Journey To Ironman: Grandman Triathlon

Grandman Triathlon 05/31/14

Location: Fairhope, AL

Class: F20-24

Results: AG 2/5, Females 24/181, Overall 164/609 Time: 1:34:01

Local Knowledge and Conditions: Overcast for the majority of the race, with on and off light rain. Was very humid and muggy out. Swim was in a bay and the bike/run was a hilly course.

Pre-Race:

Several team mates and myself rode the Running Wild bus for this which was fun! We had bikes all loaded in with us and the radio up. We got to Fairhope with little to no time to spare, we literally parked, bike tires got pumped, and then we grabbed our bags and rode down to transition are which thankfully was literally down the hill from where we were. I had to rush to get all my stuff out and be ready for the swim but thankfully I got it all done in time and my team mates and I got to snag a quick, cute photo!

Race Break Down:

Swim:

The swim was in Mobile Bay. Everyone had been saying how nasty this water was, and just constantly warning me about it. It didn't look terrible, smelt funky but didn't look to be too bad. They had us all line up by bib number for entering the swim. They did a staggered solo swim start, you got to jump off a dock which I thought was a lot of fun! To make sure no one jumped on one another they took a decent pause and had people go right then left, etc. A lot of people did fun jumps or cannon balls. I jumped and screamed "Phat Girlz!" This was honestly probably the easiest swim I've ever had in a tri. I didn't get trampled over, smacked, kicked, etc. It was an easy out, make a left around a buoy, then straight in. And the swim support was amazing! They had so many kayakers! By far, the best swim support I've had so far as well. They had this swim very well organized and I loved it. I didn't feel the water was nasty at all, nor was it cold, to me everything regarding this swim was awesome. Swam 600 yards in 9:21 (1:34/100yds)

T-1:

This transition was pretty smooth. The had us go up the beach of the bay and then not even 100 yard run to transition. I was doing fine, just rushing caused me to stumble with getting my bike shoes on.

Bike:

This bike course was the most challenging one yet, it was pretty hilly. I was warned about the first hill coming out of transition, and though it was steep, I didn't feel it was all that bad. Granted that entire week prior to the race my Coach had been working my legs to prepare them for the hills I'll have at Syracuse but her training plan proved to be perfect cause I passed two guys going up that first hill and for the remaining hills I felt strong climbing.

It did get interesting though. A fellow triathlete from Pensacola, whom actually used to work at Running Wild, was right at my tail and passed me. I knew it would be between she and I for first place in our age group and though I wasn't feeling good and I knew I needed to focus on my heart rate and not let my competitiveness get the best of me, it did. She and I played cat and mouse throughout a majority of that bike. I did manage towards the end of it to get ahead of her and I did come in off the bike first, by 10 seconds. Biked 18 miles in 52:57 (20.5 mph average).

T-2:

As I got off my bike I knew my legs were trashed from the bike. And my heart rate was all out of whack. I knew I was in for a good challenge and that I had the other triathlete right on my tail.

Run:

The run course included the big hill right out of transition. Running up it was a hell of a lot harder to me then biking. I managed to make it to nearly .75 of the run till she passed me, and I knew that was it for first place because I knew how strong of a runner she was. At the point it was a matter of finishing and just busting out whatever I had left in me. The run course had good support with water only which was beyond fine. I mostly poured the water on my head to keep me cool. Also, thank you to the little girl who was hosing us down, that felt amazing.

I wore no socks for the run to try and save time in transition, I had done it with my previous Tri and had no problems. Well this time wasn't so smooth. Mile 2 I felt the rubbing. At 2.5 I felt the blisters and that sucked. I started trying to run on the outsides of my feet for the remainder of the race. When I finally crossed the finish, the first thing I did was threw off my shoes, and sure enough there were decent sized blister on each foot. But I had finished. 5k Run in 29:11 (9:25 min/mile pace)

Lessons Learned:

Take the extra 10 seconds to put socks on until I train more with no socks. These blisters are pretty good sized and messed up my run for the following day. Also to stick to my race plan, especially with my heart rate.

Something Funny that happened:

During the run, I passed a familiar face as he was running out and I was coming in, twice, the first time he yelled "Wait for me!" and I said "Nah, you gotta catch me popo" (yes, he's a cop, which made it funnier to me). When we passed each other the second time a race volunteer saw me point at him and said "Reel him in"

This was by far the most fun, organized, and overall awesome tri this season so far. They had officials/referee's all throughout the course which was a first but it was good that they took their jobs serious. The post race was awesome, lots of food, drinks, massages, free photo booth and just fun.

It was fun getting to share this with some of my team mates who as well kicked butt with one of them taking 1st in her AG and another taking 2nd with hers, and then my 2nd in my AG. We also made sure to get some cute photos after the race too.

I would like to thank sponsors Running Wild for everything they do to support the Tri team. Gulf Coast Cycle and Tri for fixing my bike at last minute and always being super friendly and awesome. Anytime Fitness for being an awesome, friendly, clean environment for training. And thank you to the companies who made awesome products that made me successful; Pearl Izumi, Tifosi, Newton Running, and Moving Comfort.