Triathlon - mission accomplished!

I did it!  The last 45 minutes was h.a.r.d. but I did make it and feel really good about what I accomplished.

The swim went great - the water was perfect.  Entering the water I hung out towards the back so I wouldn't get run over in the water by other swimmers and had a good, clean swim for the most part.

The bike ride (which I felt least prepared for) was actually okay.  There was some fierce wind which obviously slowed us all down (which here also means lots of sand and grit in your eyes and mouth).  I don't think these contacts will survive the whole month of March and really need to be chunked now (the day after they are still really bothering me).  Since it wasn't terribly humid, the heat of the day wasn't too bad on the bike ride since the breeze kept us cooler.  The only snafu on the bike ride was that one of the officials got mixed up and had the vast majority of us turn around at the wrong spot.  The first 12 riders made it to the right turn but all of the rest of us turned 1.5 km too soon.  So instead of doing a 50 km ride, we all did 47 km rides.  Disappointing in that it was so close so we certainly could have all made it.  But if they were going to mess up, I was glad that it was for the shortest race and not one with the really, really serious athletes in it who might have gone ballistic with an error like that.

I had the most challenge with the run.  It was 11:30 a.m. when I started it and should have only taken me 1/2 hour or so.  But I was worn out by then and the heat was really bearing down at that point.  So I took it slower than I would have liked but still managed a smiling jog across the finish line.  I then received my medal and after I collected all my things I was able to see the top-ranked female triathlete in the world (Julie Dibens from the UK) come through her bike/ run transition.  It was fun to see the helicopter hovering over and the camera crews follow her in the female transition tent.

I came in a whopping 76 (out of 96 women of all ages - not broken out by age for my race).  I didn't have any preconceived notions of what I wanted to accomplish but it is fascinating to see what data is available.  I was probably one of the last 10 into the water and finished 62nd (I knew swimming was my stronger leg).  BUT my 62nd place dropped to 79th during the transition (yup, I lost the most time dawdling in the tent doing nothing).  I clawed back to 70th place in the bike ride, lost one place in the bike/run transition and a further 5 places in the run.  So had I not lost ground during that first transition (and maybe entered the water sooner), I could have done better without having to change my bike or run portion.  Very interesting to think about should I do another one of these.  Maybe.

This triathlon had three distances of races.  I did the shortest option (which was still plenty long for me!). The longest distances (creatively called the "Long Race" were a 3km swim, 200 km (!!!!) bike and 20 km run.  I just looked up the results and it took many men and women 11+ hours to finish.  I thought it was hard to labor for 3 hours (especially in the heat) but these people did that for almost 4 times as long.  I am truly in awe of that accomplishment.  We went out for a celebratory dinner at our beach club on the Corniche.  There were still runners going by after we ate (I had finished my race, gone home, showered, played LIFE with the girls, taken a short nap and come back to the area and had dinner and they were *still* doing the long race).  Very impressive.

After I made it home (no easy feat given that our minivan had a dead battery all weekend) - so I had to rely on a cab to get me (and the bike home).  It was challenging to find a cab after a big event when there are loads of people (without bikes) searching for cabs.  But I eventually pulled it off after schlepping my bike and 3 transition bags partway across town to get away from the crowds.

So since Friday/ Saturday is the weekend here, life was back to normal today with school and work (and getting the minivan fixed).  I feel quite good - not too sore.  Thanks for everyone's words of support and encouragement!  Below are just a few more pictures.  A friend took a picture at the swim - I'll add it once I get it from her.

I clearly zoomed by so quickly that Jake couldn't get
my picture in time!! :-)

Semi-smile or grimace?  About 1/3 of the way through the run

Definitely a smile now that it's over and mission accomplished!