So, I forewent rounds of lemon drops and tabletop dancing (an activity, not a drink) on my birthday and went to bed early. Driving to
Arriving in the dark and trying to find the start grid is always fun. Managed to set myself up between a few guys but give myself demerits for not remembering the landmarks by my start row. That’s a little trick. You are sometimes so blasted by the swim that you forget where your bike is. I was not blasted by the swim, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The swim was in an Olympic-length pool (another bonus!) and I was delighted to be able to see the bottom and not have to inhale duck poop as in my other two tris. We went off in 5-second intervals and my gross (haha) number was 144…so I was middle-of-pack with my predicted swim time in a field of 300-odd racers.
I jumped in the water and took it chill chill chill. Now that I look back on it, I figure that the 30 seconds I would have gained by going balls-out would be negated by shaky arms at the transition which aren’t really worth it. So, I just took my time and if I had a birdseye camera on myself I’d like to think I looked graceful. I passed a few boys, which was a prelude of things to come since I didn’t let a soul pass me for the rest of the race. Seek & Destroy Mandy was on the loose. The monkey on my back was holding on for dear life and darned if I was going to let him come home with me.
Jamming into the transition, I got to my bike and shoved my feet into my shoes and hopped to the chip mat. I mounted my steed rather ungracefully given my shoddy 105 pedals (how is it that I was on a pro team with gucci equipment yet craptastic pedals?). Must work on that because you never know when someone might put it up on YouTube! I am normally a cyclocross remount queen, but with shorts wet from the swim I’m never sure how that will come out, so best to just be safe and sane on the remount.
For some reason a cute blonde girl on a Kuota didn’t get the memo about me not letting anyone pass and passed me briefly during mile 1. I gave her half a wheel length for about ¼ of a second, then passed her right back and left her for dead.
Like I said…Seek & Destroy Mandy. She is not nice.
I did as Jonny advised and went stupid slow during the first 6 miles. Just got my rhythm and pedaled smoothly. I noted the places where I’d go extra-hard on the return trip, since it was an out-and-back. It is funny how much you learn from bike racing that you can apply in triathlon. I think that’s half the battle and probably something not every girl knows, which gives me an advantage.
To top it off, my rear Zipp disc sounds like the Grim Reaper, which is something I enjoy when in Seek & Destroy mode.
The way back was tougher than I remembered, but at least the road surface was nice. It was chipseal for cars but smooth on the shoulder. I continued to pass people and tried to hammer up the hills and over the top. The “over the top” mindset is another trick from bike racing, and I think people would be so much faster if they would just try that sometimes.
For the last mile I was behind this annoying dude who wouldn’t let me pass him and I couldn’t really ride next to him for fear of drafting penalty (see post from April). So I was all surge-y and we came into the finish together, with me annoyed at his insistence on riding in the middle of a narrow road and being generally in the way.
I hopped into the transition and forgot where my rack was (hence the need for a landmark). I slipped into my shoes (no socks) and did that little speed lace thing. Man, those saved me some time!
I took off on the run and felt like I was churning through molasses. So damn slow! AnnoyingMan was ahead of me and I tried to hold his pace but wasn’t able to after the first mile.
The run was interesting. Through a golf course with lots of twists and turns. The water stations were plentiful and I took the opportunity to douse myself with water down the back.
About mile 2.5 I tried to put it into overdrive. I don’t race/train with any data or a watch, so it’s all by feel. I would like a Garmin (hello, Santa, you out there?) but since I’m the cheapest mofo in
Since I wasn’t sure of my pace, I just tried to keep it uncomfortable. I tried to pass everybody I saw and take every corner on the inside and shave every possible inch of course I could without straying out of bounds. I sprinted into the finish and got an encouraging yell from homeboy Eberle.
We enjoyed some pancakes and sat in the grass. It was a great scene, with a local band and lots of fit, healthy, happy, and attractive people milling about. Dallas Athletes Racing really knows how to put on a great event. Cheered for co-worker Heather when she crossed the line, and talked to a few people here and there. Cool vibe overall!
I am not a fan of how I look in my Zoot shorts, so I scooted back to transition to change into my GearGrinder pants and Vanderkitten tank top. Like I said before; you never know when someone’s going to capture you for posterity and one must always project le hotness.
We have a term in bike racing (to be spoken in Jens Voigt’s accent): “if it goes well I might make the first page of the results, eh?”
And that I did. 23rd overall out of 300-some competitors. First of the ~100 women by 2.5ish minutes. The most amazing part was how many men I beat in the run portion. 27th overall. I was blown away by how fast I managed to run while feeling like I was underwater and pulling a truck full of Doritos with my teeth.
Plaque awarded. Picture taken. Fist bump from Eberle. When we drove out of the parking lot, the monkey that had been on my back was wandering around, looking for someone else to pester. No matter what he says, don’t let him into your house.
Bye bye monkey!
I capped off my birthday weekend with lunch at Ozona (Migas!!!), a nice pedicure with Mary Beth (Mermaid blue toes!) and Pho at Vietnam Restaurant. Even went early-ish to bed. Yes.
I might add that this win was unaided by caffeine. I save that for mornings when
So, next stop Half-Ironman somewhere. There will probably be caffeine, a training program, and a Garmin involved.
And yes, I am a dork and made a spreadsheet.
