Triathlon Race Report (with lots of pictures)

Let me preface this by saying that I had the worst run that I ever had.

But I had a really good swim and bike so I think it cancels it out.
I'm a runner - I know I can run - I didnt need to prove that to myself. But swimming and cycling are still rather foreign and I showed myself that I CAN do them.

The swim was my biggest concern.
If you remember the Splash and Dash, then you remember it took me 24 minutes to swim 1000 meters.

This swim was 1500 meters. I was terrified.
My goal was 35 minutes.

I was told the best place to start was the inside, so that is where I started:


I was also told that if possible, I should try to draft off people. This was not possible all the time, but I had moments of success:


And moments that I had no idea what I was doing:


And I managed to swim the entire distance:


And guess what my time was???????? 27:27!!!!!!!!!! I am not saying that it's the best swim time in the world, but it was 8 minutes faster than I was expecting!

My transition onto the bike was long...two and half minutes. I have no idea what I was doing that took me two and a half minutes.


I got on my bike and after a few seconds, I heard a funny sound. Oh no, I thought to myself. Something is wrong with my bike! But nah, I had just placed my race belt (which you attach your bib to) on my bike and completely forgot about it, so it was caught in the tire. No harm, I pulled it out, put it on and cycled away.

My goal was 1 hr 15 minutes (20mph). The course was hilly and there were multiple u-turns that slowed me down. However, I accomplished my goal with a time of 1:14:22! And that includes the minute it took me to salvage my race bib.


Another long transition, at least compared to others (1:28). This is where I made my mistake.

In our bag of free stuff, we received Cliff Block Shots. Shelly picked me very early (5am) and I was not hungry so I really did not eat breakfast. I figured the fuel would be helpful so I ate some.
This was a novice mistake: NEVER TRY SOMETHING NEW ON RACE DAY

As soon as I started to run, my stomach did not feel quite right. I felt like I was going to puke. At mile 2, I seriously considered quitting.

I had other problems, too:
- it had gotten hot and sunny
- I did not drink enough water and I was dehydrated
- I did not do enough brick workouts
- I did not do enough long workouts (so I was legitimately tired)

I was expecting issues from the last two. Fact is, with two toddlers and a husband deep in studies, I dont have time to workout 2-3 hours. I knew I was going to hurt fatigue wise...I can handle fatigue. But fatigue + deyhdration + stomach pain? That was more than I could handle.

Every mile I fantasized about quitting. But I just kept trucking.
Somehow, I managed to smile for the camera but my husband can verify that when there was not a camera present, there was not a smile.




Final time for the 10k: 54:49...an entire 10 minutes slower than I was expecting. As a runner, it was humiliating. But you know what? It happens. This is not my first bad run, or bad race, and I know you just brush yourself off and do better next time.

Final time: 2:40:30
Final place: 6th in age group, 28th female
I was hoping for something closer to 2:30...but nonetheless, there were still a lot of bikes left as I was packing up my stuff...which makes you feel OK


David took time off from studying (his level 2 CFA test is in just 3 weeks) to cheer me on with the kids:


Not only did he manage to keep them relatively happy the entire time, he woke up with them and fed them breakfast. He is the best husband and dad in the world!

The kids were not interested in the race...they were distracted by other things.

Like trees:


And dirt. Oh, does Brenna love her dirt: