Iron Girl Triathlon Sandy Hook NJ: Race Recap Part One

It's been a week since I competed in and didn't drown during the swim FINISHED Iron Girl Sandy Hook!

Race-wise it had its share of ups and downs but ultimately it was a fantastic day that has only cemented my new love for the sport of triathlon.

This was a special race (aside from being the first triathlon I had signed up for - the one that made me leap towards the sport) but along the way, 20 of my Mom in Motion friends decided to make this race THEIR first (or second) triathlon as well! It was so special to have a bunch of great friends and teammates to do this with. It really brought the experience to the next level.

A couple of the Moms at Expo: Allison, me, Roxi, Kerry and Beth

Most of us decided to stay the night. It's just far enough of a drive (about an hour and a half each way) to make it feel just a tad too long to go down Saturday to get the bike set up and pick up the packet and then go home to come back at 5AM. Once again (as I had for the Jersey Shore half marathon) I shared a room with Rox and Kerry.

We had grand illusions of resting on Saturday but the day went quickly! By the time we got our race packets, kicked around the expo, brought the bikes to transition, trembled over seeing the water we were going to swim and checked-in to the hotel, it was already time for dinner. 

After a nice dinner that all the Tri Moms attended - we figured out our "fuel" for the morning (i.e. stopping at Starbucks so the girls could have cold coffee and make 'perfect oatmeal' with our hotel room coffee pot in the morning.) Angela hooked me up with a Starbuck Via Ready Brew Instant Coffee packet which is absolutely genius for race mornings. Mixed with hot water and you get delicious Starbucks coffee just like that!

By the time we got back to the room and got all of our stuff ready it was getting late. And the how many hours do we have before the alarm clock goes off at 3:45 AM game began. Once again none of us could sleep, we started trying around 9:30 PM, we put on some movie to try to get sleepy. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to be exact. Rox couldn't stop laughing so we had to change the channel pronto. Soon we got sucked into a few episodes of Everyone Loves Raymond somewhere around the 2nd episode I drifted off into some sort of sleep. I felt semi-asleep and semi-awake for most of the night but managed to get a little rest. 

Hmmm. I think I've got everything

I woke up with a stomachache. (Actually I also went to sleep with a stomachache) - neither occurrence is all that unusual for me unfortunately. I popped an Immodium and hoped for the best. I was wearing a kit instead of two pieces for my tri outfit of the day. The kit is cute and so much more comfortable but getting in and out of that thing is a bitch challenging because of the built-in bra that easily gets all tangled and twisted. My silent mantra was - "please don't sh*t the kit." (OK, not so silent because I soon had Rox and Kerry also chanting it). You see, at another Tri, I saw a guy cross the finish line who must've had a little accident in his kit and his kit pants were light grey. It was unfortunate and I felt for him. I now live in fear of being that guy.

Anyway, back to race day. We headed out to get our transition ready and body marked. 

Me, Rox and Tracy getting ready for the day ahead!

And soon it was time to head to the water. For the record, I have to toughen up my feet. Wow. The "sand" was rock and cut up seashells and standing/walking in it for a half an hour was seriously starting to make my feet hurt and ache. I'm a baby but I heard others "ouch-ouching" as they walked too so I don't think I was alone.

Getting ready! 

The water was unusually super-crazy choppy. I had never swam in water like this and I was very nervous. I felt like I was a little boat getting tossed about. Everyone felt it and unfortunately many women had to be pulled out that day. This race is usually considered beginner friendly but there was nothing "beginner" about this swim. It was tough. But the race did provide plenty of "swim angels" to help women rest and catch their breath along the way. I was glad that I had swam a lot in training over the summer. And even though my other ocean open water were calmer seas, that experience was super valuable - I think I would've been a way bigger mess if I hadn't swam a little in Maine in the ocean and had my OWS's in Kentucky.

This pic of Allison shows off her amazing smile and the "chop" of the water

I took the advice (and wetsuit! thanks!) of my friend Angela and approached it very slow. The goal was not to burn out here but for me to make it. I did - I took it slow and with the conditions, I will admit there was some doggy paddling and unconventional swimming to keep going forward. But I did it and I was proud that I never had to hold onto a buoy or noodle or really stop. It was forward motion - just slow. Dana said that she overheard several seasoned triathletes remark that this was the hardest swim they had ever done - it was no joke.

The bad news. In the last part of the swim my lower body started to cramp up! WTF!!!  My hamstrings were going and so were my calves. The worse was the pain in my Tibialis Anterior. (I had to look up that muscle for this blog btw.) 

HOLY CRAP they were seized up and I wasn't sure how I was going to go on. I am so annoyed by this cramping thing and didn't expect it to hit me in the swim. I even tried to ensure something like this wouldn't happen by hydrating well, and having a banana and half of gel right before swim start. Ugh. Hiss. Boo. I had to pretty much just use arms for the last part of the swim. 

In pain but smiling for the camera - I'm done! I made it!

As I got onto the beach I realized I was screwed. The cramps hurt so bad I was wondering how I would even get out of my wetsuit, never mind bike and run. But I knew that if I had to sit in transition for an hour to recover to be able to finish I would. 

Camera caught me gritting my teeth in pain, wondering what I'd do with these cramps - and
That's Sheila a M.I.M. (no wetsuit!!) We stuck together in the swim and it was a great support 

I told my coach Dana that I was cramping up and having problems. She shouted to drink a lot of water, DO NOT SIT and take a gel if I had one. I nodded these directions and crawled headed to transition unsure of how this thing was going to play out. 

SWIM: 28:23 - It was originally supposed to be a half mile swim and then the race people said they shortened it to a third of a mile. It looked longer than that. Kerry went to question the Iron Man-tee-shirt-wearing-official and he said that he had personally swum the course (it was his job for IM to ensure distance) and it was exactly .45 of a mile. So who knows? All I know is that it was tough. I had made it without drowning but could I go on with being this cramped up? 

XO Click here for part 2!

Jen 

My first triathlon race recap: THE RUN

Part 3: The Run
Distance: 3.1 miles

Finally I was getting off my bike and getting ready for the run. All I had to do was grab my race belt, my coconut water, and my running cap.

That's it.

Apparently all this tri stuff is making me one forgetful person.

First, I took a swig of coconut water and almost choked to death. My coconut water was accidentally the kind with pulp which I noted in the AM and forgot about until that very moment. OOPS.

Then I started running and realized that I totally forgot my running cap. Boo. Oh well, no time to turn around now. Then what was briefly mentioned on the race forum and also forgotten about was that most of the run was on trail surfaces.

Shit. I've never trail ran before and for good reason. I have always been pretty sure that I would twist an ankle and/or trip and break my ass. I'm quite happy sticking to smooth, flat surfaces. But not today. And not after swimming and biking. So I set out and ran slowly with my eyes glued to the ground.

My goal was simple - run the whole damn 3.1 miles. That's it.

I started running and tried to avoid rocks, roots, twigs and the like. I tried to get used to the feeling of mulch under foot and navigated the best I could. Every so often we'd have a little bit of running on pavement and the 3.1 miles alternated between trail and pavement.

I passed a few walkers and a few run/walkers.

And I got passed twice on the run.

Once by a girl who was 42 years old and once by the 67 year old silver-haired lady who I passed on the bike! Touche, lady. Touche.

(By the way, that lady actually did beat my overall time and later was kind enough to offer to take a picture of me with my medal. She is pictured below)

oops. The 'selfie' way was on when she
was trying to take my picture.  She
got me on the run! 

I was a little tired but I was feeling pretty good on the run. I wasn't cramping and I knew that I was within minutes of my goal - I just had to keep moving forward.

And I did keep moving. And I didn't walk.

I was so excited to round the corner. The only bummer was that the finishing road was not roped off and it was the only way in and out of the area so as I was finishing all the people who had finished before me were on the path, walking their bikes, chatting it up, milling about. I felt like I wasn't even going in the right direction and once again felt a little like the last person to the party. It was like everyone had finished this thing HOURS ago and I was in a race by myself. I felt twinges of embarrassment and disappointment in being so slow - those feeling of inadequacy that I need to find a way to silence - but then I heard my fellow Moms In Motion screaming my name and welcoming me home. They had all waited for me and I could hear their legitimate excitement in seeing me so near the finish and that made me happy. It gave me a little pep in my step and I pumped my arm in the air as I neared the finish line.

Here I come - Coconut water in hand, hat-less and in one piece

Whatever. So I finished 6th from last place. I did it. I swam, biked and ran to the finish line.

The lady did get a nice picture.
Glad she beat me on the run

The bling close up:

A year ago today I ran my fastest 5K:  26:46 (a 8'37 mile) which seems like a dream time for me now because even on my fastest day I'm lucky to break 10'30…

Today I ran a 5K in 35:50 (a 11'33 pace).

But a year ago I wouldn't have dreamed that I'd be doing a triathlon.

Overall I am very happy and although jokingly said on Facebook "Not sure if I loved it or hated it" I can honestly say that I loved it and will be "TRI-ing" again.

Read about the swim here and bike here.

Next up: Final Thoughts and my biggest obstacle.

XO
Jen

My first triathlon recap: THE BIKE

Part 2: The Bike
Distance: 11 miles

So I make it onto the beach. Disoriented but the swim is done!

Yay. I made it to land!

And I get to transition and again, this photo speaks for itself. I'm still dizzy, a bit shaky and trying to pull it together. Gotta love my speedy, hustling transition. HA.

Wow. Wet, in tiny unforgiving Tri clothes, and sporting
the whitest legs in America. LOOKING GOOD. ;) lol

So I get out on the bike and because I felt so slow out in the water, I'm pretty sure I'm one of the last on the bike course. But I was wrong. There were still plenty of people behind me to pass me by and remind me of my slowness. Though I did count 3 people who I passed on the bike including one silver-haired lady of 67 - who obviously had a better swim in her wave than me since i was only now passing her and she was two waves behind me.

Once passed, I was on my own a lot of the time on the ride. I had space for miles. So I guess that's a benefit of being a back of the packer. No jockeying for elbow room and the volunteers are very kind in support. 

I have to look at my bike later. I think it felt harder yesterday but that could've been because of the swim first? Not sure. I felt like I was pushing harder than usual.

Also - I have to adjust the water cage. Since changing my bike seat height, I can't reach the bottle! I was getting so thirsty and had this bottle of water out of reach. I was too stubborn to pull over to swig so powered thru. 

I counted down the miles and was so happy to make the turn into the final stretch: 

Yay! I'm almost done!

Oh yeah. I still have to run.

I have to get cage things for the pedals - look at my knee and I felt like I kept slipping off the pedals. The only cramping of the day I had was in the arches and top of my feet during the bike. Not sure what to make of that but something to figure out.  I may need even more seat height. My knees feel a little achey today.

All in all the bike was pretty good. I wish I was faster but this was only my fourth time on an outside bike since I'm 10 years old so I can't complain. 

Total time on bike: 49:34 (13.3 mph pace) 

Read the first part of this race report, the swim.

You can read about the RUN to the finish here.

XO

Jen

My First Triathlon Race Recap: The Swim

Part 1: The Swim

Distance: .25 mile

Wow!

What a day.

So many emotions swirling around I don't know even where to start.  

I got up at 4:45 AM and this whole week I had a strange sense of calmness for such a big event for me. I felt like "I got this."  

And then I rounded the corner to the event and saw all the triathletes and bikes and began to hyperventilate. OMG I'm really going to do a triathlon! I suddenly got REALLY nervous. But I managed to get my bike out of my car and walk it over to the right place. I was feeling shaky though.

My coach and friend Dana called my name and I was so happy to see her. She's so comforting and positive and really helped me get into the right place (and space) without her I would've never had been able to rack my bike or set up my transition - I was just too nervous to focus. :) 

By the way, all of these great pictures you will see are courtesy of Dana as well. She's the very best. 

Getting ready 

A few of the other Moms In Motion were doing this one too so I wasn't entirely on my own, though the rest of them were doing the "Try a Tri" I along with one other MIM (she has done other Tri's before) was doing the sprint.

I forgot about the barefoot thing though and from the bike to the water was black top with pebbles and I've got sensitive tootsies.  Ouch, ooh, ouch… I thought to myself, "this should be interesting coming out of the water to bike."

136 baby - love those numbers - so official! 

I got in the water for a warm up. Temp was nice. On the very warm side which I personally like.

So far so good

Then I got out and started to scope the course. 

hmmmm...

Um. I think I can make it.

How many buoys? What? Oh.

And then the race started and I was definitely last in my wave. There was about 15 or so in my wave and none of them looked like newbies so I was OK with being last but then all of a sudden I started getting mowed over by the fastest of the wave behind me. EEEKS! And then the fastest of the wave behind that. OY VEY. Where the hell am I? At some point I realized I had about a million buoys to go (or three - same thing).

How'd my swim go? A picture speaks a thousand words…

OMFG What the hell am I doing here? Heeeelllp Meeeeee! Gasp. Gasp.

Seriously. I laughed for forty minutes over this picture. Though it was no laughing matter at the moment. In addition to being totally demoralized by getting smoked by several other waves behind me, I kept hearing the lifeguards shout to one another: "Keep an eye on the blue cap." Well the Jersey in me was like "Don't you worry about the blue cap. I'm fine. I'm just slow... (and having trouble swimming and breathing but this is how I roll.)"

Though, I'm glad someone was on it in case I dropped dead in the middle of the swim. It was comforting they "had an eye on me."

And then I was done and feeling relieved that I made it out alive it was over. 

When I looked up my swim time I had to ask what "13:30" meant. They said that was my time. I said that was certainly an error because if I had to guess, I was in the water for at least 4 hours - minimum. They said, "nope, that's it." Longest 13 minutes of my life.

I've got a lot of work to do before my IronGirl which is twice the distance and probably in rougher waters. 

Good news about the swim though was that I was so shaky and appreciative for land that I didn't even notice my bare feet. I could've walked across glass coated nails and I would've been the happiest person on earth to be out of the water - I didn't even notice the run? crawl? shuffle? I don't know how I got to my bike but it was totally fine.

Despite the not-so-great swim experience, I'm proud of myself for doing it and not dying giving up. 

Bike report is HERE.

Run report is Here.

XO

Jen