St Paddy's Tri: Swim, Bike, Run (from the gorilla)

Texas weather is a cruel mistress and she will get you every time.  Like when it is 42 degrees and windy for your first triathlon of the year and 80 and sunny for your trail half a week later....(but that is another story).  St Paddy's Tri is a favorite because it is the unofficial start of tri season around here and because it is my tri-versary.  Can you believe I am starting my third season already? That first tri two years ago is still one of my favorite race days.

Swim 

The worst thing about a pool swim is waiting around forever before it is my turn to go.  I never know how to seed myself and I always end up being one of the last of my group of friends to go.  I didn't mind quite as much this day because I was hoping that it would warm up a few degrees while we were in the warm pool area waiting to start.  The longer I waited, the more anxious I got. I really just wanted to have a good race and standing around thinking about it was causing my energy level to rise. Mr K was there with me and was super calm, which helped pass the time. Waiting is hard, I just needed to get to work! As far as pool swims goes, it was probably my fastest one yet and was 30 seconds faster than last year - so yay for that! I passed two people too, which felt pretty good. But....my swim is so much slower than the rest of my race and my race swim was much slower than my training pace.  I have a lot of work to do, and I got to work on it the very next day.  It can be a little overwhelming to think about, but I'm also excited about the possibilities.

300m

7:01

6th place AG

With E - Gorilla Handler and Photographer Extraordinaire!

Bike 

I braced myself as I ran out of that warm pool and into the cold air.  I was surprised to find that it wasn't as cold as I thought that it would be.  Adrenaline is a pretty amazing thing, right? It also helps that all of my peeps are standing right there screaming their heads off at me.  I always expect them to be there, yet their voices still shock me a little as climbing out of the pool is a bit disorienting. My transition times were improving last season, but I'm always a little rusty in the first race.  I also forgot to pull my hat out of my backpack, so it took a little bit longer as it was buried in the bottom of the bag (of course).  It also took a bit more time to get my jacket and gloves on so my T1 ended up being 2:22 - definitely something to work on this year.  I grabbed my bike and ran out of there and just as I clipped in I noticed that I didn't fasten my left shoe.  I made a quick decision to let it go since the bike ride would be pretty short.  I'm still trying to figure out why this ride felt so difficult.  It felt like a struggle for the entire time, I never felt like I found my groove.  Looking back, I realized that the cold weather probably did not help too much.  Mr K passed me within the first five miles and I tried to keep him within my sights, but he got away from me. I was held up passing people a few times too, it seemed like they were always at to corners.  The whole thing was pretty frustrating and I know that I have a much better bike in me. I was pretty happy to rack that bike and get on with the run. 

12 miles

43:34

3rd place AG

Run

I had a much better transition time of 1:49 in T2, apparently it is much easier to throw off half of your clothes and put on some running shoes.  Mr K headed out just before me and Baha and Goat were near Run Out screaming at me to go run hard and catch him.  I never did catch him, in fact, we ended up with the exact same run time.  I couldn't really feel my feet for the first couple of miles and I was starting to think that maybe I should have kept my jacket.  No time to think of that, just run MK.  It felt like I'd been running for a while when I looked at my watch to see that exactly a half mile had passed...womp.  Time to settle in and just do the work.  This course always takes me off guard a little bit because it looks so flat on the elevation chart, but there are a few gentle climbs and false flats that make things challenging.  I knew that Stude (The Encourager) and Erin were out there somewhere and I got a huge laugh when I saw him dressed in his gorilla suit.  My friends make this race the most fun!

I never know what the first mile pace is going to look like until it beeps on my watch - I was happy to see 8:13.  I focused on getting to the turn around because knowing that I'm running towards the finish is always a huge mental boost to me.  On the way back, my Gorilla hopped on the trail with me and gave me some great words of encouragement.  My favorite part might have been mile 2 when Gorilla Stude shouted "what time is it, MK?!" and I hollered "LOFO time!" (LOFO is last one, fast one and it is one of my favorite things to do - although it hurts a little bit in the moment). My mile 2 came up at 8:08 so I knew that I had some work to do.  I got super jealous of Gorilla when he took off across the grass and I had to stay on the path. Finally, I could see the finish and hear my people yelling and the announcer encouraging me to hurry and finish so that those people would be quiet. I am the most proud of this run and yes, I got that LOFO - 7:49 for that last mile.

5K

24:16

3rd place AG

Total time: 1:19:04

3rd place AG

Any day that I can race, laugh, and earn a spot on the podium is a darned fine day in my book.  Not to mention the post race coffee and grub with friends around a huge table - this might be my favorite part of the whole thing! Yay for the return of my favorite season....Tri Season!

(Pictures by E and Goat)