Race Report - Egg Hunt Triathlon 2013

To say that I have been looking forward to triathlon season is the understatement of the century (which I'm pretty sure all of you know by now).  There is something about this sport that I simply love.  All in all, I was rather disappointed with how I did at Egg Hunt--I thought I would perform better overall, but certain things weren't in my favor.  I ended up with a time of 1:34:15 and 6/11 in my division.  This isn't my worst time ever, but it isn't my best either.

The good:
Transitions-This is the first time I've done a race anywhere other than Crandon Park.  I loved not having to run 1/4 mile on sand to get to transition.   I managed to get in and out of transition without too much fuss--T1 took 1:11 and T2 took 0:52.  I'll take that!

The run - the two loop run was completely shaded, and even though my feet were numb when I started (yay cold!), I found my groove and managed my fastest 5K during a tri at 35:10 (11:20 pace) I was expecting that to be better than it was before the day started, but given all of the conditions, I was happy with it.

Friends! - I love the group of people I race with.  I saw lots of familiar faces that I hadn't seen since the end of the 2012 season.  Even better, I got to hang with my long lost run bud the evening before and allow our boys to hang out.  She and her hubs are getting in to tris, and its always fun to share something you love.

The bad:
The weather - It was cold on race morning (in Florida terms) -- 56 degrees.  It warmed up to 75ish by the end of the race, but the first part of the bike was downright chilly.  Which may have had something to do with how not great that went, when combined with some windy weather (see "The ugly" below).

The swim- I was nervous about this swim, because it is in a lake and I've never done that before.  Silly me, I was expecting water temps in the 70s.  Um.  Try 66 degrees.  Never really thought about the fact that cold water could inhibit your ability to breath in when you first get in.  I was trying to stay warm, so I didn't get in until our wave was ready to go off.  In retrospect I should have stuck my face in the water before hand.  Lesson learned.  Imagine my surprise when I went to take a breath after my first stroke and LITERALLY could not inhale.  Well hell.  But there was no panic, I just swam with my head above water until I got used to it and then found my rhythm.  Once I found my rhythm I passed some people.  It was still pretty dark outside--even though the sun was up, it was overcast.  When the sun came out it made the murky water look downright black and I felt like I was going to be eaten by a lake monster. Had trouble breathing again.  Did back stroke.  I felt solid on the swim, all things considered, but the cold water took its toll and I ended up with a very sad 13:38.  Second worst time I've ever had on a swim.

The ugly
The bike-I am usually decent on the bike (and I love to ride) so I was surprised when I got on and found I had apparently left my bike mojo somewhere in transition.  I felt like I was standing still--people were flying by me right and left.  My legs felt like lead weights.  I suspect the cold air and wind may have been a factor.  My diet and sleep schedule hasn't been as good as it could have been.  I haven't put in as much time in the saddle as I should have, and I certainly haven't been doing speed work on the bike.  I was wet and chilly . . . whatever the reason, I never found my rhythm.  I ended up with a dismal 43 minute ride for 11 miles.  The only upside of the bike was that Chris and Jess were on the bike course.  Not only did they cheer me on, but they grabbed this picture that makes me look like I know what I'm doing.  In reality, I didn't look like this for most of the bike.  Need to practice staying down in the drops for extended periods of time, because that's where I'm going to find my power.

I know every race can't be my best race, so about five minutes in to this thing I knew it was going to just be one I would use as a learning experience.  The ever-encouraging Amanda reminded me that the first race of the season is always the toughest.  I'm glad I got it out of the way.  I learned a lot of lessons that I'm hoping will improve the rest of my season.  And even though it was not a great race, I'm still proud.

The stats:
Total Time: 01:34:15.27
Swim Time: 13:38
T1 Time: 1:11
Bike Time: 43:23
T2 Time: 0:52
Run Time: 35:10

Next up-the Newport 10-miler on 4/28 (Mommy-cation AND I get to see my bestie!!! YAYYYYYYY! But I'm not at all excited.  Giggle.) and (hopefully) Tri-Miami on 5/5.  I say hopefully because I'm a little nervous about back to back events and Tri-Miami has a 500 registrant cap this year. I'm not sure I'm going to get registered before its full.  Time will tell.  In the mean time, its back to the gym, the pool, and the road tomorrow. 

So I leave you with this, and hope that you have had a happy Easter:

From Muddy Buddy Adventure Series FB Page