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

Me? A future Ironman... AND a Rookie? Yes sir-ee!

This Sunday I will be competing in Jack and Adam's Rookie Triathlon!

http://www.therookietri.com/

And I have been pondering the question, after 4 or 5 triathlons and duathalons, am I still a Rookie?

When do you go from Newbie (or my preferred spelling Noobie) to Rookie to Amateur to Experienced to Age Grouper to Pro? Where am I in the grand scheme of things in the triathlon world? After about about 5 minutes of pondering, I'm going to say that yes, I'm probably still a Rookie.

As a Rookie though you are always learning. As a Rookie you are always improving. As a Rookie you are always asking the right (perhaps crazy) questions and finding answers. How could that be bad? Heck, I'm a Rookie Future Ironman, and honestly I'm so excited about that. Rookie-Future-Ironman. Could that be the new name of my blog? No, I don't think it's catchy enough.

The Rookie Tri this weekend is just a little dip in the water, about 300 meters, then the bike is 11.1 mile over flat terrain and I've heard a few and rolling hills. The run will be fast, so I've heard -- it is flat and short. I will have it in my head that I'm doing a 5K and I'll actually be doing 2 mi. I'm gunna kill it on the run. I am totally stoked. I'll report how I do on Monday!

Oh and I want to mention how cool it is that the slowest swim time will WIN a free swim clinic courtesy of T3. That's neat.

Anyway, wish me luck!

Current book I'm reading: The Wednesday Letters and Superwomen by Jodi Buren