MM 70.3 Blooper Reel

As promised in yesterday's Musselman 70.3 recap, 

a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

Most of these are bloopers 

but I did throw in a few decent ones as well.

I don't really have any swim bloopers, at least ones that were documented on film. 

Onto the bike.

Trying to wave, not fall, and prepare for 56 miles.

And this was coming in after almost 56 miles...

with the last few riding on flat tire. Epic Fail.

& then there was the run.

At least my nephew looked cute.

As mentioned in the recap, I stopped and kissed him on the run.

That is my hand holding his on the right.

About 12 miles later...

I remembered to get rid of the sponges I was hoarding

Oh the finish chute...

at least I managed one good one.

Here's a good one of my sister and myself.

Note that I had ice cream in my hand within 5 minutes of finish.

Would have been less, but I spent that 5 minutes sitting in a kiddie pool full of cold water.

Worth the wait.

And of course, my #1 Fan :) Rocking his volunteer stuff :)

 Not only did I get a fabulous medal, 

but permanent tan lines

and a knot that took me as much time to get untangled

 as it did to navigate the 70.3 miles.

Some random blooper moments not caught on film:

Getting tangled in seaweed and spazzing for 10 seconds trying to get it off.

Slipping and almost falling hard getting out of the water.

 (again, thank you to the young man volunteer who caught me)

Getting caught eating PB&J on the bike, and trying to figure out how I was gonna get the sticky PB&J off my hands while riding.

Getting caught singing on the bike, multiple times (one dude started singing along though! Folks I was singing T.Swift, he held a tune better than I!)

in T2 I unscrewed my water bottle top to dump the remaining little bit on my head...unscrewed but forgot to remove the top...dumping water and the lid on my head. DOH!

Do you have any race bloopers?

What is you "tired running" quirk? 

T-rex arm? tilted head? Bow legged?

Musselman 70.3 Recap

After a fun Mussel-Weekend of adventures, it was finally race day--

Pre-Race
The morning itself went pretty darn smoothly. Got up, got ready, and got on the road. Went to volunteer tent and John did my body marking for me, and then I went to transition to set up. I ate a huge handful of Energy BITS, and drank water like a boss. I knew it was going to be hot and was trying to help prepare myself as best I could.

I got set up and left transition and found my family & friends and was actually pretty relaxed.

My friend Amy is the Volunteer coordinator and made sure to leave me a special note for when I arrived in transition. Good work making a girl cry before the race.

Kind of reminds me of my awkward faced wetsuit photo from my first sprint triathlon.

 We made our way to the shore and I got my hugs and "be boss", "kick butt" etc, before John walked with me to enter swim area. It was an absolute gorgeous morning on the lake, and I was just trying to soak the sights and sounds (bagpipes) in.

Ratcliff photo posted this on Musselman Facebook page

Swim (Goal time: 45:00, Actual time: 41:22)[T1-2:38]
After getting counted in, I waded my way out to the start buoys and found a spot I was comfortable and relaxed while waiting. Miraculously I hear a pretty loud "GO LAURA" and turn to the shore which was a ways away to see my family and friends jumping up and down. I waved my hands in the air and smiled, it was going to be a good day.  I maintained pretty steady pace throughout, and only over shot one of the buoys which made me really happy. I finally made my way through the canal and to the last buoys by the boat launch where we exit. I walked up the ramp and slipped right near the top as the mat had moved towards the middle. A volunteer caught me right as I did (thank you, whoever you are!) and then I was able to get out and go. I looked at my watch as I was going through transition and saw 41:XX and couldn't help but smile. I gave my high-fives as I passed my family and friends and continued to get ready for bike.

Bike (Goal time: 3:25, Actual time: 3:30)[T2 2:09]
Bike mount went smoothly, and got to wave and see my family and friends shortly after which put a huge smile on my face!

The bike could easily be broken down like this for me

First 1:30 hours--"oh boy it's gonna be a long day"

From 1:30-2:30 hours--"this girl is on fire"

From 2:30-3:00 hours--"I literally feel on fire, it's hot"

From 3:00-3:30 hours-- "FML, why is this so hard right now"

After rounding the last turn- I knew I was close, got all excited seeing my family and then my friends were also at dismount....I got off my bike and said "woah"...drunk legs. T2 was decent for me switching my shoes, dumped remaining water from my bike bottle on my head and went on my way.

[After the race, I realized that I had punctured my tired while coming out of Sampson State Park (rough road section, I remember the bump where it had to have happened) which is about the time I thought it was fatigue slowing me down. I rode on low air for a while, and it had to have been flat the last 2 miles because I struggled really bad but wasn't going to stop with so little to go...explains why it felt harder than it should have!!!]

Run (Original Goal time: 1:45, Adjusted Goal time: 2:00, Actual time: 1:53)

Goofy smile seeing everyone in beginning of run.

Coming out on the run felt amazing, I was finally in my element. As much as I was happy to be running, I knew that I was tired and that the 90 degree heat wasn't going to help me get a 1:45 half in. I immediately told myself, just come in under 2 hours. I came around a corner and saw one of my favorite sites of the day. My parents, friends and their kids, my sister and her hubby all screaming and cheering my name. Even the people next to them started cheering my name when they heard them. Then my friend Mary did something that made my eyes light up, she held out my 3 month old nephew. I stopped and gave him a huge kiss on the forehead and went on my way. I couldn't stop smiling. Shortly after that I saw my friend Tom, he was stretching on the side and told me he wasn't going to go on (he was injured going into the race), I walked with him for a minute and then he told me to "get my ass going". I carried on, and got to see John around mile 3. I was so excited I just stopped and gave him a big kiss. We jogged together for a minute and then he told me to have a good run and I went on my way again. I knew that aid stations were roughly a mile apart so I made the goal to run to each and walk when I got to them (for fuel, ice, sponges and standing in hoses). With walks I averaged 9 minute pace for first 8 miles. Finally at mile 8 I told myself to kick it in, and bring it home. I still walked a little through aid stations to drink water and dump it on myself but managed to do the last 5.1 miles at 8 minute pace(including walks).

Pure happiness before the finish line. 

My goal times (with original run goal) + 

my pre-estimated 5 total minutes of transition time 

would have put me at 6 hours.

I crossed the finish line in 6:09.

9 minutes away from my original goal, and I am definitely okay with that. I did a half-iron distance triathlon, I didn't die, and I finished with a smile on my face.....you can't beat that. Yes, there is a part of me a little bummed- but that's what makes me an athlete and competitor, you HAVE to have the drive to be better. If I was 100% satisfied with this then I'd have no reason to try again and work harder for a better time. I want to get better, I want to get faster and I want to prove to myself I can break 6 hours. And you can bet your bottom, I WILL. #Findyourstrong

Thoughts
I may be a newer member of the Tri-family, but I still feel part of it. The encouragement from most of the other athletes out there was incredible. The "good jobs" and "you can do it" out on the course were awesome. If someone was on the side with a flat, everyone was asking if they needed help (I even offered my CO2 to someone, but they already had some).

I have amazing support from family and friends. I can't thank them enough for being there. My parents, sister/hubby with the baby, Mary/Cassie, Corey/Marie/Giada, Amy, and everyone else--it made me incredibly happy to see their smiling faces.

I also can't discount the amazing support from my friends and family who were not there physically but were sending emails, Facebook posts, texts, and tweets.

John really is my number one fan and team mate. I couldn't have done this without him. I absolutely can't wait until he is fully recovered from his knee problems and we can be out there together. Even though he hasn't been able to compete this year, his support to myself and other athletes has been more than I ever could have asked for.

The volunteers and course support was INCREDIBLE. I took the time to thank as many of them as I could on the bike, and same on the run. The run course was never lonely, aid stations every mile (overloaded with water, ice, sponges, food, flat soda, and hoses), and many local residents had their sprinklers and hoses set up outside as well. I don't think I ever went more than a half mile without either a local resident support crew or race station. I'm going to the volunteer appreciation dinner tonight (I volunteered Saturday and John did both days) and I can't wait to give lots of people hugs for all they did. Musselman, you put on an amazing race and I thank you for that.

Stay tuned: There will be some more photos, including a blooper reel for you. Most likely tomorrow (waiting for my daddio to send me the rest, get ready for some laughs!).

Testing, Testing, Allergy Failure Ahead.

Frustrated. Angry. Itchy. Painful. I'm kind of all that wrapped in one right now.

The weekend of my first tri (feels like forever ago, when it was really only 5 weeks) I noticed a rash on my hands. After careful examination, some googling, and a doctors visit--- eczema. One of the first things the doctor said was, let's do allergy testing. She told me what it would entail- 36 patches being put on my back, no sweating/showering for 48 hours, and 2 follow-up appointments for reading the results. I decided almost instantly to plan it for this week (taper week for Musselman) so I wouldn't feel as guilty not working out. I thought I was being smart about it and the doctor agreed.

At first I was like, sweet...eczema, people have that all the time and it's treatable. The initial topical and oral steroids helped a little, but not much. Come to find out, hand eczema is a lot harder to treat than I thought, silly me. I was actually somewhat excited for the skin testing, gimme some answers and tell me how to fix it and what to avoid. Bing-bang-boom-done kind of deal right?

So Monday I went into the dermatologist ready to start my T.R.U.E. Test process. They put 3 strips of patches on me (12 each) and then covered it with a giant gauze pad and LOTS of tape. 

Whatever, it's my back covered in gauze at the docs: don't get your panties in a bunch.

I did my best: sit still, don't itch, don't take any medications, no sweating.....I was miserable. It must have been mental because I was itchy, felt sick, and slept for like 10 hours Monday night. Tuesday was a little more bearable, less sickly feeling, a little less itchy but still uncomfortable. Folks its 80+ degrees and you're covered in gauze trying not to sweat, impossible.

Went in this morning to the doctors to get the patches taken off. I expected my back to look like a checker board with a bunch of little red reacted squares. I sat there while the doctor peeled off the tape (and the top few layers of my skin as well, not like I needed that or anything), and then I heard it....that deep sigh from her that I knew meant I wasn't going to like what she told me. Nothing reacted, a few were slightly irritated but not enough where she considered it a positive result. So much for that Bing-bang-boom-done kind of deal.  

But where is the checkerboard? :(

I still go back Friday, as delayed reactions can occur; the doctor didn't seem hopeful though. So there I sat staring down at my scaly, itchy, painful, bumpy hands about ready to cry.  I have issues gripping anything (my bike handle bar even bothers me after extended periods), and this testing got me no closer to an answer. The doctor gave me the literature about negative results, and told me we WILL find an answer, it's just going to mean me seeing an allergist now. The T.R.U.E. Test only tests for skin contact allergens, time to find out if it's something I am eating or breathing in that is causing the issues I am having. 

So here I am 4.5 days away from my first half-iron distance triathlon: My hands hurt, gripping my bike for 3+ hours is going to be painful and I need to find gloves that breathe more, I gave up good workouts for 2 days for the testing, the doctor told me no swimming in Chlorine all week (and I can't OWS until Friday or Saturday...race is Sunday), I'm just plain old frustrated. 

We (the doctor and myself) are both still convinced that the severe eczema on my hands is an allergy thing, not just stress or some of the other typical causes. I have had sensitive skin since I was a child, something just seems to be making it worse. So this means more testing, and more trial and error for treatments. More steroid creams, more lotions, more white cotton gloves, more shopping for perfume and dye free everything. 

I think I'm just going through the Taper grief process, but the excitement is also building. Thank goodness I can run again as of this afternoon, I need it. I know that this is NOT going to make or break me on Sunday. I may be uncomfortable at times on the bike, and I may have to stash some cortisone cream in my tri-top pockets to have with me since I know my hands will get super sweaty all day. I'll make it work. Its just my damn hands, I'm just being a stressed out baby about it at the moment, sue me.

One fabulous thing, you can find forums on ANYTHING & EVERYTHING these days.....guess who found some fabulous tips and support about Cyclists dealing with eczema!?! I'm pretty sure this made me do a happy dance! Time to do a little shopping for some "dermatological friendly" products and things for this weekend :)

Have you ever had T.R.U.E. Testing?

Any tips for a newbie diagnosed with hand eczema?

Tell me something fabulous that'g going on with you right now, trying to channel some positive thoughts!

Good, Bad & Yummy 6/28-6/30 & June Favs

Business as usual here in my life: going a million miles an hour. This week is going to be super busy but it will be a good one for sure with lots of positive things happening.

Going to do a little mix here and some usual Good, Bad, and Yummy moments from the weekend as well as some highlights from the month of June (seriously, did this past month fly as fast for everyone else as it did for me?)

As for the weekend....
The Good:
John's sister had her baby Thursday night, adorable little Charlie John! Yay for another nephew!

Saturday I got my longest ride to date in...61 miles, I was really happy with it especially considering the elements were not in my favor for most of it!

I'm feeling really comfortable clipping in now, and am starting to utilize the power of it more (when clipped in you get power on the upstroke as well, which can make you more efficient of a rider). I do have to remind myself not to pull up too hard though, it can create lower back pain and tightness in the hip.

I managed to take off my shoes while still riding (thank goodness for fabulous Bontrager Triathlon Cycling Shoes). If I can practice this more, it will make me more efficient in T2 on race day, and get my running shoes on me quicker. BUT I won't do it race day unless I feel 100% ready (it could turn bad quickly).

Dress rehearsal run yesterday went great! I wore my +Saucony Triathlon top and shorts, as well as my Kinvara's (these are the only things that might NOT be with me on race day, I ordered Saucony Flats, but they are not in yet). I even started the run after 11 AM in the heat of the day because that is when I will be running on race day, gotta practice these things!

I was so hot after said long run in the heat, that I didn't even have to be forced into the ice bath. I jumped in without even thinking, and remained there for 25 minutes! My legs feel great today!

Got to spend a little time with John, his sister and her man and the baby last night:)

The Bad:
It was torrential downpour the first half of my long ride Saturday, but in all honesty it really wasn't all bad because it was good prep in case it rains on race day.

The new baby had some respiratory issues over the weekend and had to stay a few extra days giving us a worry(but all is good now, as I said they left hospital yesterday happy and healthy).

Friday night I was worked up about doing my long ride on Saturday. I was tired and cranky and letting the anxiousness of upcoming 70.3 get to me. A good long chat with my man definitely made me feel better.

My Garmin is definitely fading, and quickly. Battery power is lasting less and less and the strap (which partially broke last weekend) is getting even more worn now that it has added strain on one side. I really need to decide what I want to do. Looking at the Garmin 310XT, 910XT and the Timex run trainer 1.0 GPS watch....any thoughts?

The Yummy
After my long ride on Saturday I treated myself to my 2 favorite things from Panera.

All day Sunday John was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. We wanted to make food for his sister since she just had the baby and also has a 4 year old (she's gonna have her hands full!). He made a ton of super yummy (and healthy) recipes, the majority of which were vegan from Scott Jurek's Book Eat & Run. I wish I had taken photos of all of it, it was seriously fabulous and I couldn't even tell that most of them were Vegan!

My contribution was definitely NOT vegan, but it was what his sister wanted: my homemade baked raspberry cheesecake....I love making it, super yummy!

5 Things about the month of June
1. 413 miles between running/biking/swimming! Should actually be a little more but I am really happy with this. I've been consistently training smarter and that has made me able to do more.

2. I tackled my first triathlon this month, and feel really good about that!

3. Although I definitely had my days where it was a struggle to get out the door, I feel like my confidence and motivation is getting back to where I want and NEED it to be.

4. Favorite fitness related moment of the month: there are a few that stick out, but honestly I think it was 2 weeks ago I had a really good long swim where things just "clicked" and it seriously just gave me a big confidence booster.

5. Least favorite fitness related moment of the month: my 40 mile ride where I had a million meltdowns and just mentally felt down and defeated (this made this past weekends 60 miler that much sweeter though).

How was your weekend?

Have you read Eat & Run by Scott Jurek?

Garmin vs. Timex GPS watch thoughts?

What were your favorite/least favorite moments from June?

Good, Bad & Yummy 6/21-6/23

Another weekend come and gone like the wind. 

I'll be honest, this weekend wasn't fabulous BUT it ended better than it started so I will take it. General frustrations and emotions got the best of me a few times, which just made everything else seem that much harder. No point in sugar coating it all, but like I said....I snapped out of it and ended the weekend on a much better note.

Friday: Work, Lunch with Mom, more work, and errands. 4 mile run fueled by frustration.

Saturday: Airport 5k, 40 mile ride, dinner with John's family.

Sunday: out the door by 4:30 AM to head to 'Cuse to cheer at Ironman 70.3 Syracuse, time with John relaxing when I got home

The Good

*Great to see my mom for lunch on Friday, much needed!

*Did well at the Airport 5k, closer to my PR! Recap later this week.

*I got a 40 mile ride in, super hot but I did it.

(Also tested out my new +Saucony tri-top and it was perfect fit and comfy!)

*On said 40 mile ride, it was my first time clipping in~ no falls(yet).

*I got LUCKY and didn't lose anything out of my bike pack...after realizing around mile 14 that I had left it open....with my car key, money, license, spare tube, and bike tools. 

*Dinner and quality time with John's family was a lot of fun Saturday night. Good food, good company and good conversations :)

*Cheering at IM 70.3 Cuse was serious inspiration/motivation boost (more on this tomorrow)

*Got to spend the day with good friends yesterday who I don't see often. Was spend the day with Debbie while her hubby, and our other friends were racing. 

*Yesterday was 41 years since Title IX was passed. As some who benefited from this as a HS and college athlete, this makes me happy to see women's sports getting more recognition!

*We bought a juicer! I'm excited to have one in the house now so I can do it more often!

The Bad

*My emotions and frustrations got the best of me this weekend...multiple times. I felt like a toddler having meltdowns. 

*Almost got taken out by a construction truck on my ride Saturday (extremely close), this triggered one of the above meltdowns: It wasn't pretty.

*This heat has been brutal, dehydration, exhaustion and sunburn are all in effect. 

*I think my Garmin Forerunner 405 is on it's last leg. The strap is partially broken, and it barely holds a charge anymore :(

The Yummy

*Friday night I roasted a TON of veggies for the weekend.

*Friday night treat for myself? Adult version of cookies and milk.

*I wish I had taken a photo of Saturday's meal with John's family: BBQ Chicken, shrimp, pasta salad, salad, quinoa, with chocolate covered strawberries and Wegmans Ultimate Chocolate Cake for dessert!

*Extreme heat called for ice cream this weekend: multiple times.

*Our first batch of juice from our new juicer was a success, yummy and healthy!

What did you do this weekend?

When was the last time you really let your emotions get the best of you? (We all do it, that is life!)

Do you have a juicer? Any recipes I MUST try?

To Wave or Not to Wave

I'm sure you have seen it before...waves on the road. A motorcycle doing the "low five" wave to another, a Jeep driver nodding and steering wheel waving at other Jeeps. There are these little "cliques" on the road, but one that relates more closely to home....the running/cycling wave.

Every morning I get into work with my coffee, grab The Wall Street Journal off the ground and mosey inside. Usually take a quick peek for a few minutes through the paper for any headlines, then toss it on my bosses desk. Today there was an article that caught my eye.

Some wave, some nod, some smile and some just don't acknowledge you at all. Now let me say I am guilty of all of these. Sometimes I wave, many times I will smile and nod as people pass by, and others I am just to damn zoned out to notice what is going on. I have always had a "poker face" when it comes to running, the kind that Heath Ledger would have said "Why so serious" to.

I know that I am more guilty of the "poker face" during races, but I have been trying to be better about it. It has nothing to do with not enjoying what I'm doing (I love running, no dispute there), I just get crazy focused and driven, and I'm honestly okay with that. BUT I am trying to smile more while running, take the time to look around see the sights and the passerbys...I love competing, I love this sport, I love the running/cycling community-- and I want others to see that too.

Last night running on the canal path, I went by quite a few different people and got about 50% waves/nods/smiles which is probably my normal percentage. Some sort of acknowledgement is nice, after all we are out there doing the same thing at the same time....but to each his own. Like I said, I know I don't do it 100% of the time and I don't expect everyone else to either.

There are times (more often with cycling than running) that waving isn't exactly feasible (flying down a hill, dealing with traffic, etc.), and you most likely wont see someone wave while they're in the middle of a hard interval/tempo or hill repeat workout while running. But other times, maybe nod or smile or even muster up the courage to wave, I promise it won't kill you.

Acknowledging another runner/cyclist may seem small but it might be just the boost they (or you) need. In races we have signs and crowd support which help us push when we get tired and lack motivation, but what about training runs? We spend 90% of our time training and 10% racing, yet all of the attention gets put on the racing support. This is where sites like DailyMile are nice, because you get feedback on training (and racing) from fellow athletes which can reinforce all that training and hard work you are doing. Think of smiling/nodding/waving on the roads like your training cheer squad, your in person DailyMile "motivation".

Where do you stand on the waving spectrum? 

Do you smile and nod (I do this much more than waving)? 

Or do you do nothing at all?

Thoughts?

Keuka Lake Sprint Tri (My first!)

Now that I have had time to sit down and really think about this race, holy cow I did my first triathlon! EEK! The race was held at Keuka College on Keuka Lake in PennYan, NY. This is particularly special to me because John and I will be getting married right down the road from here in 457 days (who's counting?). We stayed at John's parents house on Seneca Lake the night before, which made for a 15 minute morning commute instead of over an hour.

Warning this is long, but has lots of goofy photos...

I woke up around 4:45 to the sound of rain pounding on the house and the lake. I had 2 fears, 1.) that the weather would be crappy and make for a really hard first tri, and 2.)That if the weather was so bad that they would cancel all together (which I didn't want either..I needed the experience).

I made myself breakfast and ate it on the road, the weather was clearing up but I was still...ummm nervous? We parked and made our way to body marking outside of transition, and then I went in to set all of my stuff up. I met a girl named Kim who was right next to me in transition and we chatted for a bit which actually helped calm my nerves.

We made our way down to the shore for the long wait, my wave wasn't going off until 8:30. We hung out with friends and tried to pass the time, and keep me from freaking out.

Cheeseeeee

That's closer to how I was feeling. And John was standing on a slope, why I look like a munchkin.

ermmm, so I'm supposed to do what?

Swim
22:53
First open water swim 'race'. Placed myself in the back and just tried to go steady. Luckily never truly panicked, just a little. On straightaway back to shore going into the current I lost it. I probably swam a TON extra, I kept swimming into center and not to shore. I lost a few minutes here, at the very least! I got out of the water and was tired, it was a good thing I didn't wear a watch, because I was much slower than I even expected and mentally that would have been hard to see. I have so much respect for strong swimmers, even more so now than before...holy cow.

T1
2:50
Wetsuit came off pretty quick, I swam in my sports bra and tri shorts underneath and getting my tri top on was hard it kept sticking because I was wet. Note to self: just wear it underneath next time.

John even said after, that he thought I was taking my time and didn't seem in a hurry during transition. My reaction: "I was...that swim had me out of breath and I wanted to nap"...no nap for me but I did want to take a minute to collect myself. Took my time getting my shoes on and catching my breath and collecting my thoughts for the bike and the run.

I believe this is my literal "Suck it up buttercup" face. Deep breath, the "bad part" was over.

making my way to the mount line

Bike
47:23 (17.6 mph)
First few miles I felt super slow, but had no gauge on how slow since I went watch-less. I knew that the turnaround was going to be sharp to mentally I prepared myself for that, and the hill which follows it. The rain started, and it actually helped cool me off. I had a woman who would pass me and then slow down and block left instead of getting to the right, it was annoying and she did it multiple times. Finally I made it through the turnaround and decided to just hammer up the hill past her and NOT let her get me again...she didn't. I was really proud of how I handled the hill and definitely cruised back much faster than I started. Two things I noticed on the bike, I've gotten more confident and stronger on the bike since the Du in April, and I didn't spend the whole time going "just get me to the run" which was awesome. I had 34th fastest bike time for women and 3rd fastest for my AG, I was making up plenty of ground after the swim!

Aparently I am SUPER intense on the bike. ha!

Making one of the last turns, this might be the first point in the bike when I WAS actually thinking, just get me to the run. I was ready to be on my feet! But it wasn't because I was tired or hated the bike, I was actually really excited at this point, because I knew I just had to get off my bike, and do my favorite thing (run) and then I would have survived my first tri!

Thanks Joe for this shot! I was just lifting my right leg up to do a rolling dismount.

T2
46 seconds
Since I don't clip yet, T2 was easy. Rack the bike, drop the helmet, grab my race belt with bib and go. No need to collect myself during T2, I was more than ready to run! I had the fastest T2 split for all women (it really helps not changing shoes, and the fact that running is my favorite so I want to start it sooner!) I did forget to take my bike gloves off before running out of transition, so I took them off while running and stuffed them in my shorts, true story. haha!

Off the bike and ready to rack it and run!

Run
21:13 (6:51)
Again, this was hard because I never knew at any point how fast I was going or how far I had gone. It felt smooth and easy though on my legs. I slowly picked people off and found myself passing more and more as time went. It was clear that running was my element (not that I doubted that). I really like that my favorite and strongest event is last, it really helps me mentally knowing I can finish strong. I ran the 2nd fastest 5k time for all women and I was pleased by that.

gloves in hand...about to be hidden in my shorts.  :)

Joe got me running through right before the final chute! :) Thanks for coming out and cheering!

1:35:05
The finish chute was fun, I was smiling ear to ear and I even did a little jump in the air when I saw John and his friends cheering for me. Hearing my name called across the line by Mary Eggers was amazing, talk about a true inspiration. I did it, my first triathlon and in a decent time (by my standards).

Time on clock is not mine, my time was 1:35:05

Oh...19th female and....1st in AG.:)

I don't know why it doesn't show up here, but there was a straight line of mud spray down my back from the rainy bike portion! And for the record, I was totally in love with my body marking. I'm like a child, give me a permanent marker and I am happy. It's the little things.

Fueling for the day: PB&J on bagel thin for breakfast. No coffee, yep you heard me right. (this wasn't planned, but it worked out). Handful of EnergyBits before heading down to the swim. A few swigs of gatorade during T1, water and 1/2 Clif Shot Gel on bike (gels are really only option on bike), and nothing on the run. Lots of post race ice cream though.

My Gear for the day: Wetsuit, TYR goggles, Saucony Triathlon shorts, Zoot Tri-top (was too big, but good news is that I treated myself on Monday and ordered the Saucony fitted tri-top that I have had my eye on!), Felt ZW100 road bike, Bontrager Helmet, Saucony Kinvara Socks, My old racing flats (which are being replaced with Saucony A5's within next few weeks), Road ID, Saucony Speed run Visor (didn't end up needing, but it was in trans. just in case), Bike gloves, Sunglasses.

Thoughts:
Had I swam what I thought I was going to, I would have been top 10, but I don't want to play the what-if game, it's pointless. So instead I'm going to play the "I will be in the water at least 3-4 times a week for the next 6 weeks before Musselman 70.3 Game" (much more fun of a game, don't you think?)

I would definitely do this race again, beautiful area and it is even more sentimental to me because John and I are getting married on Keuka Lake next September!

Do I have the tri-bug (everyone told me I would after this)....maybe a little...but I can't decide if it's the tri-bug or just the "I know I can do better bug".

Every race (including running) should have your AG marker on your calf, totally awesome knowing when I pass someone if they are in my AG or not. Although the whole USAT "age" thing is odd. For those of you who don't know, in the tri-world your age on race day is not necessarily the age you go by. Your age is determined by what your age will be at the end of the year. Therefore because I turn 26 in a few months, I was considered 26 and not 25 on race day. USAT: making athletes everywhere feel older than they are. 

I'm a little on the fence about calling myself a triathlete after this. Yes I did a tri, but I guess I just don't feel like one yet, maybe once a do a few more. I felt the same way after I did my first marathon a few years ago. I didn't necessarily call myself a marathoner right away, I ran one but was that enough for ME? That's a personal thing though, it has nothing to do with any thoughts of "doing one doesn't make you one" that is not the case at all. Its a personal and emotional thing, I'll know when I feel comfortable calling myself one, because I will feel like one. And right now I feel like a runner "trying to tri" and not a runner and a triathlete.

I'm so lucky to have had John there with me and supporting me. His support of me and knowledge about triathlons made me feel so much more comfortable as I took a new step. Also made me feel less bad about the fact that I left my engagement ring at home (for fear of forcing the state to drain the lake had I lost it in the water).

Okay, I know that was long and most of you probably aren't reading this. But good news is I can look back at this down the road and see EXACTLY how my first tri went :)

When did you first call yourself a runner/triathlete/marathoner etc? 

After one, or did it take you time to feel like that?

And in my true nature of diving in head first...this was my first tri..and 6 weeks (from that date) (a little over 5 weeks from now) I have my first 70.3 at Musselman! I signed up for it back in December, it's becoming much more real now! I know I can do it, going to get my swim time down too!