Wooooo!!!!!

That is where I’ll start.

This weekend was insanity.  I ordered a new tri kit from Coeur Sports which arrived on Thursday before the race.  Talk about cutting it close. THEN, (Major TMI Warning) the ::ahem:: lady ::ahem:: came to visit me for the first time since I had HM (7 months ago).  Seriously.  The timing.  And the severity.  And the implications.  And the timing.  AND THE TIMING.

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law drove NINE hours to come babysit for us.  We left for the race on Saturday, and drove about three hours to get to the packet pickup location.  We almost missed it, but arrived about ten minutes before they packed up.  My husband’s best friend from high school was racing with us, so we met him there and then all went in to downtown Athens to get some Mellow Mushroom (which was delicious, BY THE WAY).

Went to check in to our hotel, and when we pulled up I had that horrible feeling in my stomach.  The feeling that says, “how hard is it going to be to get the bed bugs out of my suitcase when I get home?!”  It was the Best Western Athens, and surprisingly it had great reviews.  The hotel staff were nice enough to give us a full refund so we could make other arrangements, which we did. Back at the new hotel, the Hampton Inn Athens, we put HM to bed in her Pack N’ Play and started working on the final preparations for the race.  I had packed up everything nice and neatly in my tri backpack, so all I really had to do was put on my numbers, tape my GU to my bike, fill up my water bottles, and set out my clothes for the morning.  I think I slept well, but it was hard to tell.  Morning came pretty fast.

Sunday morning up and at it at 5am. Baby up at 5:30, fed, and handed off to the in-laws! Ten minute drive to the race site (Sandy Creek Park), which was very clogged with traffic coming in (I guess there’s only one entrance?).  Made it to transition, racked the bikes, picked up timing chips, and made a last-minute stop at the restroom before joining the masses at the swim start down the hill.  At this point, my heart was POUNDING.  I had taken a few Midols that morning in hopes of avoiding the worst of it, but the caffeine really threw me off – it felt as if I had drank a few too many cups of coffee.  So, I didn’t take my pre-race GU like I usually do before the swim. The swim start was a “time trial” start, and was not set up very well.  They had tried to put down markers for bib numbers, but no one was following them.  They were sending two at a time every 30 seconds or so by any number, so you could’ve been a pro-elite swimming with a mass of breast-stroking beginners.  I had a hard time finding a good lane, and with my heart pounding I couldn’t catch my breath.  The swim has never crossed my mind as my worst sport – actually, I was in the first 10 out of the water at my last olympic.  However, this was not one of those races, and the water splashing in my mouth every breath combined with my pounding heart, I was forced to breaststroke pretty much the entire swim.  I ended the 400 meter swim at 11:37.  My worst swim ever.

Completely out of breath, I stumbled out of the water and up the hill to transition, which was a longer distance than I was expecting.  At the top of the hill I sat on the ground, threw on my socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and race number, and jumped on the bike. The bike was SUPER hilly, but I was cooking.  I’ve never ridden the Quintana Roo bike in a race before, so it felt like I was on a jet!  For once, I was the one giving out the, “good job” memos to the struggling riders.  It felt extremely competitive.  Apparently Nathan had a flat, but says he changed it in two minutes.  He’s been getting a lot lately at home, so I’m sure it was a quick change!  BUT, I BEAT HIM ON THE BIKE AGAIN!!!  14 miles in 47:05 – that’s an average of 17.8 mph!  My goal was 17 🙂  And for a hilly course, I felt AWESOME!!!!  I was having horrendous cramping, but at that point I just didn’t care.  I figured if I needed to make a bathroom pit stop I would just do it when I headed out for the run.

Made it through the bike-run transition and pushed out the 3.1 miles in 29:40 – 9:33/mi average pace.  I felt like I could have really been faster had I been feeling a little better, but I sprinted the last 100 meters and felt super accomplished with the run.  It was a VERY hilly course, and there were a LOT of walkers.  Post-finish jog to the restrooms and I was done.  Success by every definition!

Overall, I ended 256 out of 483.  I was 8th out of 19 in my age group, so I beat my goal there!  And the total race finished in 1:32:31, which is a HUGE PR for my sprint triathlons!!!

So, WOOOO!!!! 🙂

When we got home Sunday night, we had some delicious by-request KFC for dinner and were able to help my mother-in-law celebrate her birthday, which wouldn’t have been possible had they not come to babysit for us.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!!  We couldn’t have done any of this without them, and for that I am truly thankful.