Baylor Tom Landry Tri: Time to Tri Again

I had an absolute blast at the St Paddy's Day Tri, my first triathlon, on March 15.  I really enjoyed the new challenge that it presented and I jumped at the opportunity to try it again, this time at the Baylor Tom Landry Tri presented by our friends at Tri-Now Endurance on April 19.  The swim and bike were both a little bit longer than the St Paddy's Day race and I thought it was a great chance to bump up those distances.  We also love supporting Coach Frank and Debra and looked forward to participating at one of their events instead of volunteering.

Mary: Finish Line Coordinator Extraordinaire

Swim
Last year Mr K, Keith, Becky, and James all trained together for their spring goal races (Ironman Texas 70.3 for Mr K, Keith, and Becky and Ironman Texas for James).  They seemed to have the most fun together training and racing and I was finally able to be a part of their little club as we waited together for the swim to start.  The swim was 400 meters (100 meters longer than the St Paddy's swim), but I was a little relieved to see that the lanes were 25 meters instead of 50 meters. Those 50 meter lanes felt so loooonnnnng!!  Of course, 25 meter lanes meant 2-way swimming in the lanes and therefore more traffic.  The first swimmers hit the pool in a frenzy!  So fast!  It was a little bit nerve-wracking watching them go as there were so many near collisions!  Thankfully, the pace slowed as more and more swimmers entered the pool.  I watched James, Keith, Mr K, and Becky take off and then it was my turn.  My swim during my 1st tri wasn't bad, but I wanted to feel even better about it during my 2nd attempt.  As I got to the end of each lane, I squared up and got a good start at the next length - thinking only of one lap at a time.  Sometime during the 2nd or 3rd lap I noticed that my timing chip felt pretty loose on my ankle.  I was not about to lose my timing chip in the bottom of the pool and I stopped at the end of one of the lanes and attempted to re-affix it.  This happened one other time during the swim and a couple of lane later I stopped and tightened it as much as I could.  The other people swimming around me did not bother me, but I was pleased to find myself in a "pocket" of low traffic for the second half of the swim.  I was happy to see the last lane and gave it my best shot to add some speed to my closing lap.  My time ended at 11:26, certainly nothing to write home about - but I felt good about the swim and that was the goal for the day.

Hanging with Coach Frank and the Tri-Now Gang

Bike
The distance from the pool to the transition area seemed fairly long, but much of it was on grass which beats running barefoot on pavement.  It felt like I was there forever, trying to get my bolero on wet arms and tying my shoes - but my total time was 3:01.  I'm looking forward to those transitions getting speedier with practice.  The beginning of the bike course took us over some of the famous Dallas potholes, but that didn't last too long.  I am still learning how hard I can go on the bike, so I gave it my best.  It is a good feeling to pass people and I didn't get passed until near the end.  The bike course was 16 miles and an out-and-back so I was able to prepare for what would be coming my way on the return.  It was also fun to look for my friends as they headed back to T2.  We rode into the wind on the outbound trip and there were hills both ways.  I'm not really in bike shape right now and I'm certainly not in hill shape so I was okay with my time of 55:47 (17.2 mph).

Run
I felt like my T2 time was faster than T1, and it was at 2:30.  The girl next to me came in as I was tying my shoes and was out of there just ahead of me.  She would end up winning our age group and her transition time was a blazing 48 seconds!  I have so much to learn and practice! I passed her in the first quarter mile of the run and she cheered "yay 40 year old!"  I love being able to see what age group people are in by looking at the back of their leg - tells me who my competition is!  Running off the bike is never easy, but I try to go into it with an open mind.  I am usually surprised to see that I am running faster than I feel like I am.  The run course was also an out-and-back and it is such a mental boost to hit the turn around - home stretch, baby!  I saw Keith, Mr K, and Becky out there and that also gave me a huge boost.  The final half mile or so was on a beautiful, winding track in a garden-type area.  It took us past the finish line where I saw Mary (finish line coordinator extraordinaire) and the rest of the gang waiting for me.  That last little bit felt like it took forever and I focused on passing anyone who was in my path.  Finally, finally the finish line was in sight and I ran as hard as I could towards it for a 5K time of 25:39 - a full minute faster than my run at St Paddy's Day Tri.  I was so proud of my run, it was not that far off of my 5K PR and it was the fastest in my age group by 2 minutes!  I received my medal from Mary and felt quite grateful to be done.  We had a great time taking pictures with the Dallas BIG letters (I am a sucker for these things - well done, Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau) and chowing down on burgers and chips.

I was curious about the final results as this race had a smaller field and I did not notice anyone else in my age group ahead of me (unless they were wayyyyy ahead of me!).  Imagine my surprise when I found that I was 2nd place in my age group!  The cool thing about triathlons is that you get to stand on a real podium when you receive your award!  I was over the moon with excitement!  A podium finish in my second triathlon!

To say that this was a confidence boost would be an understatement.  I have so much to learn and practice, but I feel really good about my beginnings in the world of triathlon.  I am so looking forward to extending my distances and fine tuning my training.  I can't wait to do it again!