trek tri - last tri of the year

Xia and I pre-tri

All marked up and ready to go!

My cheer squad!

Sunday morning started out well. I got a good night's sleep (as good as one can get away from home and with a 20m old) and a good breakfast. The weather was perfect and cool, the sky blue and beautiful.

Mentally I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be. I missed the course overview the day before at the expo, but I figured it wasn't a big deal. I didn't even know where the transition site was or when it opened up. I didn't figure in my time that there was going to be a .23 mile distance from the swim finish line to transition site. I thought, I'll hurry. So I gave myself 2 minutes for that transition. Bad move #1!! Then, because I was all about beating my time from the Danskin in June, I wasn't realistic on some of my time frames. Swimming I was confident I would meet or come close to my goal. Running, I was confident I would beat, meet or come close to my goal. Biking... that's a different story. I have developed a love / hate relationship with my bike as of late. So much so that I've probably only ridden it 2-3 times in the past month. I knew I wasn't going to meet my goal for biking. Rather than changing my goal, I decided to keep it and again, just hurry. Well, different courses, different levels of training, different transition lengths = disater for type A Annah who didn't reset any of my goals. I was prepared physically as I would've ever been, mentally, not so much. Mental prep is just as important. I had my mind so set on beating my Danskin time for some menial $ discount (it wasn't about the discount for me, it was about the challenge) that I risked feeling unsuccessful and like I was a failure at the end. I wasn't a failure, rather I was some pouting person that did a kick booty job!!

I had a great swim. My personal goal was around 18 minutes (I completed Danskin in 20:5?). I was right on. The water felt great. I found room to swim, and I felt strong. I finished just under 19 minutes. Off to a great start, I was pleased. I slipped on my running shoes and jogged up the 2+ hills that made up the .23 miles to transition area. Not too bad. I jogged versus ran so I wouldn't pass out on the hills before mounting my bike. It was a good move!

Got to my bike and was heading out when I realized I put on my running visor instead of my bike helmet!! Good thing I was only two racks from where I racked my bike, so I didn't lose too much time over it. Jumped on my bike and away I went. The weather could not have been any prettier. Clear blue skies in the hill country. Dreamy! I biked my two laps and it was then I knew that I wasn't going to beat or even match my overall Danskin time of 1:34:??. I had a great, strong ride. It was a beautiful day. Only something to be happy/proud about.

Finishing strong on my bike

Second transition was just as always - quick. One thing I have down good!! Put on my visor and grabbed a drink of water and hit the trails. I passed everyone on my path. No one passed me. I felt strong & proud!! I ran down the hill and sprinted to the finish line. That was amazing! The crowd was cheering, I was sprinting, I heard Oscar cheering, saw him snap a picture, and I FINISHED! No greater feeling! I remember why I do these things when I cross the finish line - pure fulfillment.

Sprinting to the finish line! lookin' good!

I looked down at my watch after finishing and it read 1:42. I was mortified. How was I 8 minutes slower than the Danskin tri? How? After much deliberation, I realized #1, first transition took over 7 minutes ( and I didn't account for that in my goal time frame). #2 how did I expect myself to actually cycle really well when I was on my bike 3 times in a month??? #3 they took the .23 distance off the 5k at the end - so instead of me running hard all 3 miles at the end, I jogged the .23 at a slower pace than I would've normally to conserve energy for biking. Also, different courses bring different results. I am ashamed to say that I was actually embarrassed of my time. I cannot believe how down I was on myself. Next time I'm mentally preparing just as much as physically!!! I did an AWESOME job. I look back just 4 months ago when I was doing my first ever triathlon. I am amazed that I ever signed up for the event and how well I've done on all 4 of my triathlons this year. I don't want to look back on this event as something I was ashamed of  or feel that I didn't finish strong, because I did. I was so wrapped up in my time, that I took away the joy of a job well done, I robbed myself of the celebration and excitement I feel the rest of the day. Never again will I set unrealistic goals for myself. I promise to always be proud of myself.

Here are my awesome stats that I am PROUD OF!!

1:42:21 total time
Overall   46 / 344
Division  7/33
Swim     18:57 / 74th
Trans1   7:17
Bike       52:05 /146th / 13.8 mph
Trans2    1:15
Run         22:43 / 10th / 8:25 pace

Received my medal! Finished!!

Callie and I before cheering on Colleen!

Callie, KT and Colleen, me and Xia