As I came out of the water I saw my friends and family and it pretty much ruled. I thought to myself “Hey, I’m doing a triathlon. Pretty cool.”
Then I thought,”Pick it up Sally, this is a race.” (I sometimes refer to myself in my head as other ladies names. It makes me laugh and reminds me to not be a Nancy. No offense to Nancy readers. Moving on.
I found my bike and noticed no one else on my rack had gotten to their bikes yet. Sa-weet. I definitely did better on the swim than I had originally thought while being pummeled by arms and legs. Don’t worry, this lead would not last long.
I began biking and the fear I usually have while riding was gone, my ridiculous slowness, however, was not. I got passed so many times I lost count. It was “On YOUR left!”, “On your LEFT.” “ON your left.” Everyone said it different, but they all meant the same damn thing, they were passing my slow ass. It was similar to the Seinfeld “These pretzels are making me thirsty.” Fifty different ways to say it and all the same idea. Pick it up Rhonda! And as they yelled, stuttered, breathed, and panted “On your left!” I thought about saying, “NO SHIT! YOU ARE ALL ON MY LEFT!”
On the bright side, I am pretty sure I passed at least one or two people. I think one was an old man whose calf read his age. He was 100. I felt pretty good about myself at that point. Not. As all of these women passed me from my age group I just kept thinking about not killing myself on the bike so I could catch them on the run. Or at least try to.
The Run
I made it through the bike somehow and racked my bike alongside all of the people who had already racked theirs and were off and running. Of course as I started the run my legs didn’t feel like my own and I was wondering when they would show up. At this point it was hot but I was not going to walk no matter what. Let’s go Mary!
My friends cheered me on at the start of the run. It was awesome to see them all!
I started picking people off. I distinctly remember the outfits of a few of those ladies who dusted me on the bike but were now walking. Vengeance was mine. I’m coming for you flame shorts! I see you hot pink tri shirt! (OK, so I’m a little over the top with this part of the race, but I hated being crushed so much on the bike! Competitive much?)
As I got to the mile and a half mark my legs felt like mine again and I said “Hello legs. Nice to see you. Thanks for showing up.” When I hit the two mile mark the race folks had water AND cold, wet towels. Oh my God up in heaven was that delightful. I’ve never seen those at a race and it was the greatest thing ever. Thank you Top Gun folks!!!
With only a mile to go I tried to pick it up but was pretty tired so I just hit cruise control and kept moving. I was, however, reading calves like a mad woman, just to be on the safe side. They really should start doing this in other races. Then again, we’d all kill ourselves during marathons.
I started to see the finish line and my friends and family were cheering their fool head’s off. A good buddy jumped in with me and told me I had it and with that I used whatever I had left in the tank and sprinted the short bit left to the finish line.
Well, on the day of the race when I finished I thought “Gee, that was hard. I did one, I’m good. No more.” But of course now looking back I think I may need to do another one. I hope that makes sense. I definitely encourage anyone who has an inkling to compete in a tri to give it a go. It’s worth the training because it’s such a different experience than just the run.
And now for what you all really care about – The Stats –
581st out of 1109 Total Competitors
30th out of 67 in my Age Group (30-34)
21st out of 119 First Time Females
Swim Time 1/4 mile: 10:12
Bike 10 mile: 36:18 (told you it was slow!)
Run 5K: 28:56
I am proud of you there B.o.B. I never had any doubt that you could do this race. Let me know when your next race is and we will get you "up to speed" on the bike. We will also practice "on your left" next time.
Awesome job Sally, Mary, Susie, bOb and whomever else swam, ran and biked in your head/body, you all did it safely and in grand style. Wish I could have been there to spectate and cheer and drink a beer! Congrats.
Hollster
Super congrats! What kid of bike did you use (tri, road, mountain with slick tires)?
Congrats on the tri!
Great job and awesome race report. The Tri is my 2011 goal.
Love Walter & Hollsters comments! 🙂 You done did good girly!
Congrats on the great race! 😀
Atta girl. Nice job. Not too shabby for the first time out there. Sounds like a small case of the big, very small. It will make you a stronger runner, ya know. Cant wait to read the race report on the one you RAACE.
On your left!!!! I love it. You make me want to do a tri, NOT! Way to 'Man Up' Sally………..
Congratulations! And isn't it awesome having a good support network?
Congrats! You did great! 🙂
congrats on stomping the run! i love your work finish line. 🙂
Congrats on the race!!!
Great work! You destroyed all of those other first timers for sure!!
Great job. Congrats and cheers!
Way to go! You could have just laid out some of the women and punched them!
CONGRATS! You totally make me want to do a tri – but first, I need to learn a proper swimming stroke, I don't think the doggy paddle is leagal 🙂
That finish line tape is great! But I have to say, your desk in the back looks a little sad, you need some pics and nick-naks Sally!
Great job girlie!
Congrats B.o.B.! Top 50% in your age group, and top 20% of all first time females! I believe you averaged about 16.5 MPH on the bike. That is not too bad. Just need to get you more comfortable on that thing and then you get stronger and then you are golden! We'll get you riding with Casey in no time!!
Very proud! Congrats!! I don't think a tri is anything I ever care to do but kudos to you for competing and finishing with great stats your first time around!
Loved the recap and LOVE the finish line! Supportive, fun co-workers are the best.
I think if I did a tri I would get to the bike rack and see lots of bikes on it as well. However it would be because I was so dang slow in the swim that people already finished their bike leg too 🙂
way to goo!!!!!!! So excited for you, but still terrified to sign up, i mean my biking is way slower! Love that you took them over in the running
Way to go!!! Your recap was AWESOME!
Very cool! Congrats on your finish.
Congrats on your tri- you did awesome!