2008 Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - TriathlonSprint

I was really nervous about the swim. Gary was with me on the shoreline and he noticed my unusual broodiness. He said, "Honey, if you're dreading this and it's not fun for you, don't do it. If it is fun, go out there and have fun." That advice would help me later on.

It just seems to take me a few minutes to find a good groove. I was hoping that warming up beforehand would help but it didn't. I did the final and third wave of the Sprint race, all the females. By the time I just started to find my groove, the girls were many yards ahead of me.

A minute or so later, I heard splashing behind me and it was the men from the Mini (Oly) heading my way. "Crap!" I told myself. I knew there'd be no way I was going to swim fast enough to get out of their way without killing my groove and running completely out of breath, so I decided to just keep swimming and just kind of tread until they got out of my way.

I did consider (for 5 seconds) that it would be easy to just go ahead and quit. There would be many more waves of swimmers, plus the HIM competitors would be going around twice and I didn't know if I could handle the onslaught. Right after that, I got my groove back.

I was really worried about getting bumped and kicked to death going into this swim, but it wasn't that bad. A couple people even apologized. I said, "That's Okay, Sweetie."

Compared to my first race where I had the guidance of #22, I was completely on my own. That was really okay this time. I was ready for this.

I didn't even try to take the standard advice to "just swim to the next bouy." I was just enjoying the fact that I was swimming - really swimming - and that it was a pleasurable experience. I was just going to "have fun." Before I knew it, I was almost at the final turn before the turnback.

I thought this race was 900 yards, so that's for what I've been training. It has taken me about 45 minutes to do that distance, so when I got out of the water and looked at my HRM to see 46 minutes, I was pleased. I seriously thought it was like an hour. When I saw the results posted online, the racing company said it was a 750 meter swim. That saddens me that it took me that long with that distance, but - oh well.

What is great is that I wasn't worn out from this.

Train even more beforehand so I'm faster!

Wow. I didn't even use my towel to dry off. Wearing a tri suit was a major boon to my speediness as I wasn't soaking wet and didn't have to change clothes.

Not much, really.

That headwind was a beast. It was easily 20-30 mph. Later on that night, pretty much the whole state of Ohio's electricity would be out because of winds up to 70 mph. Mother Nature was giving us a taste of what was to come that morning. Thanks for the preview, Mother Nature!

Once I changed directions and the headwind was gone, I went much faster. I kept on getting passed by people doing the HIM. I saw no one from the Sprint. Why should I? I was the last one out of the swim and everyone else was probably done with the bike.

Unlike my last race, I passed no one - no one! Three people that passed me told me I was looking good and to keep up the good work, or something along those lines. That was really cool.

I absolutely HAVE to get a road bike. If I don't have one by my next race in April, I just won't do it. I know that getting better is all about time in the saddle, but it also makes sense that the less weight I have to carry around, the faster I can go.

I was at the end right up against the fence. Somebody had left a big box of their stuff in the middle of the aisle in front of where I needed to rack my bike. With my area limited, I took extra care not to knock over somebody's bike, but I wasn't worried about stepping on this guy's towel or shoes. Get un-rude, buddy!

Again, having the tri suit helped soooo much. It was great not to have to change shorts.

Have a road bike so it's not so heavy. I also need to figure out what to do with my hair. It adds a few seconds to have to put it up in a ponytail and put a ballcap on over it.

For coming in last, I'm pretty pleased with my run time against the others. I thought I was moving much slower, but my pace was pretty consistent with my training. I was very pleased that the swim and bike didn't wear me out enough to mess with my running pace.

I walked the last few feet of the grassy part and started the run again when I got back to the pavement.

As I was approaching the finish line, there were two guys in front of me who crossed it pretty much the same time. The announcer called their names. I was excited that that would happen for me. Throughout this whole race, you're just a number, a face in the crowd. To be called by name, above all places at the finish line, really helps personalize your accomplishment.

Get faster.

Drank a bottle of water, ate half a banana and stretched a little bit. Instead of rushing out, Gary and I just hung out a little.


While I've learned to swim sooo much better since my last tri, I need to work on speed. Not being faster really put me back there.

Not having a road bike, one that is specifically designed to be light-weight and for speed.

When I look at the results, if I could've just knocked a couple minutes off here or there, I would have done better.


Triathlons remind me of politics - in this regard. Once Election Night is over, the results are in and the winners and losers are declared, there's nothing left to do. It is what it is. But the next day, the campaign already begins for the next election.

Yesterday's race is what it is. I'm now looking to April, to my next race and to moving up in the rankings.

After my first race in June, I had this euphoria that lasted for a day or two. I didn't have that this time, nor did I expect to, really. Last time truly felt like a baptism of sorts. That can only happen once.

I also wasn't as worn out as my last one. It's probably because of all the training I've been doing. My body's more used to it now.

My goal heading into this was to come in under 2.5 hours. I did it.

So, 197 people started the race, but two DNF and never made it to the bike. So, the big question is did I come in dead last or did I come in third to last? I'm leaning towards the latter.