Iron Girl: Cherry Creek Race Report

I cannot believe how quickly time moves.  It does not seem like this triathlon could be here and gone already...oh but it is!

I had a great time going away for the first time on a 'girls weekend' and including a triathlon in the mix.  It was a whirlwind of a trip, but it was so worth it.

Alex and I drove over on Friday and got there in just enough time to check our bikes and get our race packets.  Then, off to Pei Wei Asian Diner for some yummy terriyaki chicken, veggies and rice.  Then, home to lay out all my stuff and hit the bed. I was So tired.

After a great night sleep, the alarm went off way too soon.  Sent my husband a text that read "Always wonder why I do these things when the alarm goes off in the morning"...and that is so true.  Hate getting up that early, but glad it is worth it in the end.

Next, off to the event.  The parking was a little bit of a pain because they wouldn't let everyone into the resevouir so we had to park at the local high school and walk in.  It took 7-10 minutes to walk in so it wasn't too bad, but still kind of a pain.  Luckily the scenary was beautiful and put my  nerves at peace!

 Into the line for body markings, and the bathrooms!  They had lots so that was nice, it went quick.  Set up my transition and I am ready to get the show on the road.  My only goal this time was to get out of the water without feeling like I got beat up.  I wanted to have a good swim.  We went down to the water's edge and they started lining up the different waves.  I was in the 4th of 5 waves so I had a little while to wait.  I got in the water did a few strokes and felt like I was ready to go.  Found my girl friends in line and wished them luck and then went over to watch the waves start.  Finally it was my turn.  I positioned myself in the front right side of the swim start.  I figured that I liked to be passed better than trying to pass so if I put myself up there the fast people could pass me and I would settle in quicker.  I was right.  I placed myself perfectly and got into my groove much sooner than I have in the past.  I was almost 3/4 of the way out when I hard the next wave start.  I couldn't believe how far I had come in 5 minutes!  Yeah, I felt great!  On the home stretch, I felt great.  I was passing people, staying within what I felt I could do and almost liked the swim!  I only got passed by 2 girls in the wave behind me and one was Winter, from Team Winter.  Go read about her, she is amazing!  I felt good about her passing me :).   My final swim time was 17:58.  I was happy to be on dry land again, but I felt great after the swim, which has never happened.

T1 was a pain.  We had to run up from the swim out and go up stairs and the boat ramp and it was long and frustrating to already feel my legs tiring just to get into transition.  Once there, I had to take off my wetsuit, which i have never had to do because the other races have people there to help you.  I just sat down by my bike and took it off so it wasn't too big of deal.  I hate putting my wet feet into socks and shoes, but alas, it comes with the racing game!  

Onto the bike course, the race packet said it was 'pretty' flat...hahaha.  There were very few flat parts.  Hills were everywhere.  It was as tough course and I had to put my gears all the way to the easiest possible to get up some of them.  I still had a great time biking and loved my Daisy.  She did well for me again.  I actually fueled on the bike this time with Strawberry Heed and Grape Nuun.  It was delish.  I am glad I did because I really needed the help during my run.  It got hot and pushing it so hard on the bike wore me out. I teared up coming in from the bike when I saw kids there cheering for their Moms.  I missed my little cheering section. My bike split was 44:54.  I will take that on the hardest course I have done yet!

T2 is always quick for me.  I have to remind myself to take my helmet off and then put my race belt on and I am off.  I walked through transition to get my legs back under me and then took off running once I cross the timing mats. 

Oh the run, how I struggle with the run.  By the time I get to the run, I am just exhausted and for me to run when exhausted is quite the event.  I had a horrible cramp in my neck/shoulder when I started the run and started crying because it hurt so bad.  I got it shaken out at about the 1 mile mark, thankfully!  The run was on a hot, not shaded course with a few little rolling hills that made it quite difficult for me.  My feet were swollen from the drive over and they were just screaming at me.  I was SO happy to get some Heed at the aid station.  Couldn't have been more happy to see the turn around point and almost lost it when I could hear the finish line :).  I pushed through all of the pain I was having and got a great split time... for me.  It was 31:53.

Total time: 1:39:18, just slightly faster than my Snake Tri on a much harder course.

I was proud of what I pushed myself through this time.  I had more problems to work through this time than I have in the past 2 triathlons, but I did it.  I was rested and ready for this triathlon, just traveling threw my body off I think.

  I enjoyed hearing my name called at the end and the the Iron Girl sponge to pour cold water on me!  Katie Williams .... YOU are an Iron Girl!!  And the post race food was so delicious!

 It was so fun to meet a bunch of new girls from Idaho Falls and hope to continue to "Tri" with them in the future!  I am so happy with how my first triathlon season went and cannot wait to crush these times some day!

To Bone and Back Report ...

It has been a little while, but I got all caught up in training for my triathlon right after doing our relay this year and didn't get this up.  We really LOVE the To Bone and Back relay.  We look forward to it every year.

We have never had the same team members each year, although we have several repeats, but this is our 6th year of being Team Faster Than Tar.   This year we were also lucky enough to be sponsored by a local running company Personal Best Performance.   They support and put on so many local events in Idaho Falls so it was fun to be able to run free :).  Maybe it helped me be faster!

Anyway, the race starts at 7AM and we all meet at the start line and pile in the truck.  This year we had the whole team with us all day.  It was lots of fun to all be together.  My husband was out on the course and was with us in spirit.  He did the 40 mile ultra marathon this year!  YES, he is AMAZING!

We 'stay' with our runner for most of their race, leap frogging with them every few miles to cheer them on, make sure they don't want any water/food/help and then meet them at the next hand off station to get the next runner on their way.

This year, we were really FAST!  We beat our last years time by almost 40 minutes!  It was a very strange feeling to be out in front when we are usually right in the thick of things.  Way to go team!

My leg was #3.  I went out strong, going down hill and had about an 8 minute mile!  Yahoo...that is SO fast for me.  Love that down hill stuff.  It was good I did the first mile so fast because I got progressively slower as the leg went on. I felt great through mile 2 almost to mile 3 when there was this HILL.  Oh boy, a hill.  I had only run on them once before and that was the week prior when I found out I would be running them on race day.  I knew I could do it, I had done it before, so I shortened my stride and ran right up that hill.  That was so empowering.  I had done it barely even slowing my pace down!  YEAH!  After that mile 4 and into 5 was fine.  It was a nice day with a nice wind to keep things cool.  I finished in just about 48 minutes ... yahoo!

Until next year ... Team Faster Than Tar!

Triathlon at Rigby Lake ...

 Oh what a day...a day I will not quickly forget!  The day I completed the Triathlon at Rigby Lake.  The day started by me singing the National Anthem.  It was one of the best things I could have done.  It calmed my nerves, helped me focus on something else besides what I had gotten myself into and made me really enjoy my talents.  It was fun because I got a lot of comments out on the course while competing and that gave me several added bonuses when I needed them!

After that, the Olympic distance started.  I was watching them swim, stretching out, hanging out with my kids/parents and couldn't believe what was happening!  My husband came over, the athletes started getting out of the water and I just became slightly overwhelmed, started crying and got a big huge hug and a encouraging pep talk from my husband.  Boy did I need that.  Wet suit on, gel taken and ready to get in the water to warm up a bit.

 First picture with my husband and his 2 brothers.  It was fun to have so many people from our family doing the triathlon together!  The water was warm and the sun was shining...let's get this party started!  We were called over to the starting point.  I was beyond nervous for the swim.  The course was set up in such a way that I couldn't even see the first buoy because it was behind alittle island.  I couldn't decide where I wanted to be in the mass of people and boy did I chose wrong.  I should have started WAY further back than I did.  I got kicked, hit so hard in the head that I got dunked and could NOT find my groove.  The first half of the swim I was doing anything possible to go forward.  I couldn't get my breath, I couldn't keep my stroke going, nothing.  It was super frustrating.  I rounded the first buoy and wanted to call over the kayak to come get me...I was DONE.  I gave myself a little pep talk and decided it was now or never.  I started my front crawling and finished the race strong.  Come to find out, the swim was 1100 yards instead of the 800 yards I was planning on.  No wonder it felt like I was in there forever!

 I have never been so excited to be on my feet in the sand!  My chip time for my swim was 27:31.  Not bad for my first 1100 yard swim and not swimming a real good steady race.  I'll take it!

Got into transition, got my headband on, my helmet on, my shoes and socks on and was off on my new bike "Daisy".  I LOVED the bike.  Every minute.  I was cheering people on, only got passed by 2 people and just loved the feeling of moving forward at a quick pace :).  I kept telling myself I was doing a triathlon and to enjoy every minute!  The beautiful countryside scenery helped with that too. I averaged 18 mph and my bike split time was 42:28.  Mostly because I walked once I dismounted my bike taking it into the transition area.  I was tired and didn't think I was 'racing' for anything but myself.

Off to the run. We go once around the lake which was 1.1 miles of the 5K and that lap was nice.  I was getting into a nice groove and felt very good with where I was at physically.  I didn't know how much I had left to give so I didn't go as fast as I probably could have, but I gave it a good go. On my way out of the lake, which then turns into an out and back, I saw my little cheering section consisting of my children and parents and it was so much fun to have them cheering for me!  Loved it!

My husband ran back and ran with me for the last quarter mile or so and that was so fun.  I loved doing something 'with' him and knowing he was out on the course too.  My run time was 32:57.  It was a hot run but nice to have the out and back to see all the people ahead of me and cheer each other on.

I was over come with emotion as I came into the Finish Line.  I had done what I set out to do.  I had accomplished what last year I didn't know was possible.  I didn't want it to be over.  I wasn't ready but I was all at the same time.  I got my medal, and my husband surprised me with a necklace and a huge hug!  I still get all emotional when I think about it.  I couldn't have asked for a better race day...except maybe a shorter swim.  

It was fun to do it with so many people that I love and knew.  It was amazing to feel like a true triathlete with the TriTats our race did (I didn't want to wash them off).  It was amazing to be one of the people who was doing the race instead of just watching.  It was just amazing!!!

And to top off the awesomeness ... I ended up on the podium for my age group!  I got 3rd place with a final chip time of 1:46.  All 4 of us Williams got on the podium in our age groups too....SO COOL!

 

Will I do another one?  Absolutely!!!  This year, no way!?!  I have a lot of work to do on my swim, but you can bet I will be putting in the time and effort.  I have been bitten by the triathlon bug!

I couldn't be more proud...

 This past weekend was one I will never forget.  My husband completed his first IRONMAN 70.3.  He accomplished every goal he set for himself and exceeded many that he had placed early on.  He is my inspiration to get fit, mentally and physically.  I can only imagine the mental barriers that he overcame while pushing his body as hard as he could for 6 hours and 17 minutes.  Every time I saw him on the course, I would tear up with pride and pure awe.  I couldn't be more happy, blessed and lucky to have him as my husband.  I cannot wait until we complete the sprint triathlon we are doing together in July.  I will be fun to be by his side(or behind him :)) in something he has inspired me to do.

Virtual Race...

 Seems like there are a lot of virtual races lately.  I think they are fun, knowing that lots of other people are out running 'with' you...plus a chance at prizes?  I AM IN!!

 This one has to be done between March 15-March 22nd.  Check out this post at Marathon Mom to check out more details.  Anyone going to join me?