion, I convinced myself of that somehow and I pushed and just made sure I was passing every guy that was in front of me. At the finishing chute this random guy said "there's about 5 more guys ahead of you waiting for you to GET 'EM" it was so inspiring. I felt really strong. A guy on the back portion of the run used my bib number in a cheer and screamed "206 she's in the mix; she's got it!" and that was super helpful too. I saw a couple of friends and caught some high fives. I love this sport and I'm starting to love all of the people in it.

BEST.TRI.EVER!

Post race was definitely enjoyable. I did not get my body worked on but I did work on drinking two of my favorite beers on the planet and a veggie burger. Oh, and an ice cream sandwich. And did I mention the potato chips? Yes, I ate those, too while waiting for my special to finish. After everyone was through we sat and enjoyed the ambiance of Texas Ski Ranch and chatted with some friends. Again, BEST.TRI.EVER! And another conclusion: THEY ARE ONLY GETTING BETTER!

If they are only getting better, I can't imagine how great the Austin Tri is going to be. And the 1/2 Ironman! And the Ironman! I can't wait!!

Current book I'm reading: Old Friend From Far Away