Yesterday was the 6th year of the re-incarnated Tremont Triathlon. The 5th time I've completed it. As of yesterday morning, it was also going to be the ONLY triathlon on my schedule for the year. 2013 is the year of the run. Or so I thought.
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| Jeff & I at Body Marking |
Jeff & I arrived at the pavilion about 5:15 am to do some body marking. I had visions of my artistic detailing on all of the triathletes, but Jeff felt that was inappropriate and I should stick to bib number and age. Bummer.
We finally decided it was time to get my bike set up in transition. I prepared my transition area but suddenly came to a dead stop. I couldn't remember how to secure my aero bottle on my bike. I haven't used the dang thing since August of last year. I even asked Ed, a fellow IMLOU triathlete. Yah, he was no help. Along came my hero, Jeff, to the rescue. It's a good thing I married a man who 1) is mechanically inclined and can put things together for me, 2) has a good memory. After setting up my transition, I walked up to the pool deck to field some questions from triathlon newbies and suddenly heard the race start. I had absolutely no idea it was 7 am and time for the race to start!
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| Transition area all set up |
I went to change into my tri suit and waited with friends while the first few waves of swimmers went off. For the first time ever, I decided to warm up for the swim. Spooky, huh. Kind of like a Twilight Zone. Two laps in the 3 foot pool and before I knew it, my number was being called to enter the pool.
The swim for the Tremont Triathlon is 8 laps on one side of the pool so you don't have to change lanes. I jumped into the water...and had two thoughts simultaneously. ONE: I forgot to start my Garmin watch. TWO: My left google started to leak. Ugh. After my first 25 yards, I had to stop and drain my goggles. Off I went again...still slowly leaking. After 200 yards, I emptied again. I wasn't too stressed though. I mean how much time does it take to drain a goggle, right?
My transition to the bike went smoothly. Dried legs. Feet in socks and off on the bike. After the first mile, I looked at my Garmin and realized I hadn't hit my Multi-sport option correctly. Damn it! So I slowed to change the settings on my Garmin to BIKE so I could watch my cadence. 15.45 of relatively good, flat road with wind at my back on the way out. I felt like a rock star! As I neared the turn around, I spied my rabbit. It was a blonde chic in a T3 uniform. I had no idea who she was, but I was going to chase her down. The turn around at Allentown surprised me though. I miscalculated my speed going into the turn around and almost bit it much to Kinsey's laughter. Oh brother...now that would have been a story to tell. Luckily, I was able to stay on my bike and get back on the road.
After the turn around, someone finally passed me...like I was standing still. Man, if that doesn't annoy me. I've never claimed to be a speedster. The only comforting thought was seeing the IM Tattoo on his calf as he passed me. OK, I'll let another Ironman pass me. Before turning back into town, I caught my rabbit. With a little smile of glee, I cheered her on and kept on moving. Time to find a new rabbit. I passed a woman walking her bike and checked on her. Unfortunately, she had a flat. Bummer.
I made it back into town and my legs were feeling pretty good. My inner thighs were saying HELLO, but other than that I felt ready for the run. I debated taping my knee quickly before taking off, but decided to go without since my knee had been behaving fairly well lately.
Out on the run, I felt comfortable. NOTE: Comfortable. UGH. I got Gatorade at the first aid station since I was still paranoid about cramps. Yes, I have to walk with Gatorade because otherwise I'd end up a sloppy, sticky mess. I made it to the turn around where Nick Kinsey gave me encouragement. (Gosh, this is why I love triathlons. Everyone is always so supportive.) On the way back, I hit the aid station again and chose to walk for 15 seconds while I took in water.
A glance at my Garmin told me my pace was OK, not great, but again I felt comfortable. I had a little nagging thought of "Don't let up. You don't want to regret it." And picked up my pace slightly, but I tend to drift. As my thoughts change, so does my pace.
I crossed the line with a little kick and felt pretty happy crossing the finish line. No cramps. I felt like my triathlon, at least for me, was fairly solid considering I haven't made triathlon training a priority. As soon as I grabbed my water, I ran back to the transition area wondering if I would be able to catch Jeff. Because of the way the swim is formatted, he had to wait about another hour after I started. In transition, I found that Jeff was already out on the bike, but my friend, Cindy, was just leaving the pool. She was excited for her first triathlon and heading out on the bike course on her MOUNTAIN BIKE!!!! Oh my. We've got to get that girl a new bike.
I waited at transition for about 20 minutes chatting it up with my buddy, Mike Dillard, while waiting for Jeff to come back in. He made it in and in typical Leber fashion chatted his whole way through transition before heading out on the run. Once I saw him out on the run, I grabbed my gear and took a quick shower in the pool house. It felt great to get the sweat off of my body.
As I waited for Jeff to finish his race, James decided to insert the knife and twist. Apparently, a local triathlon newbie beat me by
20 SECONDS. As if that wasn't enough, I didn't realize it until they announced the awards that she beat me by 20 seconds and took me out of the medals for my age group. I wound up in G.D. 4th place!!!! No, I'm not bitter. OK, maybe I am a little. Here is what I posted on Cheryl's Facebook wall:
GRRRGRRRGRRRR Whatever James tells you it's fine. I'm not mad. I'm not hitting hyper-competitive mode. 20 seconds. What's 20 seconds out of 3rd place??? Well....it's the 2 times I had to drain my goggles. Or the time I slowed on the bike to reset my Garmin because I couldn't remember to set it right for multisport. Or it could be walking at the aid station for Gatorade to avoid cramps. GRRRRR. yes, 20 seconds!
My bitterness is over. It's now motivation. I spent all evening looking at more races to do this year, planning my calendar like a drill sergeant.
4th place....by 20 seconds....Motha' ...............
