Lifetime Fitness - Women of Steele - Pretty good BD present

Splenda:  "What do you want for your birthday?"
Me:  "To post a respectable time in the Tri"

Okey doke.  That was my entire goal going into the triathlon Saturday morning.  Respectable.  Feel good about my performance.  Finish.

Of course butt crack of dawn, but then again, that's when you get to see the beautiful sunrise.

Got set up in the transition area.  And waited for my friends, the Guppy and her hubby KL . 

There were 3 events offered the same day.  Tri for Life which was co-ed.  Women of Steele, which was of course, women and then a kids only event.

KL started first, and we were able to see him do his swim and head out on the bike portion before we started lining up and getting ready.

Splenda surprised me by showing up at the start with Tuffy and Sissy.  Add that to Luka's phone call while I was waiting wishing me good luck and a happy birthday, and I was feeling pretty loved.

We had the national anthem and then we were off.  With my herniated disc, I had to teach myself to breathe on the other side.  As of Friday morning, I was feeling fairly confident, but when it was my turn to jump in the pool, my confidence was gone.  Nerves got to me, but luckily, a stroke or two into it, and I was able to settle down and get a good rhythm.  Played leap frog with a couple of ladies, and then was quickly out of the pool and running to the transition area to my bike.


The swim was cut short by 50 meters which was nice, I knew that would help in my overall time.  I got to my bike, stripping off my swim bra, cap and goggles - swapping them for my shirt, shorts, helmet, gloves and sunglasses.  Off on the bike course.

The bike course had some killer hills.  One that I misjudged and ended up having to get off my bike and run up it.  The second time around, I remembered to down shift earlier and was able to do it.  Other than the dog charging at me and biting at my heels, the south headwind, and the sidewalk portion where you couldn't pass anyone, it was a good course.  Picked up several roadkills, and had the chance to down some shot bloks and water in prep for the run.

Once I dropped my bike off, swapped my helmet for my ball cap and stripped off my gloves, I was back out for the run.  Usually it takes quite awhile for my legs to get working after getting off the bike, but fortunately this morning, the transition was much quicker and smoother.  I was able to settle in to a good steady pace, and garner a few more road kills. 

I started looking for Guppy.  I was worried about her.  She had been at girls camp all weekend, so no training, and on Friday met up with a door rather violently face to face and was rocking a black eye and concussion.  I was worried that the head pain would get her.  I didn't even know how she was doing this at all!

The run course was fairly flat and was an out and back on the Jordan Parkway.  It was pretty, but the sun was up and it was getting hot.  Grateful for the well placed water station.

After I turned around and was heading back, I finally saw Guppy with KL running with her.  She looked great and had a strong pace going.  I was starting to feel it.   I started with the self talk.  If I have any hope of finishing a marathon later this year, I have to learn to run even when I feel like stopping.  The thought of running in the red rocks of  St George is what gave me the push for the last mile.

I turned the corner, came into the chute and heard my family cheering for me.  How awesome is that???  It's really the best ever.

I checked the clock, although knowing that the time wasn't real since it had been going from the start of the Tri for Life event.  I grabbed water, an orange and found my family.  While we waited for the Guppy  to come in, I stretched and started getting antsy about finding out my results.  I felt like I had done well, and wanted it in black and white.  I wanted to know my real time.

I saw Guppy heading into the chute, so I ran over for pictures and to meet her at the finish.  She was INCREDIBLE!  I can't even imagine doing this event after what she had gone through on Friday, and here she was not only doing it, but looking at her watch and seeing her time, I was clearly blown away by how strong she finished!

Then she hit me with the bad news.  She had been DQ'd for helping someone with their chain.  The ref saw her too close to another cyclists and threw the DQ.  Bull crap!  Serious bullcrap!  As Sissy tugged my arm to go get her a cookie, Guppy talked to the ref and got it straightened out.  There would be no DQ'ing for being a good samaritan.  I'm glad they did the right thing.

So KL finished first in his division.  11th overall.   He's an animal.  Really.  Dude rocks whatever he does.  Based on our competitive natures, I am starting to suspect, we might have been siblings seperated at birth.

Finally found the results board and checked my time.  1:27 and change!  YAY!  Ran my finger over the list and calculated I was third in my division for the moment.  Because of staggering start times, that could change.  I wanted to hang out and see how it ended up since there were prizes for the top three finishers in each age group.

Some more waiting.  Sitting in the shade.  Stretching.  Re-living it with Guppy and KL.  Keeping Sissy occupied.  They finally announced the official results and yep, I did it!  I placed!  They gave us each a rose and an envelope with the instructions of how to order our prizes.

Another photo op, good-byes to my friends and then loading the bike and heading home.  What a great way to start off my birthday!  Now, just needing some ice, naproxen and rest.  I am old after all.

Final stats:
Total time - 1:27:58.2     3rd out of 18 in age division   31 out of 132 total women
Swim - 6:21
Bike - 49:00
Run - 28:21