(Delayed) Evergreen Sprint Tri Recap!!!

WOW! I can't believe it has already been a week since the race and I haven't reported back on it yet! My mom and sister have been visiting for over a week so there has not been a lot of time. I will save another post for all our activities during the week and leave this to just the tri.

AA and I were planning to be up at 4 to get to the transition around 5:30 so I was in bed at 8:30! I was so tired so I did not think I would have much trouble falling asleep but did not end up falling asleep until 10:30 :-( It has been SO hot and with no AC, it is not the easiest to fall asleep, plus all my nerves!! 4 AM came quick though and I was still so nervous and wasn't fully excited yet! I was so nervous that all my training would go out the window for some reason and I was worried about failing.


On the ride to Evergreen the excitement started to kick-in and I told myself (as AA was trying to get in my head), just have fun!! Once I got a grip on that I was excited!! AA was going to just drop me off at the transition but we got there early enough to get a great spot and did not have to worry about parking. We headed over to registration and were greeted by a giant Elk! I love Evergreen, and all the wildlife in the area! I got marked up (#100!) and got an awesome tech tee and pint cup for registering early! I picked a spot in the transition and got everything set. I had about an hour before the swim warm-up so I just hung out in the car while AA walked for some coffee. It was awesome having AA there for support the whole morning.


A little bit before the swim start I got on my wet suit and we headed over to the swim start. There was going to be about a hundred yards running on gravel from the end of the swim to the transition area so I wasn't sure how my feet would feel but I don't think I even noticed it. 


I got in the water and did a few breathing exercises and AA was talking with my mom and sister who were on their way over. They arrived just as the race director was going over the directions so I was happy they made it in time! The water temperature was 68 degrees, about 10 degrees warmer than they were expecting! The swim was in Evergreen Lake, which normally isn't open to swimmers, and was quite nice except a funky smell at the end :-) I was the third of four waves to leave so it was neat to watch the other waves take off (about 60 people in each). I was excited at this point to start and was so happy to have my family there cheering me on, it really helped!

Me, mom and Molly!

AA and me!!!!

We were off, and I started off in the back and let the swimmers in front of me take off. I quickly found my pace and found myself closer to the inside than normal. There were definitely more swimmers around me than usual but I was feeling good and had a good stroke going, as well as my sighting. I REALLY think all the other open water swims help me because I felt very strong and confident. I got hit a few times, but nothing awful, and the swim went by very quick. 


I ended up getting 17:04 which is my best swim time for that distance in open water! There were 24 women in my division (25-29) and I finished 10th in the swim! I figured out the average was 16:53 so I was only 11 seconds off the average :-) This ended up being my best event compared to my age group.

  

And we are off!

Getting stuck in the mud!

Swim time: 17:04

Average AG time: 16:53

10th of 24

The last few steps of the swim there thick and deep mud which made it funny to get out of! Molly, Mom and AA were all there! It was off to the transition area where I quickly started peeling off the wet suit and getting on my sneakers. My mom looked so nervous watching me! I started with my bike out of the transition and realized I forgot my watch and headed back to grab it.  I had a T1 of 2:36 and the average was 2:44. My sister and AA got great pictures of me the entire time!

happy!

Dad: why isn't she smiling? :-)

leaving transition

So I was off on the bike! It is one giant loop so no more family time but I was in the zone! As I have described, the first four miles were slightly inclined but nothing too bad. I was feeling strong still and was keeping my own pace. There was definitely some strong bikers passing me from the 4th wave, but I did not see many of my age group pass me until a group of three of them passed on the final uphill - I was kind of bummed but that was okay! The 3 miles of uphill were tough, but I was so happy to have done the course and knew exactly when to expect them! On the huge downhill I was luckily by myself and did not have to worry about other people. Aaron asked me how the people on the course were like - was it competitive? But actually, it was awesome. When women passed me they would say, "great job - keep it up" and it was just a really nice environment. There was a dad who was chatty and was riding the race with his 18 year old daughter which was really neat to see. 

As we approached the last piece it went to a no passing zone and the girl in front of me was a little confused by the course so that slowed me down but she was friendly and I didn't mind at all. All in all the race was as expected but definitely hard with those uphills! I came in at 55:45, so I was excited to be in under an hour! The average time for my age group 55:27 so I was only 18 seconds below the average. Good thing I am a pro in Excel - they really should add this feature to the results! I was 15th out of 24 for the bike.

Bike time: 55:45

Average AG time: 55:27

15th out of 24

I got in to the transition area and knew I did not have to do much since I did not have special bike shoes. It only took me 34 seconds and the average was 1:16 for T2. I got to see the family again and still had a smile on my face as I left for my run! By this time my Uncle Jerome and my cousin JP were there to cheer me on as well!!!!


I knew the first 7 or 8 tenths of the run were all uphill and it was going to be tough! I started out slow but wanted to save some energy for the hill. There were some people walking up but I tried to keep running. The final hill near the houses were so hard and I didn't feel like I was moving, but I never walked.  With the hill I think my first mile was 11 or 12 minutes! The rest of the course was downhill and easier and I was feeling good. Looking back I wish I had picked it up a little bit on the run, but at the time I was just enjoying myself. The run was nice around the lake, but there were some stairs near the dam you had to run down and back up - that was brutal! My second mile was just over 10 minutes and about the same for my third. As I rounded in near the end I saw Aaron waving my AWESOME panda flag (see below) that he made and everyone was now wearing lime green shirts! I knew I was so close! And I turned in the final sprint some overachiever guy sprinted past me so it messed up the pictures - but it was great to have all the cheers!!! My family was there right at the end and I could not stop smiling!!!!


I finished the run in 31:24 (pace of 10:08) which I was happy with, but looking at my AG I definitely lost the most time here! The average time was 28:07 which is 3 minutes and 17 seconds off the total time (average pace 9:05) putting me 21st of 24th. This was probably the biggest disappointment of the three legs. I do think I had some energy left in me and I should have run faster knowing what I know now. At the time though - it felt comfortable. I am sure some of it was endurance but I think I could have definitely gone faster - but that hill was brutal!

Run time: 31:24 (10:08 pace)

Average AG time: 28:07 (9:05 pace)

21st of 24th in AG

Coming in at the end!

Last part!

Race clock about 10 minutes off my start time

Triathlete!

My fam! With the awesome T-shirts! Thanks Molls :-)

Panda Flag!!!!

JP, Jerome, Molly, Mom, Panda, AA

My final time was 1:47:20 and the average time for my age group was 1:44:54 and I finished 15th out of 24th overall. I was above expectations on my swim and bike and happy with my overall time! I was happy with my training, especially conquering the open water swims. I will definitely be doing more triathlons and am excited to keep up with my training! The rest of the summer is pretty busy, I could probably fit in another sprint, but I think I am going to focus on a 10 mile running race over Labor Day and set my sights for an Olympic distance next year along with another Sprint! I am so happy with my achievement and excited to see what else I can achieve. I had great support at the race, and great support from other family and friends during my training :-) Stay tuned!

Final Time: 1:47:20

Average AG Time: 1:44:54

15th out of 25th in AG overall