This was my opener race. Heart of the Valley Triathlon that took place on Sunday, April 21st. This was a sprint distance race (750m swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run). I usually dislike pool triathlons (and still do) but there are not a whole lot of triathlons in Oregon that have open water swims in April. At least I can say that swimming at the Osborne Aquatic Center was quite delightful. Their facilities are impeccable. Plus, it was nice to swim in a 50 meter pool vs. a 25 yard pool. It makes swimming with multiple people in one lane more tolerable and easier to pass or be passed. Although, it is quite a change from training in a 25 yard pool. I'd get about half-way through the 50 meters and my body wants to do a flip turn and head back. But after several laps my body and mind adjusted.
I guess the first thing to start with is the weather. Since this seems to always be a factor in racing. Leading up to the race the weather was on and off rain. I was a little worried that this would continue throughout the weekend. Thankfully, the day before it only rained in the morning and as the day went on the roads dried out. Race morning, it was overcast and the temperature was about 47 degrees. Not quite ideal temperature but I'll take that over having rain.
I was in wave #4, which was the last wave of the day to go. About an hour and 10 minutes after the start of the first wave. They were running a little bit behind schedule (30ish minutes) so I had plenty of time to warm up and get mentally prepared. Finally, it was our turn to start. There was 3 people in the lane with me and I was the first person to go. The other two followed in 10 second intervals. The first few laps went alright until I got passed by both of the people in my lane. I made sure not to let a gap form and was able to pass one with a few laps to go. My swim was 11:57.
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| All ready to go and waiting for my wave |
Swim to bike transition went very smooth. Of the few girls that came out of the water before me I passed through transition and at the very start of the bike course. It definitely pays to be able to mount your bike with your shoes already attached. At this point I wasn't sure how many women were ahead of me so I went out to chase them down. When I came to the turn around point I realized I was the first woman. I saw the second one a little ways behind me and made sure not to let her gain on me. This was a hilly course so I made sure to take advantage at every spot possible. I ended up riding a 33:28 for my bike split.
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| Stupid shoe! |
Bike to run transition wasn't as smooth as my swim to bike. My dismount went beautifully but when it came to put my running shoes on...phew, that took more time than was needed. I was having the hardest time getting on my right shoe more specifically. This could have been due to having my ankle taped. (I've had an ankle issue for about the last month. Still not sure what caused it) Finally, I got the darn thing on, grabbed my race belt and was flying out of transition to start the run. My legs felt quite heavy from the start but quickly loosened up. The run course was two loops in a residential area. So it was pretty flat, which worked out great since I hadn't been able to consistently run for the past few weeks. I ended up clocking in a time of 19:13 for the 5k, which was almost a minute faster than any other female.
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| At the finish! |
Because of the different start waves I wasn't sure if I had won or not but felt good about it since the 4th wave was with the fastest swimmers. They printed out the results so I was able to check, and was very excited to see that I did win. I had an overall time of 1:07:19. About 30 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, who I believe was the favorite to win the race.
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| Overall Female & Male Winners. We got lots of goodies :) |
Something goofy my sisters and I did today. Enjoy all 8 seconds :) The Smoking Orange
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