IRONeagle 2008

Race Report: June 1, 2008

My very first triathlon for the season was the IronEagle. This is a local sprint triathlon at my college which consists of a 500m swim, 10 mile bike, and 3.1 (actually ended up being 3.2) mile run. It's a good warm up for the year and a lot of newbies do it for their first one since the swim is in the pool.

Swim: The swim is always interesting for this race as we have to start in waves. I was in the first heat of the swim and was put in a lane with two other people. Anyone who has swam with two other people in a lane know that it can get a bit crowded at times trying to pass and whatnot. I figured it would be a good excuse for a slower swim time than last year, except when the boys told me to go first. Shoot. I didn't want to go first. I did anyway. The swim went smoothly and felt okay. I've had a hard time pushing for any intensity in the water since my heart has started acting up six months ago. That has been a bit frustrating for me, but in the end my swim felt okay and I was mostly just ready to be on the bike.

Oh yeah, this race doesn't give you any split times so my times are estimates as I'm writing this a good month and a half later.

Swim time: 10:00 (roughly, I really have no idea)

T1: This transition takes you out of the pool, running through the slippery floor of the locker room, and down the hall of the sports complex to the indoor tennis court where your bike is teetering up on the side of the wall. There was one girl in front of me coming out of the swim and I knew that she would probably beat me out of the water, but I thought that I could take her on the bike. She seemed like my biggest competition going into the race. It was a good push for me. I ran into the tennis court to be greeted by my lovely daughter running straight for me with arms wide open. I couldn't help but to smile. She makes me so happy. No concept of "Mommy's in a race right now." I quickly hugged her and headed for my bike where she proceeded to assist me in handing me my race belt and number, sunglasses (which fell apart and I left them there) and then off onto the bike I went. I ran out of the tennis court in my bike shoes meeting the other girl coming from the transition from the other side of the exiting door. I smiled and said, "Good swim." and then promptly jumped on my bike and never saw her again.

Bike: I pounded it out on the bike passing everyone in my heat except one of the boys. I knew that if I didn't make up some time on the bike I would lose it on the run. Thankfully it was raining and I enjoy racing in the rain moreso than hot sunshine like the year previously. Bike had a headwind going out and tailwind coming in, typical for Cheney, Washington. I flew back into the turnoff for the bike with the one and only Cheney police officer cheering me on. Coming into transition I lost my tire kit pack off the back of my bike. I'd like to think it was because I was so speedy, but it think I actually hit a pothole right before the dismount. I left my shoes on my bike for the first time ever in a race (this is new and exciting news for me) and ran my bike back to the wall.


T2: Josh and Madison were hanging out by my bike and Josh informed me that only one guy was in front of me. I knew I couldn't catch him, but I also knew that three other guys were right on my tail so I got out of transition as soon as possible.

Run: I was passed right away coming out of transition. I followed this guy up the hill going out of transition and then he slowly dropped me over the next three miles. I kept ahead of the other two boys until about a mile out on a hill coming back. I slowed down significantly and as one of them told me later, "I saw you slow down and knew that I had to pass then or never." So I got passed and I let them. There was a part of me that actually thought to myself that I wanted to walk a little bit for this three mile run. Then there was another part of me that realized if I walked a little bit of a three mile run in a sprint race I would never forgive myself so I kept running. Three miles never killed anyone. Coming back in I saw a lot of my classmates and smiled and waved as best I could while still trying to push myself to stay ahead of anyone else behind me. I like to be friendly, and yet still beat people too. In the end I was passed by five boys. What can I say? I ALWAYS lose it on the run. I really need to ramp up my run training. It would help my races a lot.

Finish time: 1:10:46

While this isn't my best finish time, I was happy with it and overall for women I came in fifth. I'll take it for the lack of training that I've had this year. It's about where I should be. It was fun being out there with Josh, Melissa, Stephanie, and my new friends Phil and Rachael. Always a good time when you know people that you can cheer for.

The added bonus is that I just received my EWU Championship plaque for winning my division. BoySmile is extremely excited (this might be sarcastic) and he has placed it up on a decorative plate holder where it is fondly displayed in our kitchen. I think this might be temporary just to appease me and my silly excitement, but nonetheless, it puts a smile on my face. When else would I receive a plaque for a 1:10:46 time in a sprint? I'm not sure. Thank you IronEagle for all you do for boosting some of my confidence. Ha.