FEATURES

Getting Her Race On

Thursday, 24 April 2014 01:05

After last years race season, a cold winter and several weeks of set-backs, I have been eager to race again. Planning a vacation to visit family, relax and enjoy nice weather seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. Flights were booked and registration for the Lifetime Tri Marquee-International distance was complete. Compared to racing last year, I had a different mindset going into this race. I knew the circumstances would be different and therefore, I decided to use this race as a chance to get back in race mode before the MN multisport season begins, while experimenting with nutrition, fueling and gear. Yes I know you shouldn't do anything new on race day but I took the risk and did it anyways. If anything failed I knew it would be worth the experience and my plan was to have fun regardless. I figured if lessons were to be learned (which several were), now would be the time to learn them! :).....

Overall this race was very well coordinated for three distances taking place at one time. The course was well organized, besides several areas of congestion which were inevitable. Climbing up stairs to exit the water caused small pile ups as well as many bikers on the one loop bike course. I will admit, not being from the area I was beyond confused at the athlete meeting. I was 'that girl' after the meeting asking multiple questions about the course for clarification (not while the huge group of athletes were still present). I'm still not sure why 3-4 miles were added to the bike course for the international distance, but it happens. Leaving the race venue with most of my confusion cleared up, I was prepared to race the next day (or so I thought). Up and out the door bright and early, I planned for ample time to arrive and get organized. I was prepared to get my transition set up before the area closed and do a quick warm-up on my cruiser. What I wasn't prepared for was the only way I knew how to get to the race venue to be closed. Roads were blocked off for the race which caused a close call for a panic attack before I even got to the race location. First lesson: know an alternate route when you're not familiar with the area in case roads are completely shut down. Due to this small mishap, I finally arrived at the venue to set up my transition area, slather on sunscreen and make my way to the swim start. No warm-up took place, forgot to check the bike tires and that was it, I jumped off the stairs and swam to the start line.

The swim was a great test for me as it was the first time starting in the water for a swim start. I worked myself up for nothing as it actually proved to be more chill than a run-in start. Nothing very eventful in the swim, besides struggling to get in a rhythm of breathing and sighting while zigzagging through bodies. Second lesson: even in the off season, practice sighting.

The bike course was set up as one loop repeated depending on the race distance. Lots of turns, several sharp U-turns and congestion were some of the challenging aspects on the bike. On the other hand, it was pretty much a flat course with roads that were nicely paved and closed to any traffic. You can't beat enjoying mountain views and beautiful scenery while riding. Third lesson: Probably would have been beneficial to ship my own race bike instead of renting a road bike that took one minute to fit me on! As far as the run I don't have much to say, nice loop along the water over a bridge along the other side of the water and to the finish. All I remember during the run is that is was hot and I started off fast and scared myself into slowing down to finish the race. Hydration was a key factor getting me through that run as well as listening to what my dad told me, "keep on going no matter what, just keep on going!" Thanks Dad that helped!

In summary a good race to get my 'feet wet' and to enjoy the thrill of racing. I would consider it mediocre for myself, which I learned when I finished and had a lot more left in my tank. Overall time was 2:41:23 which landed me in 16th for females and what I thought was 4th in my AG. Later finding out changed to 1st in my AG (which I can only assumed changed due to elite racers). If I hadn't left before the awards ceremony to return my bike, I may have found this out. It may seem odd I'm referring to AG since I had been racing elite in MN, however due to reasons previously stated and actually having no previous international distance race that would allow me to race elite, I was therefore racing AG. Last lesson: regardless of place, stay for the awards and support fellow racers! I'm not all that disappointed in missing out on an AG group award as I am that apparently Alan Webb raced the sprint distance and won. It would have been pretty cool to say I saw him in person!

With another race experience under my belt I am excited to get back at it. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and driving familiar roads in MN! With that, I hope this MN weather gets nice and we are able to jump in some open water soon!

~Nicole