Am back from the mock triathlon this morning, and I'm all tired out. It was a 5am wake up for the hubby and I, and even with all my preparation the night before, we were still late out the door and I left my electrolyte replacement drink in the fridge! Oops.
Anyways, we arrived at the site and racked our bikes, laying out blankets underneath them for our "transition area" items. I layed out my sneakers, socks, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, visor, and heart rate monitor all on top of each other, then took out my extra water bottle and towel in case I had sandy feet. We suited up, then headed out to the water. Imagine a herd of 50-wetsuited, pink-capped women making their way to the ocean-- it was quite a sight for sore eyes. The tricky part about this particular locale is that a river that opens right to the north of the beach spills warm water from power plants further upstream into the ocean. (The river water cools the generators) This makes a very hospitable environment for STING RAYS! Yes, thoughts a la Steve Irwin were definitely in my brain, but I was brave. We sting ray shuffled out into the water, but I strategically allowed 10 people in front of me so that they could clear the way for my tootsies. Once out, we did 7 minutes out and 7 minutes back....so probably a 16-minute swim overall. I mapped my swim and it appears I went roughly a 1/2 mile, so that was encouraging. Anyways, out I came, had an easy time getting out of the wetsuit, and then came the hellatiously long run to the transition area.
Surprisingly enough, I was in shape enough to make it down the beach and then up to the bikes--- a good 1/4 mile at least! My transition was only a few minutes, and I was off on the bike. I was slow maneuvering through the neighborhood and finding the trail, but once there, found my rhythm and went for it. I went on an 18.5 mph pace the entire time, and actually went over the turnaround time by a little more than a minute because I was feeling so good I forgot to check my watch! (And my stupid Cateye cyclocomputer strategically refuses to reset) My pace coming back was a mph slower, but I still felt pretty strong. In 33 minutes, I covered a little over 10 miles. This is an improvement for me!
Back to transition. Took off my helmet and gloves, grabbed my visor, and took off. 10 minutes out, 10 minutes back. I found a girl from the northern tri club and followed her the whole time. She was totally ripped and in awesome shape, so I had no idea I'd be able to keep pace with her like I did! I'm a run/walker, and I was still able to come in with her at the end. Knees felt pretty good. Lots of cheering from the girls. What fun! Looks like we did 2 miles in 19 minutes-- our return trip was faster than our 1st leg, so we didn't get the 20 minutes exactly. I drank a ton of water after than and then demolished a 3-egg breakfast with pancakes at IHOP, but I deserved it....my exercise tracker says I burned 900 calories, so I ate them all.
So here I sit. Hubby is gone again. Sirens going off everywhere, so I'm hoping there is no fire and I don't have to worry. Now I'm hesitant to do my grocery shop because I don't want to leave my kitty here! But that's the scoop. Wanted to get on here and write about this mock tri before I forget. Next Sunday at this time, I'll be writing about my first CA tri in Santa Barbara. Woohoo!
Anyways, we arrived at the site and racked our bikes, laying out blankets underneath them for our "transition area" items. I layed out my sneakers, socks, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, visor, and heart rate monitor all on top of each other, then took out my extra water bottle and towel in case I had sandy feet. We suited up, then headed out to the water. Imagine a herd of 50-wetsuited, pink-capped women making their way to the ocean-- it was quite a sight for sore eyes. The tricky part about this particular locale is that a river that opens right to the north of the beach spills warm water from power plants further upstream into the ocean. (The river water cools the generators) This makes a very hospitable environment for STING RAYS! Yes, thoughts a la Steve Irwin were definitely in my brain, but I was brave. We sting ray shuffled out into the water, but I strategically allowed 10 people in front of me so that they could clear the way for my tootsies. Once out, we did 7 minutes out and 7 minutes back....so probably a 16-minute swim overall. I mapped my swim and it appears I went roughly a 1/2 mile, so that was encouraging. Anyways, out I came, had an easy time getting out of the wetsuit, and then came the hellatiously long run to the transition area.
Surprisingly enough, I was in shape enough to make it down the beach and then up to the bikes--- a good 1/4 mile at least! My transition was only a few minutes, and I was off on the bike. I was slow maneuvering through the neighborhood and finding the trail, but once there, found my rhythm and went for it. I went on an 18.5 mph pace the entire time, and actually went over the turnaround time by a little more than a minute because I was feeling so good I forgot to check my watch! (And my stupid Cateye cyclocomputer strategically refuses to reset) My pace coming back was a mph slower, but I still felt pretty strong. In 33 minutes, I covered a little over 10 miles. This is an improvement for me!
Back to transition. Took off my helmet and gloves, grabbed my visor, and took off. 10 minutes out, 10 minutes back. I found a girl from the northern tri club and followed her the whole time. She was totally ripped and in awesome shape, so I had no idea I'd be able to keep pace with her like I did! I'm a run/walker, and I was still able to come in with her at the end. Knees felt pretty good. Lots of cheering from the girls. What fun! Looks like we did 2 miles in 19 minutes-- our return trip was faster than our 1st leg, so we didn't get the 20 minutes exactly. I drank a ton of water after than and then demolished a 3-egg breakfast with pancakes at IHOP, but I deserved it....my exercise tracker says I burned 900 calories, so I ate them all.
So here I sit. Hubby is gone again. Sirens going off everywhere, so I'm hoping there is no fire and I don't have to worry. Now I'm hesitant to do my grocery shop because I don't want to leave my kitty here! But that's the scoop. Wanted to get on here and write about this mock tri before I forget. Next Sunday at this time, I'll be writing about my first CA tri in Santa Barbara. Woohoo!
Here's a pic from our day. And yes, I have man arms now:
3 comments:
Sounds like you had a great time AND you are going to ROCK your race on 9/9! I'm rooting for you!! You are doing so awesome. And you look great too!! :)
Hoo Hoo! I'm sooo proud of you! You're so incredibly awesome!
Keep kickin ask! :o)
(and you really do look great...)
WOW!!! You totally inspire me!! Great job and I can't wait to hear about your race!! And I agree with amanda and dizzy...you are looking great.
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