Lake Murray Tri

Hhhhhmmmm, that was my reaction to whether I wanted to do this race or not.  Since the Charleston Half that I had to not start 3 weeks prior my workouts had been once a week, sometimes twice.  I talked to coach fowler a week before the race though and he said for me to do the race and maybe it was just what I needed.  I’d been sick, to put mildly.  I’d had swimmers ear, which 2 weeks later became an ear infection at the same time getting a sinus infection and pink eye (thanks Addison) so I still felt crummy and just blah.  I was going to the race either way though, a couple people from our TNT group had decided to do this as their first tri so I guess if I’m going to be there I might as well be racing. 

I didn’t get much sleep the night before partly b/c of AJ and partly b/c I went to bed later than I should have.  Sarah and I had to make sure TNTers were prepared though.  The morning actually went pretty smoothly.  Thankfully Britain came w/me so she could watch Addison while I raced so it gave me time to get my stuff ready and not be so focused on him. 

Funny enough, I’d warned the TNTers about the lake here being notoriously choppy and of course we show up and the water couldn’t have been smoother.  I didn’t care, I’d take any help I could get out there even if it meant being wrong.    Sarah, Susan , and I made our way to the start only to have Flutie start making a spectacle once the National Anthem  was played.  I found great amusement at how mortified Susan was, oh to only be embarrassed by a dog….

The swim started much sooner than I was ready for, but it actually went fairly well.  I got off course at one point at the turn buoy but recognized it quickly and corrected myself.  The sun is always bad half way through the swim, but if you’re expecting it you know to just follow the masses and my smokey Barracuda goggles definitely helped .  Once I hit the last turn buoy I thought to myself that either I’m going really slow and “comfortable” or my swim fitness is coming out of nowhere!  Let’s just say my swim fitness wasn’t there, I was just going REALLY EASY.  16 mins. 21 seconds for 750 meters easy.  Oh well!

T1 went smoothly, I’d gotten my wetsuit off w/no major issues.   Now off for the bike.  This bike is rolling hills and a little long for a sprint (16 miles), so I really didn’t have a clue as to how it would go.  No biking and I was just expecting my body to respond automatically.  I always hold out for hope though.  I felt pretty strong on the bike, nothing felt too hard and I just hoped I could match the time I did at this race last time.  As I came along the entrance I looked down and realized I wouldn’t make that goal either.  I wound up finishing in 46 mins. 48 seconds.  Ugh!  Now off to the sport that didn’t even feel good on my warmup!

The run at Lake Murray is rolling hills, and I’m actually not very fond of it b/c it has a little out and back section that just sucks to me.  I tried to get positive and focus on the finish line.  I ran, and just tried not to look at my Garmin.  Mile 1 alerted me that I did a 7:50.  I thought the number stunk and I didn’t know if I could even maintain that pace.  I went from wanting a certain time to just not wanting to walk.  I used every bit of focus and energy to get to that finish line, and atleast I met my last goal.  I finished my run in 23 mins. 59 seconds which is the slowest run I’ve done in probably 6 years, but alteast I didn’t walk. 

My overall finish time was only 3 mins and some change SLOWER than last time, but as Forrest said, I did 1% of the training required and still managed to pull it out in the end.  I finished 13th overall and 1st in my age group.

Other great mentions were Emily Bugay did her first tri ever and placed in the Novice category.  Scott Fitzgerald finished his first tri ever and had a stellar performance as well, and Angela Harris conquered her open water swim!  Thanks to Emily we all had a place to stay the night before, and she was a great hostess.

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