Triathlon Report: The Race

by This is Carrie on March 31, 2010

It was the first off-road triathlon Todd & I had ever done together so there was a little part of me that hoped I’d come out of the water before him.  I had to count on him having a small panic attack somewhere during the swim, but it was possible. After the swim, there was no way I’d catch him on the bike, so it was really my only chance to “beat him.”  And what’s wrong with a little friendly competition between spouses?

But, he had a great swim and I was the one gasping for air after the first buoy as I tried to stay afloat while (what seemed like) throngs of racers swam into me and on top of me.  Not a great feeling.  But I recovered and finished the half mile swim without incident, moving on to the 16 mile mountain bike ride.  Early on in the bike, I was already missing my cheering section who were at home having a wonderful weekend with Grandma & Grandpa.

The bike course was beautiful and just the kind of rolling trail I love to ride.  It was so helpful to be able to ride the course the day before with Todd. He helped me with strategy for the tricky parts, giving me more confidence in my abilities on race day. Last year, there were a few points on the trail where I hopped off my bike and walked it over/down the rocks.  This time, I didn’t have to.
But with no less than 4 mud/water crossings, it was a dirty ride.  At one point, I plowed through a huge mud puddle at full speed, yelling “Get out of my way guys! I can make this!” as I sprayed muddy water on the riders next to me and pedaled to the top of the steep hill that followed, passing a bunch of guys on foot.  That, my girlfriends, was a proud moment.

Then it was onto the 4 mile trail run.  I think I must have blocked out those hills at mile 2 during last years race because they were so bad.  But, on the downhills & straightaways I made up some time.  You might not think this, but running fast downhill takes some skill (and some courage) and it felt good to blow by a few people in the final two miles of the race.

Another memorable part of the race was when the girl at the water station yelled at that guy behind me in the picture to “Catch the pink sparkle skirt!

He never did, BTW.

Throughout the race, there are numerous times when I asked myself, “why do you put yourself through this?”  But then I get to the finish line and remember how good it feels when I’m done.

My overall time: 2:44:40

(last year’s time: 2:36:19 but the bike was 3 miles longer this year)

Todd’s overall time: 2:28:38

Then there was the icing on the cake

I placed 3rd in my age division!

There may have been only 4 women in that division, but the plaque still makes me very, very happy.

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{ 22 comments }

Tamra March 31, 2010 at 5:20 pm

Great job and congrats on placing! You got skillz! Downhills are seriously the hardest for me. I don’t get how to do it fast and efficiently. I am a turtle going downhill. I really need to practice.

ellen March 31, 2010 at 5:40 pm

I loved reading your report of the race. So many times when life gets really hard I will ask myself why I started; but it is the finish that feels so good. It was like that when I started bike riding. And I also had the same feeling a few years into my small business start up. Sometimes it does get to hard, but we can keep going and the reward is out there somewhere.

brenda March 31, 2010 at 6:29 pm

Congratulations, WAY TO GO! High Five!

Judi March 31, 2010 at 7:10 pm

I’m impressed! How fun to be able to participate with your husband. Great job placing in your division :).

Julie {Angry Julie Monday}
Twitter: AngryJulie
March 31, 2010 at 7:41 pm

Congrats Carrie!

You are awesome!

jamie March 31, 2010 at 7:55 pm

awesome stuff — congrats!! GREAT PHOTOS!

Leisel March 31, 2010 at 8:48 pm

WOW!!! You are amazing! Thanks for the inspiration. . .

KP March 31, 2010 at 9:42 pm

Not surprised at any of it! You rock! Way to go. So fun that Todd got to do it with you!!!

KathiD March 31, 2010 at 11:47 pm

You are my hero(ine)! Both of you, actually. Great job!

I thought for a moment about selling my road bike, but I ended up falling in love with it all over again and now I’m looking forward to riding it up in the country. I’m NOT swimming or running, though. You can’t make me.

This is Carrie
Twitter: thisiscarrie
Reply:

glad you didn’t sell it! I bet there are beautiful places to ride it up where you live.

TINA April 1, 2010 at 12:56 am

Congratulations, you are really a big INSPIRATION.
I love your blog.

Misha April 1, 2010 at 5:53 am

You are so, so inspiring. Thank you for blogging about these races…it gives me hope that I can do this, too, even though I’m just a mom :))

elise April 1, 2010 at 5:57 am

you are so hardcore!
and cute, in your ‘sparkle skirt’
i still have no idea how you do it, if i hadn’t already paid for the 5k, it would QUIT! ;o)

mommymita April 1, 2010 at 7:21 am

Oh that was so fun to read! I could just feel the pain and the after high.

Great job!

Sara Cox Landolt April 1, 2010 at 7:33 am

I thought that was a sparkle skirt! I was thinking of getting one. 🙂

I’d love to do an athlete profile of you & your hubby on my blog if you guys are willing? You can read other profiles on my blog to get a feel for it and let me know.

Congratulations on 3rd!!!

Emily April 1, 2010 at 10:27 am

Congrats! I’m working on my first 5k. It sucks. I have visions of doing a triathlon someday. You’re an inspiration!

This is Carrie
Twitter: thisiscarrie
Reply:

It all starts with a 5K. Keep up the hard work. I promise it will be worth it.

Sew It To Me April 1, 2010 at 5:18 pm

Congrats! That is an amazing accomplishment! I love the pink sparkle shirt 🙂

Sarah W April 1, 2010 at 5:27 pm

Great Job!
Question for you and any other bikers out there. I love to bike and I have a one year old.. im debating on a bike trailer or a seat for him. Any suggestions?

Thanks

This is Carrie
Twitter: thisiscarrie
Reply:

Sarah,

I have a trailer for my mountain bike and a bike seat on my cruiser. I wasn’t very prepared for how tipsy my bike would feel with a seat + kid on the back. Took me a while to get used to it. The trailer is nice because I can lean my bike over without pulling out the kids (it’s also nice because I can fit two in there). In general though, i like the trailer for longer rides – beach trails and mellow mtn bike trails. But for around town, I like the seat on the back.

Kage April 1, 2010 at 6:16 pm

Excellent Re-cap. I feel like I was there.

Kim April 9, 2010 at 7:57 pm

Carrie you rock! Go team Carrie/ Sparkle Skirt!

Holly U April 13, 2010 at 11:42 am

You raced in a skirt!? Holy moley! I *love* skirts and it never crossed my mind to wear one while racing. Sweet.

Your descriptions made me remember the pain and the work of a long race…and how awesome it feels to cross that finish line! You’re firing me up to get back to it. Thank you!

Jaime April 14, 2010 at 10:56 am

i thik you might be one of the coolest momma’s around!

RookieMom Heather July 2, 2010 at 2:24 pm

When my now-husband and I used to be in the same triathlons, my only hope was to beat him through transitions. Way to go!

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