Sunday, June 2, 2013

Woah, I am sore - Amica 19.7 Sprint Triathlon Race Recap

So, I've spent all of today sleeping in and laying on the couch in an attempt to will my muscles to stop screaming with soreness from my latest athletic endeavor.
http://www.amicatriathlonvegas.com
Yesterday was a long and amazingly fun day!  First, I rolled out of bed at 5:00am, met HP in the parking lot, loaded our bikes and everything else into my SUV and headed off on our 45 minute drive to Lake Mead.  

Many of your are aware of how much I agonized over my decision of what to wear for the swimming stage of the tri.  Well, I gave in a bought a tri top at procylery to wear with the tri shorts that I purchased at REI earlier this week.  I was very concerned about wearing something for the first time on race day.  I mean, I know better than to do that...but I did it anyway.  Fortunately, this time, there were no negative consequences.
Pearl Izumi Top (purchased at ProCyclery)
Danskin Tri Shorts (purchased at REI)
As soon as we got there, we set up our transition area: towel, cycling top w/ number on back, socks, shoes, sunglasses, Garmin watch, bike helmet, headband, running singlet w/ number on the front (I think that's it).  
You can sort of see the transition area in the background on the other side of the blue carpet.  This was taken as we were leaving, so the transition area is basically empty.  It did not look this way when we arrived.
After setting up the transition area, race volunteers used permanent markets to mark our arms and calves with our numbers, age, and an "S" because we were competing in the sprint triathlon.  I'm pretty sure that no amount of scrubbing will get this stuff off before work tomorrow morning.

Then it was time to take our cap (green caps for girls; orange caps for guys) and goggles and head towards the water.  I was *super* afraid that I was going to freeze.  Against HP's advice, I had decided not to rent a wetsuit.  However, I had gotten advice from my very best friend who is more experienced in the ways of triathlons and she told me that she felt super claustrophobic and had a panic attack when she did her first triathlon in a wetsuit.  Fortunately, the water was PERFECT!!

The guys started at 7:00 with the women starting 3 minutes later at 7:03.  So, at 7:03, the gun went off and we sprinted out towards a series of buoys floating in Lake Mead.  After we frantically rounded the first buoy things started to spread out a little more.  The first few hundred meters seemed to take awhile, I had a hard time finding my rhythm with all the people and I was sort of having trouble swimming straight.  After we turned around and headed south (toward the Hoover Dam), it was less crowded and I was swimming remarkably straight.  I really started to feel great!  So, the 1/2 mile swim (~880 yards) was quickly over....well, not as quick as I would have liked....and it was time to run towards the bicycles.

Swim - 16:42.4 (this time includes the time getting out of the water and running to the beginning of the transition area)
Transition #1 - 4:09.1 (obviously, I was not in a hurry to get on that bike - yikes!!)

After putting on socks, shoes, shirt w/ race number on the back, watch, helmet, sunglasses, I slowly wheeled my bike out of the transition area and hopped on and headed out for what I was sure would be a miserable 16.1 mile ride.  The first 0.70 miles were completely uphill and just took all of the wind out of my sails.  Then, at 1.5 miles, catastrophe struck when I dropped my water bottle and made the pretty horrible decision not to stop for it.  I was completely miserable until I got to the turn around point.  The first half was way more uphill than downhill.  However, that made the last half MUCH more enjoyable.

Bike - 1:25:18.5 (yeah, I need to beef up my biking skills if I do another triathlon)
Transition #2 - 1:57.7

I was never so happy to come back to my semi-frozen bottle of gatorade.  I shed the bike, the helmet, and the shirt w/ the number on the back and exchanged it for a running singlet w/ the number on the front.  I made the executive decision to take the bottle of gatorade with me, which was an excellent decision.  I took off up the same 0.70 mile hill, which was as brutal on my legs as it was on the bike.  I promised myself I wouldn't walk, but if I'm being honest, I broke that promise.  The run was pretty dismal, but after that 0.70 mile, it was pretty easy, especially when I was running down that 0.70 mile hill towards the finish line.
You have to admit, the surroundings for this race were pretty spectacular
Run - 33:37.1 (dismal...but not completely hopeless given how my legs felt after getting off the bike and how much I walked)
Total Time - 2:21:45.0
I am triathlete!!
All in all, I had tons and tons of fun yesterday.  I don't think I can describe how great it felt to be in the water.  I also felt a real sense of accomplishment for completing the cycling portion of the tri.  This will definitely not be my last triathlon.  My first order of business needs to be finding and purchasing a bike.  (Actually, my real first order of business needs to be convincing my husband that a bike is a worthwhile purchase)

After the Tri, I decided that I deserved something delicious.  McDonalds to the rescue!! These new Caramel/Dulce de Leche shakes are incredible!!  I die.  
I probably need to go get another one of these right now.
After the tri, I went hiking with Ellie and her family.  It was a good opportunity to shakeout my legs a bit.  We did Ice Box Canyon, which I've done a hundred times, but I really never get sick of it.

Which leads me to today.  I have watched an embarrassing amount of television/netflix.  Re-watched several episodes of Arrested Development and all episodes of Running Wilde, a short-lived comedy that had the same creator as Arrested Development, I think, that was on Fox starring Keri Russell and Will Arnett.  I watched a few of the episodes when they were on tv, but apparently I was one of the few people in America that did so; It was cancelled after like 10 episodes. =(

(Sorry for such a wordy post!!)
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Anybody out there have a lot of triathlon experience?  Any suggestions for my second triathlon somewhere within driving distance of Vegas?

How can I convince my husband that a bike is an excellent purchase?

Do you reward yourself after a strenuous athletic pursuit?  With what?
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4 comments:

  1. Best way to convince Husband is to find a great deal. Do tons of research to find out what type of bike, brand, size, etc. Then hit Craigslist. Congrats on completing your first tri!!

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    1. Amy! I found a fantastic bike that is the perfect size, near mint condition, and it was originally $900 - and I got it for $400! Several of my friends that no more about bikes looked at it and all advised me that this was a fantastic bike and I wouldn't find anything more perfect for me for such a low price. Seriously, there isn't a scratch on this bike! I'm really happy with how it worked out.

      Husband wasn't so keen on me meeting a dude from craigslist on my own, so I made sure that we were meeting in somewhat crowded parking lot and one of my friends that lives in the area met me there, just in case. I had nothing to worry about, the guy was selling the bike because it is too big for him (he's approximately 2 inches shorter than me). I could have totally taken him if I had needed to. =)

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  2. Awesome job girl!! I'm thinking about doing a Tri someday...
    Sometimes after a strenuous athletic pursuit I reward myself with ice cream. Well, I reward myself with that no matter what I've done. ;)

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    1. Thanks!! The tri was a super rewarding question. I had tons of questions and was constantly pestering my friends about the details of triathlons. I'll definitely do another one, especially now that it isn't as much of a mystery.

      Also, Ice cream pretty much makes my world go round. I just love ice cream, all ice cream really.

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