Colonial Beach Sprint Triathlon

Earlier today, I finished my second outdoor sprint triathlon & my first one with an open water swim.  It has been a tough week leading up to the race, but I am happy I made it through & finished with a smile on my face.  Leading up to the race, I had a lighter training week which worked out well because some other things in my life were going on personally. A very close family friend was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer & had brought in hospice to help. I have been trying to be help out where I can because I have been through it all before and it has brought up a ton of memories & emotions.   It has been tough to sleep at night with my mind & emotions all over the place. On top of all that, work was super busy, but I survived the office & was able to head out early yesterday to get to Colonial Beach. 

I tried to pay more attention to my nutrition in the week leading up to the race.  Hydration was good – coconut water is my favorite way to stay hydrated & I always have it on hand. I focused on eating whole, healthy foods to give my body what it needs.  That went well until Thursday when I put in close to 12 hours at the office.  Then Friday was hectic & I didn’t eat as well as I should have in the morning (probably a slight understatement as I ate McDonalds!) Fail to plan - plan to fail & I have no one to blame for that but myself.  I got back on track with my pre-race dinner (by my standards at least!) – cheeseburger & fries w/extra salt.  It is what I have the night before every race & it usually treats me pretty well. 

Race day started with the alarm going off at 4:15.  After contemplating staying in bed & skipping the race, I got up.  Breakfast was a banana & peanut butter.  Before I knew it, almost an hour had passed & it was time to head out to the race.  I finished up my UCAN & headed out to the car.  While setting up

transition, I realized I forgot to bring my Salt Stick caps.  I had taken 2 before I left the hotel, but was planning on taking one at the end of the bike.  Thankfully, one of the ladies next to me in transition gave me one.  After everything was set up, I took the bike out for a warm-up ride.  Then I got my cap & goggles & headed to the swim start.  The water temp was 79 degrees so that meant no wet suit. Since I am not as strong a swimmer as I would like to be, I was hoping that we would be able to wear the wetsuits, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Then there was the salt/brackish water & currents.  I didn’t know much currents & I hadn’t been in saltwater for years.  Time to jump in & see what happens!  The actual swimming wasn’t bad.  My problems were in getting comfortable with the people & water. There was a lot of stopping. The tide was going out, so it was pulling us to the right & the first buoy was to the left.  It took forever to get there, but the good news was as soon as I turned right, the current helped me move along – that was the easiest stretch of the swim.  Then it was time to head back to shore.  I made it & swam all the way until my hands touched the sand. 750 meters done (plus a little more I am sure!) Then I was off to transition to the bike.  The bike was the best part of the entire race.  I was comfortable & enjoyed all 14 miles of it.  Before I knew it, I was back at transition and it was time for the run. Another 3.1 miles & I would be finished.  I started going & was going too fast (as usual!) and was able to slow it down for the first mile in 9:27.  Then the second was 9:56 – not the way I wanted it to go, but that’s what happened. I had a cramp in my stomach & it was different than others I have had & it would not go away. I told my mind to shut up & tried to ignore the doubts in my head. I finally picked up the pace on the last mile and finished the last mile in 9:18.  Overall, my total time was 1:47 – not quite the goal time I had in mind.  I was disappointed & shed a few tears after the race. However, I did learn a lot. I need to remember this was my second outdoor triathlon & my first open water swim in a race setting.  I will do more – heck I have another one next Sunday!

Things I need to improve on:

Swimming – comfort level in mass starts, open water w/o wetsuit, dealing with the waves! I really need to improve the swim so I can to sign up for Olympic (or longer?) distance races. It really all comes down to experience - that is the only way I am going to become more comfortable in the water.

Bike – LOVED IT!  I didn’t see anything bad with my ride, I was really comfortable & enjoyed every second of it

Run – still had some issues, but it is more mental.  Need to figure out the best way to overcome my doubts.