P/S TRAINING FOR THE BEAST!: October 2008

So, I just got a phone call from envirosports director saying the girl who won it didn't do the run. I thought it was a little odd when her 5k time was 1 minute but oh well. So, they figure it out for the award ceremony but I had already left...kind of glad I didn't have to wait around there any longer actually...it was frrreeezing!!! Brrrrrrr!!! Anyway, the girl who won the whole thing is 48 years old and sponsored by Luna. She's amazing! She's the one in blue with Luna written all over her jersey in the pictures and all the other girls who won it are in the 40-45 age group. Ok, off to work!! Adios! Here's the scoop on how it went...

Saturday morning at 6:45 am five of us set out for Lake Berryessa (mama, papa, Erin, Zandra and me). No time for coffee as in Saint Helena we were detoured due to a fire extending our road trip from 1 1/2 hour to 2 1/2 hour...ugh! Plus, the roads were super curvey and I experienced for the first time some icky road sickness. We were definitely unsure we would make it but we did arriving to the bike racks to hear the announcer say something about ten minutes left! We also heard the swim was canceled due to high winds which would make it dangerously challenging for the lifeguards to get to any distressed swimmer. The currents were strong, and you could see white caps all along the lake. The morning was with a windy, bitter cold, bone chilling weather. Then, the announcer procedes to describe the reroute and as I'm trying to adjust all my gear and get ready for all the sports, still fighting nausea from the drive, trying to fuel, and trying to listen to the directions I somehow found comfort in looking around me seeing all the women scramble nervously, kiss their husbands goodbye and head for the start.

We were to run a half mile first, bike 11 miles, then run a 5k to the finish. No time to stretch or warm up and I chose to start towards the back of the first wave (it was self seeded). So, from a cold stiff body we took off into a full blown sprint. Anyone want to know how to shock your body...this is how!!!! It was the weirdest feeling, numb and tingly and I'm surprised I didn't get hurt! I took off and dodged many girls only to catch up to about 6 or 7 girls in the transition.

My family said the first transition went super fast for me. I can never tell, so far I've only known that I was working furiously in the transitions only to find my times to be hideously slow. But this time I headed out on the bike up the windy hill, passed one girl and realized I was behind the first girl in the race!! I pedaled strong but the headwind was stronger on the uphills (which there seemed to be more than I was told, lots of rollers actually and hardly any flats). One girl passed me on the bike and I was able to muster up a "good job!" as I tried to push it...but she kept going strong.

I held my position there for the remaining bike. Tried to stay in my own race as I had three mouthfuls of vomit and didn't feel so hot. Decided no more fluids and finished the rest of the race with a sip of water on the return run. The way back on the bike was nice with the tailwind but only sometimes did it really push me, the rest of the time it came from the side and my rims were quite musical. It was fun and my bike is by far my favorite in the triathlon.

The transition to the run was a bit slower. My hands were shaking and it was hard to get my shoes on. Plus, I forgot to untie my shoe laces before hand so that took some extra time...dir. The start of the run felt really weird...my legs felt like tree trunks and didn't seem to move when I told them to. I felt like I was going 11 min/mile. The 5k was beautiful and I was excited that my mind reminded me that my God will make my feet like hinds feet and that I kept my eyes on those high places in the surrounding mountains and it truly motivated me!! My heart praised God for the beauty I was privilged and blessed to run in. The run was hard.

The sweetest thing about this race was that it was alllll women. What a completely different dynamic and I absolutely loved it. Being towards the front of the race alllll the girls would cheer me on as I ran by them, and I them...which definitely took alot of extra breathing!! But how sweet and nice girls are. I LOVE ALL GIRL RACES!!!!!! My dad noticed it too and found it quite intriguing how much girls are verbal and like verbal support in these races. It was cute to see all the husbands lined up and cheering on their women!! I saw lots of little ones on their papa's shoulders while their mama's raced. It was too cute and too sweet!!!

Well, I finished the race with an unexpected bout of asthma. Couldn't shake the tight feeling away and nausea too. Lots of fun!! I think the cold air does that to me as last week I had a massive bronchospasm from an area of super cold air. That was scary for a few seconds I couldn't breathe at all. Never had that before, and all this training and racing brings in all kinds of new experiences. The asthmatics symptoms resolved soon after the race and I learned that I took 2nd place in my age group (127 girls), and 8th overall (900 registered). I'm happy no matter what place I got but it was a different experience to be one of the stronger athletes in the race.

My family and Zandra...who fits in as "one of the family" haha! ...were so supportive!! The highlight of the whole race was coming in from the bike hearing them scream at the top of their lungs, and when I gave them a "Rocky Pump" they screamed louder and we all laughed! What a fun moment that was!!

Enjoy the pictures!!!
Jenny