Jordanelle Triathlon - Sprint - TriathlonSprint

I need to swim more. Period. Just last year I was a middle of the pack swimmer. Now I get escorted to the finish line by my own personal armada of kayaks and motor boats. OK, I wasn't the last one out of the water, but it felt like it. Not quite sure where the form I was improving last year went, but it took me forever to swim this course. I felt like I was pushing it as much as I possibly could. I did enjoy it, though, so that's gotta count for something.

Swim more before. I was swimming similar lengths about 4-5 minutes faster just last year. People say that weight doesn't play a factor in swim speed, either, but weighing 50 pounds more than a year ago probably does not help my water speed. Just a hunch.

I walked from out of the water to my transition area (and, no, it wasn't a half-mile away, though you might think that based on my slow time here). It took a second to get out of my wetsuit, which had collected a ton of water. A girl next to me joked, "Look, there's a fish" as the water gushed out. Funny. I sat down and put my socks and shoes on, and that took way too long as well. I wasn't too worried about my time (obviously) because I was trying to give myself a little bit of a break before the bike.

This is a beautiful course up in the Wasatch mountains. Awesome scenery! Problem? The first eight miles are uphill. Now, most of that is a false flat, but in my book that counts as uphill. Another bigger problem? I haven't even ridden my bike 10 miles on the road this entire year. I've logged plenty o' miles in stationary bikes, but that obviously is not the same. So my legs got tired of being in motion, not to mention carrying around 261 pounds on my 5-foot-8 frame while going uphill! But I kept pushing, spinning and even passed a few people.

After the big turnaround hill (I was afraid I'd have to walk it, but survived), I caught a few more people as the course flattened out and descended slightly. The best part was a big downhill portion in which I got flying at 47 MPH. That is FORTY-SEVEN MILES PER HOUR!!! Yikes. It was fun. I kept that momentum (not the speed, though) and finished the bike fairly strong.

I did the same course in about 12 fewer minutes last year, so that's a testament of what training and gaining can do to you. I rode my bike a lot more last year, and weighed about 50 pounds less when I did the same course.

Lose weight. Train.

Just racked my bike and grabbed my Garmin 305 so I could see how slow my run would be!

I had good intentions, really. And yes I wrote that sentence just to set up this one: My path to hell was paved with good intentions. Bwahaha. As I've been doing in my training, I intended to jog four minutes and walk one. That, unfortunately, did not even happen once. With zero energy remaining and zero push in my very-heavy-feeling legs, I quickly conceded to my inner wimp. I went back and forth between a 2-1 ratio to a 1-1 ratio. I wanted to go swimming in one of those five-gallon drink coolers at the first aid station. I had water and Gatorade, and it felt soooo good! I was really in a lot of discomfort from early on in the run. A lot of people could tell that, I'm sure, and I got a bunch of kudos and support from runners and spectators. That was nice.

After a while, I ditched keeping track of how many minutes I was running and walking. I'd tell myself to jog to a phone pole or a sign or volunteer, then I'd allow myself to walk for a little bit. Over and over and over. For as much as I walked, it's amazing that my time wasn't THAT much slower than my usual training times.

I was playing body and mind games, convincing myself that I could both do this and not do this! Talk about a head case! As usual, the thought of "You'll never be able to do an Ironman next year!!!" popped in my head as well.The stark realization that I must shed this extra weight has never been more evident, either. It's gotta go, or I will struggle to complete one week of Ironman training.

The last part of the race is through a camp ground, and you really can't tell where the finish line is. Finally, I saw the blessed spectator area and smiled and pumped my fist as the announcer bellowed, "Jody from Herriman, welcome back!" Ah, it was great to be done!

The awesome race director, Chris, came over and congratulated me and said he's been enjoying my columns. I was also greeted shortly after crossing the finish line by my good friends Amy and Heather, who wore matching purple and black outfits on accident. Too funny.

I then loaded up a plate with a half-banana, a bagel and cream cheese, a few orange wedges and took my water to plop down in some rare shade. It had been a long, hard, hot day out there for me. I wasn't very social at that point. I was just kind of suffering, which I always seem to do on my way to and after the finish line! :)

Lose weight. Train more.

Blubber. Not enough training. Sense a pattern here?


That was a very challenging race - my first triathlon in over a year. But I knew it was going to be doozy. I've only been back in triathlon and training mode for a month and a half or so, and I haven't done nearly enough yet. I wanted to do this, though, to establish a starting point of sorts for myself. More than ever, I realize the enormity of the road ahead of me. Getting ready for an Ironman in 10 months is going to be the greatest physical and mental challenge of my life. Whooo boy, can't wait!