This whole triathlon thing is a lot of fun! I can see it becoming quite addicting. I've been really struggling with my recovery times and extreme fatigue, in addition to some other medical issues. On Monday I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue from Dr. Nelson at Clearwater. I started treatment for it but it will take some time and I'm supposed to cut back on my activity level and anything that stresses the body. My body simply isn't recovering and a multitude of stressful factors have lead up to this, not just overtraining. But, I was also told no Portland Marathon for me this year.
However, I had already registered for the Triathlon and I was determined to do it. I'm so glad I did! I decided to wear the wet suit for the buoyancy factor, plus I hate being cold.
In all honesty, the water was quite warm. The swim was hard. I expected it would be my worst event. It actually went fairly well and my pool training paid off. However, this whole open water swim competition stuff is a whole other factor. I was getting beat up out there. I swalloed quite a bit of water and literally had two women on top of me at one point. I was right in the middle of the pack and people just kept running into me (and in all honesty, I ran into quite a few people myself). The water is also really choppy and it's very difficult to not swallow large amounts of water. Next time I think I'll be staying away from the pack. However, I think being in the middle of the pack made me feel like I was at least on course and wasn't wasting energy swimming off course. I was winded from the swim, but felt strong. I finished the swim in 18:48 - 131 place
Transition went well and the bike felt great. I love my bike!!! I felt really good out there and passed a lot of people. I enjoyed this part of the event the most. It just feels so good being on the bike! I think I averages 19 mph on the bike.
I finished the bike feeling strong and well recovered in 39:10 - 44 place
Transition again went well and I was off on the run. My legs felt VERY heavy and I knew I wasn't going fast. I decided not to wear my heart rate monitor for the event because it's cracked on the Infrared area and I didn't want to risk getting water in it or having to put it on in transition. So, I didn't know how fast I was going. I just kept plugging along and trying to push myself to go as hard as I could, knowing it was only 3 miles (it's such a different mentality than running a marathon!!!
). I finished the run in 26:43 - place 54
Byron was a little surprised to see me. As not too many people had finished yet. I looked around and expected that there would be a lot of people. I had no idea if I had been doing well or not, I just knew I had passed a lot of people on the bike. I checked the results after they were posted at the finish and to my surprise I PLACED 3rd IN THE ATHENA DIVISION! As corny as it sounds, it brought tears to my eyes!
I've only placed one other time, and that was in the relay at the Blue Lake Tri with Randy Wells. There were only a few teams, so we sort of thought we might place. However, today, I had no idea I was actually capable of placing!!! I placed 48th overall with an overall finish time of 1:29:36. It was a great event and I can't wait for the next. I know in order to get my body balanced and back to a state where it will continue to build and improve rather than degrade, I need to rest, fully recover, and try to reduce some stress. However, it's REALLY hard for me. I just love this stuff. So, I will back off, but I can't wait for the next event. I won't do Portland since the doctor ordered it, but I am hoping to do the Peach of a Century through the Salem Bicylce Club on September 28th and I am looking for another tri before the end of the season, likely around October. I'll likely be doing the olympic distance at my next tri. I'll have to keep working on my swim!!!
Thanks for all the support from everyone! You all really made this triathlon experience very approachable and unintimidating. I was a little nervous this morning but fully knew I could handle it. I think the mock tri and being out at Blue Lake for the previous tri really helped me feel prepared.
Until the next one!
Marion