This past weekend my mom and I completed in the Espirt de She Triathlon in Naperville, IL. We had a blast!! This was triathlon number 3 for me and number 2 for my mom. I did my best to keep track of the various parts so I could share them here.
Here we go. My mom and I loaded up all of our gear and left our house a few minutes before 6AM, the race was to start at 7AM. Got to transition and got our spots in our waves. I was in Wave 21 and my mom was in Wave 9. I was surprised to find out that we didn't have assigned spots to put our picks. I must have had a confused look on my face because the ladies around me moved their stuff and helped make room for my bike and rest of my gear. I wish I would have snapped a picture of my set up, but I didn't have a chance before they kicked us out of transition area. First stop: Swim. Oh boy.
Here we go. My mom and I loaded up all of our gear and left our house a few minutes before 6AM, the race was to start at 7AM. Got to transition and got our spots in our waves. I was in Wave 21 and my mom was in Wave 9. I was surprised to find out that we didn't have assigned spots to put our picks. I must have had a confused look on my face because the ladies around me moved their stuff and helped make room for my bike and rest of my gear. I wish I would have snapped a picture of my set up, but I didn't have a chance before they kicked us out of transition area. First stop: Swim. Oh boy.
The swim portion was slightly different from past triathlons I have done. They used what they called a 'Wave Start' where they send 70-75 swimmers into the water at once every 4 minutes. We knew this was going to be different for us since we were used to going in groups of four every 30 seconds. Before my mom and I were able to swim together. Here we were separated into our respective age waves. If you were doing the math you would notice that there was a huge gap between the time my mom's wave entered the water and when my wave went in the water. I was nervous, but in a good way. I was excited to get the race underway. I had a water bottle and a snack to hold me over until I needed to line up. I missed my mom going in the water as she switched up what she was swimming in. My dad was able to find her taking off on her bike before he watched me get in to swim. She is in the black and red jersey here. That bike is fast.
Fast forward to when my wave started. I went in at the at the back of our pack to avoid the fast swimmers. It honestly didn't feel like I was in there as long as I really was. I stayed calm and just tried to stay float. Man, it wasn't pretty but I did it! I came out of the water and headed into transition into to get my bike and go. My dad was there looking for me, he was hard to miss in his neon shirt. He was able to snap a quick pic of me running in from the swim.
Quickly got off the sand I could, but I didn't wanna take more time than I needed to. I added a shirt and shoes, stashed my GU and had Nuun on my bike ready to go. After strapping on my sunglasses and helmet was off I went! The bike portion started out fast and then once we went out and back it got a tab windy, I picked up speed were I could, but I was still trying to catch my breathe from the swim. Thanks to the pocket on the back of my bike jersey I had some fuel that I grabbed every so often. I followed the GU with some Nuun, Two laps around and I was heading back into my last transition.
While I was bike my mom was off running and she sure looked like she enjoyed it!
My mom was waiting for me when I got back as she was already done and was proudly wearing her medal! I did a quick change, added a visor and my Garmin and off I went! I was looking forward to the run the most because well, I'm a runner. I grab some water and took off. Slow and steady.
The run course was great. It was party shaded and I saw some familiar faces on the run. I got close to the finish and could hear the crowd and announcer and picked up the pace, which apartly means do crazy things with your arms? But nevertheless I was feeling good and wanted to finish strong. Came across the finish line and got my medal. Few feet later was handed a chocolate milk. Like the ones from middle school. It tasted like a milkshake. So good.
We walked around and checked out the different booths set up. Took a few more pictures and decided to call it a day.
Things I loved about this race:
1. Close to home = sleep in my own bed. This is a huge one for me. I am a freak of nature and changes like hotel rooms never ensure my body is ready to handle a race the next day.
2. All girls. No I don't hate boys. This one was so friendly. Everyone was talkative and here to support each other. Ladies on the course were shouting words of encouragement. It was a great atmosphere.
3. The course. Loved loved loved it. I was really worried about the swim being longer than I was used to or the water being too cold. None of that was a problem. The bike course was nice and flat and I felt I had room to pass as I needed. And I loved the run course cause I loved to run and I knew the worst was behind me.
Did I say that was going to be short? Well I guess I lied on that one. Thanks for sticking with me! I am turning in now as it is well after 1AM. I did have a 4 hour nap this afternoon sooooo I hit my second wind after dinner. I'll be taking it easy the next few days and then picking up where I left off in my training. Goodnight!
1. Close to home = sleep in my own bed. This is a huge one for me. I am a freak of nature and changes like hotel rooms never ensure my body is ready to handle a race the next day.
2. All girls. No I don't hate boys. This one was so friendly. Everyone was talkative and here to support each other. Ladies on the course were shouting words of encouragement. It was a great atmosphere.
3. The course. Loved loved loved it. I was really worried about the swim being longer than I was used to or the water being too cold. None of that was a problem. The bike course was nice and flat and I felt I had room to pass as I needed. And I loved the run course cause I loved to run and I knew the worst was behind me.
Did I say that was going to be short? Well I guess I lied on that one. Thanks for sticking with me! I am turning in now as it is well after 1AM. I did have a 4 hour nap this afternoon sooooo I hit my second wind after dinner. I'll be taking it easy the next few days and then picking up where I left off in my training. Goodnight!