This race season has been an eventful one......especially since I was not planning on racing this year. I think feeling more relaxed overall going into this race helped with the outcome.
Race goal: Sub 5 hours (last year was 5:02:57)
Usually for this race we stay at friends of ours for the weekend in Edmonton, guess I should have double checked that we had arranged this earlier.....instead we realized that they were on vacation and just getting back on the Friday night. Oops. Good thing Pam had a hotel room that she needed to get rid of (too bad she wasn’t able to make it to race though). Turns out it was much closer and more convenient. I was not following one of the biggest rules of racing “don’t try anything new on race day” as I tried out my poor man’s version of a disc wheel on the bike and swam in some new goggles.
Swim: a little slower than last year, however, I was not surprised as I have not been in the pool as much as I should be. I also had some cramping during the last portion of the second lap. I told myself to take the time to stretch it out with the swim strokes, watch the breathing and reminded myself that triathlons are not won in the swim........not that I was going to win anything.
Bike: Goal 2:40, time 2:37. I was pleased with my bike. After the race I was really happy that I had not been passed my ANY girls.........until I remember that ANGIE flew by me......so only one girl. I found out that I can burp/ puke and continue to ride at 40km/h. On the way home I was getting some aching into the thighs and lower abdomen so I tried stretching it out in a gentle pelvic thrust movement as I passed the traffic cops before heading back into town. Amusing I am sure!
Run: Goal 1:45, time 1:38:05. Let me just say I surprised myself!! I had done some bad math in my head before getting off the bike and thought that I needed a 1:45 to come in under 5 hours. I started the run and decided to race by feel. Things were feeling good. I told myself that “pain is temporary”.....but then I thought, “I don’t have any pain”, things were good so I just pushed hard. I counted down the kilometres and kept telling myself that I could do 10 more...9 more...8 more...ect. I will be honest, it helped knowing that Angie was ahead of me and that I was catching up. Knowing how strong of a competitor she is, I knew I was having a good day. Having fellow TTL athletes cheering me on and telling me Angie’s just ahead, go get her, sure did help. I am sure that people were telling Angie that I was behind her and to keep pushing hard! In the end I was racing against my own time goals and I succeeded. My run time ended up being less than 2 minutes slower than my stand alone ½ marathon, I am thrilled.
Final time: 4:47:46! I exceeded my goal!
Thank you to all of the fellow athletes for cheering me on and taking so many pictures along the way! Thank you also to my hottie husband for all of his support, he truly is my biggest fan and believes in me more than I believe in myself at times. And of course, thank you Angie! Thank you for coaching me along the way, all of your support and your friendly competition and motivation you provided me!:))
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