Per the Crew Minion's request, the Crew Queen is going to post a little tale about her first half Ironman. After several marathons and with the help of a somewhat recent move to one of the tri capitals of the country (Boulder, CO), I've decided to enter the triathlon world. I've spent the last 3 months being extremely disciplined in my training and am happy to report that I had a great race last Sunday. I thought for sure my legs would be trashed and I'd feel 1000 times worse than any marathon, but this was not the case. It's hard to tell whether it was the quick pace of the course, the 13.1 miles on trail, the new bike or the Smartwool multi-sport socks (love them!) that contributed to my success. Having signed up for the race with hope of breaking 7 hours as a newbie, I am happy to report that my final time was 6:11 and I finished in the top half of my new age group (I'm officially in the 30-34 group and living out here in enduro-world, that's a scary/fast group to be in). My TA's were rather speedy...perhaps that was the Crew Queen making her presence known.
Swim (1.2 mi): well I have a history of panicking (case and point was 0.93 miles of the backstroke in this years Wildflower Olympic course) and this race was no different. In anticipation of not being able to put my face in the Boulder Reservoir (despite months of training in it and only it..no pools this time bc the blue line makes you weak), I began with the back stroke. About 0.2 miles in to the 1.2 mi swim the world settled and I was able to begin doing the freestyle approach for which I had been training. However, I quickly realized I was being passed and, in the interest of time, returned to the backstroke. I have confidence that with some speed training I will be able to do a proper swim in my next race.
Bike(56 mi): perfect. What more can I say. I came in at 3 hours even and my bike has made me so fast. I was told I'd be laughed of the course with my camelback full of Gatorade Endurance but rest assured, even the pros were wearing the camelbacks...ha! Hydration rules!
Run (13.1 mi): slow but strong. By the time the run hit it was about 11am the light cloud cover was long gone. The 95 degree blazing sun was upon us and it was hot. Thanks to Chris I was never a moment with out my GoLite hand held water bottle and plenty of icy cold water to keep me cool. Soaking wet beneath my GoLite visor I literally did not notice the heat.
I finished the race with a bounce in my step, a smile on my face and plenty of energy to have continued if necessary. I will definitely do this race next year and hope to tackle a few more half Ironman distances including the famous Wildflower Long Course. In the meantime I've got a few marathons and a 200mi relay to get through as I consider seriously doing a full Ironman in 2009.
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