Back in the Game!

Whew! The first race of the season is done and the cobwebs are all cleared away (hopefully). Due to my injury the second half of last season this was my first race since July. That, my friends, is apparently plenty of time to forget some key things...like how to do a transition. :) However, back to the beginning….

 Last Thursday night I packed up everything I thought I remembered that I would need to survive the Azaela Triathlon and then I optimistically threw in two bikinis for amazing tan I was planning on getting at the beach!

Friday night my sister, Leigh, my boyfriend, Chad (support crew, not racer) and I loaded ourselves in the car and made the two hour trek to Wrightsville. When we got there it dawned on us, or more so Leigh who couldn't top shivering, that it was freaking cold out...and it was going to be colder on race morning. Oh well, the race must go on. Our friend Dave had a great house in Carolina Beach that he was generous enough to offer it up for the race. We all did a bit of pre-race basketball watching and then hit the sheets fairly early.

Leigh, Chad and I enjoying the beach (sans bikinis)

Leigh and I were both swimmers growing up and since this was a serpentine pool swim both of us would be starting the race early. At 5:45 am, the sisters were in the car and on the way to the University of Wilmington pool with only a slight detour so I could get my coffee (I put Irish Cream -the creamer - in it for good luck which obviously didn't work). We set up everything and went for a 2 mile jog on the run course. Chad and Steph arrived soon after and since it was Chad's first Triathlon spectator event I was very excited for him to see all the festivities. He proved to be a great helper as both Leigh and I dumped all our clothes and shoes on him to carry back to the car. After a quick swim it was time to go.

Working hard to catch the guy in front of me!

Lesson #1. When getting ready for a sprint race make sure you put plenty of intensity in your warm-up so you are ready to go. The gun went off (figuratively since I was actually the 8th person, but first girl) and the 300 was over in a jiffy. Transition one...what can I say but U.G.L.Y! I couldn't make a decision on what to put on so I wasted valuable time and eventually went with nothing because it didn't feel that cold. Lesson #2. My transitions need WORK...or I need to only do long races. What can I say about the bike and run except I just felt flat. My bike time wasn't too bad but my legs were sluggish and that continued on the run. By the end of the run my turnover was actually starting to pick up, but the race ended much too quickly. As I crossed the finish line, feeling way excessively energetic for the end of a race, I heard people yelling something at me....Lesson #3. USAT would like you to turn your race belt around for the finish so they don't have to award you a lovely two minute penalty!!!

Azalea Race Crew - Post Race

The best part about this race was all my friends out there cheering for me and getting to cheer for them once I finished! Any race that you can take away three lessons from is a valuable learning experience. Bonus, my long run after the race felt great and I got a cool Azalea Triathlon blanket for my cat, Sammy, to confiscate, and UNC won the basketball game! :) Oh, and we did get to spend a bit of time on the beach, just not in bikinis....