I’m a week out from my race. I should have written this recap on the car ride home while it was fresher in my brain, but I was busy riding the high of my first triathlon. And let me tell you, there was nothing like that high. Is that why athletes push the limits? For the dopamine? It certainly does make you feel like the world is yours to conquer.
Do you remember this post? I was at the lowest of lows. Training had become such a chore and I was feeling so defeated. I got over that slump and the last 3 weeks of training were enjoyable! — unlike the marathon taper, the triathlon taper felt welcome and manageable. There was still adequate levels of activity without the feeling of being on the edge of burnout. My last week of workouts:
Sunday: 1 hr (20 miles) biking
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 4 mile run, 30 min OWS
Wednesday: 42 mins (12.5 mile) bike
Thursday: rest
Friday: practice bike to run transition: 20 min bike, 10 min run
Saturday: rest (lots of walking)
This had my body feeling good on race day.
We got to Des Moines Saturday at 11. We went straight to the athlete village and I got my wrist band, shirt and backpack and then we walked to Jimmy John’s and back to make it in time for the noon athlete briefing. This filled me with fear that I would get in trouble for drafting even tho I don’t even know how to do that. 😂 (This ended up being an unnecessary fear, as I never came across someone on the course ready to disqualify me.) After the briefing, we dropped off my bike and looked at the murky water, then spent the rest of the day checking into the hotel/ airbnb and having dinner with my sister and co!
RACE DAY (Sunday)
I woke up at 4:45 and started eating my bagel and drinking a cup of coffee, I had everything packed the night before, so all I really had to do was put fresh water in my bottles and then my sister drove me to the transition area to get all set up. Race started at 6:30, and between getting everything set, pumping up my bike tires one last time, using the bathroom and having to walk to the start, I cut it kind of close! Kim and I were both in the 900’s so it was nice to have someone help with getting everything ready.
SWIM: I ended up lining up in 43:00 swim time with Alex, I actually thought I could swim it faster than that, but we couldn’t really move up in the shoot… they were letting 3 people go every 5 seconds and the rolling start was awesome. My race started at 6:49a! The swim was not my favorite. I wasn’t prepared for not being able to get into the groove of swimming, as there were people everywhere (obviously!). Towards the end of the race I finally just swam way off to the side and that was better, I added some time, but I finally felt like I could actually swim without running into people. I finished the swim in 42 minutes and ran right to the wetsuit stripper. Then saw my fam! Then off to the bike!
BIKE: I was least excited about the bike portion of the race, but it ended up being my favorite! The course was awesome, the downhills felt fast and the uphills felt gradual and although it was the same elevation gain as what I’d been practicing, it felt way easier. I had no idea how to pace a bike ride, so I didn’t. I just biked hard the whole time and didn’t think much about it. The best part was seeing friends along the course because of the out and backs. I ate scratch gummy’s, 1/2 of a cliff bar and 2 Maureen gels with caffeine. I drank 2 bottles filled with scratch and aminos and felt great getting off the bike. Well fueled and ready to run! I finished the bike well under my goal time in 2:58! And seeing my fam cheering for me while entering into the transition area was the best feeling!
RUN: it felt so good to be off that bike! My first mile I went out fast (I knew this would happen) and ran a 7:27. I was trying to stick around 7:45s, so I eased up on the pace and the run felt really good and really fun and really hot. The course was 2 loops kind of, so after going through the first lap I knew what I was in for and that was mentally good for me. I stopped at all 12 aid stations and grabbed 1 water to pour on myself, 1 water to drink and a handful of ice to stick down my sports bra. I think this was key in being able to finish strong. My core body temperature was cool and I was able to finish in 1:42, avg: 7:46 min miles! I didn’t eat anything on the run because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it, but having fueled well on the bike I felt good!
FINISH: seeing the finish/ hearing the cheers/ knowing I did it was THE BEST! My “A” goal for this race was 6 hrs and I finished in 5:31:29!!!!!!!!! I felt every good feeling and was so happy. Thank you IM Des Moines for an incredible experience I’ll never forget ♥️
The family all headed out for food before getting back in the car to go home and that was fun. It feels hard to be the center of it all and have people show up for you and go above and beyond, but boy am I thankful. I could cry thinking about how much it meant that these people were cheering me on.
Jessica and Mike surprised me with a MASSAGE on Monday morning! So I felt like my IM experience just kept on getting better and better.
I recovered at the lake with lots of walks and ice cream and now it’s all over and I’m still smiling.
xo.edc.
Comments
Post a Comment