Race Report: FleetFeet SuperSprint Triathlon

Lexie, my cheer pug, and me on race morning.

On Saturday, I competed in my second triathlon (not counting the relay because I didn't do the whole thing). This was also my second time doing the FleetFeet SuperSprint Triathlon, part of the Chicago Triathlon weekend. This is a great race for beginners and new triathletes, so my goal was to just beat my time from last year (about 54 minutes).

CCUC-N Triathletes Pre-Race

This race was a lot more fun because I was doing it with a bunch of friends: Pastor Luke, Callie, Dan, Maria, Tiffany, and Josh. I loved watching all their swim starts (except Tiffany's because I was swimming at that point) and cheering them on in the bike and run if I saw them on the course.

Here's a brief little recap of my race:

Swim - 375 m - 10:32 (including swim to bike transition)
This year's swim went MUCH better than last year's for me. For one thing, the race weather this year was PERFECT. Sunny and in the 70's compared to last year when it was cloudy at the start and like 65 degrees. It was FREEZING. The water this year was still a little cold, but I had a full wetsuit (great investment) and it not only helped me stay warmer, but it helped me float. I could feel my body floating closer to the surface of the water. So this year I didn't feel like I was drowning and didn't resort to breaststroke for the entire swim. I did freestyle the entire time (except for a few breaststrokes when there were a bunch of people in front of me), but I breathed on every stroke and didn't bother with bilateral breathing. It went pretty well though and I felt pretty good about it. I looked at my watch when I finished the swim so I did it in about 5 minutes, which was great. My transition was so slow though--that took about another 5 minutes. Luke & Josh dominated on the swim (they both did it in less than 5 minutes), but they're also both swimmers.

Me & Tiffany waiting with our waves before the swim

I look so happy to be starting out!

Still happy because the swim is over & I had a pretty good swim!

Tackling the bike course

Bike - 6.2 miles - 26:03 (including bike to run transition)
Rode my own bike this year, which was nice! I had a pretty good bike time, but the four hills (that we had to go over THREE times) were exhausting. I was getting tired and as I thought about how I want to do a sprint distance triathlon next year, I was wondering how I'd be able to do it!

Run - 1.55 miles - 16:13

Sprinting toward the finish line

Did a quicker bike to run transition and started out slowly. I was pretty tired by this point. I'm still not sure how I'd be able to run a 5k after biking 12 miles and swimming half a mile for the sprint distance (*sigh* but I guess that's why you train!). There was this elderly man who was in wave 21 (I was in wave 19, so he started after me) who started the run at the same time I did and he finished before me! I know this because I was behind him on the run and I never passed him. Just goes to show you're never too old to do triathlons! But good for him. I decided to keep a slower and steady pace on the first half of the run until the turnaround. Then I picked up the pace a little bit. I saw Josh sprinting to the end when I was just starting and then I saw Dan while I was running too. I saw Callie closer to the turnaround and then a little later I passed her, but I didn't know it was her that I just passed until she said something to me! I kept going until I started seeing the orange cones and heard the announcer at the finish line, so then I sprinted with what energy I had left, passed a bunch of people, and finished strong.

We all finished!

Overall time: 52:49; 348/804 finishers overall; 126/451 out of the women; 41/139 in the 20-29 female division. I beat last year's time by 2 minutes, so I'm pretty pleased with my results. I wished I could've run a little faster at the end, but it's okay.

Next challenge: to train for a sprint distance triathlon for next year!

What are your race goals for next year?

I Want to Tri

Yesterday I participated in my second triathlon, my first sprint distance. I can't say I did the full distance by myself though since I did this triathlon as a relay team with my friends Tiffany and Callie. We called ourselves "Triple Latte" since Tiffany works at Starbucks, I love drinking Starbucks, and Callie's husband used to work at Starbucks.

Here we are post-race. A nice and sweaty mess.

Callie first approached Tiffany and me with the idea of doing the Trek Women Triathlon Series race in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Trek does several sprint distance triathlon races like this around the country. None of us were confident about doing the full sprint distance just yet (we've all done the Fleet Feet SuperSprint Triathlon in Chicago and are doing it again this August), but as we talked about our favorite legs of the race, we realized we'd make a great relay team! Plus Callie just had a baby nine months ago and wanted something to help motivate her to work out--this race did just that.

I'm horrible at swimming, but I've been running so I was comfortable with that. Tiffany hates biking, but she's pretty good at swimming, and Callie really likes biking but isn't as great at the run. We estimated that we'd finish the race in about two hours, but yesterday (which also had the most perfect race weather, though still a little hot) we finished in 1:33:42. Everyone finished her leg of the race faster than predicted!

Here's how our timing broke down:

Tiffany's 1/2 mile swim: 16:15

T1: 1:53

Callie's 12 mile bike: 48:35 (14.8 mph pace)

T2: 1:17

My 5k run: 25:42 (8:17 pace)

That was my second fastest 5k time, so I was pretty happy with it. I really pushed myself at the end of the race though. I don't have exact times since I don't have a fancy Garmin watch, but I know I did negative splits. I also felt like I was going to throw up at the end, but I'm fine. The picture on the left is me just starting out the run. I got back to the transition area just as Callie was coming in with the bike...so good thing I was there on time!

Our team finished 6th out of 27 in our division and 301 out of 1683 finishers. Not too bad! If only we were one person!

It's always interesting to do triathlons and see all the kinds of people there are out there. Most people were doing the full race as individuals and when I see them--mostly people older than me, some slightly (or more than slightly) overweight, some really physically fit people, people who have survived cancer, etc.--then I think, "If she can do this, then I can do this!" There was an 80-year-old woman doing the full sprint triathlon! We saw an elderly lady (maybe it was that woman, I don't know) before the swim and she even needed help getting into her wetsuit, but she was doing the whole thing too. Kinda made us feel like wimps for only doing part of it. 

It's just really encouraging and motivating to show that if you put your mind to something and train for it, you can do it! It doesn't matter if you have to doggie paddle across the lake, ride really slowly on your bike, or walk the entire 5k...you still get a finishers' medal at the end because you finished. I usually like to finish anything I start, so I'm all about that--but I also have to remember that it's not always about trying to be the fastest or the best (both of which I would not be in any triathlon), but to just do my best and to finish well.

Callie, Tiffany, and I are also even more excited now about doing the SuperSprint triathlon again, and more motivated to consider doing the full Sprint distance triathlon next year! That has already been one of my goals, and I wasn't planning on doing a sprint until maybe two years from now, but hey--why not? I'm willing to work hard and "tri" it. :)

Here are a few other pictures from our race for your enjoyment:

 Tiffany getting ready for her swim.

We missed seeing Callie on the bike, so this is her after the race.

Me sprinting toward the finish line.

The backs of the awesome team shirts Tiffany made us. People gave us so many comments about them! Then a few times people told us, "You're out of order!" if we weren't walking in swim, bike, run order. haha

What are your motivators? Do you have any long-term goals you may be able to achieve in the near future?

Why I Run

It's that time of year where people make new year's resolutions to get in shape for the next year. This is pretty obvious when you go to the gym and the parking lot is fuller than usual. I'm still trying to get in shape, but I only have a couple main fitness goals for 2010:

• Complete my second SuperSprint Triathlon with a faster time than last year (54:52)
• Work to set a new personal 5k record under 25 minutes (or at least beating 25:10)

To help motivate those of you who think you could never run even a mile, I'll have you know that I never considered myself a runner. I hated running. In fact, in junior high, we had to do the mile fitness test and had to finish in under 11 minutes. I don't remember exactly how long it took me to finish the run (or in my case, run/walk), but I'm pretty sure it was close to 11 minutes. I have no idea how I came to be able to run 3.1 mile races, and with decent times.

So why do I run now? (and bike and swim)

It used to be mainly just to lose weight and to get in shape (it still is partially about that), but I also get a sense of accomplishment from completing each run or race. I'm also just amazed at how God created the human body to have this kind of physical endurance (an endurance that keeps on building as I train and work out). I never would have thought that I could finish a SuperSprint triathlon (375m swim/10k bike/2.5k run) or run a 5k. If you'd have asked me if I'd ever do either of those things years ago (even last year), I'd probably say, "No way."

My triathlon training also taught me that just as I was so willing (or could at least force myself) to wake up extra early to work out in the mornings, go to work, then do another evening work out, I should be training myself up in my spirtual life as well. Here is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT):

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

More than training up my physical body that will not last (we're only getting older every day), I need to remember to be training myself spiritually, reaching toward that heavenly prize. If I'm disciplined enough to wake up at 5 AM to swim, I can also be disciplined enough to wake up a little earlier to read my Bible and pray once in a while. If I can head straight to the gym after work, I can have my quiet time be the first thing I do when I get home too. It's all about priorties and living in light of what we're striving for. So a struggle for me at times is not allowing my race training and working out to get in the way of my time with the Lord. That is far more important and precious. It has lasting value.

So in 2010, I want to reach those fitness goals (and eventually my triathlon goal is to do a Sprint distance triathlon). More importantly, I want to be more disciplined in training myself up in the way of the Lord. Can we all encourage each other to take up this last challenge together?