The above photo is me and Cay-See before the start of the race. She and I were the only two folks I knew doing this “Olympic” distance triathlon in Moss Park in Orlando, FL. We had headed over Saturday in the late afternoon and had dinner at one of my most favorite restaurants, Dexter’s. Look it up if you are in Orlando. (The brunch is to die for!)
Since this race was so small we couldn’t quite tell if there was a packet pick up the day before so we opted for the morning of pick up. We picked up our packets and I immediately noticed that I didn’t get a shirt. I guess the first two hundred did, but this included the sprint and du race as well. Guess I was late. Oh well. We also noticed that we didn’t have running numbers. We found out that our marked up arms and legs were good enough. Sweet! One less thing to worry about at transition.
We all lined up in the water and the men folk were off and going by 7 AMish and the ladies followed shortly after.
The Swim 1.5 K (maybe?)
This was the first swim start that I’ve done that began waist deep in the water. We waded in and since it was such a small group all of the women started together. Without much ado, we were off.
The course was a double loop. Again, new for me. But I figured, two loops in a lake? I can do that. My start in the water wasn’t as good as I’d hoped because I got a big splash when I took my first breath and my goggles were foggy. I stopped and adjusted and then kept on moving. I made my way in front of folks and was successfully around twice before I even realized it. Pretty run of the mill swim here. It seemed easy and I felt good. Lake swims rule and ocean swims drool! That’s all I’m saying.
Upon checking my time yesterday I am guessing it was short. I definitely know I am strong on the swim, but holy crap! I don’t think I am this fast. I will say I was first out of the water in my age group! Hooray for swimming! Full disclosure: my age group only had 4 people in it, but whatevs.
Swim Time: 23:26
T1: They did something odd with this transition that I don’t really understand, if any of you do, leave me a note in the comments. It was split up into two times. It says “Run1TM 2:07” AND “T1TM1:39.” There was a bit of a run to get to transition so I can only assume they counted that separately. Once I got to the bike I tried to move as quickly as I could but I admit that I drank some water and ate some of my chomps. I need to do that stuff on the bike.
The Bike 40K (definitely not)
I figure you are noticing that my distances have some parentheses behind them. It’s because this event had shorter distances than what was posted, but I’ve been told this happens in the “international” or “Olympic” race. They just get them as close as they can but aren’t exact for logistics.
Of course I wouldn’t be “discom-bob-ulated” if I had everything go right with this race. Thus, I couldn’t get my foot clipped in at the bike mounting area. I think I wasn’t putting enough weight on my clip and a heavily accented Hispanic man who was working the event was yelling at me, “What are you doing? Hurry! Get your foot in! Push!” It was funny. I got clipped in and was off.
The bike course was also two loops. Actually the theme of the whole race was two loops. I REALLY enjoyed this ride. It was the weirdest thing. For once, I was enjoying the bike and passing a few people! I saw a lady with a 31 (my age) on her calf go by me and I thought, I gotta keep her in my sights. And I did. I just kept pedalling and only allowed myself a break on turns.
Eventually, I caught this lady and kept her far enough behind me so if she did catch me I could try to make up for it on the run. I also played chicken with two squirrels (you little rat-cousin bastards!) and I saw a spotted, little deer looking very scared. Thank the lord he was behind me and not in front of me! Cay-See had told me on the way out to the race that they are dumbs as rocks and have been known to cause accidents on bikes. It made me think of My Cousin Vinny though. Heh.
Bike Time: 1:18 (I believe it was about 23 miles and some change, versus 24 and some change, however, I am still very happy with this time!)
T2: I actually sat my butt down here to change shoes and wonder why I never did this before. I usually try to stand and change shoes but I’m just so awkward doing so. I guess I really need to improve on transitions cause looking at everyone else’s…damn I’m slow. My time was 1:48.
The Run 5.6 miles (the race website actually shows this as the distance, so no guessing here)
As I mentioned before this race was all about loops. Thus, there were two loops on the run too. The first loop wasn’t too bad. The website for the race noted lots of shade and while there was that it was still hot. No breeze to speak of and I felt dead by mile three. The course wound around the park and ran by some RVs as well as through some trail and some dirt. There were plenty of water stops and the volunteers were very nice and encouraging. I passed a few people on the run, one in my age group right off the bike. I definitely felt myself slowing down near the end and remembered much to my surprise how great I felt on the bike. Of course, I was still able to cheese for photos.
Run Time: 45:34
Final Time: 2:33:33
2nd Place in AG! (Out of 4! LOL!) 58 out of 95 total athletes
Final Thoughts: FINALLY! I am very happy with this race. I felt like I needed this one to go smoothly cause I was seriously starting to question myself in this distance. I needed a confidence booster. I needed a race where I didn’t finish feeling like I was going to cry or pass out or puke. I also needed a race where Dolly and I felt good and didn’t battle each other.
The only downside to this race was no medal and no shirt. Had I not placed in my AG I would have left with zilch. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal because I enjoyed this race so much. Starting before 7:30AM was a blessing and it really helped keep the temps down during the ride and run. I’d recommend Moss Park to anyone looking for a small, well-organized race. It would be perfect for a first timer venturing into an Oly. In fact, the woman who won the Gasparilla 1/2 Mary was out there for her first Oly. Of course she came in 3rd over all and is really pretty and nice. How annoying. I kid, I kid.
Cay-See kicked major butt as per usual and took 4th in her age group. She is an amazing cyclist and has taught me a lot. Plus she totally points out all the hotties on Le Tour. I am super happy she did this tri with me or I would have been all by my lonesome out there.
As always, thanks for reading. I’m off to blog-stalk you all now so I can catch up with your lives. Toodles.
Bravo! Excellent race report and so happy that you and Dolly are beginning to "get" each other. The 70.3 that I did back in March was a 2 loop swim in the lake and we started in the water not on the shore (there was no shore) and the run was a 2 looper but the bike was one big 56 miler which I prefer. Great job and congrats on 2nd AG. What up with no bling though?? No t-shirt i can understand but no medal? Whaaaaat?
I am so, so, so proud of you Boo! Your confidence is growing and your times are shrinking. By Top Gun I think you will be primed for an even better race and I can't wait to be there to cheer you on!
super awesome, congrats!
I loved reading this:) It really makes me want to try out a Tri! Congrats girl.
My brother lives in orlando so maybe next year. I need to get a bike……..
Great job!!!
So awesome….and I must say, you make it look so easy 🙂 Yes, I realize it's not easy.
BTW…you always are smiling….Pretty cool to see.
Great race and good pics! By the next race your bike will be seamless…
You looks so incredible and happy in every photo! The fun of the day really comes through.
Was Cay-See in the same age group as you? Because saying she kicked ass then saying she took 4th (a.k.a. last) sounds like a backhanded compliment! (My assumption is in her group there were more than 4 people 🙂
To clarify Cay-See was not in my age group & there were more than 4 in hers. I would never give a friend a back handed compliment and anyone who knows me would not have read it that way. I am sorry if that impression was given. -beth/b.o.b.
CONGRATS! I know here, no medals unless you place are the norm for Tris and Dus.
Sounds like you had a great race! Guessing they set it up so the sprint distance did 1 loop and the olympic just doubled everything. Good times all around!
Next time listen to the Hispanic man …. you can push the pedals without being clipped in. Give it another try when you're on the move. 😉
Congrats on your best race!
Nice! It is always a plus to finish without wanting to cry or puke. Plus it is so fun to feel like youre getting the hang of a particular race distance. Great job!
holy shit, i want to do this "olympic" tri, i bet i would PR by about a billion years.
70.3!!!!!!! you are ready obiwan.
Just for the record, I am 2 age groups older than Beth, and she kicked my sorry butt by 6 mins. I'm just glad if I can make it out of the water before they start dragging the lake.
Awesome! It sounds like you had a lot of fun!
The sprint/oly distances have a fair bit of variance in the distances, though it should be pretty close to the advertised distance from the website. I can tell you that if it was USAT sanctioned race (maybe not for such a small race though), they would have submitted an application with the specific distances.
Swim courses can be "off" due to the buoys moving after they were placed. Typically, the only thing that throws off a bike/run course is when they placed a cone in the wrong area, which is entirely possible as well.
Either way, everyone races the same course and from the sound of it, you had a great race, which is never an easy thing to pull off.
Great job with this race.
So happy to hear you and Dolly are playing nice. Keep at it and it will keep getting easier for sure.
You inspire and I will be listening to this in my head at my race this weekend.
Fantastic job out there Beth! Your smile during this tri is contagious! Love it!! Congratulations on the age group placement!!
Beth, I was trying to be sarcastic about my comment. Sorry if it sounded too mean! I just thought it was funny how it ended up being written 🙂
Fantastic job. You looked great.
Nice job Beth. Very good report. I loved it.
Very impressive Beth! Congratulations.
just found u from cook train race…glad to find ya
Great race! I was there too actually and totally saw you but had no idea!
I'm way behind in my blog reading, but congrats on your great race! You'll be doing an Ironman in no time. 🙂 Or maybe 70.3 first!