Pre-Tri Roundup

Well, in case you haven’t heard (heh), I finished my triathlon yesterday. And I am happy to say that I went into it and came out of it with exactly the right frame of mind.  I finished.  I didn’t go in trying to race a clock or anyone else.  I didn’t come out angry that I didn’t do well or my best on certain event.  I am really happy that I finished.  And I really had a great time!  It was fun.  I didn’t expect to come out saying that, but it was!

I’m going to take this post to just give a little overview of the weekend before leading up to race day, then race day, and then am going to dissect each event in later posts.  Those are more for me to remember and learn… they may bore the hell out of you (sorry!).  I know that’s a lot, but I want to remember certain things about each event.

Saturday was a whirlwind day – First soccer game of the year for #1, running here and there.  Being, well… mom!  When we finally got home, Hubs ran out to find the perfect bike rack for our cars.  It is the first time we were traveling and he wanted to get one for mine (which we were planning on bringing, a sedan) and then one for his – our family SUV. But, due to the fact my bike is made of carbon fiber, they don’t recommend putting one on the back of a car… who knew?  So – my car was out and UP it goes on top of the SUV.  I love that my man is a researcher; I trust that whatever he gets is the right thing.  By the time he got home to install the rack, I had the baby down for her nap and had packed my transition bag.  While I had seen checklists and had been purchasing things for months, actually having everything together in one spot, in one bag was CUHRAZY.  There is so much you need for actual race day to go into one bag.  I mean, seriously!  I am so glad I had done my research, and even happier I decided to buy a transition bag at the last minute.   It was very smart to have everything in one place, easy to reach, where I knew where I had packed it.  Took some anxiety out while I was setting up.

So – we had seriously JUST decided on Friday night to go down on Saturday.  Because the race didn’t start until 10am, I had always just assumed we’d get up early and go… but as it got closer, I started to get a teeny bit anxious.  And it ended up being a great move.  The directions they gave us were bad, so off the highway, where it should have been 25 minutes, it took us on Saturday afternoon, almost an hour to get to the race site.  I would have been PANIC CITY!  Not what I would have needed.  Plus, it obviously let me sleep and not worry about getting up early (not that I’m not used to it) and drive for 2.5 hours before the race.  So, all in all, a good move.

Got to the race site on Saturday at about 5:30 and checked in.  While Matt called around to find us a hotel room, I got my number (the West Virginia area code, obviously the first thing Hubs pointed out) and looked  around a bit.  There was a pre-race meeting, mostly attended by us newbies and I learned QUITE a bit.  The biggest thing was that… um, OH – the run was all trail running!  This was a big thing for me because I don’t run off road, I am a road runner.  And, as I have mentioned, I was counting on the run to help me.  Ugh.  But, not getting disheartened.  Everything else seemed like I had learned looking at maps, and after the meeting, Matt and I walked down to the lake…. To just peer at my nemesis ;-).

To the hotel he found, threw our bags and my bike in, and off to “the steakhouse.” See, we were basically in the middle of nowhere.  The town we ended up staying in is a trucker town – caters to truck drivers. So, we asked the lady at the front desk of our hotel for somewhere to eat, she said, “there’s a steak place or a pasta place.”  A steak and baked potato sounded perfect to me… so off we went. Um, well… so… We pulled up to a $9.99 for a 16 oz. steak place.  And let me just say, I know I am spoiled now for living in Washington, DC, but wow.  I ate MAYBE a 1/8 of it and the potato.  It was the absolute worst.  But it was hilarious.  We laughed the whole way through. 

Back to the room, a bit of prep for the morning, and off to sleep.  Okay, I won’t lie… I took some nighttime cold medicine to help me sleep.  Antsy-pants.  And My Man was there all night to hug me back to sleep when I rolled over.  I seriously have the best husband in the world, hands down.  He was there to anticipate, to do, to be.  He had no idea WHAT I needed or WHAT to expect… but he sure tried.

Morning came, up and at ‘em!  And off to… Denny’s. No, seriously.  Denny’s had the healthiest food in the area.  Oatmeal with apples, raisins and honey. Which, coincidently, is what I eat most mornings (but, after I workout).  The whole timing of this race had me a bit anxious.  As you know, I workout super early, then eat.  Of course I would have SOMETHING on my stomach before any race, but having to eat a full meal, then wait around for hours?  Eh… not cool.

After a shower (yes, I shaved my legs… um, hello?), packed up the car and off to the race site.  We got there earlier than I had to, so one of the best things I did was ask Hubs to drive the bike course.  VERY smart move because it let me feel it out a bit.  While no huge hills (Thank you Lord Jesus), there were some ups and some crazy turns.  Also a lot of gravel that it was good to know about.  Plus, being a first timer, I didn’t know what “chalk lines” actually looked like.  Seeing them on the road was helpful.

So – then into the area!... and time to post this beast! (if you’re still here… thanks for being a trooper).