Hickory Grove Triathlon Recap

Leading up to race day I didn't quite know what to expect. Up until Saturday evening, the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms overnight Saturday through the afternoon on Sunday. Luckily, there was no rain in sight as I headed out on the 45 minute drive to Hickory Grove Park this morning. The conditions at race time were fairly good with temperatures in the 50's an overcast sky with winds out of the NNE from 10 - 15 mph (okay, so lighter winds would have been nice).

I was lucky enough to have my friends Megan and Dan along for the morning which gave the day some added excitement. I opted to not pick up my packet on Saturday so we arrived plenty early, shortly after 6:00, and were among the first people there. As I was picking up my packet, I realized that I had forgotten my race belt at home, luckily they had some safety pins available at the table so I grabbed a few. After getting transition set up, we wandered around a bit to check out the beach, as well as the start of the bike and run courses before heading back to the truck to warm up a little. Time seemed to pass really slowly for awhile (I guess that happens when you arrive 2 hours early) but finally race time came.

Preparing for the pre-race meeting

Finishing up the swim, I am the bottom left in the group
of 4 swimmers in the middle of the picture

Out of the water and heading up the hill to T1

The water temperature was 72 so the course was deemed wet suit legal so I got to use my wet suit for the first time. I had only worn it once before just to try it out for a quick swim at Big Creek yesterday morning so I still wasn't sure what struggles it might provide. The swim was 500 meters (plus a run up the hill into transition) and I was in the first swim wave. I never really got comfortable during the swim, but ended up with my 2nd best swim ever with a 2:08/100 yrd pace. After heading up the hill and into T1 I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I was able to get my wet suit off. One thing that I was worried about with the suit is the amount of extra effort and time that it would take in T1 but it didn't cause much of an issue at all. 

Putting socks and shoes on in T1

The bike course was 15.5 miles and include 3 loops. It was pretty flat for the most part but the North wind sure did affect me each time I headed into it. In addition, the wind picked up throughout the race so each lap took a little bit more effort. I certainly didn't ride great but since it is only my 4th time on my bike this year I think that will improve going forward. I ended up with a 17.6 mph average which is certainly one of my slowest bike splits. 

Heading out on the bike course

I'm going so fast that I'm just a blur :)

Since I forgot my race belt, it took a little extra time in T2 to pin my run bib onto my tri suit (I was also not thrilled about having to use pins on my brand new tri suit). As is always the case, I got passed a lot on the run course, but I did run pretty well and finished with a run split of 32:56. 

Heading out onto the run course

Finishing strong

My official time was 1:41:46. Overall, it was a great race to start the season and my friend's Megan and Dan said they had a good time too. I now have a benchmark for the rest of the year and from here plan to adjust my training accordingly. My biggest take away was that I need to get outside on the bike more. The late spring and busy family schedule over the past couple of weeks have really cut into my bike training time. The good news there is that I know my bike fitness and speed should return quickly as I put in more miles outside.

I have 2 weeks until my next race which is the Pigman Sprint Triathlon at Pleasant Creek State Park just north of Cedar Rapids. I'm looking forward to it!

Official splits

Strong showing to start the year

(Guest Post!) New Title: Triathlete

All ready to race

The first thing that you have to understand about me is that I am competitive.  So, as I have watched my husband complete many triathlons (Including a 70.3!) it has been in the back of my mind that I should be able to tackle one too.  This however, seemed an impossible task as I have an extreme aversion to swimming in open water. The idea of swallowing water that a fish pooped in a few seconds before does not appeal to me and neither does being swam over and kicked by a bunch of adrenaline filled triathletes.  Around December, the heavens opened and I learned that there existed a triathlon with a pool swim and an outdoor run and bike. With much encouragement from Patrick and a training program in place, I committed to the Tri by Knight Sprint Triathlon at Wartburg College in Waverly.

Since Patrick has great experience and has done a lot of reading about the best training plans, I asked him to create a program to help me get ready.  Since I spent 2017 running my half of 2017 miles, it was quite a challenge for me to get used to training in the pool and on the bike. Some days I needed to be pulled out of bed by my loving coach in order to keep going but the advice and encouragement were invaluable.

Early morning swim session

I did my swim training at the Urbandale Public Swimming Pool in the mornings twice a week before the girls woke up.  One day there were very few people at the pool so I attempted flip turns for the first time since junior high...epic fail.  So, I just trained at feeling comfortable swimming and getting a little bit faster. The weather this spring was not ideal for training with all of the snow and cold temperatures so I had very few opportunities to ride my bike outside.  I have had my mountain bike for 100 years and it has ridden in many Ride the Rivers but never in a speedy fashion. Patrick offered for me to try his bike but I was too afraid that my foot would get stuck in the toe cages and crash that I couldn’t use it.  So….mountain bike with a granny seat it was! In February I knew that my next task was to acquire something to wear during the race. This part of racing a triathlon was actually one of the most terrifying parts. I have many body image issues that putting on a skin tight suit exasperated to infinity and beyond.    Thankfully, the very first one that I tried on fit well and was on sale! When I purchased it I was still not sure that I would be able to actually wear it on race day.

Packet pickup

On Friday, we picked Abigail up from school and dropped Bridget and Hunter off at Mike and Melissa Timmer’s house for the night.  It is so nice to have trusted family to help because even though she cried at the thought of missing my race, everyone was happier with Bridget happily playing with cousins instead of making the trek to Waverly.  Packet pickup made the whole process very real and exciting as the race got closer. Patrick drove me around the bike route pointing out areas of concern and giving me tons of helpful tips along the way. Then we picked up some dinner and headed back to Dan and Shirley’s house in Evansdale to attempt some sleep before the race.  I was up a lot of the night but did not feel too tired as the race did not start until 9 so we did not have too early of a wake up call.

Abigail watching me setup transition

Breakfast on the sidewalk

Inked

When we arrived back in Waverly, it was time to get marked with my number, set up my transition space and eat some breakfast.  Because Patrick has the transition system down to a science, it was very easy for me to set up my supplies. I ran through all of the things that I had to remember to do during each transition in my head 50 times so that I would not forget any of the details.  We walked into the W to check out the pool and I had not thought about the lane lines being down during the race because where I trained they were never in the pool. I was a little bit glad at that point that I was not doing flip turns because pushing off at an angle was already going to be a strange without that added challenge.

The pre-race meeting was scheduled to start at 8:50 so I headed into the pool area.  We were asked to line up according to our estimated 300 m swim time. Luckily, I was standing by two very chatty athletes so I did not think about being nervous while I was waiting.  One of them gave me some pointers because she had done the race last year and learned a thing or two. One of the race directors then made some announcements and reminded everyone of several important rules. I was thankful again for Patrick because he had already gone over these with me so there were no surprises….I do not like surprises at the last minute.   In the pool, if you wanted to pass someone the method was to tap them on the foot and they should slow to let you go by them. If everyone lined up the correct order, this should not have been a problem but as you can guess, people did not accurately choose their spot in line.

There was someone standing at the start of the race telling the next swimmer when it was time to go.  When it was my turn I got a great start and kept spacing between the people around me until around lap 3. The water felt very strange because of the number of swimmers in the water. Someone in the lane next to me was passing and ran into me head on so I got slowed down. Since I had slowed, the person behind me wanted to pass so I paused for her to go by me before I finished the swim portion of the race in 7 minutes.  Overall, I was happy with my swim and understand that things happen in a race and that is just a normal part of a competition like this one.

Swim done, time for more fun

Running out of the pool, I headed for transition number one.  I felt very strong and ready to tackle the my toughest portion of the race.  My biggest fans cheered for me as I dried off to get on my socks, shoes and helmet.  Having watched Patrick during his races proved EXTREMELY helpful because I knew what a good transition looked like and how to get in and out in a hurry.  As usual, technology and I did not get along so I struggled to get Patrick’s Edge to turn on but I eventually prevailed after a ⅓ of a mile and got on my way.  The bike route was a 15 mile loop on good roads and lots of volunteers and police spread out along the way. I completed the first 5 miles under 20 minutes which was a triumph and very energizing.

While I was riding, Abigail finally lost her other front tooth, again eating banana bread!

I was passed consistently by other bikers who had started the swim after I did and they were all very encouraging.  Patrick has always said that one of the things that attracts him to the sport is the comradery between athletes. The hills near the end of the course zapped my energy and I slowed up but kept my legs moving.  In an hour I was done with the bike course and headed in to switch my helmet for a visor.

Finishing up an exhausting ride

One of the strangest feelings is jumping off a bike and attempting to go for a run.  My toes had fallen asleep and the muscles in my legs had just done the same circular motion for an hour and now I was asking them to carry me 3.1 miles…..they do not love this idea so it takes a little bit to get them stretched out.  At this point in the race the temperature was warmer than I had trained by far and that made it difficult for me to get any speed going. The run was a loop around campus that was completed 3 times, each time passing the finish line in the stadium.  Passing the finish line is always a little bit discouraging but Patrick and Abigail were also right there keeping me going. On loop 3 I really wanted to pick up speed but I did not have anything extra left to give. I completed the run in about 32 hot and sweaty minutes.

Headed out on the run

Finishing up lap 1

Last lap

At this point, I realized that I had been wearing my tri suit for the whole race and nothing catastrophic happened when people looked at me.  I had put it out of my mind...not that I didn’t notice it in the these awesome pictures Patrick snapped of me, but it was a start. It was interesting running with people on all different laps and who started the race at different times.  You don’t know if they are ahead of or behind you so if you are attempting to complete against them, no such luck. My goal was to complete the race and I definitely did that with flying colors.

Crossing the finish line

Done!!!

If anyone has been thinking about tackling a new goal, go for it.  I was not sure that I could actually swim, bike and run in a triathlon but the process is just as important as the event itself.  Having a coach to push and help you along the way is key. Patrick has offered before to help others train for a goal that they have in mind and he is serious.  I can give you a personal recommendation! I could not have accomplished this feat without his support and two little girls cheering me on. It is important to me to show my daughters that they can work toward a goal, improve themselves and be proud of their accomplishments.

I have a new title: Triathlete.

Snickers shake reward for a job well done

Best coach ever

Patrick took a nice picture of my back because I asked
him to even though he thought it was silly,
but I kinda like this attempt!

Hard earned race shirt