It's race day! I woke up at 4:45 am this morning to prep for the race. I tried to eat a bagel with peanut butter, but felt like I was going to throw it up, so I got down about a third. I was pretty anxious about the race. I got dressed, filled my water bottles with water and electrolytes and headed to the lobby to meet the team. From there we rode together to the transition area to get ready to race. The cool thing about being up and out so early was that I got see a fabulous Hawaiian sunrise! I was given #419 as my race number and found my transition spot with the same number and got all set-up. I decorated my bike with a flower lei I bought last night to remind myself that no matter how hard the race got, that I was still in Hawaii. Plus, it looked cute. We took a team photo under the finish line sign and then it was time for the race to begin!
The first wave started at 7:30, which consisted of elite racers - basically the pros. Then there were 2 waves of men. Then it was my turn - the 18-39 year old women. The waves were started at 3 minute intervals. There were about 100 swimmers in my group. I stayed in the back so I wouldn't get caught up in the group and I could swim at my slow speed. My plan of attack was to swim until I got tired and then float on my back to catch my breath and do it again. It would have been a good plan, except that when I was floating on my back to catch my breath, the last wave took off and I was stampeded by the 40+ women. I was kicked and swam over and basically panicked. So, a nice boy on a surf board rescued me and brought me in to shore. I was pretty disappointed in myself, but there really wasn't a way for me to rest through the group and I wasn't a good enough swimmer to swim with the front of that pack when they came barrelling through. So, I sat at the end of the swim for about an hour - when I thought I would have finished the swim - and then ran through to the transition area to get my bike.
The bike was easy to find as it was the only one left in my row. I changed from my swim stuff to my bike gear and set off. As I was heading out, the first of the elite racers was already heading back to the transition area (yes, he swam 1 mile and biked 25 in about 1 hour and 15 minutes) and nearly bowled me over! The first half of the bike ride was really fun! I was riding fast and passing other riders. My teammates who were on the other side of the highway coming back yelled encouragement and I was joking with the volunteers along the way. There were horned goats eating the grass along side the road too. It took me 50 minutes to reach the turnaround point. I was in great shape. Then the wind picked up - and kept getting stronger - and I was heading right into it. It took my 1 1/2 hours to complete the last 12 miles. It sucked! The wind was so strong that I had to pedal hard downhill to keep going. There was no coasting, no resting, no volunteer joking - there was some singing (Meet the Flintstones and the theme from Sesame Street - don't ask me why) and a bit of cussing. The last half of the ride was brutal. But, I finished, so it was time to run.
I transitioned into my run gear, grabbed a full water bottle and started on the lava path for the run. I walked a bit, then ran and hit mile 1 and 2 pretty comfortably. I ran through the resort, down a trail to the beach and then hit mile 5 - hmmm. Where were miles 3 and 4? I was following the runners in front of me. Did I just miss the signs? Anyway, I felt really good at that point and decided I surely I could run the last mile, so I did. Right to the finish line with a 4:17 finish time. I felt great for finishing (we just won't mention the swim part). But a 10k in 45 minutes? How could I have shaved off 15 minutes from my best 10k time? It ends up that this is pretty easy when you miss 2 miles of the course. It ends up I had turned too early (as did the runners in front me) and we missed the middle part of the run course. So, today I finished a triathlon consisting of a 1/10 mile swim, a 25 mile bike (in a wind tunnel) and a 4.2 mile run. Still, a pretty good race if you ask me.
So, would I do it again? No chance! I am a much better team mom and tailgater than an athlete. But I'm glad I had this amazing experience and I really appreciate all of you who supported me and got me here! Thank you!!
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